Fractured Fandoms: Contentious Communication in Fan Communities

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Description

Being a fan helps people to discover their identities, find friends, develop a sense of belonging, express themselves creatively, and act as powerful creators and participants in a capitalistic system. At times, however, being a fan becomes problematic, especially when clashes with other fans occur both inside and outside of their fandoms and fan communities. As their communication becomes contentious, power imbalances destabilize collectives and fans experience fear, sadness, pain, and harassment. Such problematic situations can become fractured fandoms. Fractured Fandoms: Contentious Communication in Fan Communities observes the problems or fractures that occur within and between fandoms as fans and fan communities experience differences in interpretation, opinion, expectation, and behavior regarding the object at the center of their fandom. The book demonstrates the fractures through an examination of self-interviews, collected news stories, and previous research regarding these problems, ultimately providing an assessment of the causes and effects of such fractures and the larger social and cultural issues they reflect.

Reviews

Fandom has never been harmonious. In Fractured Fandoms, CarrieLynn Reinhard explores what happens when fans stop being niceor were never nice to begin with. Reinhards Fractured Fandoms brings a fresh perspective to debates within fan studies by breaking down what it means to be a fan and the processes involved in joining a fandom. Opening up fan studies to new methods and texts, including those from sports, politics, communication studies, and stories of underexplored media, Fractured Fandoms is sure to become a necessary addition to any fan scholars library. -- Paul Booth, DePaul University
Fractured Fandoms smartly explores what happens when fan culture intersects with argument culture. Considering the darker sides of fandom, as well as how negative experiences can sometimes lead to positive narratives of growth, social support and learning, CarrieLynn Reinhard sensitively analyzes fans self-interviews. Focusing on the situations and ideologies that are linked to communication fractures, Reinhard argues for increased dialogue wherever possible, setting out a communication toolbox to support dialogic engagements. Fractured Fandoms will no doubt unite scholars and fansand all hybrids thereofin impressed, appreciative debate. -- Matt Hills, author of Fan Cultures and Triumph of a Time Lord, University of Huddersfield, UK

Author Bio

CarrieLynn D. Reinhard is associate professor in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences at Dominican University.