Perspective Of Fans Research Articles

Understanding Film Fan Tourism: An Inventory of 15 Years of Research

The first studies of film and television as inducers of tourism appeared in the 1990s. From the outset, research in this area has identified a diverse range of tourist profiles, highlighting the fact that audiovisual media fans constitute an important segment of the tourism market because fan consumers dedicate considerable amounts of time, money, and energy to pursuing their specific interest. As a result, academic researchers have developed a substantial body of knowledge in this field over a relatively short period. The objective of this article is to offer a critical review of studies that have enhanced our understanding of film fan tourists to identify critical gaps in knowledge and, consequently, propose new ways to fully integrate the fan perspective into studies of audiovisual fiction-induced tourism. To this end, all the articles dealing with this specific tourist profile indexed in Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar (49) have been identified and analysed based on their year of publication, geographical location, type of audiovisual production studied, methodology adopted and composition of the sample, major research themes and main theoretical and/or practical contributions. This review of the literature on film fan tourists finds that our understanding of the specific characteristics of the profile and behaviour of this type of tourist is still limited. This is due to some extent on the lack of consensus on the definition of the concept of “fans”, which has led to the erroneous classification of tourists whose travel motivation has nothing to do with a film and/or television production—and who may not even be fans of that production—as film fan tourists. The recommendations of this review thus focus mainly on reaching a consensus on the definition of the concept and establishing a single set of selection criteria for future research

Unveiling Multidimensional Meanings: A Critical Analysis of Jungkook's "3D" Lyrics Using Fairclough's CDA Theory and Butler's Sexual Performativity Theory

This article offers a in depth study of the lyrics of BTS's song "3D," employing Judith Butler's theory of gender performativity and Norman Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis as the research’s approaches. The study investigates how the song deviates from traditional masculine narratives by integrating components of worry and compassion into its portrayal of masculinity, offering an alternative conceptual framework for understanding gender roles. The findings highlight the role of the song in both support and questioning established gender standards, so illustrating the significant influence of media on the formation of masculinity. This study is limited to single song lyrics. It is necessary for further exploration into the portrayal of gender in media through diverse methodologies and active engagement with fan perspectives. This piece holds significant academic value as it contributes to the understanding of gender portrayal in media and its impact on societal gender norms.

OnlyFans: How Models Negotiate Fan Interaction

OnlyFans is a social media platform that allows individuals to sell subscription access to content and interact with subscribers. While open to all forms of creators, OnlyFans has become synonymous with pornographic and erotic content, particularly during its growth over the Covid-19 pandemic. Models on OnlyFans are paid by fans to provide an experience which is tailored to the fantasy of the fan. This study employed a qualitative reflexive thematic analysis to examine the complexities of creator-fan interactions, the challenges faced by models, and their strategies in managing those interactions. Seven Ireland-based OnlyFans models (87.5% cis-women), participated in semi-structured interviews via social media. Findings identified four key challenge domains: boundaries, exposure, impression management, and interaction. Models strategised in a number of ways, such as clarifying boundaries, protecting identities, managing impressions, and confining fan interactions to the platform itself. However, the ambiguous nature of the roles in this fan-model dynamic, often culminated in blurred lines between fantasy and reality, leading to boundary violations and problematic fan-model relationships. This dynamic has striking parallels with the challenges experienced between influencers and celebrities with their fans, emphasizing the universal nature of this digital interaction phenomenon. The findings bear significant implications for a broad range of individuals, including potential and active OnlyFans models, celebrities and influencers navigating fandoms, researchers exploring online interactions, and mental health professionals assisting clients in these contexts. This study acknowledges its limitation in exploring only the models’ perspective, urging future research to incorporate fan perspectives of this dynamic.

‘They are doing it because they love it’: U.S. and English fan perceptions of women footballers as ‘role models’

We draw from 102 interviews with American and English adults who attended the 2019 Women’s World Cup to examine how fans perceive women footballers as ‘role models’, with attention to the operations of gender ideology. Despite the recent professionalization and commercialization of women’s football, there is a dearth of research on fan perspectives of players as role models. Our findings show that most fans perceive role modelling as women’s accessibility and authenticity in interaction. Fans naturalize women’s often uncompensated labor as role models through a supposed love for their sport and desire to see its future growth, endorsing a gender essentialist view of women as notably caring and giving in comparison to men. However, a minority of fans embrace a more critical view by identifying role modelling as an expectation placed disproportionately on women within an already unequal resource environment. We conclude that role modelling is a gendered expectation for elite women footballers and that fans can be a source of pressure towards its enactment.

