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Participatory Culture Wars: Controversy, Conflict, and Complicity in Fandom
From writing fan fiction to campaigning for better media representation, fandom and participatory culture have long been seen as tools to resist dominant narratives and fight for a better future. But participatory culture is not always socially and politically progressive; rather, as Participatory Culture Wars demonstrates, it can be politically regressive and socially reactive. Communities coalesce around the exclusionary and the misinformed.
Fans, fandoms, and fan practices are no longer the realm of media and popular culture; they have been adopted and co-opted across the contemporary political terrain. This volume offers specific examples and suggests approaches that can help make sense of the constantly shifting interaction between fandom and politics.
Alfred Archer, Renee Barnes, Simone Driessen, Xing Fan, Monica Flegel, Zoe Hurley, Bethan Jones, Sklaerenn Le Gallo, Judith Leggatt, Georgina Mills, Peng Qiao, James Rendell, Mel Stanfill, Michelle Stewart, Rebecca Williams, Christina Wurst
Fans, fandoms, and fan practices are no longer the realm of media and popular culture; they have been adopted and co-opted across the contemporary political terrain. This volume offers specific examples and suggests approaches that can help make sense of the constantly shifting interaction between fandom and politics.
Alfred Archer, Renee Barnes, Simone Driessen, Xing Fan, Monica Flegel, Zoe Hurley, Bethan Jones, Sklaerenn Le Gallo, Judith Leggatt, Georgina Mills, Peng Qiao, James Rendell, Mel Stanfill, Michelle Stewart, Rebecca Williams, Christina Wurst
248 pages, Paperback
Published June 3, 2025
2 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 8, 2025
Read an ARC ebook from Netgalley.
The bibliography and notes coming at the end of each section makes sense as an academic book, but (especially when reading on a phone vs a computer or physical book) it means those notes feel unconnected. I paged past them without reading because there is no context with them so separated from the text. It would be difficult on a phone screen, but the notes should be at the bottom of the page they reference rather than at the end.
I thought this might read more like "popular" nonfiction. The type written for the masses rather than for a specific research community. This very much reads like a research paper for experts rather than something that the general public would understand and appreciate. It's fine as someone very into both fandom and anthropology, but I think it would be mind-numbing for much of a general audience.
Also, as I'm reading I'm hoping that this is before the final edit. There are some weird sentence constructions and some word choice issues. The word choice things aren't as important in non-fiction to me, but some of the sentences I've read three or four times before getting the point because the verb was in a weird spot or there were so many commas from subordinate clauses. Some of these could be broken into different sentences, but often rewording and changing the phrase order so the commas are less confusing can work.
Even as academic essays, some of these don't work very well for me because of terminology and differences in experience. The 6th essay is "Masks of Micro-Celebrity," and uses the term "facial regimes" to describe something other than face care/makeup (which is what I thought the term meant). Without any connection to English speaking audiences with some sort of similar fan phenomenon, I was lost and ended up skimming it to see if I could get any meaning out of it. In the end, I can't relate to the topic (nothing the authors described seemed familiar or recognizable as someone who doesn't really participate in fandom for micro-celebrities, or I guess they are describing influencers but the authors don't seem to detail them as such). Maybe fans from other cultures will understand that essay better than me. The other one that didn't really connect for me was the 10th essay on Danmu and Reaction Videos. I don't really use Twitch, which I think would be the equivalent to the media platform/fan interactions described. I understood the media the authors were discussing this time, but they were trying to use a metaphor about a house that confused me. Also, I'm not sure I got what they were trying to say in regards to male and female gazes because of the metaphor.
I generally enjoyed reading the other essays. There were a couple that could have benefited from a whole book even if said book was slightly less evidence-based and academically written.
The bibliography and notes coming at the end of each section makes sense as an academic book, but (especially when reading on a phone vs a computer or physical book) it means those notes feel unconnected. I paged past them without reading because there is no context with them so separated from the text. It would be difficult on a phone screen, but the notes should be at the bottom of the page they reference rather than at the end.
