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Blog Entry Week 1 Obsession/immersion

I have always had a predisposition to obsessively enjoy media. From a very young age if I enjoyed something I very easily became consumed by it and found myself completely immersed. An early instance of this would be my love for the Artemis Fowl book series, as a child I would constantly draw the characters and play ‘imaginary games’ where I would pretended to be in universe, often putting myself in the shoes of the female protagonist Holly Short. As an only child I spent a lot of time at home playing by myself, this I believe encouraged me to fall more into this make belive fictional world, which was more exciting than my own. It provided me an escape and I lived through Holly Short’s adventures.  I would describe myself a transformative fan, Scott (168) writes about transformative fans that they have a “longstanding sense of ownership over media texts” which leads to “fandoms transformative ethos”. This refers to how fans will change and edit texts to make it apply to them personally, for instance fan fiction that put fans favourite characters into different situations together. My way of being a transformative fan was to insert myself into the narratives through imaginary games and fan art.

As I got older and spent more time on the internet I discovered the website tumblrand quickly found blogs dedicated to subjects that I was also interested in such asHarry Potter and BBC Sherlock. Following these blogs quickly connected me to more things I would come to enjoy such as Supernaturaland Adventure Time.However most prominently I would discover an anime called Attack on Titanand quickly would become hooked on watching it, talking about it, making fan art and cos-playing one of the characters with my friend (whom I had forced to watch the show with me so I could talk about it to someone). As the years past I found myself growing distant from the fandom that I had been invested in as other things took its place, such as university and relationships.

I found that I no longer needed the obsessive love I had forAttack on Titan and the other fandoms I was a part of.  I believe this is because as I got older I started to become more confident in myself and more social and this in essence made me feel more complete without having to fill any loneliness I had with fandom participation.

However since my first class in the Fandom, Subculture and Cult Mediamodule I am studying, I have found that over the last week, since this class, I have been dipping more and more back into my old blog (sassyshovel) and am becoming increasingly reinvested in the shows I once loved, particularly Attack on Titan. I have been thinking about why I was so captivated by this text and why became so involved with it. Napier (2005, pg 226) suggests that cartoons of any type are “deliberately separated from reality”. A separation from reality at the time I first discovered Attack on Titanwould definitely be something I would have been glad of as I preparing for GCSE exams and was incredibly stressed at the time. This obvious separation from my undesirable reality is something I would have latched onto and welcomed. I would theorise that this is the same for a lot of audience members who become very attached to any anime series. The distance from reality that Napier describes is what appeals to the audience, thus fandom is born from people who are forming a community who on some level are enjoy the disassociation with todays society.

Bibliography

Adventure Time[Television Program] Pendleton Ward, Frederator Studios. USA. 13:00. 5 April 2010. Cartoon Network. 11mins.

Attack on Titan[Television Program] Wit Studio. Japan. 10:30. 6 April 2013. Mainichi Broadcasting System. 24 mins

Attack on Titan[Television Program] Wit Studio. Japan. 10:30. 22 April 2017. Crunchyroll. 24 mins

Eoin Colfer (2001) Artemis Fowl. Ireland. Viking Press

J. K. Rowling (1997) Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. England . Bloomsbury

Napier S. J. 2005. Anime: From Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Sherlock [television programme] BBC. UK.  21:00, 25 July 2010, BBC One, 88 mins

Siobhan Yavanna Marie Piercy (2012-2018) Sassyshovel [blog] Available at: http://sassyshovel.tumblr.com[Accessed 14thFebruary 2018]

Scott, S. 2015, “The moral economy of crowdfunding and the transformative capacity of fan-ancing”, New Media & Society, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 167-182.

Supernatural [television programme] Warner Bros. Television. USA. 20:00, 13 September 2005. The WB. 44 mins

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Ponyo 

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couple of spooky cuties i found when looking through my files! *:･ﾟ✧

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the peak of japanese minimalism is not so much highly exaggerated geometric architecture with natural lighting but it is: fully drawn and minimal alphonse elric 

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Blog Post Week 2 Gender and perception in anime fandom

