Comic books are one of the many popular cultural forms that attract, as part of their audience, a committed readership that engages in a participatory relationship as part of a shared interest in the text. In common with other media forms, this engagement expresses itself in a variety of ways, including interaction with other readers online and face-to-face at conventions, correspondence with producers, and the creation of textual products. Other features of the discourses and practices of this community may be more specific to the comic book readership. One of the most interesting of these is a participatory belief, widely expressed by readers, that they can influence the story content of the published comic book and that comic books are unique among other media forms in this. In this thesis, I investigate several aspects of this belief, in order to offer a more nuanced understanding of the participatory involvement that readers have in comic books, particularly the superhero comic books that dominate American comic book culture. First, I examine whether this participatory belief is supported by evidence from published comic books by undertaking a content analysis of the letter columns and story pages of comic books. Next, I explore the discourses of online comic book culture that relate to authorship and the boundaries of participation and show how the rules of textual engagement that are held by readers shape the interactions between readers and producers. Finally, I look for alternative participatory spaces that are available to comic book readers, finding these in a contested form of engagement with comic books, that of exploring the fictional universes of the text. This approach imagines the text as the representation of a non-actual world, to which the comic book is an incomplete window. Theorising this mode of engagement leads to a conceptualisation of participation that makes visible a participatory space that has been previously overlooked by academic fan studies, and that complicates the existing models of participatory culture.

Comic books are one of the many popular cultural forms that attract, as part of their audience, a committed readership that engages in a participatory relationship as part of a shared interest in the text. In common with other media forms, this engagement expresses itself in a variety of ways, including interaction with other readers online and face-to-face at conventions, correspondence with producers, and the creation of textual products. Other features of the discourses and practices of this community may be more specific to the comic book readership. One of the most interesting of these is a participatory belief, widely expressed by readers, that they can influence the story content of the published comic book and that comic books are unique among other media forms in this. In this thesis, I investigate several aspects of this belief, in order to offer a more nuanced understanding of the participatory involvement that readers have in comic books, particularly the superhero comic books that dominate American comic book culture. First, I examine whether this participatory belief is supported by evidence from published comic books by undertaking a content analysis of the letter columns and story pages of comic books. Next, I explore the discourses of online comic book culture that relate to authorship and the boundaries of participation and show how the rules of textual engagement that are held by readers shape the interactions between readers and producers. Finally, I look for alternative participatory spaces that are available to comic book readers, finding these in a contested form of engagement with comic books, that of exploring the fictional universes of the text. This approach imagines the text as the representation of a non-actual world, to which the comic book is an incomplete window. Theorising this mode of engagement leads to a conceptualisation of participation that makes visible a participatory space that has been previously overlooked by academic fan studies, and that complicates the existing models of participatory culture.

Comic books are one of the many popular cultural forms that attract, as part of their audience, a committed readership that engages in a participatory relationship as part of a shared interest in the text. In common with other media forms, this engagement expresses itself in a variety of ways, including interaction with other readers online and face-to-face at conventions, correspondence with producers, and the creation of textual products. Other features of the discourses and practices of this community may be more specific to the comic book readership. One of the most interesting of these is a participatory belief, widely expressed by readers, that they can influence the story content of the published comic book and that comic books are unique among other media forms in this. In this thesis, I investigate several aspects of this belief, in order to offer a more nuanced understanding of the participatory involvement that readers have in comic books, particularly the superhero comic books that dominate American comic book culture. First, I examine whether this participatory belief is supported by evidence from published comic books by undertaking a content analysis of the letter columns and story pages of comic books. Next, I explore the discourses of online comic book culture that relate to authorship and the boundaries of participation and show how the rules of textual engagement that are held by readers shape the interactions between readers and producers. Finally, I look for alternative participatory spaces that are available to comic book readers, finding these in a contested form of engagement with comic books, that of exploring the fictional universes of the text. This approach imagines the text as the representation of a non-actual world, to which the comic book is an incomplete window. Theorising this mode of engagement leads to a conceptualisation of participation that makes visible a participatory space that has been previously overlooked by academic fan studies, and that complicates the existing models of participatory culture.