I thought this might read more like "popular" nonfiction. The type written for the masses rather than for a specific research community. This very much reads like a research paper for experts rather than something that the general public would understand and appreciate. It's fine as someone very into both fandom and anthropology, but I think it would be mind-numbing for much of a general audience.
Also, as I'm reading I'm hoping that this is before the final edit. There are some weird sentence constructions and some word choice issues. The word choice things aren't as important in non-fiction to me, but some of the sentences I've read three or four times before getting the point because the verb was in a weird spot or there were so many commas from subordinate clauses. Some of these could be broken into different sentences, but often rewording and changing the phrase order so the commas are less confusing can work.
Even as academic essays, some of these don't work very well for me because of terminology and differences in experience. The 6th essay is "Masks of Micro-Celebrity," and uses the term "facial regimes" to describe something other than face care/makeup (which is what I thought the term meant). Without any connection to English speaking audiences with some sort of similar fan phenomenon, I was lost and ended up skimming it to see if I could get any meaning out of it. In the end, I can't relate to the topic (nothing the authors described seemed familiar or recognizable as someone who doesn't really participate in fandom for micro-celebrities, or I guess they are describing influencers but the authors don't seem to detail them as such). Maybe fans from other cultures will understand that essay better than me. The other one that didn't really connect for me was the 10th essay on Danmu and Reaction Videos. I don't really use Twitch, which I think would be the equivalent to the media platform/fan interactions described. I understood the media the authors were discussing this time, but they were trying to use a metaphor about a house that confused me. Also, I'm not sure I got what they were trying to say in regards to male and female gazes because of the metaphor.
I generally enjoyed reading the other essays. There were a couple that could have benefited from a whole book even if said book was slightly less evidence-based and academically written.
June 22, 2025
Participatory Culture Wars, edited by Simone Driessen, Bethan Jones and Benjamin Litherland, is a collection of essays that look at the intersection of fandom and major social and political issues. While academic in nature these essays are quite accessible for readers with an interest.
When I said "intersection" above I mean more than that word might imply. This isn't simply about a group of fans of a show or celebrity who might also belong to a community that is marginalized in society, who then band together to resist or oppose a wrong (real or perceived) perpetrated by that entity. As important as that is, especially when that movement then looks beyond their initial show or celebrity to resist an industry or industries more generally, this book seeks to look at how the very idea of fandom can be used to analyze and understand political alliances, how political groups use social media communities to subversively spread their political ideology.
In looking at these ideas, from using influencers to indoctrinate their fans/followers to outright antifandom, the essays examine popular fandoms and what makes someone a fan by our current standards. Then show the parallels, the many parallels, between political groups and cultural groups and their fans and followers.
While these essays address and reference existing academic research and ideas, they also make clear the actual ideas they're referencing, which lets those outside academia follow the arguments and understand what is being offered. Some essays, depending on your particular areas of interest, may require a slower and closer read than others, but they are all accessible if you have an interest.
This is certainly essential reading for any academic working in the areas of social media studies, fandom studies and political science. Additionally, the general reader will gain a lot also, from simply a better perspective on what might seem like unusual alliances in the "culture wars" to being able to spot when they or a friend might be falling into a type of fandom that seeks to lead fans in a direction as compared to debating and discussing the object of their fanhood.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
When I said "intersection" above I mean more than that word might imply. This isn't simply about a group of fans of a show or celebrity who might also belong to a community that is marginalized in society, who then band together to resist or oppose a wrong (real or perceived) perpetrated by that entity. As important as that is, especially when that movement then looks beyond their initial show or celebrity to resist an industry or industries more generally, this book seeks to look at how the very idea of fandom can be used to analyze and understand political alliances, how political groups use social media communities to subversively spread their political ideology.
In looking at these ideas, from using influencers to indoctrinate their fans/followers to outright antifandom, the essays examine popular fandoms and what makes someone a fan by our current standards. Then show the parallels, the many parallels, between political groups and cultural groups and their fans and followers.
