Fanthropology: Where Fan Studies Have Come
I first became interested in studying fandom in the late 1990s. Henry Jenkins' ground-breaking Textual Poachers had come out in 1992 and his...
Fanthropology: Fans vs Fandom
Today's question is: can you be a fan without being in fandom? And it's corollary: can you be in fandom without being a fan? Perhaps...
Fanthropology: Eclipse Chasers
Today, a total solar eclipse will be visible across much of the United States. Despite the vast amount of hype surrounding the event, total solar...
Fanthropology: Internal Strife
This past weekend, all five members of GeekGirlCon's operations team resigned in a fairly public manner, using the corporate email to send a message...
Fanthropology: SDCC & Pop Culture
Comic-Con International just wrapped up in San Diego and, by all the accounts I've seen, was generally a rousing success. I didn't see any reports of...
Fanthropology: Reclaiming Terms
Otaku is a loan word from Japanese. The original definition meant "a young person who is obsessed with computers or particular aspects of popular...
Fanthropology: Creator vs Creation
Let's say that you're a fan of Sherlock Holmes. You love the character's use of logic and deductive reasoning, and you try to follow his example...
Fanthropology: A Fan of Whom?
Generally, when we think of fandoms, they're centered around a broad property like Star Wars or Harry Potter. They can become popular because people...
Put Fire in Your Belly with New HELLBOY Whiskey
If you're going to make a whiskey based on Dark Horse Comics' Hellboy, you better bring the heat. That's what Dark Horse, XXX Distillery LLC and...
Fanthropology: Don’t Be a Dick
Last week, Sophie LaBelle's website was hacked, and much of the art was replaced with Nazi imagery. Her home address was posted on a variety of...