Submitted by Marina Paula Darcie null (marina_paula_darcie@hotmail.com) on 2017-11-30T01:55:25Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DARCIE, Marina. As fãs mais legais do mundo.pdf: 3247432 bytes, checksum: e07f086206f03adb6b500f28d71aeaf1 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Minervina Teixeira Lopes null (vina_lopes@bauru.unesp.br) on 2017-11-30T12:44:56Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 darcie_mp_me_bauru.pdf: 3193730 bytes, checksum: 62051113a246b7aae327dd1828c9b831 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-30T12:44:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 darcie_mp_me_bauru.pdf: 3193730 bytes, checksum: 62051113a246b7aae327dd1828c9b831 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-10-31 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Diversas possibilidades surgem com a internet a cada dia, e uma delas é a grande teia de interações e o advento de novos personagens no sistema comunicativo que detêm, de forma tão semelhante quanto nos veículos de comunicação tradicionais, o poder de influenciar e modificar a opinião do seu público. Esses novos comunicadores são os “ídolos” sociais que estão ancorados nas novas plataformas de comunicação e possuem discurso amplamente difundido no seu meio de atuação. O influenciador não é limitado a apenas uma ferramenta de trabalho, ele pode estar – e geralmente está – presente em outras redes, produzindo conteúdo para o blog, o YouTube e para o Instagram, mostrando sua rotina no Snapchat, conversando com seus fãs pelo Facebook e pelo Twitter, evidenciando a fluidez da comunicação digital. Nesse sentido, a imagem dos influenciadores digitais pode ser definida como um personagem que usa o espaço comunicativo virtual possibilitado pelas redes sociais para dialogar com seu público seguidor e expor sua opinião sobre o próprio consumo e experiências ou qualquer assunto que tenha afinidade; esse autogerenciamento de imagem – configurado em uma narrativa de si mesmo – e o contato imediato e negociação constante com seu público faz desses personagens uma mídia completa, sem a necessidade de uma indústria para ampará-lo. As novas ferramentas que possibilitam a comunicação instantânea e direta criaram, assim, novas dimensões para a relação e as interações entre ídolo-fã. Nesse contexto destacado, foram investigados os vínculos comunicativos criados pelos fãs através de suas sociabilidades na rede, entendendo o conceito de fã e analisando a bibliografia de referência para compreender se as definições dialogam com a realidade das redes digitais e dos agrupamentos da rede na sociedade contemporânea. A comunidade de fãs da influenciadora Karol Pinheiro e o universo comunicativo criado por ela (“As coisas mais legais do Mundo”) foram escolhidos para a construção da pesquisa empírica e da análise, uma vez que o grupo se mobiliza através da internet e das redes sociais para discutir, ressignificar e repercutir o conteúdo criado pela celebridade virtual. A pesquisa objetivou compreender os múltiplos processos comunicativos evidenciados através dos conteúdos que consomem, como se mobilizam e dialogam, quais as ressignificações feitas no conteúdo original, e quais redes usam para se informar e “habitar”, conhecendo, assim, práticas comunicativas que os fãs online utilizam. / Internet creates a lot of possibilities every day. One of them is the communities created around new characters in web that keep it together and influences its people: the digital influencers (DI). The digital influencer use a lot of many tools of the internet for work and are not present only in one media; the DI usually uses the blogs for posting texts, YouTube and Instagram for sharing his life and also chat with his fans using Facebook and Twitter. That way, the digital influencer is able to share his point of view about labels, products, experiences, and other kind of stuff that are part of his life. The DI is a full and complete media, promoting himself and negotiating with his fans the content shared. This way, new media on the internet raises a closer and more direct relationship between an idol and his fans. So we intend to study the communicative processes between an idol and his fans in the context mentioned by exploring in the books and academic texts the many concepts about fan, its culture, routine, consume and kinds of communication. We choose the influencer Karol Pinheiro and her channel "As coisas mais legais do mundo" for observing her fans, studying and then create our text. Our main objective is understanding all kind of interaction between idol-fan and fan-fan on internet and which social media they use for being in and socialize.

