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Maiden's Tower Painting

Hello!  Welcome to Fandom!

This website is designed to be a resource and warm welcome for newcomers to the world of fan culture and fandom.  I know from personal experience that having a brand new passion for a show, film, or other media is exciting, but it can also be difficult to jump in and get involved in a new fandom for the first time! I want to help you become familiar with the opportunities, activities, and communities that are available to you in the world of fan culture

Not all those who wander are lost.

J. R. R. TOLKIEN

The definition of fandom and fan culture is fluid, but you hit the closest when you say that fan culture encompasses fans and media producers who celebrate and closely interact with each other and the media that they love without the limitations and borders of location. Fan culture encompasses the whole, but Fandoms are the individual groups surrounding 1 piece of media or sets of related media. Like fans of Lady Gaga or the show Doctor Who, the Harry Potter books and films, or all the Marvel comic books, films, and TV series!

Maiden's Tower Painting
Maiden’s Tower Painting
Photo by Alexis Azabache on Pexels.com

Janine and Peter Jones are fans of many different things ranging from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit to Star Wars and Outlander, as well as the Medieval and Renaissance periods! They visited Great Britain in the Fall of 2019 and visited many sites from the filming of Outlander which are included in the photo slideshow below their interview! They sat down with me to discuss how their fandom interests started!

Music by: Josh Woodward, 2014 Album: Not Quite Connected, Track: River Went Dry – Instrumental

Photos above provided by Janine and Peter Jones!

Social media plays a big part in how fan culture has evolved over the last couple decades! Online communities like Facebook, Tumblr, TikTok, and many more have become the hubs where fans interact with each other and with the media producers for their fannish texts! Often just searching on these sites for the title of your fandom will bring up dozens of groups that you can join and follow so that you too can swim along in the tide of memes, clips, fan videos, art, and conversation! You may even make close friends within these groups!

Alexis’ Michael Jackson Swag 2016
Alexis: Fandom and Social Media, featuring music from the 2013 album Ashes by Josh Woodward. Track 7, Already There (no vocals)

It is kind of an outlet… if I am feeling down or having a rough day, there’s always someone there that’s gonna share something funny or say something to lift you up!

Alexis Herron
Brandon: Fandom connects him to his family. Featuring music from the 2013 album Ashes by Josh Woodward. Track 11 A Thousand Skins (No Vocals) (part 1)

I was always drawn into the magical aspects…. the sense of magic and adventure, there’s a real heart to these series.

Brandon

Photos provided by Brandon Patterson

Taylor Coan-Luckenbill is a fan of the Japanese style of cartoons and graphic novels, Anime and Manga!

Photos provide by Taylor Coan-Luckenbill

Music: Josh Woodward, 2015 Album: Crawford Street, track: Fight The Sea (Instrumental Version)

There is a misconception that fandom is restricted to science fiction or fantasy media texts. But fandoms can form around just about any kind of media, if it makes you happy you can make a fandom! Below are several interview vignettes with fans from many different media types and genres. I have highlighted a few that range from Classic TV series, Musicians, Actors, Reality TV, Brands, and even Podcast series!

JP stans the Golden Girls and Retro TV. Featuring music from the 2015 album Crawford Street by Josh Woodward. Track 24, Sundown (Instrumental)

They were so good about controversial topics it was something that really helped me realize who I was as a person and to not be afraid to display that in society!

JP Welliver

Photos provided by JP Welliver and Rebekah Pierce

Cait is a fan of the reality TV show The Jersey Shore. Featuring music from the 2016 album Addressed to the Stars by Josh Woodward. Track 6, After the Flames (Instrumental)

I feel like I can relate to them, and am not afraid to rock some cheetah print!

Cait

Photo provided by Cait Tutt

Juli’s fandom is the Jonas Brothers. Featuring music from the 2016 album Addressed to the Stars by Josh Woodward. Track 28, Show Me (Instrumental)

My life blends with theirs…they were my way to connect with a group my age.

Juli Good

Photo provided by Juli Good

Brittany’s Disney fandom has had a big impact on her life! Featuring music from the 2016 album Addressed to the Stars by Josh Woodward. Track 24, Princess (Instrumental)

I feel like its something everyone can relate to… it helps you relate to other people, everyone has experienced Disney in some way!

Brittany

Photo provided by Brittany

Raquel’s fandoms are Supernatural and Jason Momoa. Featuring music from the 2016 album Addressed to the Stars by Josh Woodward. Track 26, Orbit (Instrumental)

It’s a fun discussion topic at work and at home!

Raquel

Photo provided by Raquel


Many fans will create artwork, comics, videos, and other creative tributes related to their fandoms. Emily and Jackie are big fans of the podcast My Favorite Murder, and together we decided to try to create a tribute podcast about their mutual fandom of the series!


My Favorite Murder B*#$@es: Emily and Jackie love the My Favorite Murder Podcast, they tried their hand at hosting a podcast as a tribute to their mutual fandom. Language warning and sensitive topics.
Featuring music from the 2015 album Crawford Street by Josh Woodward. Track 2, Fight the Sea (Instrumental)

Photos provided by Rebekah Pierce

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  • Brittany Vancisco 2014
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  • Brittany Vancisco 2014

Photos above provided by Brittany, Meghan Hein, and Rebekah Pierce

Thanks to musician Josh Woodward, whose Creative Commons licensed instrumental tracks were used in editing these interviews. Check out his work at the Free Music Archive

About Us

This is a website to help newcomers discover the amazing content and aspects of fan culture and fandom membership. My name is Rebekah Pierce, and I have studied Fan Culture as a graduate student at Temple University for over 5 years.

Special Thanks!

I want to give a sincere thank you to all my interview and photo participants for giving your time and energy to help me with this project, it would not have been possible or nearly as interesting without you all! Thanks as well to the Media Studies and Production graduate department at Temple University. Thank you to my friends and family for supporting me through this project in so many ways!

© Copyright 2020 Rebekah J Pierce

Mail

piercerj1@gmail.com

Rebekah Pierce P.O.Box 67 Terre Hill, PA 17581