Audience Studies (3P18) Blog Post #3 – Liana Islami

The concept of fandom has become somewhat of a recent phenomenon in the twenty-first century. Short for “fanatic,” fans have historically been referred to those who have an unwavering belief in a religious being (Sullivan, 2013, p. 192). This concept began to kickstart negative stereotypes associated with the phrase in recent years, usually referring to individuals identifying as being part of fandoms as deranged. It is important to understand why fans are associated with negative connotations, however. According to Sullivan (2013), critics of high regard viewed popular culture as worthless and not important enough to inhibit any real study by scholars. Anyone who consumed popular culture materials were deemed as mindless as the materials themselves (Sullivan, 2013, p. 193). Therefore, fandoms have been left at the short end of the stick with critics who embodied “taste” writing them off as mindless material meant for the masses. That any popular culture text did not have anything to offer that was worthwhile, thought-provoking, and deep. These critics did not stop fans from loudly praising and consuming their favourite popular texts, however. Fans interact with each other online and in social settings. Fans promote their beloved media texts with enthusiasm and excitement and without shame. Most importantly, fans embody their chosen popular culture text. This blog post will analyze the ways in which fandoms interact with one another online, specifically the Taylor Swift fandom on blogging website Tumblr. Additionally, this post will also examine the ways in which Swift herself provides additional material along with her albums to create a more interactive fanbase for her fans online.

Tumblr is a microblogging and social media website in which users are able to blog about their interests in a variety of ways. Users can create text posts and upload photos and other media. In turn, blogs “follow” each other and “reblog” others’ original content onto their own blogs. Text, photos, and other media circulate into other blogs’ orbits and have the ability to be re-shared multiple times. Tumblr differs from other traditional websites in the sense that the atmosphere acts less formal in terms of what users post. Rarely does one find a Tumblr blogger who uploads paragraphs worth of thoughtful information; Tumblr is a website designed for users to express their interests in a creative way and interact with other users who share these same interests.

In particular, the Taylor Swift fandom has an overwhelming presence on Tumblr. One reason for this is that Swift herself is extremely active on the website – she frequently interacts with her fans online. When she first joined Tumblr, Swift had a couple of questions on how to work the social networking site: (from PerezHilton.com)

Her fans responded immediately, showing the international pop superstar the ropes in working the website. Since then, Swift has become a pro at working Tumblr, offering her fans emotional support and advice when they are going through hard times.

(from Pinterest.com)

As shown, Swift really does have an incredible relationship with her fans online; something that is quite unique among musicians nowadays. Her ability to influence fandom engagement in the Tumblr-sphere further perpetuates the idea that fans will proudly announce their love for a particular media text online, regardless of what others might say or think.

To continue, Sullivan (2013) outlines two distinct elements that make up media fandom: the social aspect, which refers to the ways in which media fandoms “band together in either informal or more formally structured groups to share their mutual interest with others” (p. 195). The second element, the interpretive aspect, consists of fans who take on the role of interpreters and producers of media content (Sullivan, 2013, p. 195). The focus will remain primarily on the social aspect of media fandom in relation to the Taylor Swift fandom on Tumblr. In this context, Sullivan (2013) notes that fans do not simply want to consume their chosen text. They want to share their passion and excitement about the content with other people, relate the text to their personal lives, and fully unpack the finer points of the text with others (p. 195). This phenomenon is particularly evident in the Swift fandom on Tumblr. With the recent release of Swift’s sixth studio album, reputation (2017), fans have been interacting about the artistic quality of the music with others on Tumblr. For example, one fan frequently answers questions in her inbox on Tumblr regarding the meanings of Swift’s lyrics on the album –

(from cages-boxes-hunters-foxes.tumblr.com)

As seen from the above screenshot, fans on Tumblr are actively interacting with one another to discuss a deeper level meaning in Swift’s reputation lyrics (highlighted in the red box). Fans send each other questions and comment on one another’s posts, unpacking the different messages evident in Swift’s lyrics. In this way, fans engage with their favourite media text far beyond the point where they simply listen to it. The media text becomes a focal point for fans to interpret deeper connotations in it.

