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Fan activism is a “form of civic engagement and political participation that emerge from within fan culture itself, often in response to the shared interests of fans, often conducted through the infrastructure of existing fan practices and relationships, and often framed through metaphors drawn from popular and participatory culture”. It utilizes the enthusiasm and empathy of the fan community to raise awareness of social concerns or otherwise support the ideals expressed by object(s) of the fandom. The rise of fan activism has been attributed to the emergence of new media. There have been numerous cases around the world that show the impact of fan activism. It can vary from online to real world forms of groups mobilizing to take action for a specific cause. Examples of fan activism include campaigns for social equality including representation of minorities in entertainment media, fund raising for organisations with common values, campaigning for the continuation of a television program or sporting team and defending fan works from commercial exploitation and allegations of copyright infringement.

Notable groups that are associated with fan activism include the Harry Potter Alliance, Fans4Writers, Nerdfighteria and the Organization for Transformative Works. Although the main understanding of fan activism is regarded around political participation, the mobilization of groups of people is not restricted to just politics. Fan activists come together to rally behind causes directly related to popular culture such as the cancellation of television shows, cast members of a production, and sometimes even the story line of the media.

Furthermore, celebrities have influence on their followers, and therefore are able to contribute to the guidance and actions taken by fans in regards to political and social causes. Groups can also support political movements based on newly acquired information of that movement. Notable examples of campaigns that gained fandom and traction through the spreading of unknown knowledge include the Kony 2012 campaign.

From Audience to Public

Over the past few decades, there has been an increase in the amount of civic and political engagement from younger generations of people, in non-traditional ways. The interests have been less related to electoral politics, government, or civic organizations, but rather more into personal interests, social networks, and cultural or commodity activism. The efforts have been informal, non-institutionalized, and non-hierarchical. Many scholars have recognized the effect that this form of activism is capable of having. Lisbet van Zoonen explains that there should not be an assumption that politics and culture exist in completely separate spheres. Daniel Dayan explains that political publics are often related to “identity-seeking” or “text-oriented” publics which both describe fandom that engage with pop culture. A public must be an audience before it is a public. In regards to political issues, an audience stops being an audiences when their concern for an issue prevails over their engagement. Once an audience acts as a collective public and announces their relation to a particular issue, only then are they considered to actually be public. It is this action that defines the move from an audience to public . Once the community agrees to mobilize for a specific topic, they are no longer only consumers.

Politics

One aspect of fan activism is getting groups to organize around real-world issues through extended engagement of popular culture content. It is the actions and associations which directly interact with institutions of the nation-state and its electoral processes that are traditionally what is referred to as political participation in modern democracies. It is explicitly linked to legislative processes or traditional institutions. Fan activism blurs the line between the political and cultural sphere arguing that the two can not only co-exist but also work in conjunction . Studies have been done to understand what can motivate young people to join civic and political organizations. The idea of politics is unappealing to many young minds, however the playful, effective, and fantasy aspects of fandom change that. They begin to inform youth on political discourse, and fans begin to explore what networked politics may look like through online campaigns.

Superman

In 2011 there was a peak in interest from American political leaders and activists in the interest of classic pop culture icon and hero, Superman. It was felt that politicians were struggle to reach an understanding from the general public. This changed when Presidential candidate Rick Perry was asked by a 9-year-old child which superhero he would want to be. Candidate Perry chose superman, which took the political scene into a new direction. This sudden interest in the 80-plus-year-old super hero had both positive and negative outlooks. A lot of political awareness was raised regarding Immigration and Patriotism from politicians and regular citizens alike.

Whether or not the individual was an actual fan of the superhero, he gave people an alternative reason to take interest in the political race. Politicians made the connection to superman because they argued he came to save the United States. This ideology came with a lot of criticism from conservative politicians because in an alternative universe of the DC comic, Superman did not associate with being American because he wanted to embrace a more global role, stating "I'm tired of having my actions construed as instruments of US policy. 'Truth, Justice, and the American way!'—It's not enough any more." Fox new in particular was not happy with the opposition relating to this superhero because it was believed that this alternate universe was representing a negative influence on patriotism in America, and the support of this was seen as destroying an American icon.

The criticism continued of Superman as immigrant rights activists questioned if superman had ever went through the process of becoming an American citizen the same way human immigrants had. He was able to enter the country without permission and, assumed, without the correct documentation that a refugee would have to go through. Further criticism was made in a humorous manner. South Asian comedian, Hari Kondabolu, questioned why Superman had never been deported for “stealing jobs,” referring to the jobs of law enforcement. He also made the suggestion that other immigrants might wear glasses and take on a secret identity to stay hidden, much like how Superman does when he is the average man, Clark Kent.

