Module 13 Example: Measuring Up with Comic Capital

PROMPT

For this week, you will perform a mini-article analysis on a fandom that you participate in (that is, something you are a fan of: a sport, a TV show, an activity, a hobby, a music genre, etc).     Articles must meet the following criteria:

1. A minimum of 12 pages of text
2. Published in an ACADEMIC journal.
3. Published after 1970.
4. An actual article (not a book review or editorial).

For your post, you will include

1. A full MLA citation at the start of the post.
2. A discussion of what the article is about and what it is arguing (1 paragraph).
3. A discussion of your critical thoughts on the article (1 paragraph).
4. A discussion of how the article has enhanced your understanding of the particular fandom that you explored (1 paragraph).

Relevant Labels/Tags:  Fans, fandom, mass audience, fan community, journal article, [name of said fandom]


EXAMPLE
Brown, Jeffrey A. "Comic book fandom and cultural capital." The Journal of Popular Culture 30.4 (1997): 13-31.

Brown uses the concept of cultural captial in connection to comic fandoms.  The term, cultural capital, is derived from Pierre Bourdieu that relates to the various capital that one accumulates within his or her life that is not of a fiscal nature.  For instance, education and knowledge range, position within culture, understanding of and relation to cultural practices, etc.  He explores how meaning is made among comic fans as it relates to their knowledge of the industry and the value generated in that knowledge and how it relates to collecting comics.  Additionally, he explores the different places where cultural capital is exchanged such as in comic book stores, magazines, conventions, etc.  

He explores how all of this interacting and exchange influences the comic book industry in terms of the most popular titles and also the price of the most prestigious comics (e.g. Action Comics #1, Detective Comics #27; first appearance of Superman and Batman respectively).  Brown then devles into the history of comics fandom and recognizes that historically, there was very little cultural capital be attained from comics since it was seen a culturally-depriving rather than enhanced (such as the 1940s-1960s and especially after Frederic Wertham's influence on the industry).  

Brown notes that the rise of the counter-culture brought with it the return of some cultural capital to comics.  He also considers how comic fandom is affiliated with mass culture, where the accumulation of many comics is more significant than cultivating just a few elite selections.  He also illustrates that despite cultural critics who say popular culture has no canon, comics indeed has a canon of famous and important works and creators.  

This establishment by fans of a canon has also influenced how the comic publishing industry represents itself and publishes works.  Ultimately, Brown presents an interesting intersection wherein comic fans achieve their status by being so deeply vested in comics, something that is considered non-elite, and yet in doing so, mimic aspects of cultural elitism that is a cornerstone of cultural capitalism.  

I rather like this article in that it helps to explain how deeply vested we are as individuals in our fandoms and some of the reasons we get deeply invested in our fandoms (notice the economic terminology!). In particular, I think this article shows the ways in which fans negotiate meaning and value in their fan cultures and that process has an impact on the content producers.