Lecture 9 PDF

Fandom and Publishing October 26, 2020 Early Voting on Campus Until 11/1, faculty, staff, and students registered to vote in Orange County can vote on main campus at the Live Oak Event Center (4115 Pyxis Lane) 8 a.m-8 p.m. Facial coverings and physical distancing will be enforced...

Fandom and Publishing October 26, 2020 Early Voting on Campus Until 11/1, faculty, staff, and students registered to vote in Orange County can vote on main campus at the Live Oak Event Center (4115 Pyxis Lane) 8 a.m-8 p.m. Facial coverings and physical distancing will be enforced. Bring photo and signature ID (e.g. FL driver's license). List of acceptable ID: https://dos.myflorida.com/elections/for- voters/voting/election-day-voting. Check your registration status, download a sample ballot, or find other information at: https://ocfelections.com/. If you live in another county, check with your local elections office to find an early voting site. Writers in the Sun Visiting Authors Series SAVE THE DATE The first Writers in the Sun event of the year will be a Zoom reading to celebrate Jamie Poissant’s debut novel Lake Life. Sunday, Nov. 1, 7 p.m. Paper 2- Due November 1st This paper is like the Discussions: it asks you to think about how the things we have read relate to each other and to fan communities. It goes beyond the discussions to ask you to think synthetically across two weeks and move from description to argumentation. In a well-organized, coherent essay, answer one of the prompts. You can also write a paper on another topic that relates two or more weeks. This is a critical, analytical paper that makes an argument: your analysis of what you write about, supported with clear sub-points that build on each other and on (properly attributed) evidence from the readings. Format requirements: 5-7 pages, double-spaced, must follow one of the accepted standards for academic writing (MLA, APA, or Chicago), 12-point font, Times New Roman, 1-inch margins, left-justified, with page numbers. Paper 2- Due November 1st What happens if I can’t turn in the paper? Any student can have an extension any time, for any reason. My only rule is that you have to ask for it before the deadline passes, because that shows me you’re taking responsibility. If you are having a hard time, say something and we will find a solution to help you succeed. Noppe, “Mechanisms of Control in Online Fanwork Sales” Noppe’s big argument is that “many of the differences in control observed between Kindle Worlds and DLsite.com can be traced back at least in part to local born differences in fan-industry relations and interpretations of copyright law.” (p. 228) These 2 different fan publishing platforms are shaped by the relationship to the media industry and by the law in their different countries Noppe, “Mechanisms of Control in Online Fanwork Sales” There is a long history in Japan of selling physical fan zines (dōjinshi) at conventions and stores. “The infrastructure of this fanwork sales centric fan culture – conventions, fanzine printing companies, online communication hubs and so on – was often initially set up by fans in a non-profit context. Companies wanting to profit from fan activities moved in to commercially develop this infrastructure, patterning their business models and ways of interacting with fans after the systems that fans had built” There are still many print fan works, “but online exchange of digital fanworks – free and for pay – is now growing much faster” (p. 219) Noppe, “Mechanisms of Control in Online Fanwork Sales” U.S. media companies assume “that fanworks are presumptively illegal, that only copyright holders can bestow upon fans the right to create and monetize fanworks,” and that “copyright holders have the right to set rules that leave all control over the publication and use of fanworks to them.” (p. 222) Noppe says that under Japanese law, fan works are probably also illegal, but companies see them as promotion and so don’t crack down Noppe, “Mechanisms of Control in Online Fanwork Sales” In the US, “companies emphasize their need for control over any use of their intellectual property” (p. 220), and that affects what Kindle Worlds (2013-2018) looked like On the other hand, “DLsite.com emerged in a time and location where Japanese media companies tolerated fanworks creation and distribution – even for money – because fan activities were considered supportive of the industry.” (p. 220) Noppe, “Mechanisms of Control in Online Fanwork Sales” They also have different models of what they’re trying to do: “Kindle Worlds is patterned after professional publishing” And on the other hand “DLsite.com is patterned after paid fanwork distribution as first established by fans at dōjinshi conventions.” (p. 220) As part of being like dōjinshi, “Creators can generally set their own prices, and proceeds are divided between DLsite.com and the seller, with copyright holders receiving nothing.” (p. 221) Flegel and Roth, “Writing a New Text” But even Kindle Worlds is very different from how most fan fiction works in the US As Flegel and Roth point out, “The gift economy norm, though often highly valued among fans[,] does not reflect the lived experiences of all community members, and those who challenge it by publishing often face a backlash” (p. 255) Flegel and Roth, “Writing a New Text” Often, fan fiction is justified as “training” for “real” writing. Flegel and Roth aren’t saying that. “We do not suggest that all fanfiction writers should become published writers, or that fanfiction is only useful insofar as it leads to the “real” work of writing professionally. We respect the role fanfiction plays as hobby, for the pleasure it brings, and for the role it plays challenging the idea that all time must be used ‘productively’ in the service of capitalism and economic and professional advancement (p. 257) Flegel and Roth, “Writing a New Text” “the practice of pulling to publish is not new”—people have removed their work from fan circulation to make it a formal publication for nearly as long as there has been fan fiction Also called “filing off the serial numbers” BUT “its status as ‘illicit’ and done ‘under the radar’ demonstrates that fanfiction roots were an authorial origin story far from validated by the broader publishing and writing community”(p. 256) People who wanted to publish formerly fan works had to hide that fact This was true pretty much all the way until 50 Shades Flegel and Roth, “Writing a New Text” And it isn’t just formal publishing who sees pulling to publish as shameful. Fans sometimes don’t like it either. Flegel and Roth say: “mostly, it is women who police women writers away from viewing their work as remunerative, while paradoxically offering much-needed support and encouragement online” (p. 265) Fans police each other to behave in accordance with norms Like we saw in Gonzalez’s work about Once Upon a Time fans Flegel and Roth, “Writing a New Text” One of their points is that it’s not a coincidence that fan fiction is seen as SO separate from formal writing: “It is the historic relationship between women/private/silence and men/public/speech that contributes to the construction of feminine-linked work as ‘craft,’ ‘hobby,’ or a ‘labor of love,’ not market-contributing labor” (p. 264) “women will be less likely than men will to envision themselves as ‘professionals’ and legitimate cultural producers” (p. 264) This week Paper #2 is due this Sunday, November 1 Send me an email to ask a question or set up a time for a Zoom call This week Write your weekly discussion. Remember that what’s important is working with the ideas. You want to be able to think through and with the things we read about, come to a sense of your own perspective, and be able to make a case for that perspective. In a few sentences to a paragraph, respond to one of the discussion prompts. Then, respond substantively to at least one classmate. Next Week: Fandom and Politics READ: Winter, Rachel. “Fanon Bernie Sanders: Political Real Person Fan Fiction and the Construction of a Candidate.” Johnson, Poe. “Playing with Lynching: Fandom Violence and the Black Athletic Body.” Watch: Lecture and Guest Lecture Videos Write your weekly discussion