Henry Jenkin's fandom theory

Key terms for the theory:

Fan= abbreviated form of the word 'fanatic', has roots to the idea of a slave or devotee
Poacher= someone who trespasses or steals

What is the theory?

• Stereotypical fan behaviour includes: buying merchandise, analysing the text in depth, discussing theories with other fans, creating your own content in that universe e.g. fan fiction 
• Jenkins established 5 levels of fan activity: 
• 1) A particular mode of reception- fans watch with a mixture of 'emotional proximity and critical distance'
• 2) Particular interpretive practices- including creating 'strong parallels between their own lives and the events of the series'
• 3) A base for consumer activism- fans 'speak back to the networks and the producers'
• 4) Cultural production and practices- 'fandom generates its own genres and develops alternative institutions of production, distribution, exhibition and consumption'
• 5) Alternative social communities- fandom offers 'not so much an escape from reality as an alternative reality' 
• "Fans do not simply consume pre produced stories; they manufacture their own fanzine stories and novels, art prints, songs, videos, performances, etc." – Henry Jenkins
• "the pleasure of the form centres on the fascination in watching familiar images wrenched free from their previous contexts and assigned alternative meanings" – Henry Jenkins
• "for most fans, meaning-production is not a solitary and private process but rather a social and public one" – Henry Jenkins
• "the programs provide tools to think with, resources to facilitate discussions." – Henry Jenkins
• "discussions offer insights not only into the fictional characters but into different strategies for resolving personal problems" – Henry Jenkins

So overall..?

Overall, the theory looks at how fans of a media text may create their own content surrounding the universe in which the text is set

The theory looks at fan behaviours and how they may respond to the text