Fandom
Encyclopedia
Fandom is a term used to refer to a subculture
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...

 composed of fans
Fan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...

 characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the object(s) of their fandom and spend a significant portion of their time and energy involved with their interest, often as a part of a social network
Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...

 with particular practices (a fandom); this is what differentiates "fannish" (fandom-affiliated) fans from those with only a casual interest.

A fandom can grow up centered around any area of human interest or activity. The subject of fan interest can be narrowly defined, focused on something like an individual celebrity
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...

, or more widely defined, encompassing entire hobbies
Hobby
A hobby is a regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one's leisure time.- Etymology :A hobby horse is a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like a real horse...

, genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...

s or fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...

s. While it is now used to apply to groups of people fascinated with any subject, the term has its roots in those with an enthusiastic appreciation for sports. Merriam-Webster's dictionary traces the usage of the term back as far as 1903.

Fandom as a term can also be used in a broad sense to refer to an interconnected social network
Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...

 of individual fandoms, many of which overlap.

Organized subculture

A wide variety of Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...

 modern organized fannish subcultures originated with science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or "fandom" of people actively interested in science fiction and fantasy and in contact with one another based upon that interest...

, the community of fans of the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...

s. Science fiction fandom dates back to the 1930s and maintains organized clubs and associations in many cities around the world. It has held the annual World Science Fiction Convention since 1939, along with many other events each year, and has created its own jargon
Jargon
Jargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event. The philosophe Condillac observed in 1782 that "Every science requires a special language because every science has its own ideas." As a rationalist member of the Enlightenment he...

, sometimes called "fanspeak
Fanspeak
Fanspeak is the slang or jargon current in science fiction and fantasy fandom, especially those terms in use among readers and writers of science fiction fanzines....

".

Media fandom
Media fandom
Media fandom refers to the collective fandoms focused on contemporary television shows and movies. Media fandom has a focus on relationships and is distinct from science fiction fandom, anime fandom, book fandom, music fandom, soap opera fandom, sports fandom, and video game fandom.-History:Media...

 shot off from science fiction fandom in the early 1970s with a focus on relationships between characters within TV and movie media franchises. There is still much overlap in fannish culture and activities between media fandom and its science fiction fandom parent; media fandom derives some of its jargon, customs and practices from its science fandom roots. Vidding fandom, the fandom related to building and watching analytic music videos based on images, emerged from media fandom in the late 1970s.

Anime and manga fandom
Anime and manga fandom
Anime and manga fandom is a worldwide community of fans of anime and manga.- Otaku :Otaku is a Japanese term for people with obsessive interests, including anime, manga, or video games. In its original context, the term otaku is mildly offensive, implying that a person is somewhat socially inept...

 began in the 1970s in Japan. In America, the fandom also began as an offshoot of science fiction fandom, with fans bringing imported copies of Japanese manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 to conventions. Before anime began to be licensed in the U.S., fans who wanted to get a hold of anime would leak copies of anime movies and subtitle them to exchange with friends in the community, thus marking the start of fansubs.

Related to similar media sources, the cosplay
Cosplay
, short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan, but recent trends have included American cartoons and science fiction...

 community forms a subculture
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...

 centered around wearing costumes and reenacting scenes or inventing likely behavior inspired by their chosen sources, usually from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, and Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 media. Cosplay at fan events in Japan is thought to have originated in 1978.

Furry fandom
Furry fandom
Furry fandom is a fandom for fictional anthropomorphic animal characters with human personalities and characteristics. Examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, the ability to speak, walk on two legs, and wear clothes...

 refers to the fandom for fictional anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...

 animal characters with human personalities and characteristics. The concept of furry originated at a science fiction convention
Science fiction convention
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...

 in 1980, when a drawing of a character from Steve Gallacci’s Albedo Anthropomorphics
Albedo Anthropomorphics
Albedo Anthropomorphics, or Albedo for short, was a furry comic book anthology series which was credited with starting the furry comic book subgenre that featured sophisticated stories with funny animals primarily intended for an adult audience...

initiated a discussion of anthropomorphic characters in science fiction novels, which in turn initiated a discussion group that met at science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 and comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...

 convention
Convention (meeting)
A convention, in the sense of a meeting, is a gathering of individuals who meet at an arranged place and time in order to discuss or engage in some common interest. The most common conventions are based upon industry, profession, and fandom...

s.

Additional significant types of fandoms include comics fandom, sports fandom, music fandom, literature fandom, soap opera fandom, celebrity fandom, and video game fandom.