Machine translation of Chinese internet literature: infringement, exploitation or empowerment

This article analyses the use of machine translation for the translation of Chinese internet literature within fan communities. It underscores the ethical dimensions of user-generated translation, considering fan perspectives. While recognising MT's role in enabling monolingual translators to partake in translation, ethical concerns such as potential infringement and exploitation are addressed. The proposed solution involves collaborative efforts with established platforms or even translation companies. The global market for Chinese internet literature presents prospects for MT integration and collaboration with fans. However, effective utilisation necessitates crucial educational support.

Sentiment Analysis Regarding Kanjuruan Stadium Polemics Based on Public Opinion Through Twitter Social Media with SVM Classifier Method

Football fans are individuals who promote, motivate, and inspire football. Players of football clubs have both positive and negative fanaticism in both the real world and social media, especially on Twitter. Twitter is one of the communication media. Attracting people worldwide, Twitter saw a record increase in global users, with 313 million monthly active users in 2016 alone; the majority accessed Twitter through mobile devices, accounting for 82 percent of users. Due to the multitude of users tweeting, the latest news and comments become significant worldwide. What happens becomes the main topic, and comments received from many users trigger trending topics on Twitter. This research aims to develop a classification model to predict whether tweets from stadium events are positive or negative from fan perspectives. The classification model is based on a Twitter dataset, and sentiment analysis of tweets was conducted using the Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm. The next step involved preprocessing, including case-folding, cleansing, translation to English, and sentiment labeling using VADER. Subsequently, in the preprocessing step 2, tokenization, stopwords, and stemming were applied. For modeling, classic algorithms such as Naïve Bayes and Support Vector Machine were used. The highest accuracy, 87.77%, was achieved using the Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm.

Fan perspectives of queer representation in DC's Legends of Tomorrow on Tumblr and AO3

DC's Legends of Tomorrow (2016–2022) is a television show with an ensemble cast of existing characters from other DC TV shows, formed into a single, time-traveling team of antiheroes. The show is known for its inclusion of multiple queer characters, particularly Sara Lance, the show's long-running central character and captain of the Legends team and an openly bisexual woman. Fans use Tumblr and Archive of Our Own to discuss queer characters, canonical same-sex pairings, and noncanonical slash pairings. Queer representation in television matters to the show's fan community, and users are appreciative of and invested in canonically queer characters and pairings. Beyond the canon content, users are perhaps equally invested in noncanonical queer pairings and utilize manipulation of the source text in order to appreciate these pairings. Fans simultaneously enjoy watching and blogging about the show while also forming their own interpretations of queer characters and relationships. However, the central canon queer couple of the show is still by far the most popular with fans, and fans pay more attention to white characters and relationships, regardless of canonicity, than to the show's characters of color.

The effects of broadcast on a team's market and on competitive balance from the perspective of fans maximizing utility

AbstractWe examine the decision of fans to attend the game or watch the exact televised match to address whether broadcast lowers revenue collected at the gate and worsens competitive balance. In most cases, broadcasts lower attendance and collection at the gate but do not necessarily worsen competitive balance. Weaker teams can benefit from broadcast revenue and catch up with their stronger counterpart. However, teams that make more money from broadcasts and a broad fan base can gain more advantages from broadcasts and worsen competitive balance.

PTSD and sports fandom: a pilot study

The present study is a first attempt to understand the phenomenon of fandom from the perspective of fans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The need for special consideration of this population stems from the conditions—(e.g. light or loud noise) typical in football stadiums that might highlight their difficulties and trigger negative reactions. For this purpose, we identified and interviewed nine football fans, all of whom suffer from PTSD. The analysis of the interviews suggested three main themes: benefits of football fandom for individuals with PTSD, a change in fandom practices caused by the development of the disorder and its diagnosis, and participants’ coping strategies. Finally, suggestions for further research are discussed.