By applying ethnographic method this study sought to explore how football’s mediatization is inviting the digital displacement of fan culture by social media-based communities. It also aimed to understand how contemporary football fans engage online as part of identifying themselves as supporters of a football club. This research was motivated by the global resonance of fandom which is due to the media becoming part of the experience of being a fan, resulting to the formation of transnational communities. The two-way online communication has enabled supporting from afar, forming digital fans. Liverpool FC’s Greek fans official group on Facebook was used as the case study for content analysis, along with in-depth interviews. The results have shown that social media have been the facilitators of football’s mediatization, digitalizing fan habits that used to be parts of the social life. Self-identification as a fan has taken a much more cosmopolitan outlook, which prioritizes participation. The dimensions of participation are though mediatized, resulting to highly engaged communities regardless of locality. To deal with the redefinition of fandom expression, this thesis has contributed with an end-result protype of a service addressing the process of doing digital fandom. As media technology develops, football’s mediatization will only exponentially increase and this study can offer insights to the better understanding of the different dimensions that digital fan culture adds to the sport.

As fandom studies are becoming more popular and important, one fandom yet remains largely unstudied: the fandom surrounding Disneyland. The Disneyland fandom is unique in a number of ways, chief among them the fans’ relationship to the content creators: unlike many other companies in similar positions, Disney seeks to put boundaries on fan participation and to discourage or stamp out behaviors it deems unacceptable. And yet, in spite of this official meddling, the fandom continues to thrive. I propose that the reason for this unique dynamic is the Disney “Magic”—that is, fans’ recognition of a unique emotional experience inherent in visiting the park, composed of a mix of nostalgia, immersion in the park experience, and the unique Disney atmosphere, all of which is often described using quasi-spiritual language. I posit that the Magic is what keeps fans coming back: they feel that something is special about the park, and seek to engage with it more deeply through various fan activities—activities which, paradoxically, seem to threaten that same Magic that inspires such dedication in the first place. In this thesis, I look at three specific fan activities, both to explore this concept of Magic further, and to learn more about this understudied fandom. The first topic is urban legends of ash scatterings in the Haunted Mansion ride, which appear to simultaneously be a commentary on harsh working conditions inside the park, and, more importantly, a perhaps-misguided attempt to pay respect to the deep connections fans have to Disneyland. The second is pin trading, which functions both as a folk activity guests can use to build their public identities, and also as a market for cheap fakes that tarnishe the Magic. The third is Disneybounding, a costuming activity that expresses fans’ love of the park, while carefully stepping around Disney’s regulations preventing such activities. Even in the diverse and fascinating array of fandoms, the Disneyland fandom deserves some additional attention. Disney Magic, and its resultant fan behavior, has no clear parallel elsewhere. Understanding what makes Disneyland fans tick will lead to a better understanding of how fandoms work in general.

No description available.

