After reviewing a number of articles written by popular media outlets showing sympathy to the fandom, many journalists still often depict Bronies as lacking in aspects that would provide them greater legitimacy in the eyes of society. Gilbert concludes that, “Bronies are, in other words, depicted as inhabiting a diminished social position: they do not possess markers of economic power –a job, their own home- nor do they have power over their own sensibilities, needing addictive habits in order to face the world.” Research on this particular fan community is somewhat limited in my understanding due to its recent emergence into popularity. The academic research that does exist about the Brony community does not delve deeply into the fan tendencies that this dissertation wishes to explore. Numerous research articles discuss various aspects of the fandom; what Bronies mean for media consumption or how fans are portrayed in the media by those on the outside looking in. Research articles …show more content…
While the project is informal, it does contain a large sample population of over eighteen thousand participants and provides a rich data set. However, the report fails to discuss any kind of interpretive significance to the numbers that it collects. In regards to both surveys, the primary problem with the generalized findings is that they are not indicative of the total fan population and their proclivities. Both studies provide numbers that indicate the activities Bronies enjoy publicly or keep hidden from other people, but they do not go into the fan’s justification behind these activities. Other researchers look at how the community tries to construct their identity through the media text and other fans or how the participatory culture within the fandom is contributing to the show’s
Sport fans, sometimes also called sport devotees, followers, or supporters, are persons who are enthusiastically devoted to a particular athlete, team or sport. They may show their enthusiasm by often attending sporting events or watch on television, being members of a fan club, follow sport news through newspapers, online websites, and creating fanzines. Their disposition is often such that they will experience a game or event by living through their favored players or teams. These behaviors manifest itself in different ways. To enable better understanding of these behavioral patterns, we have to classify these sports fans into groups based on their devotion to teams: fair-weather fans, bandwagon and the super-fans.
In order to determine the current success of the Nashville Sounds I surveyed fans of the game. I used the “snowball effect” to get responses from fans I knew and then had them refer me to fans they knew for responses to my questionnaire. I also submitted my questionnaire to a local blogger who discusses Nashville Sounds baseball. Garnering 38 responses, I feel I have gained knowledge of the typical fan as well as differences in the appeal of the game to different types of fans.
molding the minds of young viewers and showing them that the way a certain group of people
I will organise my investigation into 2 separate ideas of how tabloid culture affects the lives of ordinary people. The first part will investigate the idea that we establish societal bonds over injurious information of enemies and high-status people. The second part will investigate the idea that we look at the actions of high-status people in order to clarify the norm.
Now more than ever, Canadian society along with every other society is heavily influenced by popular culture. “Modern popular culture transmitted via the mass media and aimed particularly at younger people” (Ratha, 2017). Media not only influences individuals, but impacts the formation of their social identity. Academic study is devoting time to expand the knowledge of a preferred subject. Pop culture has a large-scale social impact on individuals, therefore it would become a sociological study. Pop culture deserves academic study because of socialization, being one of the largest shapers of society as a whole, and creating social interaction.
Fans can have strong responses to both narrative and production events effecting their favorite television shows. A wall used to mourn Ianto Jones after he is killed off Tortchwood:Children of the Earth. 50,000 pounds of peanuts mailed to CBS's New York office to show support of Jericho when it was canceled (Elber 2007). Hate and threats directed to writers, producers, actors, and their families protesting the importance of Castiel in Supernatural. These reactions are tied to fans' emotional investment and connections they have created by expanding past what is seen on screen. A sense of justification for the actions taken stem from the broken promise of shared production in a participatory culture.
On an individual basis, popular culture helps establish and mold the subjective self. It influences the way individuals think, act and respond, and this becomes part of how people develop their personalities, preferences, beliefs, and their overall identity. For example, most people idolize certain fashion statements or fads which determines their preference of clothing. This process of self-formation coincides with both elements of personal choice and the responses and attitudes of others. Furthermore, the identity that an individual asserts is influenced by and helps determine the development of social relationships; it influences the communities and groups to which an individual will identify with and how that identification is processed. In the establishment of communal bonding, mass culture helps with, as Leavis describes, a “leveling down of society” (35). The lines of class distinction have been blurred which, to Leavis is not a good thing, but it unites us nonetheless. Popular culture also promotes unity in that it “blurs age lines” (29). As stated earlier, the products of popular culture are targeted towards a variety of audiences; adults read comic books, children watch adult films, etc. (Macdonald 29). Similarly, teenagers and young adults are brought together through night clubs, fashion, and music; college students come together to enjoy campus events; book fans wait in line hours for new releases, etc. Each of these instances produce feelings of belonging, acceptance and connection with members of society over a common
In the shirt vs. skins study, they use content analysis as their method. Content analysis methodology is used to determine the meaning and the purpose of communication. This research showed how women are perceived in video games. They used the Nintendo 64 and Play station as their game systems to conduct their research. The focus in this study is to prove that the games that are being played on these systems, are stereotyping women. The study researched the number of men in the game and women who were in the game. And lastly, the introduction talks about how women in video games have little clothing on, unlike men who are fully clothed.