Similarly, Navar-Gill (2018) classifies fandom participation into two elements: affirmational and transformational fandom (p. 212). Affirmational fans “celebrate the text as is and accept industry guidelines for textual interpretation and participation” (Navar-Gill, 2018, p. 212). In other words, these fans consume a media text without incorporating further thought and analysis into the work – they simply consume the text at the most basic level. On the other hand, transformational fans “tend to twist and reimagine the text in non-sanctioned ways through creative work, asserting a kind of moral ownership over the text” (Navar-Gill, 2018, p. 212). Fans who are particularly passionate about a certain media text will find ways to interpret it more deeply than casual consumers. They will create their own user-generated content (Sullivan, 2013) surrounding the media text to present their love for the messages it produces. The Swift fandom on Tumblr establish a transformational stance on Swift’s media products. Of course this is evident in the conversations they have with one another, but fans will also take the media text and produce their own creative content with it such as photo edits, gifsets, and other media.

For instance, following the one-year anniversary of Swift’s album release of reputation, fans on Tumblr began creating edits celebrating the album in all its glory. The following images is an example of a gifset that a fan created and published onto their blog:

(from spencershastings.tumblr.com)

Taylor Swift fans on Tumblr interact with each other by “reblogging” and supporting each other’s edit-making. In this way, Tumblr fans continue to decode deeper meanings into their favourite media texts. Fans apply their creative abilities to celebrate an artist’s work that holds a special place within them.

In addition to transformational fans becoming creative agents online, Navar-Gill (2018) also notes how these fans tend to be imagined as “female, queer, and/or people of color who feel undeserved by the media” (p. 212). This distinction appears to be generally true in the Swift fandom on Tumblr. Many fans have expressed their views on the ways in which LGBTQ+ and POC fans have been treated by the general public. They believe that the general public generalizes Taylor Swift fans as cis and white, which becomes harmful for POC and LGBTQ+ fans who do not fit that demographic. To counter this view and allow fans to feel more comfortable in the online fandom, two Tumblr bloggers (users @nliallofficial & @ofrunningfoxes) created “@swiftiesofcolor,” a blog that celebrates the existence POC and LGBTQ+ Taylor Swift fans on Tumblr. In addition to the creation of the blog, @swiftiesofcolor also invented “POC selfie nights” and “LGBTQ+ selfie nights” in which fans upload pictures of themselves online for others to like and reblog. In this way, fans boost each other with warm messages and promote the message that fans of all races and sexualities are welcome and appreciated and exist in the Taylor Swift fandom. One fan expressed her views on the POC/LGBTQ+ selfie nights:

Therefore, Navar-Gill’s (2018) definition of transformational fans fits into the Taylor Swift Tumblr fandom in a way that represents the individuals who feel unappreciated and underrepresented in their real lives. Tumblr as a social networking site becomes a safe space for disadvantaged groups to celebrate common interests with other people.

Moving forward, Swift fans on Tumblr engage with the different types of content they receive from Swift herself. Sullivan (2013) discusses the concept of transmedia production which “refers to the coordinated use of multiple media platforms (or technologies) to craft a narrative … open up the possibility for audience participation and dialogue with media producers” (p. 241). With the release of reputation, Swift released short video clips that show audiences the process of songwriting she goes through to create her music. In this way, Swift actively engages with her fans, giving them insight as to how she creates the music they admire. Fans in turn find the videos particularly fascinating because they resonate with Swift’s music on a deeper level than casual fans.

In addition to Swift practicing transmedia production, she also involves herself in creating multiple paratexts for her fans. Sullivan (2013) defines the term as “textual material that surrounds media narratives and informs us about them” (p. 241). Swift not only released a physical copy of the reputation CD, but she also released exclusive magazines that come with it. Two variations of the magazine included handwritten lyrics to each of the songs on the album, personal polaroids, a poem written by Swift, and a large poster of a painting Swift created herself.

Swift therefore allows her fans to gain additional information on the album by providing these magazines for sale with the CD. Audiences become active in consuming the texts and interpreting different meanings in the music. This allows Swift to gain a more solid fanbase and connection with her most passionate fans.

In conclusion, the Taylor Swift fandom on Tumblr is more active and engaging than ever before – mostly due to the fact that Swift herself talks with her fans online. By providing fans with thought-provoking content to analyze, fans who connect with Swift’s lyrics consistently discuss their deeper meanings with one another on Tumblr. Additionally, Swift fans create their own content for others to enjoy and reblog (edits and gifs). These fans are mostly transformational in a sense that they feel disadvantaged from the rest of society – which reflects back to the way Swift fans are specifically treated by the general public. To combat this issue, fans on Tumblr support each other no matter what – with special appreciation to the people of colour and LGBTQ+ fans. In addition, Swift fuels discussions of deeper connotations of her lyrics and her albums by providing fans additional content to consume surrounding the media text. In this way, Tumblr fans are active, engaging, and present.

