I was hoping to finish off the year and the two and a half years
mark by reaching 200 blog posts. I have achieved my goal. I didn’t write as many
posts as I did last year. Thank you to all the people who visit my blog every
day from a range of countries. Most are from the United States and Canada, but I
get people from all places, interested in a range of topics about fandom.
The last couple of weeks and months have been very exciting following
the fans and all the fandom. There was the release of new music from
Alan Doyle and his book tour, Sean McCann’s Canadian tour, the premiere of
Murray Foster’s movie the Cocksure Lads in Whistler, British Columbia, Russell
Crowe’s team won the NRL premiership in Australia, the premiere for his new
movie The Water Diviner in Sydney, Australia, then Alan Doyle’s show at
O’Reilly’s pub in St. John’s which was streamed live around the world. To top
it all off, the final couple of episodes of Republic Doyle and an Alan Doyle new
song was screened on CBC Canada. And of course the amazing and beautifully
filmed video for Alan Doyle’s So Let’s Go. So it has been a busy time.
The fans shared their beautiful words, stories, pictures and
concert videos brilliantly via social media including Twitter, Facebook and on
chat lines. Fans travelled from around the world to attend Russell Crowe’s
premiere, travelled to see Alan Doyle and Sean McCann in concert, to support
Murray Foster and the Cocksure Lads movie and see the results of where they had
put their funding. Others enjoyed the documentary on Erin’s pub and meals and
drinks at their favourite St. John’s pubs and restaurants. All fans were
excited about hearing new music from Alan Doyle and the hits on YouTube flooded
in. I have been following the fans thoughts as the events occurred and it has
been a very emotional ride for many.
What is clear more than ever, is the distinct difference
between the haves and have nots. There are those at the centre of the fandom
due to location, access to resources, money and content required to
participate. For those who are able to fully participate they have found a
wonderful place and great friends. For the have nots it is a different story. For
example, social media was abuzz with the final episodes of Republic of Doyle.
People from overseas were blocked through no fault of their own and could not
participate. I did watch the whole of the final season six pirated on YouTube
to gain an understanding of how people who watch piracy feel. Although it was
only two or three days later than when the episodes were made available and I
watched them the opportunity was gone to engage in discussion on social media. But
the biggest joy for watching content has been to buy content legally and watch
it soon after the screening of the episode in the US, totally free on my
allocated library time.
The majority of women in the fandoms I follow seem to be
mature aged women. My question, why do mature aged women with careers, jobs
and families engage with fandoms was answered by two highly respected fandom
academics in a journal interview recently. In the interview the two academics
share their ideas which I have briefly copied “fandoms can be a wonderful world –friends, community, a sense of
belonging…it is a space where one can be one’s self – even if it is a bit geeky, sometimes thoughtful, a bit naughty…it can be liberating being in a fan
community in particular for older women…a licence to be a bit silly, free from
the constraints and boundaries of everyday expectations…not sure if there are
many places for women and older women to find that…it is rare for women to find
a place where they can be themselves…express genuine emotions that are not
normally acceptable…they can shout from the rooftops…’he is so hot’…creative
works can inspire your own creativity…(Clark 2014). It is always a total
thrill to read ideas and research about a topic so close to my heart, fandom.
Where to next? I don’t really know. I have diverted a bit
from my original goals of this blog being about the fans and fandom, to the work
of the actors, singers and musicians by writing posts about what I am
interested in for example, using selfies and social media to tell the stories. I have also turned my blog into a kind of collection site for some beautiful images and interesting articles by fans and the
professionals. In that way the fandom has been bringing out my creativity. I am
still really interested in what the fans have to say on social media, how they share
their stories and creative work and work constructively with the artists and
musicians involved for example making bootlegged videos in cooperation with Sean McCann. I would really like to
go back to Canada and Newfoundland, to see Alan Doyle on his Let’s Go Tour and
Sean McCann perform in a small intimate concert.
Thanks for visiting and reading…And not one bad comment.
Touch wood. Any suggestions, stories and comments feel free to contact me.
Merry Christmas and a safe and happy holiday to all my
readers.
Smith Liz
References
Clark, C. N. (2014). SI/E6 Interview with a fan scholar (or
two) Pt. 1 Luna Station Quarterly.
