#mda20009 week9

In today’s world, everyone has had a memory of a significant impact on pop culture with a varied choice of interest of different parts of the industry. Undoubtedly, we have all come across a point in life where we have watched our favourite cartoons/series/movies with our eyes glued to the screen or listened and sang to our favourite songs out loud or didn’t mind playing our favourite games all day or read our favourite books. We were fascinated as well as influenced and, in some way, had been affected by it in our daily lifestyle. Almost, everyone has been a fan of something since we shared a deeper connection with our favourites. This week, I will be shedding light on the topic of fandom and further elaborate with definite examples.  

So What is Fandom? 

Fandom simply refers to a community or subculture of fans that share mutual deep emotional interests towards a particular section of pop culture such as music band, movie, comic, video games, book, etc. According to (Rutherford-Morrison 2016), fandom is “a space where fans create their own language and communities, and where they reimagine characters and worlds into something that is uniquely theirs.” Fandom originated very early on but was official with the emergence of ‘sci-fi cons’ during the ’30s, now known as ‘the first fandom’. Then around the ’60s, the media fandom began at a ‘Beatles’ concert where “crazy fanatics” were seen. Media Fandoms are dedicated to expressing their passion through fan art, fan-fiction, cosplay, etc., through which their obsession sometimes leads them to alter their lifestyle and create their own reality revolving around their chosen fictional characters.

How Does Fandom Work? 

Fans are vocal as well as loyal towards their engagement in source materials. Fandoms are the consumers/audiences also known as the ‘unofficial media producers’. According to (Distillery 2021), in 1977 when the first Star Wars movie was released, the fandom increased quickly as fan clubs were created and increasing in number as more people were influenced and wanted to be a part of the excitement. Their creative versions of fan art and fanzines and actively expressing their understanding for the movie was worthy to not be ignored. “Fans with their passion and sense of solidarity can be so powerful that they need to be managed and cared for.” (Distillery 2021). Lucas Films has dedicated an entire department for fans since then. Gradually as the digital era began, many fandoms have been committed to the unique content they create and influence on various social media sites such as Tumblr, Instagram whilst conveying their feedback or opinions through Twitter. Fandoms are a strong clan and hold a lot of power and are capable of changing not just their community but also the society in the modern world. The businesses are moulding their marketing campaigns according to the fandoms. For instance, Mary Franklin a Star Wars fanatic was contacted by LucasFilms for consultation on the likes and dislikes of the Star Wars Online Fan Club (Penas 2020). Along with being the first film to hop into marketing, after the release of the first film in 1977 “LucasFilm has licensed nearly $25 billion worth of products for action figures to videogames to books.” (Togerson 2017). This initiative was taken to have active fan participation in sales and good publicity. According to (Togerson 2017), “In the 2011 census, the United Kingdom had 177,000 people declare themselves as Jedi (followers of Jediism) making it the 7th most popular religion in the U.K.” That is really cool. Here’s a video for a more visual and elaborate understanding. 

Fandom Can Sometimes Get Really Scary!

Social Media in itself is a rocky place where everybody put ahead of their candid perspectives on the table without thinking if the person might be impacted negatively. Often the use of speech is very wrong and a certain character is called out or bullied until the person takes uncertain measures due to immense stress and anxiety. Sometimes the fictional hatred can cross too many lines and the outcomes are often very unsettling. Back in 2017, the Star Wars movie ‘The Last Jedi’ had starred Kelly Marie Tran as mechanic-turned-Resistance fighter Rose Tico, had faced a fierce backlash from some fans who pointed fingers at her for her ethnicity and appearance as she was the first woman of colour to play a lead role in the iconic series (BBC 2018). The Vietnamese-American actress had been criticized her Star Wars character and directed their hatred at her personally receiving abusive comments, her character name from the Star Wars encyclopedia, Wookieepedia, was changed only to replace a racial slur used to mock the East Asian accent and also numerous comments that were critical of her weight (BBC 2018). Fandoms do help artists succeed but also pulls them down. Tran had later deleted her posts on Instagram.

In Conclusion

I believe that Fandom has its pros and cons. Specifically, in a pool of people, most of them are only expertise in the field of the shared source of interest, not vice versa. I think it is very important to put ourselves in other's shoes and give it a thought before stepping onto others. Fandom is wonderful and will continue to be so till it is kept that way but as long as the immature mentality isn’t fixed it could get toxic after a certain period of time.