本研究主要目的有二：一是探討陳水扁支持者（扁迷）對阿扁之情感與認同，二是檢討傳統迷文化理論和Laclau與Mouffe論述理論在分析扁迷現象時的可能缺失，並提出一個新的整合性理論架構。以深度訪談作為方法、傳統迷文化理論作為背景理論，本研究發現扁迷們透過身體實踐，表達自己對阿扁本人與其背後符號意義的支持；這些意義包括台灣國族意識、公平正義、偶像特質與青年認同。除上述意義之外，「為了自己」、「為了社群」是扁迷支持阿扁更核心的驅力；前者顯現在扁迷的各種認同與防衛機制上，後者則展現在其政治理念成形時的親身傳播中。然而，傳統迷文化理論卻無法解釋阿扁符號意義與扁迷情感／認同的變遷過程，Laclau與Mouffe的空符徵架構雖然得以適切說明意義與認同改變時遭遇的符號與自我分裂，但亦無法真正指出符號變遷時的關鍵因子。本研究認為，唯有整合此二理論、強調符號論述的開放性與主體之能動性，並體認符號文本、個體與社群三者缺一不可的緊密相關性，才能真正完整地說明、解釋此一政治迷（扁迷）現象。同時考量上述條件，我們將獲得一個新的、三重三元性（3 x 3）的整合式理論架構；而任何得以此架構解釋分析之個體行為，我們稱之為「道德實踐」。這不僅強調個體進行道德抉擇的能動性，亦強調其背後以各種符號秩序中介的社群規範。扁迷作為一種道德實踐，並不在正當化扁迷所認同之價值體系為一普遍性道德「內容」，而在說明扁迷，在本質上，即為一種道德實踐「形式」。 / Two aims the present research has. The first is to investigate the feelings and identifications of President Chen Shui-Bian’s (A-Bian) supporters (Bian’s fans). The second is to discuss the suitability of applying traditional fan culture theory and Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory in explaining this political-cult phenomenon, and to propose a novel, integrated one. Using in-depth interview as research method and fan culture theory as base, the present research suggests that through body practices, Bian’s fans actualize their support toward A-Bian and various symbolic meanings behind him. These symbolic meanings include Taiwan nationalism, justice, idol characteristics and youth identifications. Besides these meanings, ‘for self’ and ‘for the community’ are more the core motives of supporting A-Bian. The former could be observed in the identifications and defense mechanisms of Bian’s fans, while the latter is concluded both from the importance of interpersonal communication, and from the role of communities in the political-ideas modeling of Bian’s fans. As for the theoretical discussion, traditional fan culture theory fails to explain the conversion of A-Bian symbols and that of Bian’s fans’ identifications. Although Laclau and Mouffe’s idea of empty signifier can properly illustrate the symbolic and self divisions in those conversions, it still fails to designate the key element triggering this process. The present research suggests that only combining these two theories (that is, stressing not only on the openness of structures as Laclau’s discourse theory does, but also on the agency of subjects like fan culture theory does), and recognizing the intimate connection among symbols, subjects and communities, can we thoroughly and really understand this political-cults phenomenon. Considering the principles above, we shall eventually infer a new, integrated, triple-triplets (3 x 3) theory. Every action explainable by this frame could be termed as ‘moral practice’ not only for stressing on the agency in subject’s moral decision making, but also for emphasizing the significant role of social norms behind it. Regarding being Bian’s fans as a moral practice is not justifying the values they hold to any universal ethic contents, but illustrating that being Bian’s fans is essentially a form of moral practicing.

