Fanfic Forensics

From Matt Hills again, page 11: "Couldry (1996: 326) notes that 'Jenkins ... is explicitly both an analyst and a fan (of the type he analyses)."

Reading this, it struck me that Henry Jenkins does sound like he's a fan of fans :) Jenkins explains his very positive portrayal of fans/fandom as necessary to counter the negative rap fans get in academia (as they certainly got when Jenkins started his research on fan culture), and I agree that his was a good stance to take. Given how often fans are still portrayed as nerdy freaks in mass media (yes they are), it's a good stance to take even now. But reading a few recent discussions in which fans describe feeling encroached upon by (arrogant) academics, I wonder if it isn't 'fan fanboys' or 'fan fangirls' -academics studying fans and getting very very enthusiastic about them- who are spooking people. It's weird to have academics analyzing every facet of your behaviour and even building theories as to the 'why' of your actions, when you thought you were doing nothing more complicated than having a good time. Even if those academics mean no harm.

Am I a 'fan fangirl' then? Not sure. I don't see fandom as some sort of utopian community, I've been there and it certainly isn't. But I certainly like fandom a lot, both on a personal and on an academic level. I might get overly excited now and then. Smothering something with affection can't be the way to go.

Then again, people freaking out on you doesn't necessarily mean that you're doing something wrong, of course. Perhaps on the contrary.

I love this project, I've barely started out and already I've thought myself in ten different knots and circles ;)

EDIT: having perused about ten other fans-versus-academics discussion thread, I'm not so sure about this anymore. I've gotten quite confused about what exactly it is that gets some fans riled up about others speaking as 'academics' -people seem to be exaggerating, a lot. In any case, see metafandom for links to all the abovementioned threads.