References : 

BBC 2018, Star Wars actress Kelly Marie Tran deletes Instagram posts after abuse,  BBC, viewed 11 May 2021 <https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44379473>.

Distillery 2021,  The history of fandom, viewed 11 May 2021 <https://www.wearedistillery.co/we-think/the-history-of-fandom>.

Penas, E D 2020,  Fan engagement: Why businesses should target fandoms, Ambidextr, viewed 11 May 2020 <https://ambidextr.media/fan-engagement-why-businesses-should-target-fandoms/>.

What is a fandom?

A fandom is a person, or a group is enthusiastic about something. Take Anime as an example. It is an amalgamation of many different stories that each fan of a series, are particular on even the smallest detail. It is the fans own perception in recognizing and relating in a positive, personal and a deep emotional relation with an element in popular culture (Lacasa et al. 2016). We are all fans of something in the media that we are presented with. Television series, anime, manga, YouTube videos and more. The anime series below featured is from ATTACK ON TITAN

However, in this collective of people, there would be opinions and facts that would not be accepted in some way. Toxic fan behaviors have plagued online communities with nothing more than to only spout negative remarks about the series, manga or band, others and even people who are not involve with their fandom.

In the rising fame of K-Pop, fans of each group or band is more likely to favor the ones they support or relate to. Fans of the BTS All Male K-pop group, BTS Army, has been harassing fans of other groups like EXO and NCT. On July 2020, Charlie Puth was subjected to abuse from the BTS Army. They spammed a few of his TikTok posts with teasing comments like how he used JungKook, a 22-year-old member of BTS, to gain more attention or fame (Angermiller 2020). Even so, there are members of the fandom who condemn the act and always try to make others change their ways.

Conclusion

A fandom is collection of people who are very enthusiastic on something. This will actually boost or elevate what they are fans of. Giving, for example, creators of a series to continue their amazing work and amaze their fans and hopefully make even more. There are good and bad things that goes along with it but this allows the community and the other people who see them improve and be better and in a way, give a better fan service for new comers to become attracted into joining. We, as a fan, should only have constructive criticism and support to the things or people we are fans of.

REFERENCES

Angermiller, M.A. 2020, ‘Charlie Puth Implores BTS Fans to End ‘Toxic Internet Screaming Match’’, Variety, viewed 9 November 2020, <https://variety.com/2020/music/news/charlie-puth-bts-fans-1234698628/>.

Fandom is defined as “the state of being a fan of someone or something, especially a very enthusiastic one” (Cambridge Dictionary 2019). Fan activism is defined as “a form of civil engagement and political participation that emerges from the passions of fandoms and fan culture” (Weebly 2019).

FANS BOUNDARIES OF THEIR COMMUNITY IN TUMBLR

Tumblr just launched group messaging that helps connect fans and let them chat together of their desired topic. The feature is designed as a sort of ‘public space’ where anyone can read through the threads. Users need to be approved though if they want to send messages in the threads and the messages will only last up to 24 hours, like Snapchat & Instagram story. The groups’ creator has full control over the users, which means they can remove any ‘bad’ users or evaluate the users before they are approved. Users are only allowed to use share media from Tumblr & not outside the platform. While that, since Tumblr has reinforced their policy of adult content, meaning the users in the group are not allowed to send anything that contradicts the policy in the group (Pero 2019). By doing this, the fans of all kind of fandoms are being set boundaries amongs other ways.

IS IT FAIR THE MEDIA REPRESENTS FANS AS ‘WEIRD’ & ‘OVERLY EMOTIONAL’?

In my opinion, it is not fair for the media to represent fans as ‘weird’ & ‘overly emotional’ because anyone can like something or someone. I am sure the people behind the media is also a fan of something/someone. If the fans keep the fandoms healthy and appropriate, while respecting the things or people they are fans of, it is totally normal. With that said, there are also cases where the fans go totally crazy on their fandom. These kinds of fans are obsessed, and it is unhealthy for them especially when they are a fan of someone. They can be extreme in so many ways. For example, Christina Grimmie was a 22-year old who was a contestant of The Voice talent series was shot by one of her fans. She was at a concert signing autographs when the guy shot her and then shoot himself after. She opened her arms to hug him when he shot her. Christina’s brother tackled him after that then he shot himself (Oppenheim 2016). This is one of the cases among other cases where the fans have unhealthy obsession towards their idols, which end up taking their idols’ life.