Este trabalho desenvolve um estudo do sistema de produção estabelecido por fãs da trilogia de filmes O Hobbit. Nós partimos da questão “como se organiza o fandom de O Hobbit a partir da produção de fanworks sobre fanworks?” com o objetivo de verificar como as práticas de consumo e produção internas ao fandom de O Hobbit podem defini-lo como comunidade interpretativa. Assim, tomamos por objeto teórico o sistema de produção de fãs que se estabelece a partir do que um fã faz sobre o trabalho já produzido por outros fãs, fanworks de fanworks. Para embasar nossa pesquisa, apresentamos uma contextualização dos estudos de fãs em Comunicação, a partir de um panorama da literatura internacional e seu desenvolvimento sobre o conceito, com um aprofundamento na produção de teses e dissertações nacionais, que nos permitem compreender como o tema, e esse objeto em específico, vem sido trabalhado academicamente para situar a nossa pesquisa. Desenvolvemos também uma reflexão teórica buscando problematizar a produção dos fãs com relação aos processos de consumo cultural e midiático e sua articulação em comunidade. A partir desse contexto teórico, desenvolvemos duas pesquisas exploratórias que se embasam na interpretação de dados levantados por pesquisas maiores realizadas por terceiros: AO3 Census e o Hobbit Project. Os dados da primeira pesquisa nos permitem compreender mais sobre os fãs e suas práticas de consumo e produção, enquanto os dados da segunda nos lança luz sobre o fandom dos filmes de O Hobbit em específico. A partir da análise de conteúdo realizada nessas exploratórias, fundamentamos delimitações de contexto e ferramentas metodológicas a serem apropriados em nossa pesquisa. Com inspiração etnográfica, realizamos dois experimentos buscando as interações dos sujeitos envolvidos nos processos de produção realizados pelos fãs: uma imersão em um site de postagem de fanworks, o AO3, em que analisamos as notas deixadas por autores de fanworks produzidos sobre outros fanworks para os seus leitores. Pudemos não só nos aprofundar nas formas de produção, mas também nas relações pessoais estabelecidas entre fãs nesse processo. O segundo experimento se fundou em uma imersão em campo, em que realizamos entrevistas pré-estruturadas com fãs de O Hobbit participantes da I Feira Medieval de São Leopoldo, buscando compreender mais de suas interações e formas de produção. Por fim, nossa análise se volta para as particularidades do sistema de produção de fanworks sobre fanworks com relação ao fandom como comunidade, trazendo como principais resultados a constituição de uma rede de produção estruturada nos critérios interpretativos dos fãs e o processo de identificação do fã como fã. / This work develops a study on the production system established by fans of The Hobbit movie trilogy. Our starting point was the question “how does The Hobbit fandom organize itself based on the fanworks about fanworks?” with the objective of verifying how the consumers practices and internal productions of The Hobbit fandom are able to define it as an interpretive community. Thus, we took as a theoretical objective the fans production system established by the work a fan made based on a work created by another fan, fanworks of fanworks. In order to base our research, we present a contextualization of the fans studies in Communication, from an overview of international literature and its development about the concept, with a deepening in the production of national theses and dissertations. That allow us to comprehend how the topic, and this objective in specific, have been worked on academically to situate our research. We also developed a theoretical reflection with the intention of discussing the fan production in relation to the cultural and media consumption and its articulation in community. Two exploratory researches that are based on the interpretation of data collected by to major researches made by third parties were developed from this theoretical context: AO3 Census and the Hobbit Project. The data from the first research allowed us to comprehend more about the fans and their practice of consumption and production, while the data from the second one shines a light on the films’ fandom for The Hobbit in specific. Then, based on the content analysis done on these exploratory researches we substantiated boundaries of context and methodological tools to be appropriated in our research. Inspired by ethnography, we’ve conducted two experiments in search of the interactions between subjects involved on the production process done by the fans: an immersion in a fanwork website, AO3, in which we analysed the notes left by authors of fanworks about other fanworks to its readers. We were able to not only deepened in the ways of production, but also in the personal relations established between fans in this process. The second experiment was based on a field immersion, in which we’ve conducted pre-structured interviews with fans of The Hobbit participating on the I Medieval Fair of São Leopoldo, with the intention of comprehending more about their interaction and ways of production. Finally, our analysis focus on the singularities of the production system of fanworks of fanworks related to the fandom as a community, rendering as its main result the building of a production network established on the interpretative criteria of the fans and the process of identification of the fan as a fan.