Avatar

There are numerous examples throughout history in which fans used fandom for civic and political action. Fans mobilize in reaction to events that take place, such as in the case of the fans of the Roswell television show. These fans used existing online forums from the show to organize charitable contributions towards the 9/11 attacks. Individuals may also reconfigure pop culture content in order to achieve a political goal. There have been smaller more specific forms of fan activism, such as the so-called Avatar (2009 film) activism. This form of activism draws images and ideas from James Cameron’s 2009 film about an aboriginal population, called the Na’vi, on the moon of Pandora whose existence is threatened by colonization of humans from Earth. Protestors from the village of Bil'in covered themselves in blue body paint and approached Israeli military barricades. The protest gained attention from many news outlets, which enabled the events that took place to reach a much wider audience than just the small town in which it took place. The metaphorical sense behind this was a representation of what happened to the Na’vi where humans invaded their planet, but rather in this case it was Israeli soldiers taking on the land of Palestinians. This form of fan activism is different in that it is not fans mobilizing as activist, but rather activists using fanlike tactics to mobilize a group of people for political action .

Influences of Fan Activism

Popular Culture

Fan Activism takes shapes in numerous ways. One form of this is building on popular culture and an existing fan community. The idea of building fan activism on popular culture relies heavily on public involvement from the fans. There is not a clear motivator as there is with related media and so these forms of fan activism use parallels between the content of the fictional world and the real world as the motivator for civic action. Fans have described this feeling as still being connected to the fictional characters or world from which their original interest began. An example of this type of fan activism is the Harry Potter Alliance. Established in 2005 by Andrew Slack, The Harry Potter Alliance brings together Harry Potter fans around the world. The non-profit organization mimics that of the student activist organization Dumbledore’s Army, as written from author J. K. Rowling in the Harry Potter narratives. The Harry Potter Alliance has been able to recruit over 100,000 young people across the United States, most of which joined simply because of their love for the fictional character as opposed to their self interest in civic participation, but through numerous volunteer opportunities have worked for diverse causes including literacy, equality, and human rights .

Related Media

Another form of fan activism is building a fan like public around related media. This form of fan activism has media that is relevant to activism it wishes to engage with. Unlike the Harry Potter Alliance where fans are brought together through an external force to engage for other reasons, this form of fan activism is directly related to engaging people in civic participation. This may include movies, books, or any other form of media. An example of this form of fan activism is Invisible Children, Inc. Originally a self-produced documentary from three Southern California film students titled Invisible Children: Rough Cut, this film brought awareness about the civil war in Uganda, particularly focusing on conscripted child soldiers. This movie later branched into an organization that focused awareness on the war of Uganda and was able to put pressure on the American government to pass the Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act. Invisible Children continues to focus on the civil war in Uganda and has also expanded into creating infrastructure in the Congo as well. They use related media such as screenings and local clubs to make young Americans politically aware to take action. They have built a fanlike culture for individuals who share an enthusiasm and knowledge about the goals they wish to achieve.

Social Media

Celebrity

Celebrities share their personalities with their fans through social media platforms, which contribute to the growing rise in power and ubiquity of online connections. People care a lot for the media they involve themselves with, whether it be books, movies, or TV shows, including all the characters that are a part of it and through the Internet they are able to connect with others who feel the same way. This way of connecting makes it easy for people to participate in causes they believe in on very visible platforms, which can influence others around them . Historically, religion has been a major influence to the way in which people mobilize to change their communities, making reference to the various stories that are a part of the many cultures of the world. There is also a reflection in the decline of the strength of local communities, with a rise in the interest of celebrities. Fans do not need input or prompting from their celebrity influence, but rather just guidance or instigation. A fan can mobilize based on the action the celebrity takes without an actual request from the celebrity themselves.

