The Evolution of Fandoms
What happens when something inherently cringe enters the mainstream? And I say cringe with positive connotations, as a fangirl at heart.
Dye (2024) defines fandoms as ‘communities built around a shared enjoyment of an aspect of popular culture, such as books, movies, TV shows, bands, sports or sports teams.’ As a place to connect and belong, through fanart, weekly episode discussions, cosplaying, forums and zines. A way for communities to connect with those who share their opinions, and even others who don’t.
Confined to my walls in 2020-21, I definitely found community and belonging in the MCU community, reading through fan theories after weekly Wandavision episode as the world grappled with unprecedented uncertainty. It felt like I was in on a massive inside joke with the resurgence of the greatest character of all time, Jimmy Woo.
Importantly, being free from the shackles of public scrutiny, the 2020-21 lockdowns allowed people to express their interests in a safety bubble. Nobody left the internet anyways, so finding your target audience was easy.
But to take a step back, before fandoms shaped the internet, where were the people that formed these subcultures?
History of Fandom Culture
Fandom culture transformed as visual mediums did. Polk (2023) explains that the first ever book club, hosted in 1634 by Anne Hutchison, was a reading circle for the Bible. Sharing interpretations, making inferences on different scriptures, from there book clubs slowly evolved to become a common facet of society. By the 18th century, such clubs became affiliated with wealth, and were avenues for drinking, gossiping, discussing politics and philosophy. In the 19th century, while women were still unable to study in educational institutions, book clubs filled a void for working and upper class women to discuss gender, agency and purpose and as women gained the rights to study, these discussions diversified and became more prevalent.
Of course, fandom culture expanded beyond books and is now more commonly associated with tv shows/films and visual media. Thus, when visual media evolved even further, with cinemas, productions and radio shows gaining popularity in the early 20th century (1920-50s) modern fan culture expanded to physically host factions of these pieces of media. Communities could come together and look forward to a certain sequel, or the return of a musical to their hometown.
Fandom Culture Now
The current status of fandom culture was propagated by the internet. In an era where physical media is becoming more obsolete, fans are enabled to connect, post, search and find new fandoms on social media rapidly. Unsurprisingly, this shift also vastly changed how fans connect with their favourite pieces of media.
For instance: The all too common 8-episode format, a byproduct of the binge model. As the new season of a show airs - typically over 9-10 weeks, fandoms often experience a surge in activity. In this model, viewers are expected to watch the new episode as soon as it drops and then engage in social media’s plethora of live reactions, in-depth analysis, theories, and edits.
Invincible (2019) and The Summer I Turned Pretty (2022), two of Amazon Prime’s biggest shows, consistent with entirely different fandom makeups, illustrate this shift in fandom culture.
Invincible, a gritty, gruesome show targeted to an older, male audience is drawn from Robert Kirkman’s comics, and TSITP, an adaption of Jenny Han’s coming-of-age, romantic trilogy targeted to 15-18 year old girls, had devoted fan bases before any TV show adaptations were announced. So when Invincible’s turnaround from Season 1 to 2 grew from 1…2…3…4 years, impatience within the fandom was to be expected. Of course as an animated show, expectations are different to live action media, however, TSITP announced this May that its final instalment would be ‘delayed’ to 2025. Its consistent release schedule as a feel-good summer watch interrupted.
This isn’t a new experience however, shows and movies are constantly delayed, re-shot or cancelled without explanation. What’s unique to the experience newer fandoms have, is an extended wait time for increasingly shorter seasons. The 20-minute episode format is a thing of the past and the TV experience mirrors the anticipation of a new movie, with 45 minute - 1 hour episodes. (IMDB 2022)
The 8-episode format almost ruins the year(s) of waiting, and when the place of community springs up for a two-month stint every 2 years, does a fandom’s sense of belonging still exist? These delays and episodic formats raise questions about the sustainability of fandom engagement.
Nonetheless, this doesn’t mean the future fan culture experience is tarnished, everyone will be connected to their favourite song, show or movie forever! Even when the biggest conglomerates in the world exploit fan culture, decades of fandom evolution have and will continue to survive.
Sources
Dye, Cassie. (2024, April 18). Fan culture can be toxic, The Post. https://www.thepostathens.com/article/2024/04/fan-fandom-tv-movie-toxicity
Grinnell College. (2024). Fandom and Participatory Culture, Grinnell
IMDB. (2022) The Summer I Turned Pretty (2022) [Photograph]. IMDB. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14016500/mediaviewer/rm2924881153/?ref_=tt_ov_i
Polk, Shelbi. (2023, April 17) The Long Legacy of Book Clubs, Shondaland https://www.shondaland.com/inspire/books/a45563057/the-long-legacy-of-book-clubs/