Fandom, the Next Generation

by Bridget Kies (Editor), Megan Connor (Editor)

Overview

This collection is the first to offer a close study of fan generations, which are defined not only by fans’ ages, but by their entry point into a canon or their personal politics. The contributors further the conversation about how generational fandom is influenced by and, in turn, influences technologies, industry practices, and social and political changes. As reboot culture continues, as franchises continue expanding over time, and as new technologies enable easier access to older media, Fandom, the Next Generation offers a necessary investigation into transgenerational fandoms and intergenerational fan relationships.

Contributors:
Maria Alberto, University of Utah
Mélanie Bourdaa, University of Bordeaux Montaigne
Meredith Dabek, Maynooth University
Simone Driessen, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Yektanurşin Duyan, Mardin Artuklu University
Dan Golding, Swinburne University of Technology
Bethan Jones, Aberdale, Wales (UK)
Siobhan Lyons, Sydney, New South Wales (Australia)
L. N. Rosales, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Andrew Scahill, University of Colorado, Denver
Janelle Vermaak, Nelson Mandela University
Cynthia W. Walker, St. Peter’s University
Dawn Walls-Thumma, independent scholar
Neta Yodovich, University of Haifa
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781609388331
Publisher:	University of Iowa Press
Publication date:	08/17/2022
Series:	Fandom & Culture
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Bridget Kies is assistant professor of film studies at Oakland University, where she also serves on the executive committee for the women’s and gender studies program. She lives in Pontiac, Michigan.
Megan Connor is a PhD candidate in the Media School at Indiana University, and a teaching fellow at Indiana University, Northwest. She lives in Crown Point, Indiana.
 

Table of Contents

Introduction Bridget Kies Megan Connor 1

Part 1 Reboots, Revivals, and Nostalgia 7

"I Ain't Afraid of No Bros": The Generational Politics of Reboot Culture Bridget Kies 9

Reopening The X-Files: Generational Fandom, Gender, and Bodily Autonomy Bethan Jones 20

Missing Time: Twin Peaks, The X-Files, and the Rise of Aging Fans Siobhan Lyons 33

Truly, Truly, Truly Outraged: Anti-Fandom and the Limits of Nostalgia Andrew Scahill 43

Part 2 Generations of Enduring Fandoms 55

Like Father, Like Daughter: The Intergenerational Passing of Doctor Who and Star Wars Fandom in the Familial Context Neta Yodovich 57

Examining Pop Music Fandom through a Generational Lens Simone Driessen 68

Looking Back, Looking Bi: Queering a Lifelong Fandom of the Baby-Sitters Club Megan Connor 78

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Fandom: A Community of Cousins Cynthia W. Walker 90

Fans of Female Film Stars in Turkey: The Case of Türkan Soray Yektanursin Duyan 101

"I Named My Daughter Ripley": Fan Gifting and Internal Hierarchies in the Alien Fandom Janelle Vermaak-Griessel 112

"The Power of the Jane Austen Fandom": Bridging Generational Gaps with The Lizzie Bennet Diaries Meredith Dabek 123

Part 3 Generational Tensions 133

Star Wars Fans, Generations, and Identity Dan Golding 135

Roads Go Ever On and On; Fan Fiction and Archival Infrastructures as Markers of the Affirmational-Transformational Continuum in Tolkien Fandom Maria K. Alberto Dawn Walls-Thumma 149

"Fannish Sensibilities": Fissures in the Sherlock Holmes Fandom L. N. Rosales 161

The Fandom Is a Welcoming Place Unless I Know More Than You: Generations, Mentorship, and Super-Fans Mélanie Bourdaa 172

Contributors 181

Notes 185

Bibliography 221

Index 237

Editorial Reviews

Kies and Connor have assembled a collection of essays that are briming with original data. Through analysis of fans of a range of media franchises which span expected cult properties such as Star Wars and Sherlock through to previously unconsidered texts like Jem and the Holograms and The Man from U.N.C.L.E., diverse topics including nostalgia, technology’s impact on consumption habits, and reboot or legacy media arise. Central to all of these essays is the concept of identity—both individual and collective—and how gerontological issues are deeply intertwined with other aspects of fandom’s intersectional identity politics. The essays in this collection thus initiate important debates that will hopefully frame fan studies for generations to come.”—Ross Garner, Cardiff University

“Fandom, the Next Generation investigates how fandom persists over time, whether in one person, transmitted intergenerationally, or around reboots or new content. With case studies from sci-fi to celebrity culture to novels, from the nineteenth century to the twenty-first, the book provides a rich variety of approaches to an under-studied topic.”—Mel Stanfill, author, Exploiting Fandom: How the Media Industry Seeks to Manipulate Fans

From the Publisher