Fanfiction-Based Fandom Creates Community
The online sphere of a particular fandom is a constant work-in-progress. Sheenagh Pugh, in The Democratic Genre: Fan Fiction in a Literary Context, discusses the unique collaboration that occurs within online fan fiction forums. She writes about the importance of collaboration, commenting that "Fanfic writers use each other's writing in the same way that they use the canon" (126).
I've seen the following scenario happen, more than once:
One author publishes a Buffy/Angel story for her beta, who's having a bad day. A BtVS fic reader responds in
the feedback/comments by composing a poem for the character pairing used in the fic. Then that poem inspires the
creation of a fan video being made for the original story. Another member of the community sees the fan video and
composes a completely new story.
Editors Kristina Busse and Karen Hellekson argue, in the introduction to their book Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet, that "Work in progress is a term used in the fan fiction world to describe a piece of fiction still the process of being written but not yet complete. This notion intersects with the intertextuality of fannish discourse, with the ultimate erasure of a single author as it combines to create a shared space, fandom that we might also refer to as a community" (6). There is an interconnectedness between people who share fannish love of a character or world. Even though they only know each other by chosen screen names and profile images, members of a fan fiction based community care about each other. Angelina I. Karpovich discusses fan culture icon Henry Jenkins, when she writes: "The practice of beta reading can be seen as building on an earlier creative fan practice of 'talking story,' which involved fans discussing potential story ideas and incomplete stories..." (177). It's noteworthy that the fanfic fans in the above example "comfort" each other with through story-creation.
And while plagiarism does happen, most are happy to share their borrowed universe. Pugh argues "Most fanfic writers do let people play in their sandpit...if they were not natural collaborators in the first place, they often become so via the exercise of their craft in a like-minded community" (127).
I've seen the following scenario happen, more than once:
One author publishes a Buffy/Angel story for her beta, who's having a bad day. A BtVS fic reader responds in
the feedback/comments by composing a poem for the character pairing used in the fic. Then that poem inspires the
creation of a fan video being made for the original story. Another member of the community sees the fan video and
composes a completely new story.
Editors Kristina Busse and Karen Hellekson argue, in the introduction to their book Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet, that "Work in progress is a term used in the fan fiction world to describe a piece of fiction still the process of being written but not yet complete. This notion intersects with the intertextuality of fannish discourse, with the ultimate erasure of a single author as it combines to create a shared space, fandom that we might also refer to as a community" (6). There is an interconnectedness between people who share fannish love of a character or world. Even though they only know each other by chosen screen names and profile images, members of a fan fiction based community care about each other. Angelina I. Karpovich discusses fan culture icon Henry Jenkins, when she writes: "The practice of beta reading can be seen as building on an earlier creative fan practice of 'talking story,' which involved fans discussing potential story ideas and incomplete stories..." (177). It's noteworthy that the fanfic fans in the above example "comfort" each other with through story-creation.
And while plagiarism does happen, most are happy to share their borrowed universe. Pugh argues "Most fanfic writers do let people play in their sandpit...if they were not natural collaborators in the first place, they often become so via the exercise of their craft in a like-minded community" (127).
Online Environments Lend Themselves to Third Spaces
_ The primary formats for online fan culture are blogs, wikis, fanzines, and fanfiction/fan-art. The purpose of online fan culture is tri-fold:
1. It allows for interaction between the original creator (author, actor, producer, etc) and the fans.
2. A fan of a particular universe (or ‘verse) – be it a TV show, movie, book, or comic – can find additional knowledge about their favorite characters or show, and they can
share information they have found with fellow fans.
3. This interacting and sharing of knowledge creates a community fanbase.
Between home and school/work lies the ephemeral third space. Angelina I Karpovich writes, in her essay "The Audience as Editor: The Role of Beta Readers in Online Fan Fiction Communities," that " the internet has largely negated the two previous biggest obstacles to communication among fans --time and distance..." (174). The internet can be accessed from virtually anywhere these days, allowing people to create a virtual third space that fits in the palm of their hand. Our teens spend inordinate amount of each day in the realm of social media, such as Facebook or Twitter.
According to Ray Oldenburg, a Third Space must:
1. Provide neutral ground
2. Acts as a (status) leveler
3. Conversation provides a central focus of activity
4. Meant to accommodate “people’s needs for sociability and relaxation in the intervals before, between, and after their mandatory appearances elsewhere” (32).
5. Has “regular” people there
6. Can be physically/structurally unassuming/plain.
I would argue that Facebook and Twitter both fulfill all six of this tenets. If a third space can be created through social media, imagine what could be done with even the minimal structure that comes from fan fiction archive posting requirements.
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1. It allows for interaction between the original creator (author, actor, producer, etc) and the fans.
2. A fan of a particular universe (or ‘verse) – be it a TV show, movie, book, or comic – can find additional knowledge about their favorite characters or show, and they can
share information they have found with fellow fans.
3. This interacting and sharing of knowledge creates a community fanbase.
Between home and school/work lies the ephemeral third space. Angelina I Karpovich writes, in her essay "The Audience as Editor: The Role of Beta Readers in Online Fan Fiction Communities," that " the internet has largely negated the two previous biggest obstacles to communication among fans --time and distance..." (174). The internet can be accessed from virtually anywhere these days, allowing people to create a virtual third space that fits in the palm of their hand. Our teens spend inordinate amount of each day in the realm of social media, such as Facebook or Twitter.
According to Ray Oldenburg, a Third Space must:
1. Provide neutral ground
2. Acts as a (status) leveler
3. Conversation provides a central focus of activity
4. Meant to accommodate “people’s needs for sociability and relaxation in the intervals before, between, and after their mandatory appearances elsewhere” (32).
5. Has “regular” people there
6. Can be physically/structurally unassuming/plain.
I would argue that Facebook and Twitter both fulfill all six of this tenets. If a third space can be created through social media, imagine what could be done with even the minimal structure that comes from fan fiction archive posting requirements.
Back to Using This Site