Fan Capital

I have developed a very strong cultural and economic fan capital around my interest in the character of Batman. I have done this through accumulating knowledge and memorabilia across different mediums, over many years.

Part of the reason for this is to enunciate that I have an interest in this character, and more broadly superheroes in general, to the people around me. It’s an expression of who I am as a person and what I’m interested in.

John Fiske (1992) discusses the characteristics of fandom under three headings: discrimination and distinction, productivity and participation and capital accumulation.

This idea of ‘enunciative productivity’ is another way of constructing a social identity through the way you dress and present yourself. (Fiske,1992,pg38). Wearing t-shirts with Batman logos emblazoned on them is the most prominent, non-verbal way of expressing my fandom in society.

Just the other day I spent around £40 on official Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice t-shirts, so when the movie releases, I can showcase I’m apart of the community that is excited for it. I’ll feel apart of this huge cultural event.

The same can be said for most of the Batman memorabilia I have purchased. I buy these items to maintain my personal cultural social identity, but also to express to others what my fandom is and to what extent it takes. Fiske describes this commercialised desire as “fans, like buffs, are often avid collectors, and the cultural collection is a point where cultural and economic capital come together.” (Fiske,1992,pg43)

I think it’s almost like self-reassurance. Sometimes I feel like I have to purchase memorabilia to keep up appearances in a way, to continue to prove to myself and others that I am indeed a fan of this particular thing. If I can’t communicate my interest with others, what proof is there that I’m a fan at all beyond my word of mouth?

Fiske discusses how there is so much discrimination and distinction in fan cultures. A firm line is drawn by fans between what makes somebody a fan or not, and society recognises this assertive discrimination. (Fiske,1992,pg35).

It may not by direct, but if a community of fans are throwing trivia around that you are supposed to know, or discussing an episode that you should of watched but haven’t, it can be incredibly degrading.

You are judged based on what you know and how you express it. Me turning around to people and saying I can tell you the time Bruce Wayne’s parents died, may seem a little sad, but certainly rewards credibility within the specific community of fans that like Batman.

I have built up this capital over time by quoting lines from movies or comics, purchasing memorabilia and posting images of them on social media. It all plays a part in constructing a cultural identity both for yourself and others.

Fiske, J. (1992) ‘The Cultural Economy of Fandom’. In Lewis, L. A. (Ed.) The Adoring Audience. London, Routledge, pp30-49.

Cult Media

The only cult media I have engaged with is Joss Whedon’s Firefly, years after its heartbreaking cancellation. A friend of mine encouraged me over many weeks to watch it, praising its fantastic ensemble cast and interesting storylines.

I ultimately decided to watch it because I was curious why people are still devoted to this cult television show, and pray on a daily basis for its return. As soon as it finished abruptly and the credits rolled on that final episode I understood why. I had become so attached to these characters over the course of each episode and so for it to be stripped away so suddenly was devastating.

It is certainly the idea of this ‘endlessly deferred narrative’ and ‘hyperdiegesis’ that Matt Hills (2002) mentions (Hills,2002,pg98). The fact that so many questions are left unanswered and this vast fictional universe is yet to be fully explored is what Hill labels as a cult text.

I think the show already had an established core fanbase, but I also feel that many have only recently engaged with it to try and understand its cult like appeal and suffered the crippling consequences. I am not one of these devoted people writing fan mail to Whedon begging for it to come back or watching the episodes on repeat, but I am certainly a fan who would engage with the show again if it were to return.

Consuming this cult media certainly expanded my cultural pallet too. I also found an appreciation for these fans that are still interested in a show that is, essentially dead. Firefly lives on in these fans. Hills (2002) states that some ignore “the cultural devaluation which accompanies ‘cult’ discourses” (Hills,2002,pg91).

Maybe fans of cult media, as Hills argues, feel the need to use religious language to defend their interest in a culture that is somewhat devalued in the eyes of society. There are certainly similar discourses between these niche fan practices and religion.

Fans of these cancelled television shows for instance have to show their appreciation and love differently as they no longer exist in the mainstream. They have to preach it to others to keep it alive, they have to ingrain it in their everyday lives, because if they don’t, it will be forgotten and lost to time.

“Cults are hence integrative against the backdrop of a ‘depersonalised’ society” (Hills,2002,pg93) This idea that people with cult interests have more of an identity compared to those that are fans of the mass, popular culture media texts. This isn’t to say that individuals within a mass don’t have an identity, but the niche aspect of cult properties could suggest a uniqueness.  

Pp 85-109 in Hills, M. (2002) Fan Cultures. London: Routledge

An Introduction to Fandom

When people think of a fan or the term fandom, no doubt their thoughts are met with negative connotations. This idea that fans don’t have lives, that they obsess over certain media texts or celebrities by  consuming commercialised and materialistic products. As Henry Jenkins (1992) puts it “many of these stereotypes seem to have been attached to the term from its inception” (Jenkins,1992,pg12).

But you see, I view fans as people who have lives, who have a passion that shapes who they are.

Matt Hills (2002) stated that “we are all conformists of some conformism”, but it’s not about accepting one’s behaviour that makes a fan, it’s about embracing it (Hills,2002,pg1).

My fandom for Batman began when I transitioned from loving Spider-Man as a kid. Back in primary school I was somewhat irresponsible, had no real worries and saw life through a charismatic lens, which is why I related to Spider-Man as a character.

That shifted come secondary school during the early stages of adolescence and teenage mood swings to Batman, no doubt because I thought myself so emotionally distraught like the character. I didn’t completely toss Spider-Man aside and still had an interest in the character, but my allegiance now lied with the Caped Crusader.

During that time I was bullied a lot, however. I would come home and think I can’t do this anymore, I can’t go back. But then I’d look to Batman and think: this is a man who witnessed a horrendous tragedy yet strives to never let that horror, that injustice fall upon anybody else and devotes his life to that mission. If Bruce Wayne can do that, I can overcome some bullies, and that’s what inspired me to overcome that hurdle.

I now take pleasure in dressing up as the character and walking around convention floors because this is somebody, fictional or not, that shaped who I am. After watching Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, I now follow Christopher Nolan’s work for instance. I started going to the gym because I wanted to look imposing like Batman.

I wanted to be feared instead of being fearful of others, as bad as that sounds. But then, is putting on that mask, hiding who I am? Much like Batman is an alter-ego, is my Batman fandom “borrowed or alien”? (Hills,2002,pg3) In a way, yes.

When my friends think of me, they think Batman. It sometimes feels that my Batman fandom is this metaphorical mask that is blanketing me and the kind of person I am. Yet at the same time it provides a front to hide how I’m truly feeling. If I just talk about Batman, everyone will think I’m fine. My fandom is built on very egotistical grounds in a sense too, as it helped me shape myself into what I deemed a ‘better’ person.

Now of course I gain pleasure from the fandom because I find the character and his stories interesting, but there is no doubt it began as an obsession to almost be him.

Bibliography:

Jenkins, H. (1992). “Get a Life!” Fans, Poachers, Nomads”, Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture. London: Routledge.

Hills, M. (2002). Fan Cultures. London. Routledge.