Anti-Fandom: Dislike and Hate in the Digital Age

Postmillenial Pop

by Melissa Click

A revealing look at the pleasure we get from hating figures like politicians, celebrities, and TV characters, showcased in approaches that explore snark, hate-watching, and trolling The work of a fan takes many following a favorite celebrity on Instagram, writing steamy fan fiction fantasies, attending meet-and-greets, and creating fan art as homages to adored characters. While fandom that manifests as feelings of like and love are commonly understood, examined less frequently are the equally intense, but opposite feelings of dislike and hatred. Disinterest. Disgust. Hate. This is anti-fandom. It is visible in many of the same spaces where you see in the long lines at ComicCon, in our politics, and in numerous online forums like Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, and the ever dreaded comments section. This is where fans and fandoms debate and discipline. This is where we love to hate. Anti-Fandom,a collection of 15 original and innovative essays, provides a framework for future study through theoretical and methodological exemplars that examine anti-fandom in the contemporary digital environment through gender, generation, sexuality, race, taste, authenticity, nationality, celebrity, and more. From hatewatching Girls and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo to trolling celebrities and their characters on Twitter, these chapters ground the emerging area of anti-fan studies with a productive foundation. The book demonstrates the importance of constructing a complex knowledge of emotion and media in fan studies. Its focus on the pleasures, performances, and practices that constitute anti-fandom will generate new perspectives for understanding the impact of hate on our identities, relationships, and communities.

Genres: Fandom, Nonfiction, Psychology, Academia

355 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 19, 2017

Reviews

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fandom is not necessarily my area of expertise, but the first five chapters of this book provide an incredibly detailed overview of its study and how those studies are (or need to be) modified by current trends regarding anti-fandom and people's hate of certain franchises, characters, or actors. In this way, the first third of the book is incredible; the last two thirds are made up of case studies, only some of which are really all that interesting, and most of which are kind of self-serving with only a modicum of theory involved. Still, an engaging, interesting read throughout, and the opening chapters more than make up for the rest.