Gender-Swapped Doctors Are Our New Favorite Form of Doctor Who Cosplay
An interview of me by Charlie Jane Anders, published at i09 in 2012.
Discusses the ways in which femme Doctor cosplay in the Doctor Who fan community is both a response to a lack of... more Discusses the ways in which femme Doctor cosplay in the Doctor Who fan community is both a response to a lack of female protagonists/heroines in the show and a way to destabilize gender within the fan community.
"I Am Not A Sidekick": Femme and Crossplay Doctor Cosplay
Still drafting. Will be published in Queers Dig Time Lords, edited by Sigrid Ellis. Will be published by Mad Norwegian Press in March 2013.
Discusses the trend of femme and crossplay Doctors in the Doctor Who cosplay community, and suggests that these... more Discusses the trend of femme and crossplay Doctors in the Doctor Who cosplay community, and suggests that these cosplays make several rhetorical moves, including resisting a narrative in which men are heroes and women are sidekicks, destabilizing gender by visually marking femininity and masculinity as performative, and subverting a hierarchy in which things coded as "feminine" are devalued.
The Mighty Boosh: Femininity, Female Fan Practices and the figure of the 'Fangirl'
by Sarah Harman
The Mighty Boosh (dir. Paul King 2007 - present), once an underground cult text, has increasingly become rejected as... more
The Mighty Boosh (dir. Paul King 2007 - present), once an underground cult text, has increasingly become rejected as 'feminine mainstream'. This gendering occurs through a number of processes: an association with consumerism and rabid consumption; an increasingly visible female fandom; and through an assimilation of these into the text itself. This paper argues that the rejection of The Mighty Boosh and its affiliation with the feminine typifies the gendering of television dialectics, as well as the gendered dichotomy of Cult verses Mainstream.
By examining female fan behaviour this paper explores the hierarchical structure of female Boosh fandom, problematising pre-existing fandom studies and their theoretical assumptions. This is primarily through what I term the Illegitimate and Legitimate fan, exploring how fans compete for dominance through their relationship to and with the text. In addition this paper takes as crucial the current phenomenon of the comedy 'fangirl' – the lowest position within this hierarchy – concluded as central to feminist discourses of consumption, sexuality and identity whilst standing at odds with the traditional masculine position of the 'serious fan'.
'We FBA Now': Community Building and the Furry Basketball Association
by Sean Ahern
This paper was first presented at the Ray Browne Conference on Popular Culture. This is a draft of a longer paper that I am working on for a compilation from the Ray Browne Conference on Popular Culture held at Bowling Green State University from March 30 to April 1.
Download (.doc) Manga in Europe : A Short Study of Market and Fandom.
by Ariane Beldi
Bouissou, Jean-Marie, Dolle-Weinkauff, Bernd, Marco Pellitteri, with Ariane Beldi. 2010. “Manga in Europe : A Short Study of Market and Fandom.” In Manga : An Anthology of Global and Cultural Perspectives, Toni Johnson-Woods (ed.), New York : Continuum International Publishing Group.
Subverting the canon in feminist fan fiction: "Concession"
Published in Transformative Works and Cultures no. 7
This paper examines the Iron Man fan story "Concession", by obsession_inc, reading it for discussion of... more This paper examines the Iron Man fan story "Concession", by obsession_inc, reading it for discussion of feminist themes and analyzing its relationship with the source material. This work was chosen for its treatment of (1) male privilege, (2) female alienation, (3) the power inequality between men and women, and (4) the female body. The relationship with perceived failings of the canon was also explored, along with how the expectations set up by the canon presentation of characters was challenged and repackaged within the fan work.
Cult Yet? The 'Miracle' of Internationalization?
in Williams, R. (ed.) (forthcoming, 2013) Torchwood Declassified: Investigating Mainstream Cult Television, London: I.B. Tauris.
