Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2015-05-07T13:00:34Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Camila Monteiro.pdf: 2016843 bytes, checksum: 1227f3d53a5ce0229d11c2e3d63f1e9b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-07T13:00:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Camila Monteiro.pdf: 2016843 bytes, checksum: 1227f3d53a5ce0229d11c2e3d63f1e9b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-20 / Nenhuma / A partir da premissa de que a discussão de gosto entre fãs e antifãs traduz um recorte importante da cultura pop dentro das redes sociais, busco compreender a forma em que esses grupos se organizam, mobilizam e performatizam em prol de seus ídolos. Com os trabalhos de Bourdieu (2008), Baym (2009, 2011), Gray (2001, 2006) e Hennion (2007, 2010) como base, proponho discutir de que forma esses grupos, para legitimar seus gostos, criam hierarquias, se apropriam, recriam, produzem novos materiais e, principalmente, como a relação entre eles reconfigura a identidade de cada nicho. Figuras centrais na atual indústria do entretenimento, fãs e antifãs configuram uma nova etapa no estudo da cultura dos fãs, onde a disputa de poder, discussão de gênero e a dicotomia bom/mau gosto é essencial para a compreensão desse fenômeno. Com o objetivo de compreender a dinâmica entre fãs, foi feita uma pesquisa etnográfica e observacional com os fãs e antifãs da banda brasileira Restart; 64 fãs foram entrevistados em shows (Porto Alegre e Salvador) combinados com entrevistas online e observação de perfis no microblogging Twitter. Ao fim, mobilização, organização e categorização tanto de fãs/antifãs, como de suas estratégias, foram dissecados, assim como as características que tornam essa disputa importante para o entendimento do comportamento do fã nos dias de hoje.

As the final resting place of celebrities and notable public figures such as Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Jr., Janet Gaynor, Mel Blanc, and Barbara La Marr, Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles has long served as a tourist attraction and a site of public memory. The touristic visit or pilgrimage to the cemetery can be, like the visit to a sanctioned memorial, a means of stitching oneself into the cultural past. This dissertation considers the articulation and performance of commemoration in contemporary culture, specifically situated at Hollywood Forever. I examine how the cemetery leverages its rich resources from the past to generate new collective experiences and attitudes in the present. Through the outdoor film series Cinespia, a communitywide Dia de los Muertos celebration, performances of Shakespearean plays, and annual memorial services and commemorative events in honor of celebrities interred there, Hollywood Forever invites visitors to use the cemetery as social space. Combining ethnographic research with cultural analysis, I consider how the public interacts with Hollywood Forever. This dissertation looks at the influence of celebrity culture, how shared experience in a unique setting can create a meaningful sense of place, and how the past is appropriated for purposes in the present. In examining the rituals and performances surrounding celebrity fan culture at the cemetery, I consider how fandom creates a sense of community that is deeply connected to the physical space of Hollywood Forever. Using the space of the cemetery for entertainment and leisure has the potential to change perceptions of the cemetery, as uneasiness with the setting fades and visitors become comfortable and enjoy their experience. As Hollywood Forever functions as a space that can provide both solitude and community, perceptions of the cemetery change in the process.

This paper unpacks the franchise system and the often-tumultuous relationship between Producers and Consumers, especially around the release of new films by the Producers. Star Wars represents far more than just a corporate product. There is a thriving ecosystem around pieces that have touched fans lives personally. The reaction of fans to new media texts in existing franchises is in constant flux. Tumultuous emotions of betrayal come in waves from fans immediately following the release of new content. Specifically focusing on reception to prequel films, Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (1999) and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), reveals how both generational differences and technology affect fan interaction and reaction across iterations of the franchise. Fans attempt to remediate the differences in cannon and their own interpretations of the franchise through fan creation. Fans have historically been early embracers of new technologies and have used increasingly available editing software and cameras to express their passion for the franchise. A digital world has created ever expanding platforms of interactivity in which Producers/Consumers can reach one another. The spaces in which these interactions occur have evolved from personal fan websites to social media sites. The amount of online information available to consumers, from reviews to fan content, has diminished the power of official franchise content. The release of Solo revealed a dangerous level of apathy from consumers. As opposed to the fervor surrounding powerful media texts at the time of The Phantom Menace, the diversified media landscape has undoubtedly affected Star Wars.