This week I have been thinking about fan identity and why I, and others, sometimes feel ‘ashamed’ to admit to being a fan. Often I have found that my identity as a fan is something I am embarrassed about and try to conceal from my peers, while simultaneously wanting to make friends and form relationships with people who are also fans of similar texts as me. I think this is due to the negative connotations people have associated with fans. Jenkins (1992, pg14-15) suggests that there are two perceived images of fans, Burchill’s “fan in the attic” the obsessed, stalker-like figure (usually male) who leads an unfulfilling life worshiping their object of interest (be it television show, idol or franchise). The second image she describes is the feminine screaming fan girl, often sexualised or considered stupid. Neither of these images are positive and although Jenkins does not subscribe to them being the only two types of fan it is hard to argue that they are not the most dominant ideologies of a fan that are portrayed in media. He references fans being associated with the hysteria that can be caused by celebrity saying that “news reports frequently characterize fans as psychopaths whose frustrated fantasies of intermit relationships with stars … take violent of anti-social forms”(pg13) Although I would suggest that this, being written in 1992 is largely out-dated a similarly negative, if somewhat less extreme discourse still exists around contemporary fan practices.

The negative connotation of being a fan is what I believe makes it ‘embarrassing’ to be associated with the label. However I feel like there are certain fan groups that it is socially acceptable to be a part of and others that its not. For instance I have found that it is more acceptable to be a fan of Sailor Moon than it is of Naruto. Even though both of these anime/manga series are of Japanese origin and where started in the same decade, are part of the fantasy genre and are hugely popular, it is seen as seen as much more ‘nerdy’ and uncool to be a fan of Naruto, in my experience. I would suggest the reason this is the case would be that Naruto is primarily aimed at males where as Sailor Moon is primarily targeted at females. My experience if this is that as a female fan of a ‘feminine’ anime that its ‘acceptable’ for me to enjoy it as it is dismissed as ‘girly’ and ‘cute’ where as I have observed my male friends who are fans of anime be considered ‘babyish’ and ‘immature’ by there peers, this leads me to believe liking anime have negative connotations for males that I don’t believe exist as strongly (although there are also stigmas) for women. I would theorise that this is because men are in the eyes of society are ‘supposed to be ‘masculine’ and ‘tough’ and being a fan of anime does not fit into the frame work of this ideology. I think that this is an out-dated way of thinking and in this social climate of being more accepting of people and defying stereo-types there is a shift in the discourse around fandom I would suggest that it is ‘more acceptable’ to be a fan in todays society, yet its still seen as uncool to be an ‘obvious fan’.

Bibliography

Jenkins, H. (1992). ‘“Get a Life!” Fans, Poachers, Nomads” in Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture. London: Routledge pg13-15

Sailor Moon [television program]Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, Japan, March 7 1992, TV Asahi, 30mins

Naruto [television Program] Hayato Date, Pierrot, Japan, October 3 2002, TXN, 25 mins

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happy hell day

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spectacular!

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by  paperbeatstweet

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Blog Post 3 Cosplay

In our lesson about subcultures we learn about how people use style to express their personal views, beliefs and interests. This caused me to reflect on my own experiences with this. Initially I thought that expressing my hobbies through style was something that I had ‘grown out of ‘ around the same time I stopped participating in fandom as heavily. In the past I used to make badges to pin onto my school and college bag that would have pictures of characters from anime or shows that I was into. These included Free! Iwatobi Swim Club, Supernatural, BBC Sherlock and Ouran High School Host Club. Being in school I couldn’t afford to buy the actual badges that I wanted to so I used to find buttons and transparent sticky back paper and print off the images I wanted, glue them to the buttons then secure them with the transparent paper, then hot glue a safety pin onto the back. This is typical behaviour of me being a transformative fan. A transformative fan can be defined as a person who takes the source material (in this case my favourite shows of the time) and being inspired to create something new from it in my own way. It allowed me to subtly hint to people that I was ‘into’ these texts in the hope that someone would get the reference and would talk to me about it.

Another example of this behaviour is from when I used to cosplay characters from anime that I liked. For my first comic con (Manchester MCM 2015) I asked my mum to sew Sonia Nevermind’s outfit from the game Super Dangan Ronpa 2. I went with two of my friends who were also cosplaying, I can remember being so excited for the convention and having my friends over and doing ‘cos-tests’ together when we would practice doing our wigs and make-up together. On the day of the convention walking through Manchester in the outfits felt really silly and embarrassing however as soon as we got to the convention centre and saw everyone else was also dressed up it was so exciting and I felt so much more part of the community that I ever had before. Duchesne (2005 pg18) suggests that “fandom is a particular  kind  of performance that many members boldly explore, playing with identity and  finding  their own  layers  of meaning”. I would argue that cosplay is great example of this as people, including myself, find characters they relate to or admire and ‘preform’ as them. Rahman, Wing-Sun, Cheung and Brittany (2012, pg320) argue that “Cosplaying  their favourite  character  (or heroine, idol, or icon) is a way of expressing their fandom and passion”. I would agree and expand on this suggesting its also a way to connect with others that also have a love for the same text. For instance when I cosplay at comic con, strangers would approach my friends and I to ask for photos. This made us feel like all our hard work was validated and also provided a social experience that I was so unaccustomed to where people would be open and excited at the prospect of talking about anime and video games. I felt included and excited to be around like minded fans.

