Bloomsbury Fandom Primers – serie

By analyzing contemporary Les Misérables online fandom, how can we conceptualize fandom racism, especially when it complicates the typical and sometimes reductive narratives that assign racism to only the "bad" and the conservative "other"?Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables is a well-adapted novel with films, television shows, anime, and stage productions constantly bringing new fans into the fold. Fans of these adaptations use the political text as a breeding ground for contemporary political conversations about socio-economic inequality, republicanism, and gendered violence. Yet in these conversations, race is an awkward, silenced topic. This primer presents findings from the author's study of a decade of Les Misérables fanart, in which they catalogue the formulation of racial identity in the fandom. Citing interviews with fans of color, they discuss the mechanics of how fandoms leverage concepts of “diversity” to downplay and ultimately silence criticisms in the name of fandom hegemony. They argue that despite using Hugo’s barricade boys to process their white guilt, fan artists often see race as skin-deep and non-specific, rarely as active cultural or ethnic identities. This study of fan racism is held around moments of racial characterization that have convinced fans of color that "nothing changes, nothing ever will."In looking at a fandom whose key principles are liberty, justice, and social equality, this research provides a base for future researchers and fans to have frank conversations about the subtle and thus more pernicious forms of racism that exist within fan spaces.

By analyzing contemporary Les Misérables online fandom, how can we conceptualize fandom racism, especially when it complicates the typical and sometimes reductive narratives that assign racism to only the "bad" and the conservative "other"?Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables is a well-adapted novel with films, television shows, anime, and stage productions constantly bringing new fans into the fold. Fans of these adaptations use the political text as a breeding ground for contemporary political conversations about socio-economic inequality, republicanism, and gendered violence. Yet in these conversations, race is an awkward, silenced topic. This primer presents findings from the author's study of a decade of Les Misérables fanart, in which they catalogue the formulation of racial identity in the fandom. Citing interviews with fans of color, they discuss the mechanics of how fandoms leverage concepts of “diversity” to downplay and ultimately silence criticisms in the name of fandom hegemony. They argue that despite using Hugo’s barricade boys to process their white guilt, fan artists often see race as skin-deep and non-specific, rarely as active cultural or ethnic identities. This study of fan racism is held around moments of racial characterization that have convinced fans of color that "nothing changes, nothing ever will."In looking at a fandom whose key principles are liberty, justice, and social equality, this research provides a base for future researchers and fans to have frank conversations about the subtle and thus more pernicious forms of racism that exist within fan spaces.

Romance Fandom in 21st-century Pakistan offers the first major study of English-speaking romance fandom in South Asia, providing a new reader-centric model that engages with romance readers as genre experts.Javaria Farooqui inspects the popular Anglophone romance reading community in Pakistan and develops a model for analysing genre romance novels through the lens of the readers’ perspective and preferences. Using focus-group interviews and close textual analysis, Romance Fandom in 21st-century Pakistan explores where and how readers access books of their choice, and explains why the detailed descriptions of dresses, food and spaces in historical romance novels of the Regency era exemplify good taste for this distinctive readership. Sitting at the intersection of literary studies, genre studies, and fan studies, this book considers the reception of Anglophone romance fiction by reading communities of colour.

Romance Fandom in 21st-century Pakistan offers the first major study of English-speaking romance fandom in South Asia, providing a new reader-centric model that engages with romance readers as genre experts.Javaria Farooqui inspects the popular Anglophone romance reading community in Pakistan and develops a model for analysing genre romance novels through the lens of the readers’ perspective and preferences. Using focus-group interviews and close textual analysis, Romance Fandom in 21st-century Pakistan explores where and how readers access books of their choice, and explains why the detailed descriptions of dresses, food and spaces in historical romance novels of the Regency era exemplify good taste for this distinctive readership. Sitting at the intersection of literary studies, genre studies, and fan studies, this book considers the reception of Anglophone romance fiction by reading communities of colour.

Fan Translations introduces students and scholars in media studies, modern languages and related disciplines to the concept and practices of fan translation. Beginning with an overview of the research on fan translation from both media and translation studies, this book focuses on issues such as the tension between creative readings and commercial exploitation, the role of translation in popular culture, the changing media landscape and the balance between translation as a form of self-expression and as a service to the community. Fan Translations resists the assumption of a Global North subject in existing scholarship, and instead explores the connections between fandom and translation in the Global South where access to primary texts and official merchandise is often mediated through both official and fan translations as well as through unofficial products. Through the utilization of case studies, Evans and Guo explore different perspectives on fandom, translation and their intersections. These case studies touch on imperative topics in fan culture, such as fan translation in queer communities and media as a method of community building and the interrelation between fan and professional translation, leading to ongoing changes in media distribution.

Fan Translations introduces students and scholars in media studies, modern languages and related disciplines to the concept and practices of fan translation. Beginning with an overview of the research on fan translation from both media and translation studies, this book focuses on issues such as the tension between creative readings and commercial exploitation, the role of translation in popular culture, the changing media landscape and the balance between translation as a form of self-expression and as a service to the community. Fan Translations resists the assumption of a Global North subject in existing scholarship, and instead explores the connections between fandom and translation in the Global South where access to primary texts and official merchandise is often mediated through both official and fan translations as well as through unofficial products. Through the utilization of case studies, Evans and Guo explore different perspectives on fandom, translation and their intersections. These case studies touch on imperative topics in fan culture, such as fan translation in queer communities and media as a method of community building and the interrelation between fan and professional translation, leading to ongoing changes in media distribution.

This book delves into the world of "fandom nationalism," where the lines between fan devotion and nationalistic fervor blur within the East Asian media landscape.Taking a non-Western perspective in fan studies, this book challenges conventional understandings of fandom nationalism. While the concept usually describes how citizens passionately adore their nation akin to idolizing celebrities, this ground-breaking research adds a captivating twist: such passion encompasses not only the expressions of love fans shower upon their idols but also the intense hatred anti-fans direct towards stars - fans strategically employ nationalism as a weapon to win fan wars. This enriches the concept of fandom nationalism, exploring how fans use participatory censorship practices to accuse celebrities and their followers of problematic political stances, thereby channeling collective nationalist anger to exact revenge on despised celebrities, such as Zhang Zhehan, a Boys' Love drama actor who was banned by the authorities and the industry for taking photos at the Yasukuni Shrine in Japan.Through a thorough review of relevant literature and detailed fieldwork data, this book reveals how fans and anti-fans participate in various stages of the banning process, leading to the career downfall of top stars in China. This brutal battleground, akin to cancel culture, is a product of the collusion among fans, netizens, the party-state, media platforms, and businesses, where fans' participation in nationalist practices can also be performative patriotism, driven by the desire to protect their idols and themselves. Using examples from China and beyond, Fandom Nationalism explores the relationship between fandom and the state more broadly.