Este trabalho desenvolve um estudo do sistema de produção estabelecido por fãs da trilogia de filmes O Hobbit. Nós partimos da questão “como se organiza o fandom de O Hobbit a partir da produção de fanworks sobre fanworks?” com o objetivo de verificar como as práticas de consumo e produção internas ao fandom de O Hobbit podem defini-lo como comunidade interpretativa. Assim, tomamos por objeto teórico o sistema de produção de fãs que se estabelece a partir do que um fã faz sobre o trabalho já produzido por outros fãs, fanworks de fanworks. Para embasar nossa pesquisa, apresentamos uma contextualização dos estudos de fãs em Comunicação, a partir de um panorama da literatura internacional e seu desenvolvimento sobre o conceito, com um aprofundamento na produção de teses e dissertações nacionais, que nos permitem compreender como o tema, e esse objeto em específico, vem sido trabalhado academicamente para situar a nossa pesquisa. Desenvolvemos também uma reflexão teórica buscando problematizar a produção dos fãs com relação aos processos de consumo cultural e midiático e sua articulação em comunidade. A partir desse contexto teórico, desenvolvemos duas pesquisas exploratórias que se embasam na interpretação de dados levantados por pesquisas maiores realizadas por terceiros: AO3 Census e o Hobbit Project. Os dados da primeira pesquisa nos permitem compreender mais sobre os fãs e suas práticas de consumo e produção, enquanto os dados da segunda nos lança luz sobre o fandom dos filmes de O Hobbit em específico. A partir da análise de conteúdo realizada nessas exploratórias, fundamentamos delimitações de contexto e ferramentas metodológicas a serem apropriados em nossa pesquisa. Com inspiração etnográfica, realizamos dois experimentos buscando as interações dos sujeitos envolvidos nos processos de produção realizados pelos fãs: uma imersão em um site de postagem de fanworks, o AO3, em que analisamos as notas deixadas por autores de fanworks produzidos sobre outros fanworks para os seus leitores. Pudemos não só nos aprofundar nas formas de produção, mas também nas relações pessoais estabelecidas entre fãs nesse processo. O segundo experimento se fundou em uma imersão em campo, em que realizamos entrevistas pré-estruturadas com fãs de O Hobbit participantes da I Feira Medieval de São Leopoldo, buscando compreender mais de suas interações e formas de produção. Por fim, nossa análise se volta para as particularidades do sistema de produção de fanworks sobre fanworks com relação ao fandom como comunidade, trazendo como principais resultados a constituição de uma rede de produção estruturada nos critérios interpretativos dos fãs e o processo de identificação do fã como fã. / This work develops a study on the production system established by fans of The Hobbit movie trilogy. Our starting point was the question “how does The Hobbit fandom organize itself based on the fanworks about fanworks?” with the objective of verifying how the consumers practices and internal productions of The Hobbit fandom are able to define it as an interpretive community. Thus, we took as a theoretical objective the fans production system established by the work a fan made based on a work created by another fan, fanworks of fanworks. In order to base our research, we present a contextualization of the fans studies in Communication, from an overview of international literature and its development about the concept, with a deepening in the production of national theses and dissertations. That allow us to comprehend how the topic, and this objective in specific, have been worked on academically to situate our research. We also developed a theoretical reflection with the intention of discussing the fan production in relation to the cultural and media consumption and its articulation in community. Two exploratory researches that are based on the interpretation of data collected by to major researches made by third parties were developed from this theoretical context: AO3 Census and the Hobbit Project. The data from the first research allowed us to comprehend more about the fans and their practice of consumption and production, while the data from the second one shines a light on the films’ fandom for The Hobbit in specific. Then, based on the content analysis done on these exploratory researches we substantiated boundaries of context and methodological tools to be appropriated in our research. Inspired by ethnography, we’ve conducted two experiments in search of the interactions between subjects involved on the production process done by the fans: an immersion in a fanwork website, AO3, in which we analysed the notes left by authors of fanworks about other fanworks to its readers. We were able to not only deepened in the ways of production, but also in the personal relations established between fans in this process. The second experiment was based on a field immersion, in which we’ve conducted pre-structured interviews with fans of The Hobbit participating on the I Medieval Fair of São Leopoldo, with the intention of comprehending more about their interaction and ways of production. Finally, our analysis focus on the singularities of the production system of fanworks of fanworks related to the fandom as a community, rendering as its main result the building of a production network established on the interpretative criteria of the fans and the process of identification of the fan as a fan.