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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!
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!
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!
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
I was always drawn into the magical aspects…. the sense of magic and adventure, there’s a real heart to these series.
Brandon
Taylor Coan-Luckenbill is a fan of the Japanese style of cartoons and graphic novels, Anime and Manga!
Photos provide by Taylor Coan-Luckenbill
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!
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
I feel like I can relate to them, and am not afraid to rock some cheetah print!
Cait
Photo provided by Cait Tutt
My life blends with theirs…they were my way to connect with a group my age.
Juli Good
Photo provided by Juli Good
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
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!
Featuring music from the 2015 album Crawford Street by Josh Woodward. Track 2, Fight the Sea (Instrumental)
Photos provided by Rebekah Pierce
Janine and Peter’s Eye of Sauron pumpkin carving from the Lord of the Rings 
Brittany’s princess pumpkin 
Janine and Peter’s Outlander stones pumpkin carving 
The Deathly Hallows jewelry from Harry Potter, Taylor
Brittany’s Disney Princess Christmas tree 
Brittany’s college graduation cap 
Tangled inspired painting by Brittany 
Janine’s Harry Potter Christmas tree scene
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
piercerj1@gmail.com
Rebekah Pierce P.O.Box 67 Terre Hill, PA 17581