Harry Potter Fan Community as One of the Worlds Popular Fan Communities - Essay Example

Harry Potter Fan Community: Cultural practices of textual production and circulation Harry Potter Fan Community has emerged as one of the world’s popular fan community, owing to its huge support from different parts of the world (Thomas, 2011:207). All the members of the Harry Potter Fan Community share similar interests. They share sympathy towards the Harry Porter fantasy fiction ideologies that serve as the major bonding and unifying factor for the fans. Consequently, the fan members are involved even with the minor details of the interests and objects they fancy, and consequently spend much time and even resources in trying to actualize their support for the fan community. The Harry Potter Fan Community is built around the series of seven fantasy novels that are written by J. K. Rowling going by the name of Harry Porter, and the series has attracted so much fanatical interest, that every release of a new series of the book has posed security threats in major cities of the world (Pyne, 2010:126). Thus, starting with interest built around the series of the fantasy novel, the Harry Potter Fan Community has metamorphosed over time into creating different other affiliates of the fan community, which then focuses on different other cultural, social and political issues within the society. This way, the once simply fanatical and craze interests in the novel series have turned into a fully-fledged socio-political activism, which is now driving major campaigns towards achieving socio-political changes. To achieve this transformation and buildup more fanatical following, the Harry Potter Fan Community has created a participatory culture, which is enlisting members’ cultural connections towards realizing more civic and political outcomes (Bennett, 2008:18). In this respect, various cultural practices of textual production and circulation in the digital world have been adopted. This discussion seeks to analyze the different cultural practices of textual production and circulation applied by the Harry Potter Fan Community, while also analyzing the transformative work they engage in, the cultural context of the group’s work and thus enhance the understanding of their culture and work. Harry Potter Fan Community’s Cultural practices of textual production and circulation in the digital world The digital world has completely changed the way textual production and circulation is done. While traditionally, the face-to-face methods were applied towards textual production and circulation by the fan communities, it has become exceedingly difficult to classify the textual production and circulation activities of the fans into specified categories, considering that the digital development has collapsed the initial enunciative and semiotic productivity, into more generalized textual productivity that becomes even more difficult to categorize. Nevertheless, the Harry Potter Fan Community’s cultural practices of textual production and circulation in the digital world can be classified into three major practices. These practices include: Meaning making/Semiotic productivity This refers to the cultural practice of the fans within a fan community creating interpretations of the texts and objects of their choice, to enhance easier consumption of such texts and objects by the wider fan community (Abercrombie & Longhurst, 1998:22). While this may be regarded as the cultural activity that defines the lower level of fan community membership, it is way above the routine consumption of texts and information, considering that ‘Meaning Making’ is an advanced stage of text consumption, where an individual has first understood, and then interprets the text to the others. Therefore, meaning making is the process of creating mediated consumption of content by the fans, through helping the normal consumers of information to understand the values and principles of the fan interests in the particular fan community (DiGirolamo, 2012:237). In this respect, the Harry Potter Fan Community has engaged in the practice of ‘Meaning Making’, through the process of continued creation of literary reviews of the Harry Porter series of seven fantasy novels that are written by J. K. Rowling (Thomas, 2011:212). The Harry Potter Fan Community has created numerous reviews of the seven series novel that run into hundreds of thousands or even millions, meant to aid the consumption of the seven series books by the normal consumers and other fan community members. The literary reviews are not only done on the seven series novel content, but also on the content of the subsequent fan fictions and films that have been inspired by the novel series (Heilman, 2008:72). In the traditional context, meaning making was referred to as semiotics, where the fans collected and interpreted information to each other on a direct and face-to-face basis. However, owing to the rise and advancement of technology, especially the immense growth, accessibility and use of social media, the concept of semiotics has now metamorphosed into a more complex system of text productivity. This is because, the digital culture of text productivity no longer avails the direct