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Exploring the ambiguous relationship between fandom and consumer culture, this book provides a critical overview of fans, fan cultures and fan experiences in relation to the broader experience and transformation economy. Fans and Fan Cultures discusses key theoretical concepts concerning celebrity, fandoms, subculture, consumerism and marketing through a range of examples in film, travel and tourism, football and music. With an emphasis on social media, and how various online platforms are utilised by brands, artists and fans, the authors explore how this type of communication often contributes to trivialising authentic expressions of cultural and social values and identities.
List of contents
Chapter 1 Introduction.- Chapter 2 Fans, followers and brand advocates.- Chapter 3 Fans and (post) subcultural consumerism.- Chapter 4 Text and representation - the community and the individual.- Chapter 5 Celebrity culture and modes of participation through "new" media.- Chapter 6 Fans and tourism.- Chapter 7 Football fans - representations, motivations and place.- Chapter 8 Popular culture fandom - broadening the picture.- Chapter 9 Social media - millennials, brand fans and the branding of fans.- Chapter 10 Conclusion.
About the author
Henrik Linden is a Senior Lecturer in Cultural Industries Management at the University of East London, UK, where he is Programme Leader for the BA in Tourism Management.
Sara Linden is Lecturer in Cultural Policy and Tourism at Goldsmiths, University of London, UK.
Summary
Exploring the ambiguous relationship between fandom and consumer culture, this book provides a critical overview of fans, fan cultures and fan experiences in relation to the broader experience and transformation economy. Fans and Fan Cultures discusses key theoretical concepts concerning celebrity, fandoms, subculture, consumerism and marketing through a range of examples in film, travel and tourism, football and music. With an emphasis on social media, and how various online platforms are utilised by brands, artists and fans, the authors explore how this type of communication often contributes to trivialising authentic expressions of cultural and social values and identities.
Report
"Linden and Linden offer a well-organized and executed analysis of what it means to be a fan in a world driven by the dissolution of transnational and transcultural borders, a neoliberal market in which everything-especially fan labor-can be capitalized upon, and an anxiety-fueled experience economy." (Alexandra Fong, Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Issue 13, 2020)
