Challenges of an Emerging Field

Productive Fandom reflects upon a contemporary popular culture that is constantly changing and increasingly valued. Fan studies long based itself on the idea that fans are an active or subversive audience that can be opposed to passive viewers. In today's participatory culture, however, fans are hardly seen as exceptional in their activity. Jenkins (2007) even argues that fandom is nearing its end now that all audiences have become active. Fandom is almost entirely embedded in mainstream culture.

When I began this book, it seemed that this increase of audience activity had rendered “fandom” obsolete, but the opposite occurred as the field suddenly started to flourish. Academic interest in fans has been sparked anew in recent years, with the foundation of fan studies networks, journals, and conferences. The field of fan studies was praised because it focused on unique audience activities undertaken by users, gamers, crafters, and artists. For many media scholars, fan studies became a hallmark in the analysis of new media studies and digital culture. Many scholars also tried to differentiate fans from other audiences. This study contributes to that debate by offering a detailed examination of fan activity and productivity.

I have shown that contemporary fandom is more than a subset of participatory culture. These audience groups are defined by unique social spheres, interpretive stances, and forms of creativity. While fans can be described as active audiences, this description overlooks the specificity of their cultures. Indeed, there are fundamental differences in how audiences participate and how critical, creative, or social this behavior is in particular regions, such as Japan (Takahashi, 2010).