Originally written summer of 2018 for Queens University by Maggie Pendergrass

Focusing on Fandom: Participatory Media and Connectivity with Fan Communities.

In April of 2018, Marvel is set to release part one of its franchise finale, Avengers: Infinity War. The film, concluding a unprecedented 10+ year story arch, is set to break multiple box office records, following on the heels of Marvel’s most recent release, Black Panther. The fandom itself is loyal and driven to help their favorite aspects of the comic book source material make it to big screen. We see this in other trans-media genres as well, such as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, with passionate fans leading the way for content to be expanded and experimented with. These niche audiences are building momentum for bigger production houses to look towards niche content for their hits, examples include 50 Shades of Gray and Ready Player One. With thousands of people daily engaging online about their favorite movies, bands, books, or shows, practically everyone is a “die-hard fan” of something. Simply to say, we’re seeing the shift right before our eyes of specific unique communities online significantly shifting mainstream culture, all with a few clicks.

As culture continues to shift a focus to new medial, trans media, and participatory media (i.e. the internet), so does the accessibility of fandom culture on social media platforms. This participatory media sub-culture of fandoms are still relatively new and constantly adapting to the media and entertainment industry’s influences. Participatory media is defined as active, consumer-driven media and engagement, and can be supported at a corporate level with transmedia resources (multiple levels of content, I.e. books, movies, comics, etc). Throughout this plan, we’ll examine the growing digital environment, its accessibility and interactions in participant media, and the potential leveraging opportunities going forward related to this field for corporate partners, such as Marvel. We’ll be specifically discussing Marvel’s approaches with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the active online community supporting it from the digital space.

I’ll be focusing on the use of Robert Putnam’s social capital theory and Erving Goffman’s presentation of self within the context of digital fan communities in building trust, identity, and collaboration within participatory culture (2014). Putnam’s theory will help us have a deeper understanding of how these communities are built within participatory media and how their bonds impact outside influence. The social capital within these digital communities focus on relationships that are built on a foundation of shared experiences, like seeing the same movie or attending the same convention. We’ll be observing Goffman’s theory as a way to better understand the persona community members use in communicating and how it has an effect on the level of trust and bond within a community. Through investigating and engaging in these areas and theories, we’ll be able to understand on a deeper level how fan culture has grown to create an environment where independent and self-sustaining online communities thrive and influence mainstream culture and participatory media.