#nahtazu

[ramosjorgea92]

Babygirl💕#AnimalKingdom #Nahtazu 🐯

[rtffanculture]

Considering fan culture as only affirmational or transformative traditionally implies a gendered difference between the two: affirmational fan practices are masculine and transformative fan practices are feminine, with a few studied outliers. By doing this, scholars ignore the modes of fan production that are a combination of both and the fans who eschew the gender/fan practice binary.

In “Everyday Costume: Feminized Fandom, Retail, and Beauty Culture,” Elizabeth Affuso examines fan make-up as a feminine affirmational fan practice which further divides fan culture into gendered stereotypes. Studying feminine affirmational fan practices as an outlier both removes men and nonbinary fans from these outlier practices, but also disincentives female fans from participating in other affirmational fan practices. Studying only female make-up buyers erases fans who participate in other modes of affirmational fan practices such as  collecting or memorizing trivia. Using make-up and fan fashion as the feminine modes of affirmational fan engagement removes female fans who operate outside the more feminine structure these practices create. Female fans who do not wear make-up would barely be considered as affirmational fans by enforcing this binary.

Another form of fan practice similarly positioned against the affirmational-transformative binary is cosplay, especially gender bent cosplay. Cosplay as a concept is generally affirmational, creating the most accurate physical representation of the original character does nothing to question the source text. However, even non-gender bent cosplay can become transformational when the source text does not provide enough information to creators. For example, cosplays of characters from non-visual texts such as books or podcasts are often either representations of a fan’s idea of a character or based on popular fan art. These costumes act both as affirmational by keeping the original character to the best of the fan’s ability, and transformative by adding details not represented in the text. Cosplay moves even further into transformative fan practice when gender bent cosplay and other types of cosplay reinterpretation are considered. These costumes present a character as a different gender, in a different era, mixed with another character, or humanized from a non-human source. By reinterpreting characters, these cosplays change the source in a way similar to fan artists or vid creators. Both fan groups use their art form as a way to change a text to fit their own needs.

Affuso, Elizabeth. “Everyday Costume: Feminized Fandom, Retail, and Beauty Culture.” The Routledge Companion to Media Fandom, by Melissa A. Click and Suzanne Scott, Routledge, 2018, pp. 184-192.

[rtffanculture]

In “Toward an ecology of vidding,” Tisha Turk and Joshua Johnson argue that in fan communities fan vid creators act not only as fans of a text, but also as creators with fans of their own. Studying vids and creators as ecologies allows greater understanding of fans as communities outside of the texts they are fans of. This is especially prevalent in the theme park fan community as it relates to rides or experiences that are currently closed.

The vid I have chosen is the “Journey Into Imagination” episode of Defunctland, a video essay series chronicling the history of extinct theme park rides. This video chronologically details the history of the ride Journey Into Imagination from concept to release and eventually to its closure.

When a text can no longer be accessed or experienced, the only source of fandom comes from the media produced by fan communities. While a modern incarnation of Journey Into Imagination exists in the park today, the only traces of its original storyline and world beloved by fans are in easter eggs hidden in the new ride, and a shared theme song. This leaves any continuation of the fandom to the fans who experienced the ride, and the generation inspired by those fans. Defunctland acts as a catalyst for fandom by bringing fans together under a new text. Theme park fans who visited the ride can reminisce and discuss their experiences, while newer fans can discover parts of the fandom they would otherwise be unable to take part in.

Defunctland also creates its own ecology within the larger theme parks fandom. As a content creator, Kevin Perjurer, creator of Defunctland, has developed his own fandom around the videos and history of defunct theme park attractions. This manifests itself in Defunctland merchandise, discussion boards for both episode discussion and discussion of other extinct rides, and a Defunctland book. What started as a fan work has developed a fandom of its own. Fans of Defunctland my not be fans of individual rides featured in the series, but are drawn to the style or general topic of the essays. Study of Defunctland as only a piece of theme park fan video erases the fans brought to the fandom through these videos and the unique fandom of the videos. This video connects the Defunctland fandom to the Journey Into Imagination fandom, the Yesteworld fandom with a companion piece on that channel, and the larger theme park fandoms from there.

[rtffanculture]

In the opening of Henry Jenkins’ “‘Get a Life!’: Fans, Poachers, and Nomads” Jenkins uses a Saturday Night Live sketch to examine how fans are often portrayed in popular media. He observes how stereotypes presented in the sketch are used to look down on fans, specifically the idea that fans “devote their lives to the cultivation of worthless knowledge,” memorizing minute details in Star Trek episodes (Jenkins 10). Jenkins argues that there are more to fans than their portrayal in the media.

I have chosen a segment from Conan, Conan O’Brien’s late night talkshow, taped from San Diego Comic-Con 2017. In this segment, Conan parodies small Comic-Con panels with specific and bizarre topics such as “Stan Lee’s Greatest Typos.” 

The Conan segment supports Jenkins’ arguments against early criticism of fans by showing the result of acceptance of fans as media consumers. Unlike the “Get A Life” sketch Jenkins analyzes, Conan’s segment gives a more positive stance on fans and even appeals to them. While the SNL sketch demeans the fan practice of accumulation of specific knowledge or trivia, Conan uses the stereotype to tell jokes fans themselves are more likely to appreciate. He makes fun of the content of the panels in general, not the participants and fans. Unlike in the era of early fan studies, media producers are more open to engaging positively with fans. A major television show broadcasting from comic-con is a sign of faith from the studio that fan interests and efforts are seen as more acceptable in wider spaces. Once media producers move past pathologizing fans, they can be embraced as dedicated consumers and advertisers of a text.

Jenkins, Henry. Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture. Routledge, 2013.

[willrunfordisney]

It’s going to be 💯+ degrees this week in Boston so if you’ll excuse me I’m going to hide in the shade (and AC) like these 🦒🦒🦒 * * * * * * * * #willrunfordisney #dak #disneysanimalkingdom #animalkingdom #nahtazu #kilimanjarosafari #giraffe #twiga #jambo #waltdisneyworld #waltdisneyworldresort #wdwresort #wdw #disneyworld #disneyworldresort #disneyside #disneystyle #instadisney #disneygram #disneyphoto #animalsofdisney #wdwap #wdwannualpassholder #wdwbestdayever #wdwbde #disney #disneyblogger (at Disney's Animal Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm_gsECA5Dx/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=uala69h2adsk

[willrunfordisney]

Happy 20th Birthday, #DAK! 🌿🐾 “Welcome to a kingdom of animals...real, ancient and imagined: a kingdom ruled by lions, dinosaurs and dragons; a kingdom of balance, harmony, and survival; a kingdom we enter to share in the wonder, gaze at the beauty, thrill at the drama, and learn.” 🍃 • Disney’s Animal Kingdom takes my breath away every time I visit, and I hope it continues to inspire children and adults alike in the next 20 years! • • • #willrunfordisney #disney #disneysanimalkingdom #dak #nahtazu #disneyanimalkingdom20 #animalkingdom #waltdisneyworld #wdw #instadisney #disneygram #disneylife (at Disney's Animal Kingdom)

[thedisneyfox-blog]

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natures.beauty Not everything about this place is wild. You'll find a harmonious blend of the gracefully sweet, the cuddly, the majestic and the powerful here at the place that's nahtazu! _____________________________________________ #animalkingdom #nahtazu #wild #waltdisneyworld #disneyworld #WDW #disney #disneygram #instadisney #disneyparks #iPhonepic #fd101look #disneyland #dlr #disneylove #disneyside #disneyphoto #igers_wdw #disneymagic #featuremydisney #disneylife #ilovedisney #disneypics #disneygram #unforgettablehappenshere #mydisneylife (at Disney's Animal Kingdom)

[fanofmickey]

Happy Birthday to Disney’s Animal Kingdom! I was able to visit the park less than a month after its opening. Hope you enjoy these images from when the park was in its infancy.