Filtering by
- All Subjects: fandom
- Creators: Ingram-Waters, Mary
There is a noticeable trend within audiences, made exceptionally more prominent by the rise of social media, in how fan artists and fandoms depict their favorite characters from particular media. In the case of anime like My Hero Academia and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, hypermasculine characters often emulate intense energy and toxic traits that viewers should normally recognize as problematic. However, there has been a growing movement within fandom culture to depict these hyper violent male characters in increasingly peaceful ways, often softening the character or surrounding them with flowers in a “flower child” vibe. This begs the question of why fandom has been attracted to this archetype in such a different way than before, and what attributes of traditional hypermasculinity lead to this level of admiration. Trends of romanticizing masculine energy is not new to fandom but while many focused on the admirable friendship and bonds between characters, this new trend seems to either idolize toxic and damaging behavior, or ignore it entirely. This research paper studies on notable case of this transformation process in the character of Katsuki Bakugo from My Hero Academia, demonstrating how an aggressive and violent character can be depicted in soft and gentle settings through fan created artworks.
This paper is a study on the portrayals of seven main Moomins characters across five revivals of Tove Jansson's Moomins. This study also examines popular fanon of the current Moomins fandom as well as a historical analysis of how each revival work was adapted to fit in the culture and time-period of their creation.
This research examines the similarities and differences between relationships developed through interpersonal interactions within online fandom communities and those relationships developed through traditional in-person interactions such as those found within education or the workplace. Beyond the similarities and differences between the two forms of relationships, I discover phenomenologically what happens in the moment that two online friends meet in-person. To be precise, I analyze how individuals within fandoms categorize their relationships in terms of their willingness to confide in each other, their perceived honesty of themselves, and their mental image of one another and how it may have changed over the course of their relationship. We might expect that individuals maintaining a relationship through interactions within online fandom may maintain idealized images of their respective partners due to the aspect of self-censorship that is derived from asynchronous communication. Additionally, we might expect that while trust may be built upon this exaggerated image of one’s partner, a disruption in this image formed through an in-person interaction could potentially result in said trust crumbling. Using a qualitative analysis of three individuals participating within various fandom communities. Thus, we predict that individuals within online relationships take steps to build an idealized version of oneself that might not fully reflect an individual’s actual physical or mental character.
Our study surveyed 43 DFS users to determine how they began playing DFS, what they like about DFS, and what they dislike about DFS. From the data collected, it was determined that TFS and DFS users are similar in their competitive nature, in their increased levels of sports consumption and investment, and in their increased favoritism towards individual players over teams. The main differences between TFS and DFS users were how each felt they were at a disadvantage, the levels of camaraderie within the sport, and their stance on gambling. TFS users felt their disadvantages came from lackluster commissioners while DFS users felt that the companies themselves were setting them at a disadvantage. TFS users placed more value on the camaraderie and social sport while DFS users placed more value on profit and excitement. TFS users felt that TFS was not gambling and that DFS was, while DFS users accepted DFS as gambling.
This paper explores the ways in which diasporic Chinese fans find spaces for reconnection with queer and diasporic identities in fandoms of Chinese slash fiction webnovels, otherwise known as danmei. Specifically, I examine the influence of participation in Western-based, English-speaking danmei fandom on queer and transnational home identies among queer Chinese diaspora. Given existing literature regarding the substantial influence of ethnic media in construction of diasporic identity (Shi 2005, Oh 2013) alongside literature regarding the importance of ethnic queer spaces in negotiating queer diasporic identity (Atay 2015, Tam 2017, Huang 2016), it follows that participation in danmei fandom influences transnational identity for diasporic Chinese fans. Additionally, danmei fandom has already been observed to create queer spaces for fans (Yang & Xu 2016, Martin 2012, Feng 2013). Such existing literature, however, focuses on Chinese fans based in China; I aim to examine how danmei fandom may do the same for diasporic Chinese fans outside of China. Using a grounded theory approach, this paper examines collected survey responses from queer diasporic Chinese danmei fans to reveal that danmei fandom creates a unique space that allows queer diasporic Chinese individuals to reconnect with transnational home identities, reaffirm Chinese identities alongside queer identities, and negotiate the points of conflict between the two -- impacts largely resultant from visibility of queer Chinese diaspora within danmei fandom (following the conclusions drawn from Atay 2015). In addition, I examine the underlying tensions in danmei fandom and limitations of danmei fandom as a space for consolidation of identity, as expressed by a substantial portion of survey participants. For queer diasporic Chinese danmei fans, participation in Western danmei fandom ultimately does allow for reconnection with Chinese identity and reaffirmation of Chinese and queer identities, though such experiences are not necessarily exempt from internal tensions or fandom politics.
