What role does Hills (2004) suggest the fans play in
the construction of cult TV? How is new media central to this?
Cult TV can be thought of as a group
of texts, often hailing from the genres of science fiction, fantasy and horror.
Also, through secondary texts that activate the meanings and associations of
cult for audiences. Cult status arises through an audience’s passion for a TV
show. So, ‘fan activities’ are very important fact in cult TV. Hills (2004)
suggest that three ways in which fans play in the construction of cult TV.
Firstly, it is the transformation of
TV programs into cults by fans. He says that while some fans are committed to
just a single TV show or actor&actress, the other majority use individual
series to relate pr connect to a fan community. His second suggestion is that fans
self-consciously use the term ‘cult’ to describe these networks of texts as
distinctive. Furthermore, he points out that fans organize themselves social
groups and societies. Fans gather for conventions where they share interests
which create a sense of communal fan distinctiveness. These fan groups are
formed after the TV programs first airing and can be lead to becoming a cult. Cult
fans are eager to analyse and support their own consumption of cult TV in the Medias.
They share their interests and try to keep fan culture alive because it is
important to their daily life and individualities Therefore the internet has located
very importantly on fan clubs. New media has important function of promotion of
cult TV. Especially, Internet effect new generation deeply. Hill (2004) state
“most of fan activities are carried out both online and in real life” (pp. 519)
Online has allowed fans share their favorite TV programs and fan fiction, episode
guides, etc. Furthermore, they can use internet communicate with other fans. In
short, Internet offers a platform for them to do these things.
In what way is Buffy influenced
by the romantic gothic tradition?
“Buffy adopts and adapts many
romantic gothic conventions”, In Rose (2002), there is a conclusion of that. First,
“Buffy employs romantic ideology in contemporary contexts and terms and
suggests alternatives within that framework.” Buffy story’s ideology is closed
to our time because Buffy’s story is happened in our date. With the framework, the
story becomes a good story with the sense of time. Furthermore, “the
characters, story line, and outcome both acknowledge the issues rise in Shelley’s
novel and suggest anti-patriarchal and postfeminist solutions to the problems Shelley
saw in romantic ideology”. In Shelley’s novel, the anti-patriarchal and
postfeminist is the important point. And in Buffy, it huge raises the main
point of Shelley’s novel. In Buffy the
Vampire Slayer, Buffy put all the things more close into life. It offers a representation that
potentially subverts current ideologies of love and sexuality (Wilcox&
Laver, 2002).
References
Rose, A. (2002). of creatures and creators: Buffy does Frankenstein, in R. Wilcox
& D. Lavery (eds) Fighting the
forces: what’s at stake in Buffy the vampire slayer. Lanham: Rowman and
Littlefield.Hills, M. (2004). Defining cult TV; Texts, inter-texts and fan audiences, The Television Studies Reader, in R. C. Allen & A. Hill. London and New York: Routledge.
Wilcox, R. & Lavery, D. (2002). Introduction, in R. Wilcox & D. Lavery (eds) Fighting the forces: what’s at stake in Buffy the vampire slayer. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.
Thanks Kim. Your first answer is Good (however I am having a little trouble with some of the statements in the second answer). Yes, internet sites provide a nexus for fans to communicate with one another - which helps to further develop the inter-textual networks we discussed in lectures. It's worth noting that the Hills article is now 10 years old. I wonder what effects social-media might be having on cult fandom?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Brendan. :) Social-media such as Twitter, Facebook, Blogs and the various other internet spaces have created a mass network between the fans to gather virtually and discuss with other participants to publish fanzines, and connecting with other devoted like-minded fans which has lead to generating new cult shows.
DeleteI agree with your opinion about cult TV, which mainly depends on fan audiences to support it. Also, cult TV is often compulsive to catch audiences' interests and has a depth of characterization.
ReplyDelete