For the physical hand in I will present my essay in a DVD case. The Star Trek collage cover art made by http://ticktoast.tumblr.com/ and used with permission.
Participatory Culture and
Derivative Works
Ash King
In a world where people live their
lives digitally as much as physically the way we consume and respond to media has
changed forever…
The internet provides us with an
open forum for expression of personal opinion, critique, and even communication
with creators. Pop culture fans have found in the internet a unique way
of sharing their own derivative tributes, such as art, literature, or costume
design, with like-minded fans. Only recently, due to the exponential growth in
internet use, has there been greater exposure of this participatory culture.
My perspective is that fandom is an
outpouring of creativity that fosters a sense of community through
participation. Fan works can understand and represent their audience better
because they are made by the audience for the audience.
Rather than being subject to complex
and limiting copyright laws, members of fandoms should be encouraged to pursue
their creative talents and provide a promotional service that targets a highly
sought after audience.
What
is fandom?
‘Fandom’ can be described as the fan
base, interactions and derivative works surrounding a piece of media, whether
it be a Hollywood film, video game, fantasy series, science fiction novel, or
comic book. Because I am focusing on the participatory nature of this
subculture, I will use the term fandom as distinct from ‘people who passively
observe and enjoy a work’
Fans alter the original works to be
more inclusive and representative of the audience and these fan works are an
under-utilised promotional tool. The legality of fan works is currently dubious
due to the unclear copyright laws surrounding transformative or derivative
works, especially when these are not for profit.
What are fan works?
I use the word ‘works’
to encompass all artistic media from themed calendars to knitted tea cosies.
Fan works, derivative works, and transformative works take existing media and
alter it based on the individual preferences of the creator. This can give it a
new meaning or message. I believe that if fan works are embraced and
participation is encouraged, it will inspire a new generation of artists,
authors, video editors and other kinds of creators as well as help the original
source of the work to expand its audience.
Fandom Backgrounds
The two works, and their
associated derivations, that I will be paying particular attention to are The
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Conan Doyle, A. 1892) and the Star Trek franchise
(Roddenberry, G. 1966).
There is great breadth
in officially licensed and fan made derivations in the Sherlock Holmes fandom,
because of its popularity and longevity. A ruling in December 2013 declared
that the original works by Arthur Conan Doyle were in the public domain and not
protected by copyright law in the United States, this ruling was prompted by
attorney and Holmes scholar Leslie S. Klinger who filed the suit against the
Conan Doyle estate.
This ruling became the
climax of the ‘Free Sherlock’ movement supported by fans across the world and
opened the door to publication for many fan-fiction authors.
There are websites made
to promote fan involvement and creativity. One of these is Archive of Our Own,
a collection of over one million derivative works of fiction (home page show in
Fig 1.).
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| Fig 1. Home Page of Archive of Our Own |
Involvement in fandom
has encouraged thousands to start writing. There are currently 66,520 fan made
works of fiction based on the Sherlock Holmes canon alone, with over 900 of
them long enough to be considered a novel.
I will also be looking
at the Star Trek franchise. Star Trek was ground breaking in terms of its
cultural impact as it was uncommon in the 1960s to have a multiracial cast.
Though the impact of the show was positive, there are many negative stereotypes
surrounding the fans or ‘Trekkies’; a typical example being ‘Comic Book Guy’
from The Simpsons. They are often characterised as ‘nerdy’, bespectacled and
socially inept. I believe a better understanding and acceptance of fan works
would lead to an abolition of this stereotype and more people enjoying what is
a revolutionary show.
Representation and Diversity in Fan Works
There are millions of
examples of fan works easily accessible through the internet. They are not
limited by network ratings or regulations, or even the constraints of their
source’s canonical setting or plot. Fan works frequently offer plots that would
be impossible for the writers of their source material due to constraints on
budget, continuity, and acceptance from their publishers or producers.
Genres of fan work that
differ greatly from the style of the original source include ‘crossover’ or
‘alternate universe’ where elements from different works can be combined. For
example, the setting of Star Trek with the characters from the Sherlock Holmes
canon. This means that fans of multiple works can combine their passions in
infinite varieties.
