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gnineAs you may or may not know, I’m currently working on my MA in Critical Media and Cultural Studies at University of London, SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies). For my thesis, I’m delving into the question of how culture, one’s own, as well as that of the source material one is fanning on, affects how fans identify and interact with said media and the fandoms surrounding them.
I am very aware that academic scrutiny of fandom has at times been…less than pleasant, shall we say. With that in mind, I’d like to make clear that it is not my intent to place fen or fandom under the microscope, but rather to use them as one concrete example in the broader investigation of culture’s impact on the field of media studies.
The following questions I’ve split into two sections, one focused on the media itself, the other on fandom as a whole. These are just a jumping-off point; feel free to answer as many/as few of the questions as you’d like, in as much/little detail as you feel comfortable. If you’d prefer to comment anonymously or email me directly at gnine AT livejournal DOT com, that’s fine, too.
Media Questions:
How much of what you fan on is produced by your own culture/country?
How much of what you fan on is originally produced in your native language(s)?
Have either of the above changed over the course of your time in fandom?
If/When consuming material not originally produced in a language you are fluent in, how do you access it? (e.g., dubs, scanlations, muddle through the raws and just enjoy the pretty people/art/voices, etc.)
Are there any culture’s materials you particularly avoid or seek out? (e.g. you avoid anything Japanese, be it anime, manga, video games, etc.; you love anything British, TV, books, etc.)If so, why?
The first time you watched/read/listened to something produced by a culture whose material you had not previously fanned on, were there details you had to adjust to (e.g. narrative styles, character depictions, pacing, cultural references, etc.) ?
Are there any particular tropes/stereotypes/character traits/plot devices you particularly associate with a certain culture’s material?
Fandom Questions:
At a guess, are the majority of the people you regularly fan with your nationality?
Do you think this changes depending on what fandom you’re in?
If you go to live fan events/conventions/meet-ups, have you attended different fan events for media of different cultures? (E.g. have you gone to both conventions for an English-language series (such as Supernatural) and anime conventions?)If so, have you noticed any differences between such conventions?
Have you ever attended fan events/conventions/meet-ups in more than one country? If so, did you notice any differences?
Has fanning with people from various countries ever caused surprise/confusion/misunderstandings?
Do your expectations for the fandom and its fanwork change depending on the source culture?
Additionally, there are a few details that’d be helpful for everyone to include, if they could:
Nationality:
Native language(s):
Language(s) you most often fan in (e.g. write/read/discuss in):
Gender (that you're most comfortable identify yourself as):
Is it all right for me to reference you directly in the final paper:
If yes, how would you prefer to be called (e.g. LJ handle/name/nickname/anonymously, etc):
If needed, would it be alright for me to contact you for more questions/details via email/skype, etc.?
Beyond that, if there are any other details, personal experiences, general trends you’ve observed, feel free to expound. Further discussion/questions in the comments is also very welcome.
If anyone's willing to link this in their journals, I’d be grateful, as the more responses the more expansive the research.
Thanks for your help!
I am very aware that academic scrutiny of fandom has at times been…less than pleasant, shall we say. With that in mind, I’d like to make clear that it is not my intent to place fen or fandom under the microscope, but rather to use them as one concrete example in the broader investigation of culture’s impact on the field of media studies.
The following questions I’ve split into two sections, one focused on the media itself, the other on fandom as a whole. These are just a jumping-off point; feel free to answer as many/as few of the questions as you’d like, in as much/little detail as you feel comfortable. If you’d prefer to comment anonymously or email me directly at gnine AT livejournal DOT com, that’s fine, too.
Media Questions:
How much of what you fan on is produced by your own culture/country?
How much of what you fan on is originally produced in your native language(s)?
Have either of the above changed over the course of your time in fandom?
If/When consuming material not originally produced in a language you are fluent in, how do you access it? (e.g., dubs, scanlations, muddle through the raws and just enjoy the pretty people/art/voices, etc.)
