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Progress Blog 10 : Reflection

Throughout the course of this semester, this class has allowed me to maintain a better grasp on interconnected literacy between different cultures. It has taught me that literacy has a much bigger role in everyday life than I ever would have guessed, and it has given me insight into what a fandom can do for spreading literacy and how the individuals of a fandom can adapt their own sense of literacy practices in the way they interact with one another on the site. The forum of comments on each fandom’s accounts are my favorite area of research. The way the fans interact with each other and the artwork they create represents literacy events and contributes to the growth of the fandom as a whole. I really liked studying the way in which the fans encouraged each other to excel in the fandom, especially when they post a fan work and others show them appreciation for it. I like that the class has given me a bigger interest for discourse communities and how small or large groups of individuals can come together to create literacy.

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Progress Blog 9 : Final Essay

Writing the final essay was by far the most difficult part of the entire semester. At the same time however, it also proved to be the most interesting unit. It was intriguing getting to finally compile all of the data that I had worked all year to retrieve, into a final project. When I checked my surveys, I had new responses since the last unit, which was exciting for me to check out what others had to say in the interview. The final essay was tough to try and piece together all of the data and research I had studied over the year, without losing big chunks of it, but writing the conclusion allowed me to actually derive meaning from my findings. The conclusion was fun to write, although I ended up rewriting sections repeatedly, to accurately depict the findings I had come across. The final essay allowed me to take all of the research from before I even knew what an ethnographic study was, and create a larger work that explains all the findings I came across.

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Field Notes 5

This artifact is cool because it shows how the fandom stretches literacy practices into everyday life. By making fan art that is a phone lock screen, the creator has given the fandom a work of art that is something that can be seen multiple times a day for each person. A lock screen art piece is interesting because it will allow them to think about the show for a second, even if subconsciously, while aiming to do something else on their phone. Some of these four images are more noticeably as Grey’s Anatomy than others, although they all represent the show for different reasons.

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Artifact 5 : Simple pictures created as phone lock screens. Noticeably Grey’s Anatomy, even if simply a scalpel in one.

Grey’s Anatomy Lockscreens

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Field Notes 4

This fan art makes me happy because it is clear that the creator loves this friendship bond between two of the doctors on the show. The art shows the two girls close together, smiling and against a warm colored background. All of the elements are meant to convey uplifting emotions, as most fans really do like these two girls as best friends. The caption calls the two by their “ship name”, twisted sisters. It also had a joke pointed at the director of the show for “killing off all the good characters”. This entertains me because it is something that I saw a lot when researching this fandom. Many people pointedly say remarks about how the show will now be “filmed in heaven with the best characters” and so on. I like seeing that because it shows how the fans joke around with one another and make light of tough situations like when a character that is well liked passes away.

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Artifact 4 : Check the caption! Mentions the two character’s “ship name”, twisted sisters. This picture is of Meredith Grey and Christina Yang.

Nobody knows where they might end up…

Thank you, Shonda, for creating my favorite twisted sisters (y’know, besides killing everything I love).

Interested in a commission? Hit me up!

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Progress Blog 8 : Fan Works

Finding fan works and analyzing them was a lot more fun that I had thought. It was really exciting for me to look at the detail in all of the fan art. I started my photo essay off with about 15 pictures that I found from all sorts of accounts, through the tag “fan art” under Grey’s Anatomy”. It was interesting to see how much I could find in each photo to write about, which then allowed me to narrow down which ones had a deeper meaning or represented a literacy event well enough so that I could talk about it extensively. The creators of fan art are impressive to me, because they convey all that is said within a fan fiction or other fan works by putting together a photo almost like a puzzle, connecting different moments. The artists that create these pieces are wonderful at conveying an emotion in the art piece that allows others to enjoy it and interact with one another, “popcorn”ing ideas around.Those who create fan art and write fan fictions are incredibly talented, taking something that has happened in the show and rewriting bits of it or changing the scene to create a new story or artwork that exemplifies a part of the show for other fans to enjoy.

