Fandom & Participation

There are many things you think of when you hear the word, 'fans.' You may think of sports fans who wave flags and wear face paint.

Or maybe you might think of screaming people at concerts.

Or you might think of people dressed as Star Wars character waiting in line at the cinema.

Either way, fandoms can come from any source and be incredibly different from one another, but they still all have one thing in common...they care about what it is they are a fan of.

When talking about fans and fandoms in new media, there is usually a 'geek' stereotype (example is that picture of the Star Wars fans). These stereotypes are often parodied in various popular culture, such as The Big Bang Theory, in which most of the main characters are cliched nerds who collect merchandise and dress up at conventions.

Fans have become a very important part of any aspect of the media. Their involvement and participation in films and television shows have increased their popularity as well as created a community in which fans can interact with each other.

Fan participation is when "fans and other consumers are invited to actively participate in the creation and circulation of new content," according to Henry Jenkins in 2006. Participation could mean a number of things, like collaborative environments, which is like interactive websites where fans can communicate digitally.

Also according to Jenkins(2010) the forms of participation are 'Affiliations,' 'Expressions,' 'Collaborative Problem Solving,' and 'Circulations.'

Affiliations means memberships and fan clubs, such as sites like Pottermore and 'liking' something on Facebook.

Expressions is used to describe fans who create their own content which is inspired or parodied, like fan fiction, for example.

Collaborative Problem Solving is the term used to describe those dedicated fans who partake in live action role playing.

And finally, Circulations are simply fans who discuss their fandom, for example, by writing about them, like in a blog.