Fan activities

Members of a fandom associate with one another, often attending fan convention
Fan convention
A fan convention, or con , is an event in which fans of a particular film, television series, comic book, actor, or an entire genre of entertainment such as science fiction or anime and manga, gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and...

s and publishing and exchanging fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...

s and newsletters. Originally using print-based media, these sub-cultures have migrated much of their communications and interaction onto the internet, which they also use for the purpose of archiving detailed information pertinent to their given fanbase.

Some fans write fan fiction
Fan fiction
Fan fiction is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator...

, stories based on the universe and characters of their chosen fandom. This fan fiction can take the form of video-making as well as writing. Some also dress in costumes ("cosplay
Cosplay
, short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan, but recent trends have included American cartoons and science fiction...

") or recite lines of dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....

 either out-of-context or as part of a group reenactment. Others create fan vids, or analytical music videos focusing on the source fandom, and yet others create fan art
Fan art
Fan art or fanart is artwork that is based on a character, costume, collage, item, or story that was created by someone other than the artist, such as a fan, from which the word is derived from. The term, while it can apply to art done by fans of characters from books, is usually used to refer to...

. Such activities are sometimes known as "fan labor
Fan labor
Fan labor is a term used to refer to the productive creative activities engaged in by fans, primarily those of various media properties or musical groups...

" or "fanac
Fanac
Fanac is a fan slang term for activities within the realm of science fiction fandom, and occasionally used in media fandom...

", an abbreviated form of the phrase "fan activity." The advent of the internet has significantly facilitated fan association and activities. Activities that have been aided by the internet includes the creation of fan "shrines" dedicated to favourite characters, computer screen wallpapers, avatars. Furthermore, the advent of the internet has resulted in the creation of online fan networks who help facilitate the exchange of fanworks.

Fandom is sometimes caricatured as religious faith, as the interest of fans sometimes grows to dominate their lifestyle, and fans are often very obstinate in professing (and refusing to change) their beliefs about their fandom. However, society at large does not treat fandom with the same weight as organized religion.

In film

Feature-length documentaries
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 about fandom (some more respectful of the subjects than others) include Trekkies, Ringers: Lord of the Fans
Ringers: Lord of the Fans
Ringers: Lord of the Fans is a 2005 documentary film about the growth of Tolkien fandom. It won the award for Outstanding Achievement in a Documentary at the 2005 Newport Beach Film Festival and was nominated for Best DVD Release at the 2006 Saturn Awards.The film says a lot about the early days,...

, Finding the Future: A Science Fiction Conversation, and Done the Impossible
Done the Impossible
Done the Impossible is a 2006 documentary fan film of the TV series Firefly. Its main focus is on the fans themselves, and how they came to love the show and, ultimately, played a part in getting the film Serenity made.-History:...

. "Fandom" is also the name of a documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 / mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...

 about a fan obsessed with Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman
Natalie Hershlag , better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film Léon, but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel...

.

Relationship with industry

The entertainment industry refers to the totality of fans devoted to a particular area of interest, whether organized or not, as the "fanbase".

Fans, have, on occasion, organized on behalf of canceled television series, with notable success in cases such as Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princess is an American–New Zealand supernatural fantasy adventure series that aired in syndication from September 4, 1995 until June 18, 2001....

, in 1995, Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...

 in 1968, Cagney & Lacey
Cagney & Lacey
Cagney & Lacey is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from October 8, 1981 to May 16, 1988...

in 1983, Roswell
Roswell (TV series)
Roswell is an American science fiction television series developed, produced, and co-written by Jason Katims. The series debuted on October 6, 1999 on The WB and moved to UPN for the third season. The last episode aired May 14, 2002...

 in 2000 and 2001 (it was canceled with finality at the end of the 2002 season), Farscape
Farscape
Farscape is an Australian-American science fiction television series filmed in Australia and produced originally for the Nine Network. The series was conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment...

 in 2002, Firefly
Firefly (TV series)
Firefly is an American space western television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as executive producer, along with Tim Minear....

 in 2002, and Jericho
Jericho (TV series)
Jericho is an American action/drama series that centers on the residents of the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas, in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on 23 major cities in the contiguous United States...

 in 2007. (In the case of Firefly the result was the movie Serenity
Serenity (film)
Serenity is a 2005 space western film written and directed by Joss Whedon. It is a continuation of the short-lived 2002 Fox science fiction television series Firefly, taking place after the events of the final episode. Set in 2518, Serenity is the story of the captain and crew of a cargo ship...

, not another season.) Such outcry, even when unsuccessful, suggest a growing self-consciousness on the part of entertainment consumers, who appear increasingly likely to attempt to assert their power as a bloc. Fan activism in support of the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike through Fans4Writers
Fans4Writers
Fans4Writers is a movement of fans who supported the striking writers of the WGA during the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike. The organization was not associated with the WGA, and indeed was notable for its unprecedented show of solidarity by individuals who were neither directly involved in...

 appears to be an extension of this trend.