In the last chapter of Media Audiences, Sullivan (2013) poses the question “does the concept of ‘audience’ still have relevance in today’s media environment?” (p. 245). He argues that it does, especially in our current digitized world, and that media scholars should pay special attention to the shifting boundaries between producers and audiences. As we begin to see, the line between the two is becoming blurred. Audiences have much more control over media content then they ever had before. With such an involved audience, it is important to remember that audiences have much more say in what succeeds and what does not in today’s society.

Audience Studies (3P18) Blog Post #2

In her discussion on radio listeners during the Great Depression in the United States and Canada, MacLennon (2008) observes how the rapid commercialization of radio serials were due to the fact that most listeners were women in need of a leisure activity during the daytime hours (p. 619). Additionally, MacLennon (2008) observes how specific radio programming were most popular with the female audience in the 1920’s and 1930’s, such as health, talk, child programming, and most prominently, the serial drama.  Because of its popularity with women, many critics have stated that radio seriality (and serial narratives in a more general sense) are understood as a “low” form of culture (Allen, 1985) and therefore not worthy of any real study. This blog will analyze such ideas in more depth as well as connect them with concepts and theories that shed light to listener intelligence and the way that female radio listeners interpret a given text (i.e., serial drama). Additionally, this post will cover an economic perspective of serial drama by observing advertisements on the radio and the political economy as a whole.

To put the audience experience of radio serials in a bigger perspective, analyzing the ways in which women during this time interpreted the serial dramas is dire. In the 1980’s, research conducted by the Birmingham School suggest that listeners of a text all interpret messages differently. Sullivan (2013) touches on a specific model that listeners go through to decode a message from a text. The Encoding/Decoding Model by Stuart Hall (1980) explains that that there are two “determining moments” a listener experiences when consuming a text (Sullivan, 2013, p. 140). In the first moment, the producer of a message encodes the message, and must place it in a format that listeners are able to extract meanings from. The second element involves the audience’s reception of the encoded message, the decode process (Sullivan, 2013, p. 141). In order for the message to have a desired effect on its audience, it must be “appropriated in meaningful discourse and be meaningfully decoded” (as quoted in Sullivan, 2013, p. 141). Because a large population of American and Canadian women consumed many of the same radio serial, it was inevitable that multiple interpretations and different encoding/decoding processes happened as a result. Serial narratives brought about discussions of domesticity and became an escape for women from whatever events were happening in their lives.

Hilmes (1997), in her discussion of the popular radio serial Memory Lane (1928), provides an example of a serial drama in which many women personally connected to. Radio dramas such as Memory Lane took place in small towns and provided visions of community and family life (Hilmes, 1997, p. 102). For this particular radio drama, Memory Lane followed the life of a family moving from an urban city to a small rural town. Many listeners could relate directly to the lifestyle told in the narrative, but others (such as female listeners living in urban areas) could not, although one woman stated that it was an escape from working life to hear about a peaceful “home” town (Hilmes, 1997, p. 103).

Listeners of the Memory Lane example can also connect to another group of concepts stemming from the Encoding/Decoding Model. Sullivan (2013) explains polysemy and the three subject positions listeners may take when interpreting a text (p. 142). Texts can be polysemic –  capable of being understood in a variety of different ways (Sullivan, 2013, p. 142). Media decoding can be taken in one of three ways. First, a listener can take a dominant position, meaning that the listener accepts the message derived from the text in exactly the way the creator intended it to (Sullivan, 2013, p. 142). In the Memory Lane radio serial example, the listeners who directly related to the plot line also accepted it as the leading ideology or message that it projects onto its listeners – the idea of domesticity and family life. Secondly, a listener could also take a negotiated position when consuming a text (Sullivan, 2013, p. 142). Listeners relate to and accept the dominant message, but at the same time “filter” it through their own experiences and relationships. The specific listener who stated that she somewhat related to the stories told in Memory Lane takes a negotiated position because although she knows what it is like to live in a rural town, she does not any longer; therefore unable to completely connect to the story and its characters. In the last position, a listener can take an opposing view. This is where the listener focuses solely on the connotative meanings of a text in order to “mount an ideological struggle against the message and/or its producers” (Sullivan, 2013, p. 142). Listeners who take an oppositional position on radio seriality would pose the argument that it promotes storylines that limit women to being simply housewives and focusing solely on a domestic lifestyle that not all women want to achieve.

