Fandoms Are More Than You Think

In today's society, it is completely acceptable to dress up as a wookie, trekkie, or robot, and attend conventions with many others that are doing the same as you. This is what is known as fandom. People who are regular watchers of popular television shows often become radically involved with the show and often let it overflow into their daily lives. Social media allows for such behavior to be shared and encouraged by others. With Vine and Youtube, fans can create small videos to show their enthusiasm for shows such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, or many of the superhero movies. While there are many suspicions as to why this has become the norm, I believe it is easily explained.

Firstly, let's consider BatDad. A popular Vine user that creates short, seven second videos usually involving his children. He makes everyday happenings into short narrations using his best Batman voice. Suddenly, "Don't throw your food on the floor" sounds a lot more interesting! BatDad easily became one of the most popular Vine accounts, while never letting his true identity out. His large fan base could most likely be attributed to the amount of superhero fans as well as users that enjoy comedy and kids. In this case, his fandom of Batman resulted in his putting on a mask and being comedic for the general public, and social media allowed him to do so. He went from spectating Batman to becoming Batman. Henry Jenkins III discusses in his article, Star Trek, Rerun, Reread, Rewritten: Fan Writing as Textual Poaching the stereotypes associated with fandoms, Star Trek especially. He states, "One becomes a fan not by  being a regular viewer of a particular program but by translating that viewing into some type of cultural activity..." (Jenkins, p. 4). By making a social media account to share one's activity, people like BatDad are becoming fans, thus having the ability to share with others .

Another example of fandom is cosplay, which is simply defined by "dressing up and pretending to be a fictional character" (Urban Dictionary). With conventions like ComicCon, it allows fans to become the character as well. People take ComicCon extremely seriously too. It's not looked at as some childish event to go to, instead people will spend months preparing for it. With 999,783 posts under #comiccon and over 6 million for #cosplay, there a copious amounts of fans in relation to shows, video games, and specific characters. Social media allows these fans to post and share how their costume is coming or which convention they will be at. It is a way for fans to create value in relation to their fandom. The authors of Spreadable Media discuss how sharing and spreading everyday activities will attract new people within social networks. "Each new viewer that these practices draw to the program could, in theory, translate into greater economic value (exchange) for media companies and advertisers" (Jenkins et al, Ch. 3). It becomes a win-win for all parties involved. Fans get to share, shows gain recognition, media companies and advertisers have increased economic value, and new people are converted to the fandom every time it happens. While fandom might seem strange to someone who does not care about movies in an in-depth manner, it is actually quite an amazing community.

Sherlock fans are some of the most die-hard fans around. Whether it's attributed to the attractiveness of Benedict Cumberbatch or the clever wit of the story line, the fans of Sherlock are force to reckoned with. On Tumblr, a popular social media platform, users contribute pictures and GIFs of the characters from the show as well as their predictions as to what might happen in the future. This allows the fans to have creativity in regards to the show, something that social media is great at. Social media is open to everyone's creativity In The Social Media Reader, Henry Jenkins discusses what happens when grassroots creativity meets the media industry. "Like the older folk culture of quilting bees and barn dances," continues Jenkins, "this new vernacular culture encourages broad participation, grassroots creativity, and bartering or gift economy" (Mandiberg, Ch. 15). Although Jenkins is discussing it at a higher caliber, I think the individuals on Tumblr are taking advantage of the movement towards a participatory online society as well.

In relation to fandom, it is easy to see why people would want to be so engulfed in a show or character. There is a large community and many supporters of the numerous fandoms. No matter if it is BatDad, cosplay, Sherlock, or any others, the reasons for being an enthusiastic fan is to join others like you, show creativity in person and online, and being in a participatory community. I know that these are not reasons for everyone to go be part of a fandom, but for many, it is exactly what they need.

Works Cited

Jenkins, Henry, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green. Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

Jenkins III, Henry. "Star Trek Rerun, Reread, Rewritten: Fan Writing As Textual Poaching." Critical Studies In Mass Communication5.2 (1988): 85-107. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 11 June 2015.

Mandiberg, Michael. The Social Media Reader. New York: New York UP, 2012. Print.