Being able to connect through social media creates a sense of intimacy for the fans and gives the illusion that they are interacting with authentic self of the star. An argument is made against this, however, saying that fans are not able to reach the “real” personality of the artist, giving the fans access to a “performed intimacy” of the star instead. The star can strategically use their online presence to influence their fan base about a certain topic or civic engagement, whether or not it is something they actually support, thus, giving the appearance that the fans are seeing into the authentic life of the celebrity, which makes the individual more accessible and likeable, maintaining or increasing the support and loyalty of their fan base.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga, well known for her appreciation of her fans, reached out through Twitter and asked her fans to call their senators, in order to get them to repeal the Don't ask, don't tell policy. At the time (2010), she had the highest number of twitter followers in the world at over 9 million, and was therefore able to reach a very large audience. In one specific instance, two teenage girls filmed themselves calling their senator and uploaded the video to YouTube. They then tweeted at Lady Gaga making her aware of what they had done. The singer re-tweeted their post for hundreds of thousands of her followers to see, which influenced them to follow in the teenage girls’ footsteps. The internet helps this connection between fan and celebrity.

Kony 2012

The Kony 2012 campaign is yet another example of the power and challenges of fan activism. The campaign created by Invisible Children, relied heavily on fan support to be successful. The 30-minute video gained a large amount of visibility. The activities of the organization’s action to stop Kony were examined, debated and critiqued by news media and fans alike through forums and Invisible Children’s Facebook page. Much of the success owed to this campaign is the fanlike support built by Invisible Children over its years of existence. The organization consistently asks its supporters to reach out to celebrities, policy makers, and any other individual with a large voice and visibility to the world, in order to get their message heard. This effective form of publicity encouraged many others to take a stand on the issues that mattered to them. The fan base was able to quickly and strategically share the video through all forms of social media, which helped start the movement and raise awareness. The movement was so heavily supported that Invisible Children’s original goal of getting 500,000 views by the end of 2012 was surpassed within a few hours of releasing the video.

Fan Activism in Network Media

In most cases, fan activism is associated with active fans pushing for an outcome that is related to the content which they are fans of. These can include topics such as a keeping a show on the air, racial or sexual minority representation; for instance the inclusion of gay or lesbian characters, and even the promotion of social themes in the program content . There is no defined approach when it comes to a fan activist campaign, but rather just an end goal being get the word out to as many different people as possible through as many different ways as possible. There are individuals who take charge during campaigns to help for organizational purposes, however there is no single person that tries to be leader and orchestrate every movement the way they seem fit. Each campaign that happens not only has an impact on the situation it is attempting to change, but also provides an educational opportunity that develops new skills and knowledge that can be learned from for subsequent efforts. Furthermore, these campaigns educate the fans on how network television reaches its decisions. It helps them to better understand a way in which a better argument can be made to change the outcome of their show’s fate.

Stargate

In 2006, the the Sci-Fi channel announced that it would not be bringing back Stargate SG-1. The show was originally aired on Showtime (TV network) for five seasons before being cancelled, but due to its popular demand and the help of fan activism, it was kept alive and taken over by the Sci-Fi channel. News of the network’s decision to cancel the show quickly spread across discussion lists, fan websites, blogs, and live journal pages. The fans were even quicker to respond, with the fan community coming together offering ideas and tactics as to ways in which the network’s decision could be changed. Letters were written to the shows producers, and even scholars in the hope that something could be done to keep the show alive. Sci Fi did not own the SG-1 one show, but rather only just purchased the rights to air it in the United States from MGM. This meant that there was a possibility that the show could be picked up by another station or network. However, the executive Vice President of Original Programming released a statement saying “There is not going to be (a season 11 of Stargate SG-1) on U.S. Television. Our contract with MGM prohibits it.” Although many efforts by the fans were made, the show did not get renewed for a new season with the final episode airing in spring 2007. However, the studio realized the success the show had and the loyal fan base it accumulated, stating that they did not view SG-1 as only a television series but rather a franchise with a lot of vibrant life. Because of this, MGM announced that it would produce two direct-to-DVD Stargate SG-1 movies.

Participatory Culture

Participatory culture was established as an alternative to the concept of the passive media consumer and thus has been linked heavily with fan activism. Consistent users of pop culture began creating transformative works such as remixes of media, or wrote narratives that contribute to elements of existing media, such as fan fiction. This idea of adding a new layer of meaning to an object has created tension in the relationship between the producers of original content and that of their fan community. Scholars understand that when it comes to artistic expression and civic engagement, participatory culture is a culture in which there is a low barrier. In addition, there is a strong support for shared creativity of one’s creations. Members of a participatory culture, including those involved with fan activism, believe their contributions matter. This sense of belonging builds, to some degree, a form of social connection with one another. On the other hand, creators of the original content feel differently towards transformations of their work. Issues of copyright infringement can arise even if the reproduction of the work is not intended to come across as stolen content. Henry Jenkins argues that the active participation by fans to engage in the creation and circulation of new content is what defines participatory culture .