Uncovering the knowledge structure of the fan-sporting object relationship: a bibliometric analysis

ABSTRACT Fans are a central entity in the sport ecosystem, and their importance in the sport value chain needs no emphasis. Despite extensive scholarly work around fans in sport management, the discipline lacks a unified view from a relational perspective. In this study, we present a bibliometric and content analysis of the fan-sporting object relationship literature. We conduct citation and cocitation analysis across 1704 journal documents, having 91,071 references. Our study finds that six intellectual clusters depict the realm of this relationship. Further, we report the centrality attributes of the most influential works of the domain. Our work thereby presents the intellectual structure of the literature of the fan-sporting object relationship and depicts it in an integrated framework. We complement our bibliometric review with a content analysis of relevant recent scholarly work to incorporate contemporary viewpoints. In doing so, we contribute to sport management by taking an expansive perspective of fans and accordingly provide future research directions.

Brand celebrities: analysis of celebrity sponsorship posts on Facebook

The social media accounts of celebrities have inspired innovative ways for companies to promote their brands. One form of celebrity-related advertising is celebrity-sponsorship posts. These posts often come at a high cost for the advertiser while it remains unclear which content characteristics are expected to influence the effectiveness of these posts. This paper investigates the impacts of content characteristics of celebrity-sponsorship posts on Facebook on customer engagement. Structural equation modelling was used to assess the characteristics of 313 sponsored posts from 128 celebrities endorsing 154 brands. Drawing on the dual mediation hypothesis and using gratification theory, this study reveals that distinct content characteristics drive either attitudes towards the celebrity or attitudes towards the brand, revealing the double-edged nature of celebrity-sponsorship posts. The findings suggest that marketing managers should carefully design celebrity sponsorship posts by adjusting the balance between celebrity and brand emphasis. Otherwise, there might be a threat of either the brand being overshadowed by the celebrity, thus reducing brand attitude, or the brand 'capturing' the celebrity by - from a fan's perspective - being obviously recognised as plain advertising; as such, this effect can harm the attitude towards the celebrity and, consequently, reduces customer engagement.

Diversifying the fan experience and securitising crowd management: a longitudinal analysis of fan park facilities at 15 football mega events between 2002 and 2019

ABSTRACT Rationale This article explores the development, use and impact of fan parks in host cities of men’s football mega events, constructed as temporary commercial sites where fans congregate to watch matches on large screens and partake in other forms of entertainment. Approach This study draws on ethnographic, observational, interview and focus group data, exploring perspectives of fans, volunteers, organisers, journalists, police and security personnel, totalling 212 respondents at five FIFA World Cup finals and ten other confederation tournaments. Findings This paper reveals that fans have increasingly engaged with such provision where available, relative to the degree of cultural resonance, accessibility, affordability, security and the suitability of facilities. However, these fan parks remain conspicuously absent in confederation events beyond Europe. Practical implications The research shows that fan parks can help diversify the fan experience, allowing users to interact with supporters from across the world in defined spaces. They also contribute to crowd management, enabling authorities to contain fans, confine their movement, monitor alcohol consumption and control behaviour. Research contribution This longitudinal study examines the emergence and development of fan parks at 15 events in five continents, analysing their impact on the fan experience and the securitisation of crowd management.

(Re)writing Music History: Television, Memory, and Nostalgia in The People’s History of Pop

This article explores how the BBC series The People’s History of Pop (2016–2017) challenges the production of televised music history. Its delivery is characterized by a move away from Aristotelian “Great Man” narratives and toward an exploration of “history from below,” which narrativizes popular music history from a fan perspective. Through its aesthetic and representational strategies, the series foregrounds the material cultures surrounding popular music, emphasizing their value as a site of nostalgic and affective engagement.

Sport, the Media and Ireland: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

Sport, the Media and Ireland: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

Hang with Me—Exploring Fandom, Brandom, and the Experiences and Motivations for Value Co-Creation in a Music Fan Community

Abstract Active and co-creative audiences are sought, used, tracked and taken for granted in the quest for strong music brands. Fan communities are co-opted to build value for brands and used to foster communication in transmedia marketing campaigns. However, when focusing on audiences and fans’ digital media activities, digital traces and numbers, important questions of motivations, expectations, experiences, morals and power structures are often overlooked. Drawing on a digital ethnographic study and an interdisciplinary perspective, we investigate a fan community of the Swedish artist Robyn, both online and offline. The article contributes to the concepts of fandom and brandom and the notion of value. It also adds to the knowledge about the perspective of fans and fans’ motivations for taking part and co-creating value in a highly commercialised and strategised music market.