This is a qualitative case study conducted to investigate the relationship between consumers who are brand loyal to a certain product and the groups that are formed to bring these enthusiasts together, using the Chevrolet Corvette and its community as a model. Qualitative research lends itself to studying relationships and social situations, in being able to observe and participate in a social context, rather than analyzing it from the outside looking in. By approaching this subject as a case study, an element of flexibility was allowed. This study primarily focuses on one main phenomena, the social groups formed by loyal consumers. The specific context studied is the Chevrolet Corvette's community. By using in-depth interviews of Corvette enthusiasts, owners and company employees, a deeper understanding of why people are loyal to a product and how they use enthusiast clubs to sustain their loyalty will be uncovered. Those interviewed were asked open-ended questions pertaining to their feelings about the community they are a part of, and the brand they are loyal to. A qualitative, ethnographic approach was taken, and interviews were conducted more as conversations than as formal, structured interviews. Through participant observation at various Corvette events, the researcher compared what participants said and what they were observed doing. Participants are from varying backgrounds, ages and genders as to provide a broad base of information. Data gathered were analyzed using grounded theory, a research method that seeks to develop theory that is grounded in data systematically gathered. Grounded theory allows for a continuous interplay between data collection and analysis. Three overarching themes were constructed to organize the data, with various sub-categories to further explain the findings. The results of this study have shown that the object of enthusiasm, in this case the Chevrolet Corvette, is the basis for social interaction between owners and those involved with the car. While the physical car must uphold a superior standard, the consumer loyalty shown in this community is reinforced through interpersonal relationships formed with others sharing a common interest of enthusiasm for the automobile. The research has shown that there is a linkage between media efforts, automobile purchase, and social interaction. A cycle is formed from company executives releasing information and marketing to the public, inspiring consumers to purchase the car, and the community reinforces their purchase decision and fosters their brand loyalty.

This dissertation contributes to music scene and online community studies. It is an historical examination of the CBLocals music scene in the summer of 2006. This scene is located in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, and the website with which its participants identify. This study analyzes the CBLocals website as a cultural infrastructure of a music scene and thus positions itself to advance pre-Internet arguments about scenes. This dissertation argues that on the one hand, the Internet changes how music scenes function by increasing accessibility and mobility. On the other hand, it has left the social composition and ideological outlook of music scenes unchanged. Users celebrate the medium's possibilities and what the CBLocals website has brought to their scene. They also feel nostalgia for the practices they feel their scene has lost along the way. The result is that the most significant consequence of CBLocals.com and the Internet on the music scene is a feeling of ambivalence in its participants. In the second and third chapter, I demonstrate how local context still greatly affects the representation of the CBLocals scene. In Chapter Two, I analyze the social composition of CBLocals based on race, gender, region, class, sexuality and age. I conclude that this social composition is unaffected by technological advances. In Chapter Three, I analyze discussions of "selling out" within the scene. I conclude that regional perspectives of state-supported professionalism in music and arts inform discussions on "selling out" that are specific to the CBLocals community. The fourth chapter explores the CBLocals users' perceptions of the website and messageboard. Users celebrate a variety of benefits, such as an interactive forum, the social lubrication provided by online gossip and the ease of promoting music online. However, many users dislike what they see as the erosion of work ethic and standards of discourse that have occurred in the Internet age. These mixed emotions reflect the ambivalence resulting from the celebration of possibilities and the nostalgia emergent with new technology.

With shows such as Big Bang Theory and the increased mainstreaming of San Diego Comic-con, now more than ever before, it is acceptable to be a “nerd”. The question now becomes what efforts are being made to appeal to fans of color in traditional “nerd” activities, specifically comic books (this can include television shows and movies based on comic book characters), anime, and science fiction. Throughout the decades, there have been various attempts to have a discourse about the lack of diversity in nerd culture, both among its creators and characters from various properties considered beloved to nerds. Only, at the time of this writing, in recent years does there seem to be an increase among fans of color discussing these issues in the world at large, and not just in their own social group(s). This research will discover how minority fans feel about representation, or lack thereof, in the three above fandom. It will examine how minority fans feel about specific instants involving race and ethnicity in fandom from the past year. What I have discovered is that, issues of race are not discussed among the majority of fans and creators. Occasionally, when such issues are discussed there is an amount of hostility from white fans.

We aim to develop knowledge of how new technology, in this case social media, can contribute to how sports fans interact with their idols. Therefore our framing of a question is to present how fans experience their contact with mixed martial arts (MMA) & ultimate fighting championship (UFC) through social media platforms. To specify our study, we also have a supplement question with in which way sports fans uses social media.We have chosen to conduct a qualitative study consisting of interviews and data observations of websites, related to the organization UFC, to approach our main question. We have interviewed nine randomly selected people with one common interest - MMA/UFC. With an implant of theories, consisting of social media, fandom and lurking, on the result of the interview and website data, we try to come closer to a conclusion for our intention with this thesis.Our conclusion is that the interviewed fans express that through the usage of social media, they feel like they have come closer to UFC. They have developed a deeper knowledge about the sport, the members and other fans that shares the same interest. Most of our respondents have a lurking attitude towards the social media usage, which means that they are more like observers and soak in the information and media material. They are active in the searching of material related to UFC, but they are not active in the way of contributing with comments, discussions or material.

Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 94 pages. / Thesis (M.A.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: This is a qualitative case study conducted to investigate the relationship between consumers who are brand loyal to a certain product and the groups that are formed to bring these enthusiasts together, using the Chevrolet Corvette and its community as a model. Qualitative research lends itself to studying relationships and social situations, in being able to observe and participate in a social context, rather than analyzing it from the outside looking in. By approaching this subject as a case study, an element of flexibility was allowed. This study primarily focuses on one main phenomena, the social groups formed by loyal consumers. The specific context studied is the Chevrolet Corvette's community. / ABSTRACT: By using in-depth interviews of Corvette enthusiasts, owners and company employees, a deeper understanding of why people are loyal to a product and how they use enthusiast clubs to sustain their loyalty will be uncovered. Those interviewed were asked open-ended questions pertaining to their feelings about the community they are a part of, and the brand they are loyal to. A qualitative, ethnographic approach was taken, and interviews were conducted more as conversations than as formal, structured interviews. Through participant observation at various Corvette events, the researcher compared what participants said and what they were observed doing. Participants are from varying backgrounds, ages and genders as to provide a broad base of information. Data gathered were analyzed using grounded theory, a research method that seeks to develop theory that is grounded in data systematically gathered. / ABSTRACT: Grounded theory allows for a continuous interplay between data collection and analysis. Three overarching themes were constructed to organize the data, with various sub-categories to further explain the findings. The results of this study have shown that the object of enthusiasm, in this case the Chevrolet Corvette, is the basis for social interaction between owners and those involved with the car. While the physical car must uphold a superior standard, the consumer loyalty shown in this community is reinforced through interpersonal relationships formed with others sharing a common interest of enthusiasm for the automobile. The research has shown that there is a linkage between media efforts, automobile purchase, and social interaction. A cycle is formed from company executives releasing information and marketing to the public, inspiring consumers to purchase the car, and the community reinforces their purchase decision and fosters their brand loyalty. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

This study reveals science fiction fan culture as it was observed during a science fiction convention in southern California in 2009. Conventions, although social gatherings, are also places where learning takes place, and the culture is shared. The researcher, a fan herself, collected demographic data through an anonymous survey, then interviewed several fans to develop information about their educational history, cultural attitudes, and interactions with text. The evidence presented shows this group identifies itself as a subculture with its own language, arts, values, and traditions. Fandom also exhibits many characteristics of an affinity group as described by Gee (2003), in that its members are united by a common cause, and hold similar attitudes toward knowledge acquisition and information sharing. After describing who science fiction fans are, this study explores the many types of texts with which fans interact, and the types of literacy they demonstrate by doing so. In addition to being proficient readers of traditional text, fans demonstrate strong visual, computer, and genre literacy skills. Fans use these skills to interact with multiple forms of media including books, movies, television, art, blogs, fan fiction, and video games, to name a few. Furthermore, fan interests are shown to span a variety of text types including mainstream literature and nonfiction, as well as other genres. Finally, the study discusses the implications some of its findings may have for education. Importantly, it appears that a free reading program (especially as described by Krashen in 1993), which encourages students to read what they choose, would be an efficacious method of motivating students to practice higher order thinking skills. Furthermore, students should be encouraged to interact with multiple types of texts across a variety of genre including, but not limited to, science fiction. This implies that students need access to a variety of reading material including classics, genre literature, comic books, and graphic novels. / Dr. Jeannine M. Fontaine Dr. Resa Crane Bizzaro Dr. Karen Hellekson

This dissertation aims to find further understanding of how people with special interest in a certain artist utilise music and the fact that they are fans in their everyday lives. I have opted to study two fans included in each group selected for this study: Kiss, Status Quo and Lasse Stefanz, one male and one female fan belonging to each respective group. I have worked according to grounded theory as a method, and through an analysis of their musical life stories, I have attempted to identify why they became fans and how them being fans has affected them in their lives. Four categories, fandom as: a marker of identity, socialisation, a form of self therapy and a pseudo religion and the core category authenticity usage show the results of the study. The categories show that to a large extent it all comes down to the musical identity of these people, i.e. the identity of being a fan, and their experiences of being fans. They have been socialised into a specific genre, which has meant increased interest in a specific artist. Family, media and friends have all played a part in this socialisation. The informants have developed cultural competence as concerns their idols, although they have also gained the subcultural capital resources required in order to come across as credible fans. Various kinds of experiences offer meaning and nourish the fans. Security and stability in everyday lives are also contributing factors to them being fans and the music offers them something that they are unable to acquire from elsewhere. They have established different strategies in order to be able to be fans, one of these being legitimacy. A vital part of this legitimacy consists in them viewing the bands as authentic, i.e. important. / <p>Eva Kjellander är också affilierad med Linné-universitetet</p>