Catherine “Stitchy”
Boucher is a full time crafter and fan artist. The majority of her works are
characters from television shows re-imagined as bunnies. Fig 2. shows soft toy
Kirk and Spock as bunnies. This re-imagination of popular characters takes
advantage of the consumer’s pre-existing knowledge of a character, and appeals
to a new audience.
 |
Fig 2. Star Trek Bunnies made by Catherine Boucher shown
with permission
|
Encouragement of derivative works connotes
greater understanding of the breadth of the audience and allows groups of
people to alter works to appeal to themselves personally. The participatory
culture promoted by fandom involvement does not just extend media, it often
improves it. There is an ever growing diversity among fans and subsequently fan
works. Fan works challenge stigma surrounding gender, race and sexuality in media,
and transcend boundaries set in place by networks or publication offices with
quotas to meet.
Feminism contributes a
great deal to fan interpretation. Women are represented in fandom in a way that
they are not in the media. When they take on the role of a creator they often
“create narratives the commercial media wouldn’t offer” (Busse, K. 2009)
providing a personal voice to a possibly personally irrelevant production.
Fig 3. ‘Fem Trek’ is an example of a common device in fan art where the gender
of a character is swapped. Since the leading roles of a lot of productions go
to men, this gender swapping art allows fans to enjoy an interpretation that
explores a different dynamic, or that they feel better represents themselves.
In 2007-2012 of the top 500 grossing films, the ratio of male to female
characters was 2.25: 1 and women made up 30% of the speaking roles even though
they made up half of the audience and ticket purchases (New York Film Academy,
2013)
 |
Fig 3. Fem Trek by Aiviiqz shown with permission
|
Art produced often
alters the occupation, status, ethnicity, and sexuality of the characters.
In ‘Textual Poachers:
Television Fans & Participatory Culture’ Henry Jenkins writes “Once
television characters enter into a broader circulation, intrude into our living
rooms, pervade the fabric of our society, they belong to their audience” (1992,
p.279) I believe adopting a character into the fan community allows them to
become more than their original depiction. The original characters do not only
exist in the plot of the original work, but following adoption into a fandom
community, they can exist in any number of settings, relationships, and
cultures.
Promotion and Positivity in Fan Works
The majority of fan
works are done out of genuine enthusiasm as it is a system that rejects the
construct of monetary profit. Jenkins writes “This subculture cuts across
traditional geographic and generational boundaries...it documents a group
insistent on making meaning from materials others have characterized as trivial
or meaningless” (p.03). Friendships with people with common interests are easy
to form within fandoms. Jenkins, mentioned above, writes with a sentimental
attachment to fandom “My commitment to fandom intensified when I met the woman
who would become my lifelong partner” (p.05)
Productions that have
ended or been cancelled can ‘live on’ in the form of fan made videos, fiction,
or comics. Regardless of how detailed a work is, there will always be untold
parts of a story. Conventions such as time skips or changes in narrative
perspective leave space for fan works to flesh out what happened in that time.
Star Trek has been off air since 2005 and the original series ended in 1969.
Could Joss Whedon’s 2009 reboot have happened without the Star Trek fandom that
did not wane over the years? Would we have seen Middle Earth return to our
screens without the overt enthusiasm of the fandom since Return of the King?
Fan art can also lead to
an expansion of the official work. The Roar of Our Stars is a Doctor Who fan
art piece by Alice Zhang Fig 4. It garnered so much attention that the official
Doctor Who merchandise distributors at Big Chief Studios commissioned her to
create further works and sold the series as posters.
 |
Fig 4. The Roar of the Stars by Alice Zhang
|
Legality and copyright holder opinion
The fact that fan works
are based on existing works leads to some discrepancies among lawmakers as to
whether the fan artists are in breach of copyright. Kristina Busse says “Fans
circulating fan fiction, fan art, and fan videos rely on the fair use legal
protection afforded to transformative works” (2009, p.104). ‘Fair Use’, called
fair dealing in New Zealand, means that the use of the original work is not infringing
on their copyright due to alterations made and the general public’s interest in
the subject matter.
