[Photos from Melbourne Supanova 2016.]
“The people formerly known as the audience are simply the public made realer, less fictional, more able, less predictable. You should welcome that, media people. But whether you do or not we want you to know we’re here.” – Jay Rosen
For much of my internet life, I’ve been an active member of various fandoms – most recently, a little corner of the Marvel fandom for Agent Carter. I’ve made many posts, gifsets, graphics, and fanvids for the show and engage with a lot of other even more dedicated fans through Twitter.
“If you want to attract a community around you, you must offer them something original and of a quality that they can react to and incorporate in their creative work.” – Tom Glocer
There’s a reason why the most successful and longer lasting of fandoms are those whose original sources lean towards the more fantastical: Star Trek, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Marvel, Game of Thrones etc. They all involve the act of very specific world-building in which fans are given much scope to imagine a themselves or imagine a version of themselves that lives in that world as a Hogwarts student, time-traveller, or Sunnydale student. These shows really encourage active audience participation that ensures the shows live on in a much more personal way.
[Agent Carter actor retweeting a fan video I made.]
I love actively engaging with a show I am so emotionally and creatively invested in. When the show airs in the US (West Coast time), I live tweet and watch it along with them (having downloaded it after airing in the East Coast three hours prior). We’re able to engage with the actors, writers, producers, and designers of the show through Twitter and it’s always cool when they reply or share your reactions for everyone to see.
“A central theme…is the importance of moving beyond active production as a criteria for understanding audience participation and the need to pay much more attention to more causal forms of grassroots circulation.” – Henry Jenkins in ‘Rethinking Convergence Culture’
Twitter and Facebook are especially easy for keeping track of “grassroots circulation” because of hashtag and key word searches. They allow raw opinion to be heard equally whether fan or “civilian”. The “live tweet” phenomenon is a great way to engage with watchers from all over as you all experience things in real time. The creators and producers are keeping track of live reactions which give the audience an immediate influence, silent or otherwise, on how a show can proceed. However, Jenkins examines these elements with caution as the “collective agency and participatory politics”. Whether interactivity is a positive or negative thing is still much debated – how much should creators engage in the “fannish space” and do audiences have a right to voice their opinions every time?
[A socially aware fan voices their disapproval at the screen trope of dispelling characters of colour.]
In a time of trending “chill culture”, fandom is a place where there is no chill. It’s okay to be extremely moved and excited by things to tears. There’s a rawness in fandom, an unchecked passion which is just thrilling to witness and be a part of.
A petition for the recently cancelled Agent Carter calling for a move to Netflix. This will not be the first time a cancelled TV show has found new life online because of fan rally and support. Let’s hope we succeed.