Movies, TV programs have been a major part of our life entertainment, as watching films in the cinema or on the living room couch with friends or families at leisure, while actually, the impact that the movies and TV programs have on this society has already reached further than just entertainment. Some people might conceive that the movies are just made for divertissement, which should not be taken seriously, and that a movie needs stereotyped characters to make it looks interesting, representative, and attractive. However, the fact is a diametrically opposite that the so-called entertainment media is exactly molding people’s mind and attitude towards social issues and towards the
MTV promotes a romanticized teen lifestyle, reflecting the images of famous artists that differ with the realities of the “Generation X” lifestyle. While some view the station as “illustrated radio” or an entertainment network for viewers’ pleasure, others more accurately consider it as an advertising enterprise that endorses products and promotes attitudes (O’Neil 12). Whether or not MTV critics agree with these “messages” that, the network sends out, it has become a huge franchise generating large profits and great popularity. MTV’s entertainment, commercialism, and messages satisfy and influence many types of viewers, giving us, the viewing audience, a better understanding of the immense popularity of Music Television (MTV).
Fan Culture is something that has been around for a while, but it the last twenty years, since the introduction of the Internet, it is also something that has changed dramatically. A fan is an enthusiast of something and now the Internet is a good home for fans to gather and build together a community of fans, a ‘Fandom’. The turn Fandom means a community of a group of people who all enjoy them same thing and the Internet has created a place for online communities. Fan Culture has irreversibly changed the media industry because of the ability share information and fan made created content. The creation of these online based communities have meant that people from all over the world can talk about the latest TV shows, movies, books, comics and other forms of content and create groups dedicated to them. The Internet has also become a platform for the creation of a collective community, where individuals who all have shared interests can go. “Fans uses of technologies bring a sense of playfulness to the work of active reading” (2010; 12). Digital Fandoms are user-led forum of content creation, the fans create a number of things; fan fiction, fan blogs, fan made videos, fan art work, wiki leaks. The fans create a whole new life, another side of the TV show, film or book, that is complicity run and used by the fans. These fan made creation do not have to stick to what is canon in the show and can do what they wish with the character and the storylines. However is this an okay thing to do, Henry Jenkins refers to the fans who create these things are ‘Textual Poachers’. Those fans are now active interpreters instead of passive consumers. In this view the fans are poaching the created content of the writer. The fans have power to create t...
Popular culture is often dismissed as frivolous, unimportant or simply mindless entertainment, both by media critics and by academics. However, it is important to examine and think critically about popular culture and what it can tell us about the society that we live in. In the specific case of the relationship between gender and popular culture, popular culture is informed by the way gender is structured and the structure of gender is, in part, reinforced by popular culture.
When people think of entertainment, media influence often comes to mind. Reality TV stars and celebrities alike have been placed in limelight acting as role models to not only the youth, but society as a whole. This is an example of the negative influences that entertainment can have as it leads people to hold unrealistic standards and expectations for themselves and others. Some may feel that the entertainment industry makes glamourizes immoral behaviors, making them look fun and harmless. The focus on fitting in and on appearance in the entertainment business have heavily impacted the way our society is today, by promoting the need to be a certain way, both in physical physique and behavior. In fact, people who are considered more attractive, or that fit the molds commonly shown to us, have an easier time obtaining jobs and have access to a broader s...
Entertainment has become very important to humankind. In the book “Life the Movie”, Neal Gabler claimed that entertainment is ruining our society because entertainment is “fun, sensational, mindless, formulaic, predictable and subversive”, and in return it has been creating people who are ignorant, and thoughtless of the world surrounding them. But on the contrary, entertainment has taught us to be creative and thoughtful of others, it creates a feeling of connection with one another, we maintain socially stable, and keep relationships interesting with the influence of entertainment. Entertainment has become more important than ever in this chaotic world that we live in today. It has helped us learn to take a break from the stress of our everyday
The essence of being a fan eludes me. Why anyone would want to even admit to being a fan baffles me. Why does anyone, any where, ever deserves lusty, t-shirt tearing hysteria. Who are these proudly professing "fans" who wait patiently for autographs, pictures, a stray hair even, from their stars? Who experiences life fullfilment upon shaking hands with a celebrity? What kind of delusional state of low self-esteem do you exist in?