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Progress Blog 7 : Interview Process

Conducting the interview ended up being harder than I had originally thought. It was increasingly difficult to get respondents to the surveys, but once I messaged a lot of accounts individually, I had members that were able to help me out a lot. The questions I asked in the survey were questions regarding how the individual first got involved in Grey’s Anatomy fandom, and how they thought it may have changed them at all. I also asked if they felt there was literacy in the fandom and if they had ever created a work of fan art themselves. Although the answers were varied, they also were similar in a lot of ways. As promised to the individuals, I am keeping all of their information off of Tumblr to remain private, but I was just excited to get the results that I did. There has been a total of 6 respondents to the interview so far, which was more than I had hoped, so I think I got a good set of data. I am proud of myself for conducting this interview and super thankful for the help I received from those who answered it.

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Field Notes 3

I picked out this fan art because it is representative of the ship “MerDer”. This is arguably the most well-liked relationship by the fandom. Most of the fans love this relationship because of everything that this couple has been through, and how they have stuck with one another throughout the show. The candles represent when the couple finally decides to be together, as well as the outline of the house that they end up building together. The creator of this art used a popular scene from the show to design a work that represents this couple and what it means to them and many other fans. A large number of fans still create fan art of Derek Sheperd, even after his death in the show. The quote is from the couple, but from a different time. This photo has different details that incorporate different events in the relationship of the characters, and it is well thought out to weave them together in this art.

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Artifact 3 : This is a still from a scene within the show, but has been created into fan art.

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Interview Survey - Please Read!

Hi Tumblr! I am doing a study of the literacy found in the Grey’s Anatomy fandom for my English Composition class. I have created a quick 10 question survey and I would appreciate if some people could fill it out. I am trying to research literacy practices for this class project and this would help me out so much. All surveys will remain anonymous, only myself and my professor will see it. Thank you so much- contact me if you have any questions please! 

Here is the URL: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BNRVN77

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Field Notes 2

Artifact 2 is a cold read from the audition period of Grey’s Anatomy. I am impressed that fans were able to find this, much less that they remember the piece of script. I find this fascinating because it shows that fans really do reflect on the show as a whole, not just the acting within. This audition piece is how the actor T.R. Knight got cast in the show. Another thing I find interesting is that the person who posted this did not use the actor’s name. Instead they called it “Audition pages for George O’Malley” – the name of the character.

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Artifact 2 : I love that I was able to find this blog post. This is a good artifact because it reflects one of the much earlier times regarding the Grey’s cast.

Audition pages for George O'malley

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Progress Blog 6 : Ethical Study

When I do my interviews, the most important thing that I will remember is that I must explore the risks of doing interviews. I want to create an ethical study, so I have to perform the interview with an unbiased mindset regarding the show. If I leave my opinion out of my study, I will get much more accurate results from the fans themselves. In order to choose the participants of the interview fairly, I am looking for fans that have a good knowledge of the show. I want to interview someone with an active interest on Tumblr, so I know they are well involved in the fandom. Since it is an ethical study, any research I conduct will remain confidential so I do not put a participant at any risk of releasing information they do not want shared in conjunction with their name. I will make sure that all participants are well informed of the purpose of the study so that I may complete my final project for English 1302. Before the interview is started, it will be made clear to the participant that, should they feel uncomfortable, they reserve the right to discontinue the interview at any time.

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Field Notes 1

Artifact 1 is a fan picked “ship”, although it is not a ship that the fans made up. This is an actual couple in the show, but they are no longer together. Many fans added notes to the picture showing hearts or a sad face. By this, I can see that many of the fans liked when these characters were together, or that they are sad that they are now apart. I like that this is a shipped couple from the early on seasons, because it shows that fans look back on the show, or rewatch some of the episodes.

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Artifact 1 : This is a good example of a fan picked “ship”

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Progress Blog 5 : Research

In order to effectively research this fandom, I plan to do interviews so that I may get a better understanding from the fans themselves.  I want to research how fans interact with one another on Tumblr as well as the ways in which they talk about the show. I am also interested in learning about the forms of literacy they produce. For example, finding jokes or gifs that fans have created will let me study how literacy is shaped in a fandom. Up to this point, I have yet to find a fanfiction for the show Grey’s Anatomy, but I really hope to. I think the amount of time it takes for a fan to write that is impressive. That kind of commitment to the show is what I am looking for, it really makes it clear that a fandom can create their own literacy events based upon the show. I want to know from the fans if any of them feel as though Grey’s Anatomy has changed their life. If it is solely entertainment for them, that is fine as well, I just want to gather research. I will do my best to conduct research that gives me answers on what the show has done to provide a safe space for fans to create literacy works.