To look more closely to the economic aspect of radio serials, it is important to note that the creators of radio serials seek to make the most profit out of their audience. Content creators know that women will seek serials that they can relate to most, and profit off their continued devotion to these serial dramas. Susan Smulyan argues that the reason radio serials were so successful was because radio networks recognized women as serious potential as a devoted audience and the accompanying advertising (MacLennon, 2008, p. 619). In this sense, radio programmers sought to exploit common themes that seemed enjoyable to women and roll with it. This is where the term political economy comes in to oppose the norm. Political economy refers to “the study of social relations, particularly power relations, that mutually constitute the production, distribution, and consumption of resources” (as quoted in Sullivan, 2013, p. 78). Political economy is a term used to challenge the status quo and the institutions that uphold it. Following the first World War, distinctions between leisure time and work became more prominent, thus causing a divide. This brought about a need for capitalist structures to monitor workers’ viewing habits outside of the workplace (Sullivan, 2013, p. 80). In this sense, the political economic environment in which the creators of serial narratives through radio served to uphold the status quo that women tend to enjoy serial dramas that lack any real form of “culture” and are merely “mindless” forms of entertainment.

To continue on a target market aspect of radio dramas, the phenomenon can be attributed to what Dallas W. Smythe calls “the audience commodity” (Sullivan, 2013, p. 81). Smythe argued that “the mass media, rather than simply serving an ideological function supportive of capitalism, was instead part of the economic system of capital itself” (Sullivan, 2013, p. 81). This, in turn, creates the audience commodity – listeners of commercial advertisements actually serve to perform labour for advertisers simply by investing time in learning about their products and services.

In relation to advertising through the radio, Hilmes (1997) notes that advertising agencies became interested in using the radio as a new medium to promote products and services, which was something new (and exciting) since they did not have to rely solely on print media for advertising. Hilmes (1997) explains an advertising campaign launched on air for “Mineralava”:

“the William H. Rankin Agency, one of the heaviest early users of station WEAF’s toll service beginning in 1922, which provided one of the earliest examples of Hollywood-agency-radio interaction by inviting actress Marion Davies to give a talk on “How I Make Up for Movies” for its client Mineralava. By most accounts this was the first time a premium was offered an autographed picture of the actress herself to all those who would write in to say they heard the broadcast, and the ‘thousands’ of requests that poured in helped to establish radio as an effective medium for reaching a consuming public.” (Hilmes, 1997, p. 114). 

Therefore, radio audiences during this advertisement were reeled in to product, further boasting the product sales by using a celebrity on the radio that audiences took a liking to and possibly related to. Audiences become apart of the experience of selling by taking initiative to devote time into learning about a product, generating more profit for advertisers in return. 

Since the 1920’s and 1930’s, radio serials have evolved to take the form of soap operas on modern televisions. Soaps uphold similar narrative structures as radio dramas and are just as popular with the female audience in the same aspect. In his discussion on soap operas, Allen (1985) points out different ways media critics have characterized the genre as encompassing a “low” form of culture, unworthy of appraisal or even of study. This argument assumes that soap audiences (i.e., women) lack the level of intellect and taste required to enjoy (and understand) “higher” forms of culture. More recent studies suggest that audiences are way more intelligent than scholars made them out to be. Uses and Gratifications theory asserts that audiences actually pick and choose what media they want to consume for a particular need at any moment (Sullivan, 2013, p. 113). Katz, Gurevitch, and Haas (1973) organized these needs in five separate categories: cognitive needs, affective needs, integrative needs, social needs, and escape needs (Sullivan, 2013, p. 114). For women watching soap operas, whether being regular viewers or casual viewers, all watch the programs to fulfill some type of need. Women watching soaps often do so as a form of escapism from their daily lives or as a way to widen their social status. Whatever the purpose, soap operas serve a need for every woman who watches them.

In conclusion, radio serial dramas and, similarly, soap operas, all serve a purpose to entertain. In this case, it is to entertain the female audience. Although many arguments have been made against serial narratives, it continues to be enjoyed by some female audiences as their preferred form of media. It is important to note that culture is a term used by scholars to attempt to create a hierarchy of what is regarded as “low” and “high” culture. It doesn’t exist. The end.