The sci-fi series Torchwood started on BBC3 as a small spin-off from an immensely successful programme, Doctor Who.... more The sci-fi series Torchwood started on BBC3 as a small spin-off from an immensely successful programme, Doctor Who. After discussing Torchwood's prior positioning in relation to the cult and mainstream labels, this chapter analyses the unexpectedly violent reaction of Torchwood's fans with regards to the use of American cult Television writers on the programme's latest series, and how the latter impacted on Torchwood's cult and mainstream status. By addressing the viewers' negative response towards Miracle Day, this paper exposes the opposite consequences which resulted from the latter. It finally outlines the impermanency of this situation, and the long term repercussions which may arise from it.
Toward an ecology of vidding
by Tisha Turk
Co-authored with Joshua Johnson.
Despite the fan studies emphasis on participatory culture, much of the current work on vids (and in fan studies... more Despite the fan studies emphasis on participatory culture, much of the current work on vids (and in fan studies broadly) treats fans more as readers than as producers. To help us examine the relationships between fannish reading practices and fannish creative processes, we turn to composition studies and Marilyn Cooper's concept of an ecology of writing. We argue for an ecological model of vidding, an approach that enables us to explore the collaborative nature of vidding without erasing individual authorship; to investigate the relationships not only between vids and media texts but also between vidders and their audiences; and to treat fan conversations both as responses to mass media and as sites for the generation and circulation of interpretive conventions that guide both the creation and reception of vids.
Shipping News: The Ardent TV Fans You've Probably Never Heard Of
A blog post in The Huffington Post that touches on my work on Tumblr fans
"Wiseau Serious? How Audiences Transform 'The Room' From a Romantic Drama Into an Unintentional Comedy Sensation"
In February 2012, THE ROOM's director/star/writer/producer Tommy Wiseau and co-star Greg Sestero visited London for a... more In February 2012, THE ROOM's director/star/writer/producer Tommy Wiseau and co-star Greg Sestero visited London for a series of introduced screenings. This piece reflects on those screenings, providing an overview of the film and its cult following. I argue that it is the audience, and not simply the film itself, that is responsible for the production of such a riotous comedy experience.
'Snakes on a Plane' and the prefabricated cult film
Paper originally presented as part of the 'B for bad cinema: aesthetics, politics and cultural value' conference, Film and Television Studies, Monash University, 15-17 April 2009
Macbeth: Culturas populares y fandom
Co-authored with Alberto Hermida, published in Comunicación, nº5, 2007.
Las culturas populares son el reflejo de la sociedad y de su evolución. Mediante éstas, se conserva y se transmite la... more Las culturas populares son el reflejo de la sociedad y de su evolución. Mediante éstas, se conserva y se transmite la tradición entre generaciones, adaptándose al presente y a sus nuevas formas culturales. En la actualidad, en una época de constantes avances tecnológicos y tomando Macbeth, de Shakespeare, como obra representativa, el ciberespacio y los nuevos formatos aparecen como el contexto idóneo para dicha tarea comunitaria.
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Promoting LOST. New Strategies and Tools of Commercial Communication
(PLEASE LEAVE A FEEDBACK -jldelmar@us.es- IN CASE OF QUOTE) Co-authored with Marina Ramos. Published in "Previously on" (Edited by Miguel Pérez, 2011)
The main goal of this article is the analysis of new strategies and communication tools used in the promotion of TV... more The main goal of this article is the analysis of new strategies and communication tools used in the promotion of TV shows. The TV show Lost (ABC, 2004-2010), which has revolutionized the way in which the audience relates to the fictional TV products and which has modified the way that TV is conceived, is the starting point of this study. Episode discussion, the elaboration of theories, and the consumption of spoilers show evidence of a new way of consuming cultural products which has modified existing promotional strategies.
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Communication in online fan communities: The ethics of intimate strangers
Published in Empedocles: European Journal for the Philosophy of Communication, vol. 2, no. 2, pp279-289, December 2011.
“Fandom Meets Activism: Rethinking Civic and Political Participation”
Co-authored with Sangita Shrestova, Journal of Transformative Works & Cultures. In press.
