Living Myths in a Living World

This chapter considers fan studies in a mythological studies context and examines how green studies might use a similar approach to tap into the cultural and mythic power of modern fandoms. The first part defines the components of myth, considers existing fandom studies theories related to those components, and discusses on how fandom studies could impact the larger mythological studies debate. The second part describes the mythological roots of today's environmental crises and discusses the influence of specific fandoms on environmental activism. The chapter closes with some thoughts on how a mythological and green approach to fandom could provide further cultural impetus to positive environmental values much as feminist, ethnic, and queer perspectives on fandom have highlighted and supported a value shift in society as a whole.

Anime tourism in Italy: Travelling to the locations of the Studio Ghibli films

Film-induced tourism, intended as travelling to places where films and TV series have been shot or set, has been extensively studied in the last two decades in several disciplinary fields. For example, the term ‘media pilgrimage’ emerged in media sociology to highlight the sacred dimension these practices may assume, while fan studies have focused on the narrative of affection built upon specific places. Calling forth the relationship between film and landscape, these phenomena have been also explored in the light of film semiotics and media geography. In the past decade, the representation of landscape and the construction of the sense of place in animation benefited from increased scholarly attention; however, the links between tourism and animation still appear under-explored. Japanese animation, because of its prominent use of real locations as the basis for the building of its worlds and the tendency of its fanbases to take action (even in the form of animation-oriented tourism), is an especially promising field, in this respect. In the last fifteen years, a debate on ‘content(s) tourism’ has involved the Japanese government as well as academic scholarship, referring to a wide variety of contents, from novels to films and TV series, anime, manga, and games. The article presents a case study: a discussion of the experience of anime tourists who visited the Italian locations featured in the films by the world-famous animator and director Miyazaki Hayao, especially in Castle in the Sky (1986) and Porco Rosso (1992). The experiences of anime tourists were collected from images and texts shared through the social network Twitter.

Między interpretacją a moralnością. Anty-shiperzy we współczesnym fandomie medialnym

Shipowanie jako jedna z najpopularniejszych praktyk fanowskich jest silnie nacechowana afektywnie i przypisywane są jej różne znaczenia. Zindywidualizowane interpretowanie przez fanów tekstu źródłowego i odmienne shipy, jakie na nich bazują, rodzą konflikty i rozłamy wewnątrz fandomów. Na gruncie tego wyłoniło się zjawisko anty-shipowania oraz wojen shiperskich. Niniejszy artykuł, skupiający się na fandomie medialnym, ma na celu prześledzenie tej problematyki poprzez przedstawienie dyskusji i kłótni fandomowych, które motywowane są emocjami dotyczącymi shipów: od wojen shiperskich prowadzonych przez shiperów konkurujących ze sobą pairingów po anty-shiperów kierowanych pobudkami moralnymi w postaci przybliżenia fandomowej problematyki puritywank oraz anty-shiperów pairingów celebrytów. Wykorzystując badania z zakresu fan studies oraz media studies, autorki starają się odnaleźć motywację i pobudki dla, niekiedy skrajnych, zachowań anty-shiperów. Mają na celu ukazać niejednolitość fandomu medialnego oraz to, jakim ważnym elementem w byciu fanem jest własna interpretacja tekstu źródłowego oraz ulubiony ship.

Koniec narracji triumfalistycznej w fan studies

Recenzja: Mel Stanfill, Exploiting Fandom: How the Media Industry Seeks to Manipulate Fans, University of Iowa Press, Iowa 2019.

Acafan methodologies and giving back to the fan community

In fan studies, researchers are encouraged to share their research with the fan communities they study, with some even suggesting that such a practice can be a way to ethically give back to the community. During a multiyear study of adult fans of Lego, several different ways to share research with the fan community were trialed and evaluated for their relative strengths. Community responses to these projects determined that both academic and creative practices for sharing research can successfully engage the community. Creative practice can capture the spirit of giving by making a contribution to the community by using its own modes of community participation.

Women's fan writing and transformative works in eleventh-century Japan

This exploration of the literary cultures of eleventh-century Japan analyzes the ways in which the writing and reading practices of the period resemble those of modern transformative fan communities. Studying the defining fictional text of this era, The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu (ca. 1021), within the framework of fan studies demonstrates how existing so-called canonical material was transformed into a vehicle for female-centric reimaginings of dominant narratives. The circumstances of the work's authorship and its initial reception are examined via the author's own diary and The Sarashina Diary (ca. 1059), a memoir written by an early reader of the Genji, providing insight into both individual fan identity and the extensive female-led fan communities of the period.