Audience Studies (3P18) Blog Post #1

Being apart of an audience is an experience everyone has in their everyday lives. As Sullivan (2013) suggests, audiences can be physical (attending a concert) or temporal: watching a television show live at the same time as others in different places (p. 2). Mass media plays a significant role in constructing audiences as it functions as one of the main mediums different media can project their content to the world.

Politics and pop culture experience heavy overlapping, especially in today’s mediated world. It is extremely rare that one will witness a political scandal without it becoming a “meme” on social media platforms, the subject of discussion on a Tumblr dashboard, or a Twitter moment. This blog post will analyze four of my own audience experiences with the use of academic writings. I will then explore the several ways audiences have overlapped with politics and pop culture.

1. Pop Culture and Politics: the Brett Kavanaugh hearing

When the sexual assault hearing of U.S. Judge Brett Kavanaugh took place on September 27th, I did not pay any attention to it. I know how theses hearings usually end, especially having some background knowledge with the ways in which victims of sexual assault have been treated in court (and anywhere else, really).

A few days later, my best friend began to inform me about the specifics of the hearing, and how surprised she was to see that what people online have been saying about Republicans are true – they really are the most inconsiderate and ignorant individuals to ever walk on Earth. Since I previously had no knowledge of what the allegations were about, my best friend took on the role of being an opinion leader. Sullivan (2013) describes opinion leaders as being “knowledgeable about a particular issue and [are] consulted by others as a source on that issue” (p. 43). Because I knew that my best friend had more knowledge about the topic of Kavanaugh than I did from the beginning, I trusted her to relay that information on to me, believing that it was accurate.

The Kavanaugh hearing brought about a public outcry on social media. Many individuals on all platforms began to voice their opinions on the issue, which contained mostly left wing comments on the case. The hearing got so popular that these audiences began to create “memes” on the Internet about Kavanaugh’s behaviour. Twitter user @TurtleTears posted this tweet with a photo of Kavanaugh’s problematic angry-face along with it. The tweet shows that users online are not afraid to create jokes out of serious situations because the situation is so ridiculous (no one cares that you went to Yale, Kavanaugh).

2. Pop Culture and Politics: Kanye West’s (unwanted) SNL rant

The season premiere of Saturday Night Live this past Saturday (the 29th) featured musical guest Kanye West. Months prior to the episode airing, West had announced that he was supporting President Donald Trump, which tends to be a controversial issue among people in America, mostly because a large number of the population want nothing to do with him at all, let alone have him as a president. Therefore, West had an already established reputation among the right wing population, which is not a favourable one.

My best friend and I watched the SNL episode live together, and we were already skeptical and uneasy during his performances. At the ending credits of the show, West began to sing a song then proceed to voice his opinion on feeling marginalized by the American population for supporting Trump. This received widespread media coverage, with this tweet showing a short clip of West’s speech. As you can see in the video, the SNL cast members in the background look visibly uncomfortable, with some even leaving the stage when he starts singing again.

 

I don’t know about you, but I can clearly see how uncomfortable these cast members look while West is speaking. It is clear that his views are not well received with everyone on that stage, but no one is compelled to speak up against him on his opinion. In their study on the reasonings why individuals might refrain from voicing their opinions in online settings, Neubaum & Kramer (2018) found that people are less likely to voice their opinions online than offline because of the fear of isolation and not being able to control the situation. As you can see with the above example, this is the opposite. The SNL cast members refrain from voicing their true opinions in this particular situation due to the fears of rejection (possibly from the producers and creators of the show). This instance could work as an online situation in the sense that the cast members would not have much control over the situation should they voice their opinions anyway, due to the show airing on live television in front of millions of viewers.

This situation also relates to the idea that citizens look to media personalities to help form an opinion on a subject. Lippman (1922) argued that “individual citizens had neither the time nor the resources to be able to develop complex and reasoned responses to national or international events. Instead, they reflect chiefly on elites in the news media to gather intelligence on those events in they place” (Sullivan, 2013, p. 66). In this way, West acts as a public personality who helps his public following and audiences form an opinion on pressing issues in today’s society. Trusting fans of West before Trump rose to power will count on him to deliver honest and right opinions on topics they do not know what to think of.

All in all, audiences today have the easiest access to events and topics affecting society at the tough of their fingertips. Through social media, users share and re-share stories so that audiences throughout the world can be exposed to the same content and form their own opinions.

check 1 2 3

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton