Fan Sterotypes and the Rooster Teeth Fandom

“How are stereotypes of ‘the fan’ and fandom reinforced and/or subverted within the Rooster Teeth community?”

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Bibliography

Duffett, M (2013). Understanding Fandom: An Introduction to the Study of Media Fan Culture. London; Bloomsbury.

Hall, S (1973). Encoding and Decoding in the Television Discourse. Birmingham, University of Birmingham.

Hills , M (2002). Fan Cultures. Oxon; Routledge.

Jenkins, H (1992). Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture. London; Routledge.

Jenkins, H (2006). Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture. New York; New York University Press.

MacDonald, A (n/a). Uncertain Utopia: Science Fiction Media Fandom and Computer Mediated Communication. In Harris, C, and Alexander, A (1998). Theorizing Fandom: Fans, Subculture and Identity. Cresskill; Hampton Press.

Sandvoss, C (2005). Fans: The Mirror of Consumption. Cambridge; Polity Press.

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Topic and Issue of Debate

Fans can get quite a bad rep in the media. This essay will look at the Rooster Teeth fandom to see whether fan stereotypes are ‘justified’ by contemporary fan behavior, and aim to challenge these sereotyped and the negative pathologisation of fans by showing how fandom can be a positive community and fans ideal members of a community.

I have chosen Rooster Teeth has they have a large, active fan base on sites such as Tumblr that I participate in, giving me a potential auto-ethnographic advantage to my research.

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Methodology

Critical Discourse Analysis 

Look for ways fans are portrayed in media texts and creating a list of stereotypes, building on ones that theorists like Jenkins (1992) have identified.

Virtual Ethnography 

Study Rooster Teeth fandom on social media (i.e. Tumblr) to find examples of when fans have enforced or subverted these stereotypes through their actions, and to see what other fans say about the actions of other fans to understand what fans see as ‘acceptable’ and ‘unacceptable’ fan behaviours.

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Theoretical Frameworks

Fandom and fan theory

- Definition of ‘fan’ (Duffett, 2013; Jenkins, 1992; my experience)

-Pathologisation of fans in media (’Othering’, stereotypes)

Audience theory 

- Active audience (Encoding/Decoding - Hall, 1973; fans as poachers - Jenkins, 1992)

- Multi-fandom fans (Jenkins, 1992 discussing Hall)

Participatory online media

- Internet’s effect on fandom (Jenkins, 2006; Duffett, 2013)

- How fans use the internet to facilitate fandom participation (Jenkins, 1992; Jenkins, 2006; Duffett, 2013)