DEGREES OF FANDOM: AUTHENTICITY & HIERARCHY IN THE AGE OF MEDIA CONVERGENCE

Abstract

Although interest in fandom studies have grown in recent decades, there remain core issues that are under-addressed, including attempts to theorize about fandom in a general way (as opposed to focusing on individual communities) and the influence of transmedia elements on existing fan structures and hierarchies. This study explored the ways that fans engage with particular texts and the ways that they engage with one another. Specifically, it considered (1) what it means to be an "authentic" fan, (2) how hierarchies are established within and between fan communities, and (3) the impact that the changing nature of mediated storytelling has on both authenticity and hierarchy. A combination of 25 in-depth semi-structured interviews and participant observation in both an online (TelevisionWithoutPity.com) and offline (Comic-Con International) setting were used to explore these issues. This study uncovered the following: (1) a continuum of fandom, ranging from the non-fan or casual fan at one extreme to the "too big" fan at the other, with several variants on the levels of fandom in between. Participants indicated that there was a point at which one's fandom can become "too big" or go "to far" and the behaviors associated with that level of fandom are less desirable; (2) participants identified several markers used to decide the size of one's fandom: cost, effort exerted, socializing, knowledge, and quoting. Within fan communities, participants pointed to official authority, investment, cultural capital and social capital as means of hierarchy creation. Between fan communities, divisions were established in one of three ways. Participants either differentiated between communities based on the object of fandom itself, based on the behavior of fans common to that group, or based on the medium applicable to that community. Demographic markers such as age and gender were applicable both when referring to the status within fan communities and between them. In keeping with common stereotypes outside fandom, women and young people were commonly highlighted as belonging to lower-status fandoms or engaging in behavior seen as less desirable; (3) participants presented both positive attributes of multiplatform media content or critiques of it or a combination thereof. This research contributes to fandom studies in three ways: (1) by suggesting that hierarchies do indeed exist, and that preferred placement within them is variable, (2) by focusing on multiple, diverse fan communities, as opposed to singular fandoms or communities related to them, and (3) by introducing a sliding scale of levels of fandom on which one can map and access fan behavior and activity, a concept new to the field. It also contributes to Bourdieu's theory of capital by establishing that social capital played a significant role in hierarchy construction.