personal contact and face-to-face interaction of the fans, but have opened more channels for non-verbal and non-personal contact means of text production (Earl & Kimport, 2009:221). The ‘Meaning Making’ cultural practice of text production and circulation is not only a preserve of the digital age, but a continuum of traditional practices of literary reviews that have seen individuals engaging in reviewing different works of art, literature and films, based on the level of interest and understanding that such individuals have gained in the that particular work (Felski, 1989:41). The cultural practice of ‘Meaning Making’ have seen the Harry Potter Fan Community actively participate in collecting and gathering a variety of information from different media, and then contextualize the information within the ideologies and objects of interest of the fan community. The essence of this fan cultural practice is to evaluate multiple levels of media information and then incorporate them into the needs of the fan community, so that the whole family of the fan community can then use the interpreted and contextualized texts to understand the world (Bennett, 2008:13). Thus, the Harry Potter Fan Community has actively used different media texts to create the meaning of social identity and enhance social experiences of the fan community. The ‘Meaning Making’ concept is mainly targeted for the use of the fan community members, but it is also applied as a channel of attracting the intention of more people to join and share in the identity and experiences of the fan community. Meaning sharing/Enunciative productivity Meaning sharing is yet another cultural practice of textual production and circulation in the digital world that is being employed by the Harry Potter Fan Community. The Harry Potter Fan Community has established a culture of face-to-face congregation, where they are involved in sharing texts in relation to various objects and interests of the fan community during fan conventions (Dahlgren, 2005:161). The culture of verbal/oral sharing of meaning and interests on a public platform that takes the form of face-to-face personal interaction amongst the members of the fan community serves to establish a culture of text productivity within what is referred to as enunciative productivity (Fiske, 1992:39).The concept of ‘Meaning sharing’ is a more advanced stage of ‘meaning making’, where the individuals within a fan community now stops just creating meaning and understanding of the texts, interests and objects shared by their fan community, and proceeds to actively engage in circulation of the texts and meaning to other fan community members (Hills, 2002:96). Therefore, the cultural practice of ‘meaning sharing’, entails the process of moving thoughts and ideas of interest to the fan community from the head of an individual, into shared space where the other fan community members can share in the thought (Bennett, 2008:21). Nevertheless, there has been contention over the differentiation on the process of making meaning and meaning sharing, with most studies in fan behavior indicating that the process of meaning making and that of meaning sharing are the same. However, the fact of the matter remains that meaning making is distinguishable from meaning sharing, considering that the process of meaning making can exists on its own, in the mind and thoughts of the fan, but to become a complete and expressed fan behavior, then the meaning must be shared (Heilman, 2008:56). In this respect therefore, meaning sharing is the process by which meaning making is completed. The Harry Potter Fan Community has actively engaged in the process of meaning sharing, which is the concept that has served to create the social identity of the group, where the fans have established a system of communicating meanings and texts in relation to different interests and objects that binds the fan community. Through the process of meaning sharing, the Harry Potter Fan Community has established the identity of Pottermania or Potterheads (Earl & Kimport, 2009:222). While first writing the seven series novel by the name of Harry Porter, the writer, by J. K. Rowling, targeted the market of the book to be for children of between the age of 9 and 12 years (Pyne, 2010:126). However, following the identity that was created around the fantasy novel and the sharing of meaning that has consistently occurred amongst the Harry Potter Fan Community members, the initial market target has now changed, with the adults being the most active interest group in the fantasy novel, as opposed to children who were initially targeted. The reason for this dynamic shift in interest is purely a function of the culture of shared meaning amongst people with similar interests in the novel, which has ended up creating a large followership (Pyne, 2010:126). Further, the disparity in the fandom cultural practices of meaning making and meaning sharing can be demonstrated through looking at the manner in which each practice is propagated. Meaning making entails the process of the fan community reviewing various literatures around certain subjects of interests, which eventually allows them and others to understand the world. On the other hand, the