The impact of investors on transfer fees in the English Premier League: A study of the ownership structures

Transfer fees in European football have experienced a rapid increase in the past years. Simultaneously, an increasing number of domestic and recently foreign investors — who are assumed to further increase team spending in European football — have entered the football market by becoming club owners. In light of these developments, fears associated with an increasing influence of foreign (majority) investors from the financial as well as the emotional fan perspective have increased. Given the rather limited number of empirical studies focusing on the impact of investors on transfer fees, we shed further light on this topic. Based on a data sample including transfer fees, player characteristics, player performance and team performance from 2012–2013 to 2018–2019 for the English Premier League, we estimate OLS regressions and quantile regressions to analyze the effects of ownership concentration and investor origin on the amount of individual transfer fees. While we do not find strong evidence that ownership concentration increases the willingness to pay, we find fairly consistent results that foreign investors are willing to pay a premium compared to domestic investors. Our results also indicate that especially foreign investors who own a majority share of a club have a positive effect on transfer fees for the upper quantiles.

The moral responsibilities of fandom

ABSTRACT Using American football as a point of entry, I approach harmful sports from the perspective of fans’ roles and responsibilities. Given that sports’ profitability is a significant obstacle to reform and that fans are the economic basis of sports, they are uniquely positioned to press for reforms. I argue that fans are weakly causally responsible for the risks that arise from the sports that they consume. As a result, fans bear a forward-looking collective responsibility to take steps to mitigate football’s unacceptable risks. Fans are to discharge their forward-looking collective responsibility by coordinating a reduction in their consumption until such time as football’s unacceptable risks have been mitigated.

‘You can rent it for a while, but it is our house’: Sports fans’ experience of returning ‘home’ to a new multipurpose stadium

Understanding how stadium landscapes are constructed and used, how their elements relate to the broader local fan community is to understand a good deal about the culture, values and concerns of the people who use it. Yet, despite the unique role sports stadiums have in facilitating a memorable match-day experience, theorising this space remains underdeveloped. This research investigates contemporary stadium design and use from a fan perspective by examining the factors that enhance and inhibit the experience in a newly built multipurpose and shared stadium space. The research illustrates how transitioning to a new stadium involves a complex paradox between old traditions and new spaces. This paper has two objectives. First, it explores how the fans of an Australian rugby league team reimagine the concept of ‘home’ in a newly built multipurpose and multi-tenanted stadium. Second, the paper explores how this sense of home and, by extension, belonging was amplified by the club’s ‘dressing’ of the stadium. We argue that in the resettlement of fans, the use of symbols and rituals provides a scaffold for supporters to build an emotional connection to a new stadium, whilst also understanding that they, too, are active in the process of reimaging the stadium space.

Ethical and privacy considerations for research using online fandom data

As online fandom continues to grow, so do the public data created by fan creations and interactions. With researchers and journalists regularly engaging with those data (and not always asking permission), many fans are concerned that their content might end up in front of the wrong audience, which could lead to privacy violations or even harassment from within or outside of fandom. To better understand fan perspectives on the collection and analysis of public data as a methodology, we conducted both an interview study and a survey to solicit responses that would help provide a broader understanding of fandom's privacy norms as they relate to the ethical use of data. We use these findings to revisit and recommend best practices for working with public data within fandom.

Managerial perspectives of fan socialisation strategies for marketing to new NHL fans

This paper examines how managers of teams in new or non-traditional sport markets interpret the literature on fan socialisation, identify best practices and formulate strategies to develop new fans and build a larger fan base in the shadow of larger, more established leagues. A qualitative investigation was undertaken, and managers from NHL teams were interviewed to better understand their practices to grow their fan base. Findings revealed that teams had a strong focus on socialising children, lacking in the areas of maintaining fandom after initial socialisation and attracting adult consumers. The findings offer practical implications for fandom sustainability and opportunities to build a bridge between practitioners and academics. Most fan socialisation literature is from the perspective of fans, rarely considering the impact of manager-initiated socialisation strategies. This paper adds to fan socialisation literature by highlighting the perspective of sport managers and provides directions for future quantitative studies.