Communication ETDs

Publication Date

Spring 5-4-2017

Abstract

By explicating the most prominent forms of participatory fan-art produced and consumed by members of the fan communities regarding Harry Potter, One Direction, and The Dallas Cowboys, this study has contributed to the field of fandom studies by presenting findings that are generalizable beyond a singular fannish context, and by explicating the unfounded categorizations that have divided the discipline.

The fan communities studied perform their fandom through the creation of participatory fan-art, and the fan-art created across all three fan communities can be divided into three distinct categories: the recontextualization of characters, the recontextualization of images, and the recontextualization of videos. The fan-art shared, consumed, and reciprocated within each fan community is scrutinized to a varying extent. Those works of art that claim greatest fealty to their source material are scrutinized most thoroughly by their consumers. Nonetheless, all three fan communities share an understanding about their characters’ quintessence, and require complete mastery of the source material from all involved in the production, consumption, and reciprocation of participatory art.

Language

English

Keywords

Harry Potter, One Direction, Dallas Cowboys, fandom, performance, participation

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Communication

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Department of Communication and Journalism

First Committee Member (Chair)

Dr. David Weiss

Second Committee Member

Dr. Judith Hendry

Third Committee Member

Dr. Richard Schaefer

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