![]() Karen Hellekson and Kristina Busse’s study, Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet (2006), found that fanfiction is primarily written by women, of all ages and sexual identities, and tends to explore – or “ ship” – intimate and romantic relationships between characters.įans themselves have attempted to quantify the demographic diversity of readers and writers, with over 10,000 participants taking part in one particular survey. ![]() These reinterpretations interact with canonical events – actual events from the original text – in different ways, “filling in” unexplored aspects of a scene, or “fixing” things that were dissatisfying or problematic. With doubts swirling over whether Marvel will ever make a Black Widow movie, is it any wonder female fans feel the need to create their own stories? The power of fanfiction stems from the fact that it actively invites writers to break down boundaries considered “natural” in a broader cultural context – primarily around sex, sexuality, and gender.įanfiction communities often critically engage with stories not written specifically for them. Why do people write and read it?įanfiction enables readers, writers, and sometimes even literary professors to play in an imaginative sandbox, interpreting and reinterpreting events, relationships and characters to flesh out different scenarios. It would be difficult to find a pop culture phenomenon today – from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Game of Thrones (2011-present) to K-dramas (Korean dramas) like Coffee Prince (2012-present) and Bollywood movies – that does not have fanfiction written about it. In the digital realm, just one popular archival site – – currently hosts a staggering 40 million users a month. This level of accessibility has lead to a remarkable proliferation of what was once considered an obscure subculture. Today, thanks to the internet, connecting to other fans has never been easier. The influential all-female manga artist group Clamp first came to prominence through Doujinshi (amateur, self-published works) based on Captain Tsubasa (1983-1986) and Saint Seiya (1986-1989). MiMiKa Z/flickr, CC BYĬomparable communities formed around anime and manga in Japan during the 1980s. There is early evidence of fans coming together around science fiction television shows like The Man From U.N.C.LE. These tendencies were first identified by Henry Jenkins in Textual Poachers (1992). Popular culture academics in the US and the UK trace the beginnings of an identifiable fan culture and community from the 1970s. It’s fiction, Jim, but not as we know it… The “fanfiction” classification usually results from the context of creation and circulation rather than anything inherent to the subject matter or quality of writing. ![]() Many successful novelists, including Colleen McCullough with The Independence of Miss Mary Bennett (2009), publish literary reimaginings of Jane Austen’s novels. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes (1887-1927) series has spawned a veritable industry of derivative works, both sanctioned and unsanctioned. Still, canonical works have remained a source of creative inspiration. Sherlock Holmes fans gathered to raise money for the restoration of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s study in London during 2014. Due to residual textual and thematic similarities, the question of copyright infringement remains open. This is one reason why the Twilight fanfiction origins of 50 Shades of Grey were obscured. Still, the amateur status copyright law forces on fanworks is one of the reasons fanfiction as a whole is regarded with some derision. One of the aims of the fan-led Organisation of Transformative Works is to fight for the validity of fair use laws. Today, existing restrictions mean those interested in “remixing” copyrighted material create online communities to discuss and distribute their work freely. In a way this could be considered a form of fanfiction. Many early Disney film adaptations were derivative works based on out-of-copyright novels – think Alice in Wonderland (1951) and The Jungle Book (1967). In Australia, the US and the EU, copyright exists for the lifetime of the author plus seventy years. Yet authors are still subject to modern copyright laws. The main impulse behind fanfiction has always been a playful desire to engage with original works.
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