Bibliography

Duchesne,  S.  2005. “Little  Reckonings  in Great  Room:  The Performance of ‘Cosplay.’” Canadian Theatre Review 121(Winter): 17–26.

Free – Iwatobi Swim Club [television program] Kyoto Animation, Japan, Tokyo MX, July 4 2013, 20 mins

Ouran High School Host Club[television program] Bones, Japan, NTV, April 4 2006,  25 mins

Rahman, O., Wing-Sun, L. & Cheung, B.H. 2012, ""Cosplay": Imaginative Self and Performing Identity", Fashion Theory, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 317-341

Sherlock[ television program] Hartswood Films, United Kingdom, BBC One, 25 July 2010, 85-90 mins

Spike Chunsoft [2012] Dangan Ronpa 2: Goodbye Dispare. PlayStation Portable, JP: Spike Chunsoft, 01387

Supernatural [Television Program] Kripke Enterprises, United States, The CW, September 13 2005, 38-45 mins

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第69 話「目覚めよ眠れる美少女！衛の苦悩」

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<i>OHSHC</i>

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Me: *drinks tea* so what’s it like being a casual fan

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Blog Entry Week 4 Interfan/Interloping fan

This week in class we spoke a lot about interfan relations and specifically the ‘interloping fan’. In the reading Williams (2013 pg 327-342) talks about how fans of the TwilightSaga became almost accidental fans of the band Muse though the films which feature the bands songs. Museeven wrote the song Neutron Star Collision (Love is Forever) specifically for Eclipse, the third film in the Twilight series. The film had opened them up to a new music that they may not have discovered otherwise, however Muse fans where not impressed. Williams suggests (pg 336) that fans of Muse regarded those who ‘got into’ the band because of Twilightwhere “improper fans” and “inauthentic”.

In my own way I have experienced something very similar to the Twilightfans, however not with the same backlash. Over the weekend I went to see the new Steven Spielberg movie Ready Player One, a big theme in this movie is 80’s nostalgia so naturally the soundtrack was very heavily consisting of music from the 80’s as well as a lot of intertextuality with other classic 80’s texts (including The Shinning1980, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan1982, Back to the Future, 1985). I ended up really enjoying the film and the soundtrack so much that when I got home I listened to the soundtrack again which then lead me to listening to a couple of the artists who I really liked on the soundtrack, most notably DuranDuran. I had listened to them a small amount in the past however after hearing them on the soundtrack of a movie I now love I have found a gateway, through fan experiences into discovering a band that I really enjoy. As well as this I have found myself really interested in 80’s fashion, again being inspired by the film and Duran Duranand the fortunate timing of a Stranger Things/80’s themed party I had agreed to attended I have started exploring more of a 80’s aesthetic. I have been inspired by my enjoyment of both Duran Duranand Ready Player Oneto look into other elements of 80’s culture, for instance watching classic 80’s films such as Heathers(1988) and The Shinning (1980).

I agree with Dickinson’s argument in “My Generation” (pg 103) that soundtrack popularity can be directly “attributed to viewers hearing the music on the show [or film] and liking it, or to a much less precise affiliation with the show, one which encourages its audience to follow up on all its leads” As stated this is exactly what happened to me in my fan experience. I thoroughly enjoyed a film that I associated with an 80’s theme and it caused me to ‘follow the lead’ and has made me an interloping fan, gate-crashing an 80’s subculture of movies, style and music. Personally I believe that if someone becomes a fan of something new through an existing text then it can only be a good things. I can understand why existing Musefans were annoyed when Twilight started to enjoy there band as, in my experience, when you are close to a fan object you feel protective and may resent outsiders who ‘don’t appreciate’ the text the way you do. However I think that having new fans help to keep a fandom alive and fresh and at the very least you have new people to discuss the object with who may bring a fresh point of view.