fandom cultural practice of meaning sharing entails the critiquing and giving responses to the already developed meanings around a subject or interest shared by the fan community (Dahlgren, 2005:149). This way, both practices, though distinct in the manner of their propagation, works towards the same course; that of strengthening the bond and relationships amongst the fan community members (Hills, 2013:131). Poaching/ Textual productivity This is a cultural practice by the Harry Potter Fan Community to produce texts based on the objects and interests shared by the fan community, through different forms such as fan fiction, podcasts, music, films and other aspects of textual displays (Muller, 2007:197). While the hierarchy of fan community starts with meaning making at the bottom, followed by meaning sharing, the poaching/textual productivity culture of producing texts stands at the top of the hierarchy, with the members of the hierarchy often regarded to be ‘too big fans, ‘extreme fans’ or even ‘too far fans’ (Schäfer, 2011:102). The fans at the apex of the Harry Potter Fan Community are those who spends more time, efforts and resources to propagate and divulge the objects and interests shared by the fan community through various means, so much so that the whole concept of the Harry Potter Fan Community, also referred to as Pottermania or wizardry has attracted criticism, due to the fact that it has developed into some form of a cult (Thomas, 2011:216). Thus, the cultural practice of borrowing and then incorporating texts from different media into an individual’s own created content has become one of the major avenues through which the Harry Potter Fan Community fandom texts is created and distributed to the wider fan base community, or even divulged through different media for the consumption of the whole society (Dahlgren, 2005:159). Poaching/text productivity entails borrowing substantial textual content from the media that covers the object of interests shared by the fan community, and then incorporating such text into personal stories that explains personal experiences, attitudes and identities. The process of creating various forms of textual displays through borrowing content and then claiming the produced text as one of an individual’s own is referred to as poaching, a practice that has been highly adopted by the Harry Potter Fan Community (Thomas, 2011:208). Most of the content that is available on the internet in relation to Harry Porter as the seven series novel is barely authentic content from the original writer of the books, but a hybrid of borrowed and own text that is then claimed by different individuals as their own text. The cultural practice of textual productivity entails first breaking down the entire original texts and contents as produced by different media, taking the aspects of the content that is of interest to the fan, and then reassembling the content using own creative thoughts to create a new text that is then applied to make sense of the fan’s experience (Felski, 1989:36). The most popular practices that the Harry Potter Fan Community have applied to remake the texts are fan fiction and videos. Fan fiction, arguably one of the most extensively applied fandom cultural practice entails taking some text that is of interest to the particular fan community, and then using the borrowed text as the start point for developing own creation stories, which are then narrated in reference to the fans’ life experiences and identities (Abercrombie & Longhurst, 1998:32). While the fan fiction stories are produced for personal use, they are then forwarded and shared with the members of the fan community, in furtherance of the social, political or cultural ideologies that the fan community upholds. In this respect, there are numerous fan fiction stories, films, and music videos that have been posted on different websites and shared online by the Harry Potter Fan Community as their own creation stories. The fans have borrowed some textual platform from the original Harry Porter seven series novel, and then applied the same as the foundation to tell their own experience, as well as the espoused values of the Harry Potter Fan Community and the desired value system of the whole community (Dahlgren, 2005:151). Most of the Harry porter fan fiction stories have been developed to expand the themes that are absent, or those themes that have been underplayed in the original seven series novel. Thus, the cultural practice poaching/text productivity is a principle method of textual production and circulation that has been used by the Harry Potter Fan Community in the digital world. What type of transformative work Harry Potter Fan Community engage in? The Harry Potter Fan Community is engaged in a range of transformative work, depending on different factions that have emerged under this umbrella, to apply their Harry Potter Fan Community identity to transform the political, cultural and social aspects of the society that the fan community finds wanting. Most prominent of the Harry Potter Fan Community transformative work is political and charity activism (Harry Potter Alliance, 2007:n.p.). The Harry Potter Fan Community, working under the comprehensive union of