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Henry Jenkins - fandom blog tasks

 Henry Jenkins - fandom blog tasks


The following tasks will give you an excellent introduction to fandom and also allow you to start exploring degree-level insight into audience studies. Work through the following:

Factsheet #107 - Fandom

Read Media Factsheet #107 on Fandom. Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) or log into your Greenford Google account to access the link. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What is the definition of a fan?
‘Fans’ of a media text in the sense that we like them and consume them regularly, but is not the same as being a Fan. Fans have a devotion that goes beyond simply consuming the media text.

2) What the different types of fan identified in the factsheet?
There are hardcore fans, newbies and anti-fan.
Hard core fans spend a lot of time and often money becoming hard core fans and take pride in how long they've been a fan. Newbies are new fans and do not have the same amount of devotion as hard core fans. ‘Anti-fans’ are those which identify themselves with media texts but negatively so;they loathe or hate the text but unlike ‘true’ fans they do not form their relationship
with a text through close readings, they develop their emotional attachment.

3) What makes a ‘fandom’?
Fandoms are subcultures within which fans experience and share a sense of camaraderie with each other and engage in particular practices of their given fandom. Fandoms can be narrowly defined and can focus on something like an individual celebrity, or be more widely defined, encompassing entire hobbies, genres or fashions.

4) What is Bordieu’s argument regarding the ‘cultural capital’ of fandom?

Bourdieu argues a kind of ‘cultural capital’ which confers a symbolic power and status for the fan, especially within the realm of their fandom.

5) What examples of fandom are provided on pages 2 and 3 of the factsheet?
Liverpool fan room with:
  •  duvet
  •  cover
  •  wallpaper 

6) Why is imaginative extension and text creation a vital part of digital fandom?

Fans use the original media texts and get creative and innovative with the material. Crawford suggests that it is this which distinguishes fans from ordinary consumers. They engage in diverse activities such as ‘the production of websites, mods and hacks, private servers, game guides, walkthroughs and FAQs, fan fiction and forms of fan art, fan vids’ all of which have been aided by digital technology.


Henry Jenkins - degree-level reading

Read the final chapter of ‘Fandom’ – written by Henry Jenkins (note: link may be blocked in school - try this Google Drive link if you need it.) This will give you an excellent introduction to the level of reading required for seminars and essays at university as well as degree-level insight into our current work on fandom and participatory culture. Answer the following questions:

1) There is an important quote on the first page: “It’s not an audience, it’s a community”. What does this mean?
This means that new digital media is less about marketing to an audience and more about connecting people. 

2) Jenkins quotes Clay Shirky in the second page of the chapter. Pick out a single sentence of the extended quote that you think is particularly relevant to our work on participatory culture and the ‘end of audience’ (clue – look towards the end!)

Everyone is a media outlet in the internet era, so there is no such thing as a passive consumer. Some refer to them as "media-actives," implying that compared to earlier generations, they are far more likely to demand the opportunity to participate in the media franchise.

3) What are the different names Jenkins discusses for these active consumers that are replacing the traditional audience?
  • "Media actives"
  • "prosumers"
  • “inspirational consumers' 
  • “connectors” 
  •  “influences

4) On the third page of the chapter, what does Wired editor Chris Anderson suggest regarding the economic argument in favour of fan communities?
Anderson argues that investing in niche properties with small but committed consumer bases may
make economic sense if you can lower costs of production and replace marketing costs by building a much stronger network with your desired consumers.

5) What examples does Jenkins provide to argue that fan culture has gone mainstream?
The primary example provided is that fan culture is now ultimately dominant in the media and is no longer inherently linked to the stereotypical "geeky" fan. For instance, the creation of media texts and the direction of media content are greatly influenced by the opinions and preferences of fans.

6) Look at the quote from Andrew Blau in which he discusses the importance of grassroots creativity. Pick out a sentence from the longer quote and decide whether you agree that audiences will ‘reshape the media landscape from the bottom up’.
"A new generation of media creators and consumers is coming of age, and this could fundamentally alter the way that media is produced and consumed."I think that a lot of the decisions made by producers are now influenced by the public because there are so many outlets available for individuals to voice their opinions regarding media productions.

7) What does Jenkins suggest the new ideal consumer is?
They used to be the ones who watched television, bought products and didn't talk back, passively consuming. whereas now its the ones who offer ideas and opinions on how to improve the product, a person who "talks up the program and spreads word about the brand."

8) Why is fandom 'the future'?

Fandom is the way of the future because fans are the ones who start the "hype" about their favourite products on social media and create fanbases—groups of people—that eventually draw in more people and increase the size of the product's fan base, which increases its success.

9) What does it mean when Jenkins says we shouldn’t celebrate ‘a process that commodifies fan cultural production’?Because fans are not compensated for their work, larger media organisations take advantage of the things that they make, so we shouldn't support this kind of conduct.


10) Read through to the end of the chapter. What do you think the future of fandom is? Are we all fans now? Is fandom mainstream or are real fan communities still an example of a niche media audience?Fandom and the concept of being a fan have, in my opinion, become much more popular, as the article makes clear. Adoration is nearly a trend in many aspects for example is the marvel community 

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