Big Damn Fans: Fan Campaigns of Firefly and Veronica Mars

Abstract

My research analyzes fan campaigns as a new cultural form of online television fandoms. With the rise of widespread internet usage, the nature of media participation has changed, the distinctions between media authors and media consumers has become obscure, and the nature of fan interactions have changed. Fans are now entering into new relationships with each other, producers, and authors of widely circulated cultural texts. This is the focus of my thesis. Because little scholarly research on fan campaigns exists, my first aim is to document these cultural forms using two cases: the television shows, Firefly and Veronica Mars. My second aim is a critical consideration of the nature of production in these interactive spaces. Here we see an emerging definition of fans as important cultural citizens, and a desire to participate as such. Fans are not interested in overthrowing the current methods of cultural production; they are instead interested in participating within those frameworks.