Critically reflect on the issues from readings , to consider media events that occur during the course, and to think about your own media
consumption/”fannish” interests.
Please see attachment for further details about this assignment, as well as some example reflective journals from previous years.
Celebrity, Fandom and the Internet
The development of the Internet and related forms of new technology have given rise to a new phenomenon: the cyberfan. This week examines
the consumption of celebrity in Internet-based environments, exploring the ways that fans’ identifications with celebrities are negotiated
online and the struggles over copyright and the ownership of celebrity images raised by their actions.
Key Reading
Soukup, Charles (2006) “Hitching a Ride on a Star: Celebrity, Fandom, and Identification on the World Wide Web” Southern Communication
Journal, Vol. 71, No. 4, pp 319-337.
Click, M.A, Hyunji Lee & Holly Willson Holladay (2013) “Making Monsters: Lady Gaga, Fan Identification, and Social Media” Popular Music
and Society Vol 36, Issue 3, 360-379.
Further Reading
Baym, N. (2000) Tune in, log on: Soaps, fandom, and online community Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Bennett, L (2014) “‘If we stick together we
can do anything’: Lady Gaga fandom, philanthropy and activism
through social media” Celebrity studies, Vol. 5, Issue 1-2, 138-152.
Benson, F. andBrown, W. (2002) “Media, celebrities, and social
influence: Identification with Elvis
Presley”. Mass Communication & Society 5, pp. 183-207.
Chin, B. and Hills, M. (2008) “Restricted confessions? Blogging, subcultural
celebrity and the management of
producer-fan proximity” Social Semiotics, 18: 2, 253-272
DEPARTMENT OF MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER
Courbet, D and Marie-Pierre Fourquet-Courbet (2014) “When a celebrity dies …Social identity, uses of social media, and the mourning
process among fans: the case of Michael Jackson” Celebrity Studies, Volume 5, Issue 3, 2014, 275-290.
Gwenllian Jones, Sara (2000) “Starring Lucy Lawless?”, Continuum, Volume
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~db=all~content=t713411120~tab=issueslist~branches=14 – v1414, Issue 1 April 2000, 9-22
Harris, C. & Alexander, A. (eds.) (1998) Theorizing Fandom: Fans, Subculture and Identity, Cresskill, N.J.: Hampton Press.
Jenkins, H. (1992) Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture, London: Routledge.
Lambiase, J (2003) “Codes of online
sexuality: Celebrity, gender and marketing on the web” Sexuality & Culture,
Vol. 7, No. 3, pp 57-78.
Larsen, K., and L. Zubernis (2012) Fandom At The Crossroads: Celebration, Shame and Fan/Producer
Relationships, Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Lin, H. S. (2012) “Emotions, Desires, and Fantasies: What Idolizing Means for Yon-sama Fans
in Japan” in J. G.
KarlinIdols and Celebrity in Japanese Media Culture, Palgrave, pp 166–182.
Ogbu, C. (2003) “I Put Up a Website About My Favorite Show and All I Got was This Lousy Cease-and-Desist Letter: The Intersection of Fan
Sites, Internet Culture, and Copyright Owner” Interdisciplinary Law Journal, Vol. 12, p 279.
Rajagopalan, Sudha (2011) “Shahrukh Khan as media text: celebrity, identity and emotive engagement in a Russian online community”
Celebrity Studies Vol. 2, No. 3, 263–276.
Yamamoto, L. (2000) “Copyright Protection and Internet Fan Sites: Entertainment Industry Finds Solace in Traditional Copyright Law,” Los
Angeles Law Review Vol. 20, No. 95, pp 95-128, available online http://elr.lls.edu/issues/v20-issue1/yamamoto.pdf
Example：
The Internet-Useful space for fans but wasted opportunity for celebrity interaction?
The internet has allowed for ‘new ways to disseminate fan-oriented texts, create identification within fan communities and presumably,
create unique associations between fans and celebrities’ (Soukup, 2006:324). Reddit subsection www.reddit.com/r/breakingbad allows fans
to produce comedic texts of their own (alternative paradoxical Breaking Bad ending by editing various clips), and openly discuss events
related to the show, presenting new ways in producing and sharing creative texts. In terms of the internet and intimacy, Aaron Paul’s
recent AMA (ask me anything) on this subsection enabled fans to ask Aaron anything from private life holiday destinations to opinons about
his character and show. However, tensions did appear regarding identity and openness as some responses focused on the promotion of the
finale, and the consistent use of the word ‘bitch’ in continuing his on-screen persona into what initially appeared as an open two way
form of communication with the actor Aaron Paul, not character Jesse Pinkman. Also, Twitter predominately acts as a one way form of
communication, offering a platform for celebrities to engage without revealing personal information, but it does allow for instances of
two way communication. Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt predominately uses Twitter to promote his ‘hitRECord’ company in a formal manner.
However, he offers instances where he takes on the character of ‘Don Jon’ (His new film), answering any type of question from fans
regarding the characters’ personal life (as opposed to his own) that were not revealed in the film in an informal laidback attitude
representative of his character. This enforces the idea that ‘where two-way communicational possibilities are embraced… [there is a
tendency] towards the adoption of an informal tone that continues to reinforce differentials in symbolic status’ (Chin & Hills, 2008:254)
Chin, B. and Hills, M. (2008). Restricted confessions? Blogging, subcultural celebrity and the management of producer–fan proximity.
Social Semiotics, 18 (2), pp. 253–272.
Soukup, C. (2006). Hitching a ride on a star: Celebrity, fandom, and identification on the World Wide Web.Southern Communication Journal,
71 (4), pp. 319–337.