I hope everyone’s week is going well so far. I’ve had a few days where I was down with a migraine. So I’m trying to catch up and waiting for school to start. Hopefully I will still have a good bit of reading time along with my studying.
Fandom For Us, By Us is an interesting look in the way race affects fandom behavior. Since most fandom studies tend to focus on white fans and the dominant white culture this is a good look at the differences when it comes to fandom objects.
Synopsis
Fandom For Us, By Us shifts the focus from white centered fandom studies to focus on Black Fandoms. This is a bold move by Alfred L. Martin Jr. who focuses on the fandoms through the context of the four Cs. Class, clout, canon and comfort.
Class is discussing the importance of Black fans engaging with activities. These activities are often traditionally thought of as part of an exclusive white club. Martin uses the example of Misty Copeland for this concept. Copeland became part of the American Ballet Theatre. She served as a prime example of how Black fans became interested in her performance. This was especially true for those with children.
Black fans wanted to see these performances even when they weren’t fans of ballet in general. Reasons for this included wanting to see a Black person taking up space in a traditionally white activity. Fans also cited the importance of Copeland providing a role model. They wanted their young children to see that Black girls could do anything.
Clout talks about the importance of how Black fans spend their dollars to encourage change within different industries such as film. The example Martin gave for this is the movie Black Panther. Black fans wanted to be sure this movie succeeded. They wanted to put forward the idea that it was commercially viable to the larger powers that be in Hollywood. By supporting Black Panther, they signaled to Hollywood. They wanted more films with Black casts and Black producers. Fans focused their dollars on Black Panther. They saw it as an example of positive representation of Blackness on screen. This went against the history of things like Blaxploitation films.
Cannon talks about how fannish objects are passed down through different generations. The example cited here is the 1978 film “The Wiz”. The study focuses on how Black fans received the object from their older family members. These family member had seen the movie originally and thought it was important to pass along because of the messages it gave. Those interviewed talked about how it became an important part of their childhood. And how they perfered it over the original it was based on “The Wizard of Oz.”
The final theme Comfort talks about the connection between fannish objects, such as television shows, and Black joy. They provide a place where Black people can be themselves. The example cited here was the Golden Girls. While it was not a Black cast or a Black produced television show, it provided comfort because of its universality.
This book produced through Martin’s in depth interviews with Black fans. Through 75 interviews Martin highlight the nuanced way Black fans engage with media representations. The main point of the book is that Black fandoms have their own set of practices. These practices are separate from White fandom. It is important to study and analyze them.
Review
Fandom for Us, By us was a great look at the way race plays a factor in the way media objects are received by their audience. Martin uses popular media such as The Wiz, Black Panther and Misty Copeland. He argues that this celebrity and pieces of media are particularly important for reasons he details in each chapter of the book. These elements which , these include, culture, clout, class and comfort.
This book reads like a PHD thesis, this isn’t a critique so much a a warning for any potential readers. This is very much heavily academic writing. I, myself have a graduate degree and even had to look up some of the words that were used in this piece.
While it is very academically dense, I think it still does a good job explaining the concepts in a way that most people could understand. It is great to see a diverse voice broaching fandom studies as so often the field is overwhelmed by straight white narratives
I’d give this book four stars, while I enjoyed it, the work itself was a little too academically dense for my taste. Though this piece is definitely worth reading if you are a big fan of fandom studies or Black media.
Rose's Book Garden 