There
is a lot power in being a fan.
Lawrance Grossberg argues “fans
assume that they are always juvenile, waiting to grow up, and still enjoying
the irresponsibility of their fandom” (Grossberg 51). It is this theory of fandom that allows an individual
to connect with the very people, television show and or music that they
idolize. An example of fandom is clearly shown through the television phenomenon
Star
Trek. Fans of the television show Star Trek gather to express their
love and passion for the show by dressing up and performing rituals. Furthermore,
entire languages have been created based off of the show, and die-hard fans
actually teach this dialect and speak it at conventions. It is almost as if the
fans of Star Trek are their own race,
as they refer to themselves as “Trekkies.” Within Grossbergs article, “Is there
a Fan in there? The Affective Sensibility of Fandom” he suggests that fans are
irresponsible and juvenile, as they use texts to create and identity for
themselves, but are just part of a consumer culture. There is also something known as the pathological fan, which
can be viewed as an obsessed loner, meaning they are heavily under the
influence of the media and actually feel as if they have a personal
relationship with whom they idolize. Moreover, the pathological fan creates a
fantasy world in which they feel they are somehow connected to the celebrity
that they are obsessed with. They can create this fantasy world though means of
fan fiction. An example of this is how the novel Fifty Shades of Grey
began as a fan fiction rip-off of the works of Twilight. Secondly,
a pathological fan can be described as hysterical. This type of individual
looses all common sense around the source that they are a fan of and become so
deeply infatuated that they are out of control and may take place in mob-like
activities. Being a fan in today’s society is more then just simply enjoying a
piece of music or acting. This cultural act has transcended into the unhealthy
relationship between fan and star. It is a relationship that can be commodified
and taken advantage of through means of the media. As well, these individuals
appreciate certain art forms and want to desperately to be apart of it. Thus,
they create delusional relationships in order to belong.
Fan fiction has taken off with the growth of online sharing. Star Wars is another example of a "brand" that has a significant amount of fan fiction created around it. This is easily noted as LucusFilms - Star Wars was sold to Disney this past year for 4.05 billion dollars, this amount is notably so high because of the following of the Star Wars brand. George Lucus is aware of the buzz around his brand due to the amount of fan fiction created. Your example of Fifty Shades of Grey coming to be because of Twilight fan fiction is interesting, as it illustrates the shift in our society. If someone was to say fan fiction was silly, they just need to see the outcome that arouse for the creator of Fifty Shades. Do you think fan fiction can ever make a less worth less? Furthermore, does it ever give a brand a negative image? Or is all publicity good publicity?
ReplyDeleteJust to feed off of Val's comment. I think that publicity can give a brand less value. For example let's look at the music industry. When a band is fairly unknown only the true admirers or the original fans are the ones who know about it and support it. If a band diverges from their original genre for the sake of fame and money then their original value has declined, at least in the eyes of their true "original" fanbase. The value or the brand is therefore evolved and is no longer what it once used to be.
ReplyDelete