Henry Jenkins - fandom and participatory culture

Videogames: Henry Jenkins - fandom and participatory culture

Henry Jenkins is a key audience theorist – an expert in fandom and participatory culture.

We need to apply Jenkins's ideas to our videogame CSPs but also think back to where his ideas are relevant with other media texts we have studied. His work on participatory culture links with Clay Shirky in places and the concept of fandom is important to many media texts - from TV drama to magazines.

Notes

Henry Jenkins is an expert in fandom and participatory culture. Key to this idea is the concept of the ‘prosumer’ – audiences that create as well as consume media. This culture has revolutionised fan communities with the opportunity to create and share content. It also links to Clay Shirky’s work on ‘mass amateurisation’.

Fandom is now big business – with Comic-Con events making millions. More importantly, the internet has demonstrated the size of fan communities so it is no longer a minority of ‘geek’ stereotypes but mainstream popular culture (such as Marvel, Harry Potter or Doctor Who).




Jenkins defends fan cultures and argues that fans are often stereotyped negatively in the media because they value popular culture (e.g. films or games) over traditional cultural capital (high brow culture or knowledge). The irony is fan culture is often dominated by middle class, educated audiences.

Jenkins discusses ‘textual poaching’ – when fans take texts and re-edit or develop their meanings, a process called semiotic productivity. Fan communities are also quick to criticise if they feel a text or character is developing in a way they don’t support.


EU copyright law: a threat to participatory culture?

A new copyright law currently moving through the European Parliament has been described as a potential 'meme-ban'. It would place the responsibility for the distribution of copyrighted material with the platform rather than the user or copyright holder - and therefore could lead to huge amounts of content being removed. If implemented in full, it could end textual poaching, fan-made texts and re-edits and many more examples of fandom and participatory culture. You can read more on the potential implications in this Wired feature.

Henry Jenkins - fandom blog tasks

The following tasks will give you an excellent introduction to fandom and also allow you to start exploring degree-level insight into audience studies. Work through the following:

Factsheet #107 - Fandom

Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) to find Media Factsheet #107 on Fandom. Save it to USB or email it to yourself so you have access to the reading for homework. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What is the definition of a fan?
The definition of a fan is to like or to have an admiration for something or someone.

2) What the different types of fan identified in the factsheet?

• Newbie-New fans of the media text
• Anti-fan- People negatively associated with the media text. 
• Hardcore/true fan- the 'insiders' within any given fandom. They pride themselves in how long they have been a fan and how much knowledge they have attained from their research.  

3) What makes a ‘fandom’?
Fandom allows fans with similar liking to something  to communicate with each other. 

4) What is Bordieu’s argument regarding the ‘cultural capital’ of fandom?
Argues that fandoms offers a symbolic power and status for the fan. 

5) What examples of fandom are provided on pages 2 and 3 of the factsheet?

• Imaginative extension/text creation
• Ironic readings 
• Defying the critics

6) Why is imaginative extension and text creation a vital part of digital fandom?

As they would not be able to express their different views and beliefs on certain thing in regarding  media texts.

Tomb Raider and Metroid fandom research

Look at this Tomb Raider fansite and answer the following questions: 

1) What types of content are on offer in this fansite?

• Wallpapers
• Games
• Chat rooms for the fans
• Any news

2) What does the number of links and content suggest about the size of the online fan community for Tomb Raider and Lara Croft? Pick out some examples from this page.

It shows that there is a lot of people surrounding that fan base and with a lot of links this shows that this allows them to connect more.

3) Scroll to the bottom of the page and look at the short ‘About me’ bio and social media updates. Is this a typical example of ‘fandom’ in the digital age? Why?

This allows the person to be able to get more feedbacks from the people that visit the site. 

Now look at this Metroid fansite and answer the following: 

1) What does the site offer?

• Links of the fan base on other social media such as twitter, facebook
• Interviews
• Features
• Podcasts

2) Look at the Community Spotlight page. What does this suggest about the types of people who enjoy and participate in fan culture?

On Community Spotlight page are artists, musicians and etc.

3) There is a specific feature on Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. What do the questions from fans tell you about the level of engagement and interest in the game and franchise from the fan community?

They enjoy the game and will keep it due to the feedback they get.

Henry Jenkins: degree-level reading

Read the final chapter of ‘Fandom’ – written by Henry Jenkins. This will give you an excellent introduction to the level of reading required for seminars and essays at university as well as degree-level insight into our current work on fandom and participatory culture. Answer the following questions:

1) There is an important quote on the first page: “It’s not an audience, it’s a community”. What does this mean?

Its not just a social medis it is a group of people connecting with similar likes.

2) Jenkins quotes Clay Shirky in the second page of the chapter. Pick out a single sentence of the extended quote that you think is particularly relevant to our work on participatory culture and the ‘end of audience’ (clue – look towards the end!)

"In the age of the internet, no one is a passive consumer anymore because everyone is a media outlet.".

3) What are the different names Jenkins discusses for these active consumers that are replacing the traditional audience?

• Inspirational consumers
• Connectors
• Influencer

4) On the third page of the chapter, what does Wired editor Chris Anderson suggest regarding the economic argument in favour of fan communities?

Real economic benefit would generate from being able to lower production costs. 

5) What examples does Jenkins provide to argue that fan culture has gone mainstream?

No longer about the  stereotypical 'nerdy' fan- and that now  fan culture ultimately dominates the media now. 

6) Look at the quote from Andrew Blau in which he discusses the importance of grassroots creativity. Pick out a sentence from the longer quote and decide whether you agree that audiences will ‘reshape the media landscape from the bottom up’.

"...will generate enormous creativity, but it will also tear apart some of the categories that organise the lives and work of media makers." 

7) What does Jenkins suggest the new ideal consumer is?

A person who "talks up the program and spreads word about the brand whereas before the ideal consumer just watched TV and did not communicate"

8) Why is fandom 'the future'?

It will allow the fans to be able to connect more on different media platforms.

9) What does it mean when Jenkins says we shouldn’t celebrate ‘a process that commodifies fan cultural production’?

Not to promote it as it gives media industries a chance to start exploiting what the fans produce.

10) Read through to the end of the chapter. What do you think the future of fandom is? Are we all fans now? Is fandom mainstream or are real fan communities still an example of a niche media audience?

Being a fan has become a mainstream nowadays.