Personally, I do not think I have any fandom experience. Although I have never experienced any fandom, I am absolutely a fan of a lot of stuffs. I am a fan of quite a few singers and actors. The most I did for someone I am a fan of is buying their merchandise, like t-shirts. Since I am also a fan of DC superheroes and Marvel superheroes, I collect some of their figurines and I think that is about it.

REFERENCES:

Cambridge Dictionary 2019, fandom, viewed 13 November 2019 <https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/fandom>.

Weebly 2019, Fan Activism, viewed 13 November 2019 <https://fanactivism.weebly.com/fan-activism.html>.

Pero, J 2019, Tumblr is launching group messaging threads that will connect people of different fandoms and disappear after 24 hours, Daily Mail Online, viewed 13 November 2019 <https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7657523/Tumblr-launches-group-messaging-threads-connect-fans-disappear-24-hours.html>.

Whether you admit or not you are fan of something everyone has their own interests or passion that drive them to be fanatical. According to Jenkins 1992, Fandom functions as an alternative social community. There seems to be a taboo if you are a fan of something because as can be seen in media fans are portrayed as weird and obsessive humans, who don’t know how to act in public and hence act as if they are small kids. It is this often that turns people from identifying as a part of a fandom. Fan culture or fandom is an example of participatory culture. Participatory culture is where fans are not only acting as consumers but also as producers and creators of some form of creative media, it usually can be defined specifically if it has one of the following characteristics. That it relatively has low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement. In addition, providing strong support for creating and sharing one’s creation with someone else. Moreover, when a person with more experiences decided to mentor someone who has just joined the fandom feels that their contribution matters. Lastly, that they feel some degree of social connection with one another and care about the other member’s opinions (Heinitz 2019).    

Now we shall speak about something called fan activism and you must be wondering what it means.

Fan activism is where a certain form of civic engagement and/or political participation will emerge from the fan culture itself, this might happen mostly out of response of shared interests of the fans. Which can often lead to certain form of campaigns for social equality including representation of minorities in entertainment media, fund raising for organisations with common values. There are few examples where fans have come together to form an activist group. One of them is Harry Potter Alliance their main aim is to provide financial relief to people in dire need. It organises its members in the four houses of Hogwarts to strengthen group solidarity and encourage members to spread awareness about social and political issues (Jenkins 2009). 

Another group would be The Racebending Movement. This group of people have come together to protest against the whitewashing of non-white characters, a way to advocate the fair representation of minority groups (Lopez 2012).

Reference:

Fandom and Participatory Culture – Subcultures and Sociology, viewed 3 June, 2019, <https://haenfler.sites.grinnell.edu/subcultural-theory-and-theorists/fandom-and-participatory-culture/>.

Jenkins H and Shresthova S. (Eds.) 2012. Up, up and away! The power and potential of fan activism. Transformative Works and Cultures. Volume 10.

Jenkins, Henry (2011-03-31). ""Cultural acupuncture": Fan activism and the Harry Potter Alliance". Transformative Works and Cultures. 10. doi:10.3983/twc.2012.0305. ISSN 1941-2258.

Heinitz, A 2019, Culture across fandoms linked by community, connection - NCClinked, viewed 6 June, 2019, <https://ncclinked.com/2019/05/27/culture-across-fandoms-linked-by-community-connection/>.

Public engagement with mental illness is facilitated more and more through the integration with communication technologies. In a post demographic sphere characterized by the accessibility  to social statistics as hashtags, likes, follows, tags, locations and so on, social media platforms are constantly connecting us  to the current issues and campaigns in public health.

Social media sites offer a unique method of communication around public health and facilitate messages of both well-being and sickness. Health initiatives use these platforms to spread messages of health. Just a quick search of the hashtag #icebucketchallenge demonstrates the power of online media with celebrities and communities alike contributing to increasing the recognition for ALS. Don’t drink and drive, Dry July, Slip Slop Slap and multiple fun runs fundraising for various causes are just a few campaigns among many known for their positive messages and public engagement with health.