Are there any culture’s materials you particularly avoid or seek out? (e.g. you avoid anything Japanese, be it anime, manga, video games, etc.; you love anything British, TV, books, etc.)If so, why?
The first time you watched/read/listened to something produced by a culture whose material you had not previously fanned on, were there details you had to adjust to (e.g. narrative styles, character depictions, pacing, cultural references, etc.) ?
Are there any particular tropes/stereotypes/character traits/plot devices you particularly associate with a certain culture’s material?
Fandom Questions:
At a guess, are the majority of the people you regularly fan with your nationality?
Do you think this changes depending on what fandom you’re in?
If you go to live fan events/conventions/meet-ups, have you attended different fan events for media of different cultures? (E.g. have you gone to both conventions for an English-language series (such as Supernatural) and anime conventions?)If so, have you noticed any differences between such conventions?
Have you ever attended fan events/conventions/meet-ups in more than one country? If so, did you notice any differences?
Has fanning with people from various countries ever caused surprise/confusion/misunderstandings?
Do your expectations for the fandom and its fanwork change depending on the source culture?
Additionally, there are a few details that’d be helpful for everyone to include, if they could:
Nationality:
Native language(s):
Language(s) you most often fan in (e.g. write/read/discuss in):
Gender (that you're most comfortable identify yourself as):
Is it all right for me to reference you directly in the final paper:
If yes, how would you prefer to be called (e.g. LJ handle/name/nickname/anonymously, etc):
If needed, would it be alright for me to contact you for more questions/details via email/skype, etc.?
Beyond that, if there are any other details, personal experiences, general trends you’ve observed, feel free to expound. Further discussion/questions in the comments is also very welcome.
If anyone's willing to link this in their journals, I’d be grateful, as the more responses the more expansive the research.
Thanks for your help!
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part the first
Date: 2010-07-10 10:00 am (UTC)How much of what you fan on is produced by your own culture/country?
Nothing.
How much of what you fan on is originally produced in your native language(s)?
Nothing.
Have either of the above changed over the course of your time in fandom?
No.
If/When consuming material not originally produced in a language you are fluent in, how do you access it? (e.g., dubs, scanlations, muddle through the raws and just enjoy the pretty people/art/voices, etc.)
Mostly subtitles and a few scanlations. I do have a handful of Japanese-language manga, but since I can barely spell my own name in hiragana, I'm left marvelling at the pretty while trying to figure out what the heck is going on. Since Japanese logic doesn't always fit my Western experiences, that can be somewhat tricky. Or, you know. Impossible. ;)
Are there any culture’s materials you particularly avoid or seek out? (e.g. you avoid anything Japanese, be it anime, manga, video games, etc.; you love anything British, TV, books, etc.)If so, why?
No. If it sounds interesting, I'll check it out, though the way the media are structured here that means my source material is mostly North American, with some British, Japanese and Korean thrown in.
The first time you watched/read/listened to something produced by a culture whose material you had not previously fanned on, were there details you had to adjust to (e.g. narrative styles, character depictions, pacing, cultural references, etc.) ?
When I first got into Anime, I understood little of the subtleties. Body language, shortcut references to well-known cultural phenomena, some of the character interaction – I had to access everything little by little. Manga were more helpful in that regard, as German translations often come with a little index that explains the more "outlandish" things, but way back when, the only manga available were Dragonball and Sailor Moon.
Are there any particular tropes/stereotypes/character traits/plot devices you particularly associate with a certain culture’s material?
I associate prank wars strongly with US-American and first-kiss-agonising with Japanese culture. The latter also gives me my beloved Valentine's-chocolate trope. I'm sure there's a lot more I just can't think of right now (so warm >.<).
part the second
Date: 2010-07-10 10:00 am (UTC)At a guess, are the majority of the people you regularly fan with your nationality?