“Beam Me Across, Scotty: Star Trek as a Case Study in the Liminality of 'Cult'."
by Thomas Clark
Cult Fiction & Cult Film: Multiple Perspectives. Ed. Marcel Arbeit and Roman Trušník. Olomouc: VUP, 2008: 195-208.
Identity scavengers: queer girl fandom, identity politics, and South of Nowhere
Through analysis of the fan culture of South of Nowhere, this essay opens up the complex worlds of reception and... more Through analysis of the fan culture of South of Nowhere, this essay opens up the complex worlds of reception and fandom, positioning queer girl fans as "identity scavengers."
Steampunk: Stylish Subversion and Colonial Chic.
by Diana Pho
Co-authored with Jaymee Goh. Fashion Talks: Undressing the Power of Style Ed. Shira Tarrant & Marjorie Jolles. SUNY Press. 2012. (forthcoming)
Shimmies and Sprockets: Analyzing the Use of Belly Dance in Steampunk.
by Diana Pho
Steampunk Magazine Anthology, Issues #1 – 7. Ed. Margaret Killjoy. AK Press. 2011.
Objectified and Politicized: The Dynamics of Ideology and Consumerism in Steampunk Subculture
by Diana Pho
Steaming into a Victorian Future. Ed. Julie Anne Taddeo, Cynthia Miller, and Ken Dvorak. Scarecrow Press. 2012.
Steampunk subculture, somewhat paradoxically given its admiration for pre-Industrial technologies, exists both as a... more
Steampunk subculture, somewhat paradoxically given its admiration for pre-Industrial technologies, exists both as a physical and as a virtual community. Thus, the steampunk subcultural identity is also a mediatized identity, emphasizing the fluidity between a fan's physically-present body and her online, disembodied self. Indeed, in a move that is literal, metaphorical, and virtual, “steampunk'd” objects are also incorporated to create a cyborg self; in creating character personas (or steamsonas), steampunks establish their fictional identities in a variety of ways, from wearing mechanical props into their outfits to establishing their fictional identity through virtual handles, blogs or websites.
The embrace of this hybrid fan identity can be connected to the subculture's philosophy, a reactive stance against the omnipresent, slightly menacing and mostly incomprehensible role of technology in the average person’s life today. It's not surprising, then, that in discussions about the purpose and meaning of technology in human lives, questions concerning steampunk subculture's political possibilities also arise. Furthermore, since the style is widely described as being “Neo-Victorian,” both subcultural participants and observers have questioned whether the use of the Victorian aesthetic is a form of political appropriation by progressives, a form of socially conservative nostalgia for a problematic sociopolitical era or something else in between. Thus, in order to examine the political dimensions of this community, I will focus on how one hotly-debated issue is addressed among steampunks: the commodification of steampunk objects.
Steampunk objects have great importance in the community, of course, acting as subcultural markers and sources of enjoyment for both in-group participants and outside observers. Indeed, steampunk objects as signifiers have often been conflated with the community's definition of steampunk itself. In previous scholarship, academics have discussed steampunk style as an applied aesthetic, with multiple definitions of steampunk proposed by various scholars and writers. A current consensus, however, is explained aptly by academic Stefania Folini: that steampunk is “about things – especially technological things – and our relationship to them.”
In examining individual responses over this relationship, I will expound on how the steampunk aesthetic acts as a performative promise according to Deborah Kapchan's concept of “lived aesthetics.” Hence, through new media cultural production, steampunk objects become more than just clever exercises in anachronism, but to some, promises the progressive mobilization of ideas, a prime example of Stephen Duncombe's “ethical spectacle”; contrastingly, to others the political potential of steampunk is deferred in favor of fulfilling artistic commercial aspirations. Various steampunk objects examined in this article include the virtual – blogs and websites – along with steampunk mediatic images, texts such as Steampunk Magazine and Steampunk Palin, and real-life rallies that have been virtually organized via Facebook. This chapter, then, will address how various ideologies concerning the treatment of steampunk objects are embraced, rejected, and proliferated in a post-industrial, information economy and how steampunk's postmodern, mediatized identity serves both in conjunction with and in reaction against anti-consumerist stances.