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[rtffanculture]

Affirmation vs. Transformational Fan Engagement

Within fan studies binaries form around the mode of fan engagement and categorize these modes under either transformative or affirmative practices. In Lincoln Geraghty’s piece “Masculine Pursuits?: Gender, Generation, and the Fan Collector,” he discusses the act of fan collecting, the role of nostalgia and provides gendered examples of collecting. He concludes that, “What appears to be important in this process is not the fact either men or women collect things or that the things they collect are different depending on their gendered identity. It is that both men and women use the past as an arena for self-identification and recall moments from childhood through the collection and preservation of physical objects,” (Geraghty 11).

I can agree with this conclusion and feel that demarcating between affirmational and transformative modes of engagement limits the discussion of gender and fan culture. In the piece, Geraghty mentions, “From collecting old vinyl records to customizing an old car, those who relive their childhood through consumption and nostalgia for a previous generation are predominantly men,” (Geraghty 6). While this statement might be true, I do not believe it aides in the discussion of gender and fan culture.

As a personal example my father had a collection of vinyl records from his youth that he gave to me, his daughter. I have since built upon his collection with a collection of my own as a way to smooth the generational gap and for nostalgic reasons also. My dad could have given his records to my brother and this discussion would fall in line with the binaries that have been established. My brother would have been engaging in an affirmational practice and might even be seen as a “boy-man” as described in the article if he would have been the primary collector, (Geraghty 6). However, even though my brother and I fall into the same categories in regards to class and racial status we would not be analyzed in the same way for this situation. I would push against the general idea of an affirmational male collector and represent some form of discourse even though the reasons behind the collecting may be the same.

Later in the piece Geraghty says, “Vinyl record collecting can be seen as part of the music fan's mission to protect their object of affection from the perceived threat of mainstream music, commercialization and new formats of musical recording. The record collection "not only embodies personal history, it also represents the original historical artifact…,”(Geraghty 7). I believe the feeling of nostalgia or personal history is important to fan studies and transcends the binary. The main focus of the study gets lost when restricting fan studies to the two modes of engagement. I think looking instead at commonalities and differences between levels of class among fans might be a more productive discussion.

Work Cited

Geraghty, Lincoln. "Masculine Pursuits?: Gender, Generation, and the Fan Collector." Cult Collectors: Nostalgia, Fandom and Collecting Popular Culture. N.p.: n.p., 2014. N. pag. Print.

[rtffanculture]

Fan Representations

Joli Jensen’s piece, “Fandom as Pathology: The Consequences of Characterization,” focuses on fans and the negative stereotypes usually associated with their behavior. In the episode “Boyz 4 Now” from Bob’s Burgers, the two categories of fans Jensen describes take center stage. In the episode, Louise Belcher and her sister Tina attend a concert for the boyband Boyz 4 Now. Louise does not associate herself as a fan or indulge in the group and their fandom, but that changes after she attends the concert and sees the group.

Both types of fans, “the obsessed individual” and “the hysterical crowd,” come to life in the episode (Jensen, 9). Wider shots of the sisters in the audience shed light on the “hysterical crowd” and the other female characters standing nearby crying and screaming for the boyband. Jensen describes the image of a female frenzied fan as, “sobbing and screaming and fainting, and assumes that an uncomfortable erotic energy is sparked by the chance to see or touch a male idol,” (Jensen, 15). Each of these is exhibited in the episode including fainting, which Tina’s character experiences as her and Louise enter the venue for the concert.  

Jensen says, “that 'mass man' could all too easily become a victim of 'mass persuasion: And under the spell of propaganda, emotions could be whipped into frenzies, publics could become crowds and crowds could become mobs,” (Jensen, 15). This reflects Louise’s transformation from a nonfan into an obsessed “mass man.” After some time at the concert and surrounding herself with other devoted fans Louise becomes persuaded to buy into this fandom. Her emotions get the best of her and she turns into another fan in the crowd. Jensen depicts the loner as someone whose, “life becomes increasingly dominated by an irrational fixation on a celebrity figure, a perverse attachment that dominated his or her otherwise unrewarding existence,” (Jensen, 15). Louise becomes fixated following the concert with the idea of getting to Boo Boo, the figure of her affection. Her and Tina go as far as sneaking into the band’s tour bus just so Louise can eventually slap Boo Boo.

While the episode focuses on many fan stereotypes I believe they do this as a vehicle for Louise’s developing emotions as a young female. In the show, Louise comes across as being insensitive and unemotional at times. However, by showing her vulnerability within the fan community she eventually becomes overcome with the same emotions as other fans. She develops new emotions that the Bob’s Burgers’ audience has yet to see from her character. This illustrates Louise’s jump from “us” to “them” that Jensen describes. She no longer feels reluctance towards the boyband but instead becomes one of the “others” she criticized before. Her joining of this group comes with taking on new emotions which grows her as a character and a fan.

 Works Cited

Jensen, Joli. "Fandom as Pathology: The Consequences of Characterization." The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media. Ed. Lisa A. Lewis. London: Routledge, 1992. N. pag. Print.

CuernoDeChivo1980. "Bobs Burgers." YouTube. YouTube, 29 Aug. 2014. Web. 11 Sept. 2016.

[rtffanculture]

Best Practices for Studying Fans

I have chosen to take a look at Rebecca Wanzo’s piece “African Amercian acafandom and other strangers: new genealogies of fan studies.” Her discussion of race in fan studies as it relates to African Americans and the need to explore further into the areas of racial intersection caused me to wonder what other directions fan studies should expand to.

In her piece, Wanzo mentions the punk community and how, “the anger expressed in punk music speaks to [African American] identity, and perhaps their black identity specifically, which demonstrates the way many texts hail people ideologically,” (Wanzo, 2.7). I think this example of punk music strongly explains how some fandoms can be filled with diverse fans yet the research does not depict this. An example I feel relates to this is the Jane the Virgin fandom. The show heavily centers around Latinos/Latinas but also focuses on issues regarding sexuality and class. Characters identity not only as Latin but some also identify as gay which creates an intersectionality that might draw in a segment of fans in the same way that Wanzo describes some African Americans being drawn towards punk.

By not delving further into discussions of race across fan studies we leave out not only African Americans, but also people of Latin, Asian and Middle Eastern descent along with others. The discussion of race also can filter down into talking about gender, class, or sexuality because these issues present themselves uniquely within each of their communities and should not always be thrown under the umbrella of normative white fandom. Scholars should not only push for more current racial studies but also for historical racial studies. Wanzo mentions in her piece the response of African Americans to the film Gone with the Wind (1939) and later with The Color Purple (1985). These historical fan studies can provide insight into how current fans who identify as racially “other” interact and react to moments within the media and their fandoms. Reusing the Jane the Virgin example, older Latin fans who were once enamored by the Spanish novella might view Jane the Virgin from a different perspective or may identify differently with the fandom. 

As I have mentioned before however, these studies should be about more than simply African Americans. The best option would try to be inclusive of other races or “identity hermeneutics” as Wanzo describes, that can be the center point for discussion. The issue with including other identities however becomes the need to include everyone and everything. I think a steady and constant push towards including different or multiple identity hermeneutics could have a great effect on fan studies.

Work Cited

Wanzo, Rebecca. “African American Acafandom and Other Strangers: New Genealogies of Fan Studies”. Transformative Works and Cultures, vol. 20, 2015, http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/699/538 Accessed 4 Sep. 2016.