Joss Whedon, creator of
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997) has voiced his approval of fan works saying
"That’s why I made these shows. I didn’t make them so that people would
enjoy them and forget them; I made them so they would never be able to shake
them. It’s the way I am as a fan. I create the shows that would make me do
that." (2004)
JK Rowling, author of
the Harry Potter fantasy novel series (1997-2007) has also commented on fan
works saying “I find it very flattering that people love the characters that
much." (2000)
I think the ideal
reaction to fan works is best summed up by Gene Roddenberry, the creator of
Star Trek.
“We were particularly amazed when thousands, then tens of thousands of
people began creating their own personal Star Trek adventures...Eventually we
realized that there is no more profound way in which people could express what
Star Trek has meant to them than by creating their own very personal Star Trek
things...Best of all, all of it was plainly done with love. That is the highest
compliment and the greatest repayment that they could give us.”
(1976, p.X)
This is the response
that I hope many creators will adopt. Some creators feel very differently and fan
sites are usually respectful of creator’s wishes, placing bans on derivations
of their works. For example fanfiction.net does not accept fiction based on any
text by Anne Rice, author of Interview with the Vampire (1976), since she
voiced her disapproval. Fans, of course, want to appease the author of a work
they enjoy but I would posit that this ‘cease and desist’ approach breeds
hostility rather than respect.
In conclusion fandom is a positive
force in the world. It promotes creativity and a sense of community through
participation. Fan works better represent their audience because they are from
the perspective of the audience.
The current copyright laws regarding
derivative works are unclear as to the legality of fan works. When these laws
are clarified, it would be favourable to both production companies and the fan
artists if fan works were allowed to be created and distributed without threat
of persecution. Production companies should foster better communication
with their fan base by openly encouraging fans to participate in creating
tribute works. Open communication between the producers of the original
material and the fandom will help the producers to understand the diversity of
their audience. It also may improve how they represent different genders,
ethnicities and sexualities. This relationship will open up more opportunities
for collaborations between fan artists and official merchandisers. The new
capabilities of social media and internet sharing allow people to connect
easier than ever. I believe that fandom will be embraced and appreciated in the
future and we will boldly go where no one has gone before.
References
Aiviiqz. (2014). Fem Trek [Digital Painting]. Retrieved from http://aiviiqz.tumblr.com/
Boucher, C. (2012). Star Trek Bunnies [Photograph].
Retrieved from http://www.thestitchybutton.com
Busse, K. (2009). In focus: Fandom and feminism: Gender and the
politics of fan production.
Cinema Journal, 48(4).
Conan Doyle, A. (1892). The
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. London, England: George Newnes.
Free Sherlock. (2013) December 2013 Court Ruling. Retrieved
from http://free-sherlock.com/2013/12/27/december-2013-ruling/
Jenkins, H. (1992). Textual
poachers: Television Fans & Participatory Culture. New York: Routledge.
Marshak, S., & Culbreath, M. (1976). Star
Trek: The New Voyages. New York: Bantam.
Nicholas Zurko. (2013). New York Film Academy. Retrieved from http://www.nyfa.edu/film-school-blog/gender-inequality-in-film/
Organisation for
Transformative Works. (2007). Archive of
Our Own. Retrieved from http://archiveofourown.org/
Rice, A. (1976). Interview
with the Vampire. San Francisco, United States of America: Alfred A. Knopf.
Roddenberry, G. (1966). Star Trek: The Original Series
[Television Series]. United States of America: NBC
Rowling, J. K. (1997). Harry Potter
and the Philosopher’s Stone. London, England: Bloomsbury
Whedon, J. (1997). Buffy the Vampire Slayer [Television
Series]. United States of America: UPN
Zhang, A. (2012). The Roar of Our Stars [Digital
Painting]. Retrieved from http://alicexz.deviantart.com/
