Fandom Audience

Learner Resource 9

Research Activity 3 – Long form TV drama and fandom

The term ‘fan’ is believed to come from the term ‘fanatic’ and refers to an audience member who has an intense enthusiasm and, often, an uncritical devotion to a product, person or activity.

There are many ways in which a fan of a long form TV drama can express their enthusiasm and interest for the show. Continuing developments in technology have enabled the distribution and sharing of fan-made materials and the development of fan made communities.

For the Long Form TV Drama unit, you are required to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of fandom and fans’ responses to the set products you have chosen to study.

Task

In order to find out how fans are targeted, how they interpret content from the drama and how they make meaning across different platforms, you will complete a short research activity into the fans of your chosen set products.

To complete this task successfully you will:

1.          Go online and search for a variety of fan made materials. Sites which may help you find fan made materials include:

·            www.youtube.com

·            http://fandom.wikia.com

·            the official social media accounts for the set products  

·            fan-made social media accounts for the set products.

2.          Select three different fan-made products for each set product and complete the grid below.

3.          Present your research findings in a visual format. You will need to take screenshots and embed the links to the fan made materials you have found into your visual document.

	What is the product? Give an overview.	Who is it by? What demographic/ psychographic can the fan be defined by?	Where can you find this product? Which platform?	Which features of the drama’s content does the product focus on? What does it suggest is the main appeal of the TV drama?	How have other fans responded to the content? Give examples of how they respond?
Fan-made product 1	Mugs.	Company – ShotDeadInTheHead.	Amazon sellers	The lights and alphabet that Joyce hangs on the wall to communicate with Will when he is in the upside down.	4 stars, 34 reviews.
Fan-made product 2	Hoodies.	Company - MellorDesign	Amazon sellers	The Stranger Things logo with the kids on their bikes.	4.5 stars on Amazon, with over 300 reviews.
Fan-made product 3	Backpacks.	Company - HippoWarehouse	Amazon sellers	The Stranger Things logo.	5 stars, 13 reviews.

Stranger Things Essay

How are different social groups represented in the sequence you have analysed? What role does the use of media language, signs and signifiers have in constructing and presenting these representations as real? In the middle-school drop off scene, there is a wide shot of dozens of students walking in the student-drop off area. The clothing worn is all 80s style and authentic. The vehicles in the scene are also from the 80s. Social groups such as white, black, disabled are all represented in this scene. The protagonists of Lucas and Dustin represent a form of minority. The background characters also show similar ethnicities. The bullies that appear in the scene also provide authenticity that schools were not perfect, and conflict was commonplace back in this time period. It also establishes Mike, Lucas and Dustin as the ‘freaks’ and out of place students. This reinforces the representation of them, as the ‘nerds’ of the class. The dialogue, which involves Mike complementing Dustin about his arm trick, saying it is a ‘superpower’ shows again how they are nerds and reference pop culture from the 80s time period. For example, ‘Mr Fantastic’. The chopper bikes the boys use, also provides authenticity to the scene. The sound design is also reminiscent of middle schools. Chatter is in the background. The school bell also rings to further show they are in a school and makes it seem realistic. The high school scene is similar to the previous scene however they are some major differences. The background characters are older than the middle school students, to show that this is a change of location to the previous scene which may have been seen as the same if the extras were the same age. The school bell rings like the previous scene to show the audience that Nancy is entering a school. The main hallway is identical to real 80s schools and the lockers have the same design. The clothing of the actors is again in an 80s style. The dialogue is also very ‘teenage’, for example ‘makeout’. This provides authenticity to the characters and reminds the audience that they are teenagers and shows what problems they face on a daily basis. The note than Nancy receives is also very high school and shows how messages were communicated without mobile phones. This reminds the audience what time periods the drama is set in. The hairstyle that Steve Harrington has also shows the style of the 80s apart from clothes.