26/01/2018 View of Fandom meets activism: Rethinking civic and political participation | Transformative Works and Cultures

 Fandom meets activism: Rethinking civic and political participation

Theory
Fandom meets activism: Rethinking civic and political
participation
Melissa M. Brough and Sangita Shresthova

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States

[0.1] Abstract—Fan activism lies at the intersection of cultural and political participation. The study of fan
activism can inform our understanding of contemporary collective action more broadly. We suggest four
key areas for analysis: the relationships between cultural and political participation; the tension between
participation and resistance in the context of fan activism; affect and the role of content worlds in civic
and political mobilization; and evaluation of the impacts of fan activism. By drawing on work across
several disciplines including media studies and social movement literature, the analysis of fan activism
through these lenses offers insights for theorizing contemporary cultures and modes of collective action.

[0.2] Keywords—Affect; Civic engagement; Consumer citizenship; Content worlds; Evaluation; Fandom;
Narrative; Participatory culture; Social movements

Brough, Melissa M., and Sangita Shresthova. 2012. "Fandom Meets Activism: Rethinking Civic and
Political Participation." In "Transformative Works and Fan Activism," edited by Henry Jenkins and
Sangita Shresthova, special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 10.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2012.030.

[1.1] Fan and consumer activism are more visible than ever before, and the lines between these and
traditional civic and political activities are blurring in today's increasingly "participatory" media and
entertainment landscape. How might research on fandom and participatory cultures inform our
understanding of contemporary forms of civic and political action? As we considered responses to this
question across various disciplines, we confronted some recurrent themes and debates about how fandom
and participatory entertainment cultures influence and at times reshape our understanding of civic and
political mobilization.

[1.2] First, we explore the intersections of cultural and political participation; second, the tension between
participation and resistance in the context of fan activism; third, the role of affect and of content worlds in
mobilizing civic participation; and finally, how to assess the impact of fan activism or fanlike
mobilizations. We argue that these four areas of analysis not only help us to further theorize fan activism,
but also highlight several ways in which the study of fan activism can inform theorizing of contemporary
civic and political action more broadly. Throughout, we emphasize the applicability of existing
scholarship on contemporary social movements—a body of work that has been underutilized in fan studies
—for the analysis of fan activism. Conversely, we urge social movement scholars to explore the fertile but
understudied terrain of fan and fanlike forms of civic and political participation.

2. Setting the stage: Key concepts and definitions

[2.1] Fans are typically understood to be individuals who engage deeply with, and often assert their
identity through, popular culture content. Fan activities commonly include writing or producing pop-
culture related content such as fan fiction or remixed videos ("vids"), self-publishing analyses of media
content, role-playing, and organizing conventions or other fan group activities (Hellekson and Busse 2006;
Jenkins 1992). Groups of individuals constitute a fandom through interest-driven affiliations, forming a
sense of collective or subcultural identity around shared tastes.

[2 2] Traditionally activism is understood to be intentional action to challenge existing hegemonies and

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