Bibliography

Back to the Future [feature film] Directed by Robert Zemeckis. Amblin Entertainment/Universal Pictures. USA, 1985, 116 mins.

Dickinson, Kay. “‘My Generation’: Popular Music, Age and Influence in Teen Drama of the 1990s.” Teen TV: Genre, Consumption and Identity. Ed. Glyn Davis and Kay Dickinson. London: BFI, 2004. 99–111. Print.

Stephenie Meyer (2007) Eclipse.United States: Little, Brown and Company.

Heathers[feature film] Directed by Micheal Lehmann. Cinemarque Entertainment. USA, 1988, 103 mins.

NME (2010) Muse, ‘Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)’ – What Do You Think? Available at: http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/muse-neutron-star-collision-love-is-forever-what-do-you-think-41102[Accessed 2nd May 2018]

Ready Player One[feature film] Directed by Steven Spielberg. Warner Bros. Pictures/Amblin Partners/Amblin Entertainment/Village Roadshow Pictures/De Line Pictures/Access Entertainment/Dune Entertainment/Farah Films & Management. USA, 2018, 140 mins.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan[feature film] Directed by Nicholas Meyer. Paramount Pictures. USA, 1982, 112 minutes

Stephenie Meyer (2005) Twilight. United States: Little, Brown and Company.

The Shinning[feature film] Directed by Stanley Kubrick. The Producer Circle Company/Peregrine Productions/Hawk Films. USA, 1980, 146 mins

Williams, R. (2013) ‘“Anyone who Calls Muse a Twilight Band will be Shot on Sight”: Music, Distinction, and the “Interloping Fan” in the Twilight Franchise’. Popular Music and Society. 36(3) p327-342

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Me @ yall hating RPO for trivial shit and calling it “cringe”

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Blog Post 5 Affirmational Fans

Affirmational fans are those people who enjoy collecting factoids about their chose fan object. Often I would suggest that the more ‘obscure’ or ‘rare’ the piece of information the more satisfying it is to them.

I feel conflicted when thinking of affirmational fans as personally I find that I often believe the stereotype that affirmational fans try to trip you up and catch you out on information regarding a specific fan text. I have personally had experience where someone, who could be categorised in this way, will ask a trick questions about a text to purposefully catch me out so they can feel superior about having a grater knowledge of the text. I know that arguably this is not a good way to think and is potentially narrow minded as not every affirmational fan thinks in the same way. Its also potentially marginally hypocritical of me as I too love to find out information about something I enjoy, possibly on a less extreme level. However in episode 11 (‘Memento Mori’) ofthe anime Death Parade, there is a background character who bares a striking resemblance to the protagonist of Death Note, Light Yagami. Its even possible that this character is intended to be Light as in context it fits and the shows are produced by the same company: Madhouse. When I learnt this information I felt very excited and wanted to tell people, which on reflection is exactly the way I would expect an affirmational fan to feel.

It is possible that I feel wary of affirmational fans as on the most part I tend to identify myself more as a transformative fan. Polsek (2017) highlights the differences in categories of fan by noting how transformative fans concentrate on altering the text while affirmational fans focus on the facts. It is possible that there is almost a rivalry between transformative and affirmational fans that is brought on by thee media. Kohen (2014 pg,75-78) suggests that affirmational fans are more likely to be “courted by the media” as they are purists who can become “brand evangelists”, where as transformative fans are shunned for “resisting authorial visions”. I think objectively both fan groups are valid as there should be no set way to express your enjoyment in a text but it is easy to see why the media would favour those who promote the text is its purest form seemingly without any adaptations/critiques. Affirmational fans could potentially be seen as a vessel in which to convey to ta wider audience that a specific text if worth knowing so much about.

Bibliography

Death Note[ television program] Toshio Nakatani, Madhouse, Japan, October 3 2006, NTV, 25 mins

Kohen. M. 2014, “’The Power of Geek’: Fandom as a Gendered Commodity at Comic Con”. Creative Industrys Journal . Vol 7(1) Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17510694.2014.892295[Accessed on: Wednesday May 2 2018]  

‘Memento Mori’, Death Parade[television program] Yuzuru Tachikawa, Madhouse, Japan, January 9 2015, NTV, 25 mins

Polasek, A.D. 2017, "Traditional transformations and transmedial affirmations: Blurring the boundaries of Sherlockian fan practices", Transformative Works and Cultures, vol. 23