Fandom is defined as an organized “subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest.” Fandoms are often focused on topics of pop culture like an individual celebrity, a genre, a film or television series, fictional characters, etc. Traditionally, members of a specific fandom gather at large conventions that cater to their (typically) overlapping range of interests and allow fans to meet and engage with each other and share ideas.
Today, the social significance of fandoms is changing. As Jenkins suggests in his article from the Social Media Reader, fandoms have become a new form of social folk culture. Before the creation of professional mass media, people actively engaged with culture through storytelling that is now being incorporated into the modern-day online folk culture. As digital culture continues to shape our society, fandoms have transitioned into online spaces. The rise of fandoms is mostly a result of the creation of the internet combined with features designed for participation. Now, fans are not forced to wait for their next convention to share ideas but can revel in their preferred pieces of pop culture on a global level almost instantly via online communities.
Participatory culture is what allows members of fandom to become more than consumers of pop culture, but active contributors and producers. Increasing participatory culture is the result of digital technology that enables new forms of public discourse. Participatory culture is what allows members of fandom to become more than consumers of pop culture, but active contributors and producers. The internet, for instance, allows users to publicly publish their work on social networks that were designed to be interactive and engaging, like Tumblr, YouTube, or Twitter.
With the internet bringing an increase of participatory culture, fans are able to join into communities that allow them to think outside of what is possible in more mainstream scenarios. Fandoms are at the center of transformative works. In fandoms, people react and build off the traditional media industry’s already created ideas and characters. The fan art community, for instance, takes pop culture stories and extends those characters into new adventures, absurdities, and unexpected relationships. Most young people’s creative processes start in fan art and are only limited by the imagination of the artist.
This is especially important in considering fandoms as a form of folk culture. Traditional folk culture refers to “the unifying expressive components of everyday life as enacted by localized, tradition-bound groups.” Historically, serving as oral traditions of storytelling, that include playful and childlike themes to define the values of a community in efforts to develop a group identity. The same can be said for fandoms, who’s members often agree on the basic ideas and values that their community is based off.
Since the uprising of grassroots fan art within the online sphere, the media industry feels increasingly challenged by the use of their work. With increasing participatory culture, the media industry is forced to confront the limits in which they enforce copyright laws. Owners of pop culture phenomenons are rushing to capitalize on the growth of fandoms. According to the Harvard Business Review, “companies are increasingly using their merchandising rights — exclusive rights based on copyright and trademark to control and profit from commercial goods based on a fantasy property — to control how fans experience their favorite stories.” The push for these exclusive rights is a claim of intellectual property. As companies get more aggressive in their legal threats to creative processes, the freedom of fandoms remains uncertain.