the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA) have engaged in a variety of political activism activities to advocate for the desired changes in the political and legal policy framework. The Harry Potter Fan Community forged the identity of Harry Potter Alliance in 2005, as the vehicle through which the fan community can affect laws and public policies (Harry Potter Alliance, 2007:n.p.). In realizing this goal, the HPA have signed petitions and signed letters to different leaders in various parts of the world, explaining the needs for various policy and law changes (Harry Potter Alliance, 2007:n.p.). In addition, HPA has made several videos and passed the same to the leaders of interest, seeking to explain different policy framework issues and the need for the desired changes. Further, the transformative work of the Harry Potter Fan Community has been effected through raising funds to support different political agendas, geared towards changing the way the political framework is operating globally (Harry Potter Alliance, 2007:n.p.). The other transformative work conducted by the Harry Potter Fan Community is the social transformation of the society, through operating as a charitable social entity, which has conducted over 25 social justice campaigns since it was established (Harry Potter Alliance, 2007:n.p.). Further, to end the genocide in Darfur, HPA collected 7500 signature to petition the international community to intervene and stop the genocide, while also contributing $10,000 towards helping the affected individuals in the Darfur conflict (Harry Potter Alliance, 2007:n.p.). The Harry Potter Fan Community contributed to the highest percentage of the phone calls made towards the campaign to stop genocide, with 50% of the phone calls made to 1-800-GENOCIDE emanating from the Harry Potter Fan Community (Harry Potter Alliance, 2007:n.p.). Further, during the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the Harry Potter Fan Community, through its HPA affiliate donated over $123,000 towards assisting the affected individuals with medical and food necessities, in addition to donating over 55,000 books to the youth village in Rwanda, to assist the affected families of the 1994 Rwanda genocide(Harry Potter Alliance, 2007:n.p.). What is its cultural context? The cultural context of the Harry Potter Fan Community is romantic relationships. This cultural context derives from the ‘shipping’ concept, which is an embraced concept by the Harry Porter fandom, in form of a belief that two people, usually fictional, should be in a romantic relationship (DiGirolamo, 2012:232). This cultural context was the principle foundation on which the Harry Porter seven series novel was established, as an odd prospective relationship between Harry Porter and Hermione Granger (Dahlgren, 2005:147). Thus, since most of the readers of the series novel favored a relationship between Harry and Hermione to have continued favorably, the results to the contrary aroused the interest to make long-term relationship work, resulting to the rise of the ‘shipper’ debate (Fiske, 1992:45). Thus, this fictional fantasy story has been contextualized to form emotional involvement with the ongoing dysfunctional social-cultural and romantic relationship development. This forms the cultural context of Harry Potter Fan Community that seeks to make such relationships work (Jenkins, 2006:78). How can you understand their culture and work? Understanding the culture and work of Harry Potter Fan Community can occur through establishing the relationship between their cultural context and the transformative work that they do. Considering that their contextual relationship is based on making the dysfunctional socio-cultural and romantic relationship work, the transformative work that the fan community has been doing is an extension of this cultural context (Wyatt, et al., 2013:24). This is because; the transformative work done by the Harry Potter Fan Community both in the social and political activism, through their Harry Potter Alliance affiliate, seeks to make the relationships that are not working within the society work efficiently. Most of the Harry Potter Fan Community transformational work is through active participation, such as fundraising to support affected individuals in different parts of the world, while the nature of their activism is interpersonal relationships, which entails signing petitions, writing letters and conducting social justice campaigns (Rowe, 2010:312). All these strategies can be understood through appreciating their cultural context, which seeks to establishrelationships that work. References Abercrombie, N. and Longhurst, B., 1998. Audiences: a sociological theory of performance and imagination. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Bennett, W. L. 2008. "Changing Citizenship in the Digital Age." In Civic Life Online: Learning How Digital Media Can Engage Youth, edited by Lance Bennett. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 1–24. Dahlgren, P. 2005. "The Internet, Public Spheres, and Political Communication: Dispersion and Deliberation." Political Communication 22:147–62. DiGirolamo, M. 2012. 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