While these essays address and reference existing academic research and ideas, they also make clear the actual ideas they're referencing, which lets those outside academia follow the arguments and understand what is being offered. Some essays, depending on your particular areas of interest, may require a slower and closer read than others, but they are all accessible if you have an interest.
This is certainly essential reading for any academic working in the areas of social media studies, fandom studies and political science. Additionally, the general reader will gain a lot also, from simply a better perspective on what might seem like unusual alliances in the "culture wars" to being able to spot when they or a friend might be falling into a type of fandom that seeks to lead fans in a direction as compared to debating and discussing the object of their fanhood.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
April 26, 2025
thanks to the publisher for an opportunity to review the arc --
despite having quite a an obsessive personality and interests that often align directly with the mainstream pop culture zeitgeist, fandom culture often makes me anxious. the duality of both its intention and outcome is something that our culture seems to struggle with to a dangerous degree — in other words, the line between collective love and obsession is thin enough for its nuance to elude us way too often, so writing about such a complex subject has previously been proven to me to be a major challange. how to capture and trace a cultural phenomenon that is still very novel and already has such a diverse impact at the same time?
this is a very well researched academic read that is written is a relatively accessible language for non-scholars to find it engaging as well. because it’s an anthology of essays, it captures diverse perspectives and aspects of the participatory fandom culture.
some parts are brilliant. i will always be a sucker for comparing minute pop culture references to major political events. there’s something about analyzing the supernatural fandom alongside qanon that just clicks for me.
personally i think that it would be fitting to include some more novel, experimental research methods for a book about participatory culture in particular. a little bit of auto theory or practice based research would definitely diversify and elevate this book, but at the same time i understand the hesitance to engage with such methods in fear of being labeled “juvenile” or otherwise criticized by the academic community.
in summary — an informative and engaging read that i will surely recommend to my friends that spend way too much time thinking about pop culture and the ethics/implications of fandom.
despite having quite a an obsessive personality and interests that often align directly with the mainstream pop culture zeitgeist, fandom culture often makes me anxious. the duality of both its intention and outcome is something that our culture seems to struggle with to a dangerous degree — in other words, the line between collective love and obsession is thin enough for its nuance to elude us way too often, so writing about such a complex subject has previously been proven to me to be a major challange. how to capture and trace a cultural phenomenon that is still very novel and already has such a diverse impact at the same time?
this is a very well researched academic read that is written is a relatively accessible language for non-scholars to find it engaging as well. because it’s an anthology of essays, it captures diverse perspectives and aspects of the participatory fandom culture.
some parts are brilliant. i will always be a sucker for comparing minute pop culture references to major political events. there’s something about analyzing the supernatural fandom alongside qanon that just clicks for me.
personally i think that it would be fitting to include some more novel, experimental research methods for a book about participatory culture in particular. a little bit of auto theory or practice based research would definitely diversify and elevate this book, but at the same time i understand the hesitance to engage with such methods in fear of being labeled “juvenile” or otherwise criticized by the academic community.
in summary — an informative and engaging read that i will surely recommend to my friends that spend way too much time thinking about pop culture and the ethics/implications of fandom.
May 10, 2025
Where the fan and fury meet. This academic compilation focuses on anti-fandom: serious but heated engagement with fannish objects of all kinds. Fans have always been key to the construction of cultural texts. Even fans who don't particularly like the source material. The broader text covers everything from ambivalence to outright hate to breaking up with a beloved creator or series. Each chapter centres on a case study within fandom, with such a variety of topics covered: from Harry Potter to Britney Spears to boy's love (BL). The chapter on BL was particularly welcome and I think offers a unique and topical perspective. I didn't know about the social media phenomenon of young women "scaring" young men with videos depicting scenes from BL fandoms. A critical take is presented on this and all other topics. This isn't about validating anti-fandom activities, but rather accepting and understanding what anti-fandom is all about, especially in the interactive digital age.
Thank you to NetGalley and University of Iowa Press for the advance copy.
Thank you to NetGalley and University of Iowa Press for the advance copy.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews