Full Description
Fandom has been celebrated both as a harmonious, tolerant space and as apolitical and detached from reality. Yet fandom is neither harmonious nor apolitical. Throughout the past century, fandom has been shaped by recurring controversies and sparked by the emergence of new circles, platforms and discourses.
Since the earliest days of science-fiction fandom, fans have conceived of their communities as quasi-political bodies, and of themselves as public actors in discursive spaces. They are concerned with the organizational structures, norms, and borders of fandom as well as their own position within it all.
This latter concern has moved to the forefront as fan practices and platforms have been coopted by the entertainment industry and by political actors, forcing fans to situate their fannish and political identities in relation to both sprawling transmedia franchises and right-wing groups exploiting fannish formations for political ends. Through case studies of Glee and The Hunger Games fandoms as well as events such as Gamergate, RaceFail '09 and the Hugo Awards controversies, this book explores the complexities of political fandom.
Contents
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Fandom Divided: An Introduction
Platforms and Conventions: (Hi)stories of Conflict and Community
1. "Preserving harmony in all the fan field": The Great Exclusion, the Breen Boondoggle and the Debate Over Community
2. "For the first time, we got to do some shouting back": RaceFail '09, or: Journal-Based Fandom as Alternative Public Sphere
3. "Yep, the Hugo award might be RUINED!": Geek Masculinity, Puppygate and the Reputation of the Hugo Awards
Fiction and Reality: Between Transmedia Marketing and Social Critique
4. "A Loser Like Me": A Community of Outsiders, Fan Activism and Transmedia Marketing in Glee Fandom
5. "We Are the Districts": Fans' Reactions to Lionsgate's Hunger Games Transmedia Marketing Campaign
The State of Fandom: An Outlook
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