See also

  • Fan club
    Fan club
    A fan club is a group that is dedicated to a well-known person, group, idea or sometimes even an inanimate object . Most fan clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to supporting them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the person...

  • Fan convention
    Fan convention
    A fan convention, or con , is an event in which fans of a particular film, television series, comic book, actor, or an entire genre of entertainment such as science fiction or anime and manga, gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and...

  • Fan fiction
    Fan fiction
    Fan fiction is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator...

  • Fan film
    Fan film
    A fan film is a film or video inspired by a film, television program, comic book or a similar source, created by fans rather than by the source's copyright holders or creators. Fan filmmakers have traditionally been amateurs, but some of the more notable films have actually been produced by...

  • Fan labor
    Fan labor
    Fan labor is a term used to refer to the productive creative activities engaged in by fans, primarily those of various media properties or musical groups...

  • Fan (person)
    Fan (person)
    A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...

  • Otaku
    Otaku
    is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.- Etymology :Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family , which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun...


Fandoms by medium

  • Anime and manga fandom
    Anime and manga fandom
    Anime and manga fandom is a worldwide community of fans of anime and manga.- Otaku :Otaku is a Japanese term for people with obsessive interests, including anime, manga, or video games. In its original context, the term otaku is mildly offensive, implying that a person is somewhat socially inept...

  • Furry fandom
    Furry fandom
    Furry fandom is a fandom for fictional anthropomorphic animal characters with human personalities and characteristics. Examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, the ability to speak, walk on two legs, and wear clothes...

  • Media fandom
    Media fandom
    Media fandom refers to the collective fandoms focused on contemporary television shows and movies. Media fandom has a focus on relationships and is distinct from science fiction fandom, anime fandom, book fandom, music fandom, soap opera fandom, sports fandom, and video game fandom.-History:Media...

  • Science fiction fandom
    Science fiction fandom
    Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or "fandom" of people actively interested in science fiction and fantasy and in contact with one another based upon that interest...

  • Vidding fandom

Notable fandoms

  • Bronies (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fandom)
  • Browncoats (Firefly fandom)
  • Doctor Who fandom
    Doctor Who fandom
    The long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who has developed a large fan base over the years.Doctor Who fans are sometimes referred to as Whovians, most often by the American press. The usage was more common among fans in the United States during the 1980s, when the Doctor...

  • Harry Potter fandom
    Harry Potter fandom
    The Harry Potter fandom is a large international and informal community drawn together by J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. The fandom works through the use of many different forms of media, including web sites, fan fiction, podcasts, fan art and songvids...

  • Janeite
    Janeite
    The term Janeite has been both embraced by devotees of the works of Jane Austen as well as used as a term of opprobrium. According to Austen scholar Claudia Johnson Janeitism is "the self-consciously idolatrous enthusiasm for 'Jane' and every detail relative to her".Janeitism did not begin until...

  • MSTie
    MSTie
    MSTie, rarely spelled MiSTie, is a term for a fan of the show Mystery Science Theater 3000. It is generally pronounced "misty".It was coined by analogy to the term Trekkie, however it is not contested as derogatory...

     (fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000)
  • Tolkien fandom
    Tolkien fandom
    Tolkien fandom is an international, informal community of fans of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially of the Middle-earth legendarium which includes The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion...

  • Trekkie
    Trekkie
    A Trekkie or Trekker is a fan of the Star Trek franchise, or of specific television series or films within that franchise.-History:In 1967, science fiction editor Arthur W...

     (Star Trek fandom)
  • Trilby
    Trilby (novel)
    Trilby is a novel by George du Maurier and one of the most popular novels of its time, perhaps the second best selling novel of the Fin de siècle after Bram Stoker's Dracula. Published serially in Harper's Monthly in 1894, it was published in book form in 1895 and sold 200,000 copies in the United...

     (Early example)

External links

  • "Who owns fandom?" - Salon.com
    Salon.com
    Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...

     December 13, 2000
  • "Rank and Phile" - Arts Hub feature, August 12, 2005
  • "Gaming's Fringe Cults" at The Escapist
    The Escapist (magazine)
    The Escapist is an online magazine covering video games, gamers, the gaming industry, and gaming culture. Published by the Themis Group, it was edited by Julianne Greer up to June 30, 2009, then by Russ Pitts through September 2011, and is currently edited by Steve Butts. The Escapist was first...

  • MIT.edu - "Quentin Tarantino's Star Wars?: Digital Cinema, Media Convergence, and Participatory Culture" by Henry Jenkins
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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