Blogs are another tool utilizing the public nature of the internet to create a communicative context where health messages, stories, thoughts and personal experiences with sickness can be documented and expressed. “Blogs have been used extensively to self-document the intimate and often intensive experiences of living with serious illness”

 “I am tired of having to lie to people about how I am feeling just so I keep them around.

I am tired of having to feel a failure when I need to confess to the doctor or nurse that the pain is too great and I need something stronger

. I am tired of being made to feel guilty when I want to express my fear and anguish and grief. I am tired of keeping silent”. (Notes from Nonsuch, 22 May 2010)

Blogging tools offer users self-documentation on a public level, allowing readers to follow their personal journeys, their struggles, trials and tribulations. The authors can share alternative healing practices, connecting with others while too undertaking the extremely sensitive and intimate emotional, physical and relational management accompanying their illness.

Rachel Elyse Stratton was a 17 year old student diagnosed in 2012 with DIPG a brain cancer that impacts the brain stem was given 9 months to live. Through her blog she inspired thousands speaking the truth of her illness, her struggles and her feats. In the darker of her days her journey was documented by her sisters, who continued to share after Rachel’s death.   Rachel is not alone with sharing her story, blog authors suffering from illness describe their experiences connecting with other and forming networks with others alike.

Public engagement with social media can be superficial and the metrics used to measure social media engagement (clicks, follows, tweets, shares) can offer a disproportional inflated perception of the engagement of supporters with the health message the cause promotes. As Burgess, Cassidy and Light highlight, the successful reach and engagement of Movember (in Australia 63k Facebook followers, 11.6k Twitter followers, 58k Instagram followers) is actually superficial in nature and lacked involvement with the underlying health matters Movember stands for.

Just as not-for-profit To Write Love on Her Arms promotes a central message that everyone has a story, which is evidenced in both their official communication (which often include blogs from guest authors who have struggled with similar health issues and aligned causes) and how others respond to them, social media has offered a platform for amplifying and distributing the very personal and intimate stories of individuals suffering serious health problems to the wider public.

Before social media, public health announcements were available through broadcast media and often involved educating the public on the prevalence of health issues with statistics (eg. Better Health Channel smoking stats) and health warnings or guidelines for prevention (eg. slip slop slap), but unless a close friend or relative had suffered an illness, there was often little connection or engagement with these health warnings on a deeper, emotive level.

I will argue that the most beneficial affordance of social media in the space of public health is its ability to amplify individual stories of people suffering health issues, allowing the wider public an unprecedented intimate insight into the personal experience of living with a serious illness. Kitzman (2004) claims that it It is this shared public intimacy that helps to shape the broader social understanding of cancer, it’s experience and personal effect.

I would like to use an example very dear to me to highlight how social media can be used to raise awareness of health issues and allow large audiences to connect and engage in a very personal public health campaign, resulting in an emotional and empathetic response which is arguably more motivating to change behaviours and has a better chance of resulting in a permeant positive change in lifestyle toward prevention or early screening.

Tiff Tesia was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 30. To both help her come to terms with her diagnosis and treatment options and to allow others to benefit from her two years of research and personal experience (or in Tiff’s words ‘to alleviate mental constipation while i'm marinating in chemotherapy’), Tiff started a Tumblr blog or ‘illness blog’ as McCoster & Darcy have labeled them. 

After a two year battle trying all available natural and conventional treatments, Tiff’s last hope was a very expensive experimental treatment in Germany. At the urging of a close friend, Tiff created a Go Fund Me page and shot a short video explaining her battle, her will to live and her hopes for the treatment in Germany. Within 48 hours Tiff’s video had gone viral, was shared on Facebook over 80,000 times, had raised over USD$85,000 and the treatment was a possibility.

Since her passing earlier this year, Tiff’s friends and family have honored her legacy and promote Tiff’s story to encourage young women who are not eligible for mammograms (which are ineffective on young women as the breast tissue is too dense) to learn how to check themselves for the early signs of breast cancer. The emotional connection that is elicited by Tiff’s story has prompted thousands of young women to learn how to check themselves and change their lifestyle to align with better preventative measures.