Hahaha, no. of the 181 people I have friended, 19 are of the same nationality as me. Of those 19, maybe half are active in a fandom we share or at least used to share.
Do you think this changes depending on what fandom you’re in?
No. The Merlin fandom has a higher percentage British people than say, Stargate; alas, I'm not British.
If you go to live fan events/conventions/meet-ups, have you attended different fan events for media of different cultures? (E.g. have you gone to both conventions for an English-language series (such as Supernatural) and anime conventions?)If so, have you noticed any differences between such conventions?
Hahaha, yes! I've been to a Stargate convention and one that concentrated more on science fiction in general with emphasis on Star Trek (though again I went for the Stargate part). I've also been to several Animanga conventions, and although the general setup was the same (merchandising, panels, autograph sessions, cosplay), the audience made all the difference. In short, the animanga fans were generally younger, more exuberant, more noticeably trying to copy the source culture, and vastly more colourful.
Have you ever attended fan events/conventions/meet-ups in more than one country? If so, did you notice any differences?
Yes, I have, but no, I did not.
Has fanning with people from various countries ever caused surprise/confusion/misunderstandings?
Frequently. It's the vocabulary – the casual use of 'nazi' in whatever combination drives me up the wall, whereas I had no idea that there was anything offensive about fried chicken. Never mind that I'm still marvelling at the USA, land of air conditioning and bigger-is-better, not having embraced the continuous-flow water heaters as soon as they got on the market. ;)
Do your expectations for the fandom and its fanwork change depending on the source culture?
Hmm, yes and no. There is less subtlety in US-American material; sometimes I think North-American TV is mainly targeting stupid people. Sorry. British material, on the other hand, often employs a more biting humour you won't necessarily get the first time around. However, the quality of fanworks doesn't so much depend on the source culture, in my experience, as the average age of the target audience. I expect much higher quality and maturity from the Sherlock Holmes fandom than from BBC's Merlin. Both are British (if you ignore the Guy Ritchie movie for a moment), but the themes explored in their fanworks are very different. For example, the modern-day AU is very popular in Merlin fandom, but the Sherlock Holmes fen seem content with Victorian England.
Additionally:
Nationality: German
Native language(s): German
Language(s) you most often fan in (e.g. write/read/discuss in): English
Is it all right for me to reference you directly in the final paper: Yes
If yes, how would you prefer to be called (e.g. LJ handle/name/nickname/anonymously, etc): LJ handle is fine
If needed, would it be alright for me to contact you for more questions/details via email/skype, etc.? Sure
Re: part the second
Date: 2010-07-10 11:10 pm (UTC)Re: part the second
Date: 2010-08-26 08:54 pm (UTC)In what ways (if any), for you personally, do your fannish practices change depending on the source culture of the material you're fanning on? (e.g. do you watch more music vids for anime, do you read/write particular kinds of fic for western shows, do you seek out cons for only certain types of fandoms, etc.) The more specific the examples, the better.
Semi-related to the above question, in what ways, if any, has your fannish practices changed over your time in fandom? (both in general over the years you've been in fandom and in specific fandoms. ) And have these changes at all coincided with differences in source culture? (eg for western fandoms, you've always just watched/read fic w/out much change over time but with Japanese fandom, you started watching anime then moved on to music vids then progressed to
helping scanlate manga because you went on to learn Japanese, etc.)
And one or two questions on one topic I might be exploring in a bit more detail, so:
Are you interested in/have any experience with/in slash/Boys Love/yaoi/ m/m etc.? If yes, do you notice a difference in how it is approached/explored depending on the source culture of the material? Examples/details appreciated.
Do you personally approach it differently/have different expectations for how it's depicted in fan works depending on the culture? If so, in what ways?
Oh, also, if I don't already know it (ie know you in person) and you're comfortable sharing it, what gender do you identify yourself as?
Again, thanks for your time, any details you have already or can additionally provide are a big big help! ^_____^