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Social media fandom: The construction of identity in the cases of “The 100” and
“Once Upon A Time” Tumblr communities

Conference Paper · April 2017

DOI: 10.1109/WTS.2017.7943539

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 Social Media Fandom:
The construction of identity in the cases of “The 100” and “Once Upon A Time” Tumblr
communities

Eftychia Misailidou, M.A

DEREE-The American College of Greece
Account Director, Publici One Greece,
Athens [email protected]

Abstract—In 2017 everybody knows what a fan is. What modes of ownership in opposition to the dominant capitalist
many keep on disregarding is how TV shows and their characters state of things. In a way, Jenkins’ fan practices are in line with
have been affecting and changing the real world, or at least the the current talk of digital produsers or prosumers; they both
lives of a show’s fans. This study aims to combine the two consume and actively construct the object of their consuming
research areas of digital communication and fan studies by practices. Α new position that denotes a change in the media
studying TV fandom communities in the digital platform of power game in favor of the average user/fan who now emerges
Tumblr, and aims to explore how fans perform, express and as an empowered agent.
construct their identities through digital practices and within
specific mediated fan communities. The study uses two case Thanks to academic research and shift of the depiction of
studies of popular current TV series fandoms, The 100 and Once fans on media, the fan now is even celebrated by producers and
Upon a Time. Data has been gathered through online surveys cast of the TV series. We are in the “fandom is beautiful” era,
and analysis of Tumblr blogs dedicated to those two fandoms as Gray, Sandvoss, and Harrington (2007) declared the recent
years. Everyone in the industry understands that in an era of
Keywords— TV fandom; social identity; construction of Self; uncountable shows, and constantly changing ratings process,
fan studies; social media fando;, Tumblr; only fans can support their show’s life span. They know that
they simply cannot be without the fan. The Fan is appreciated,
even if just for the sake of renewals and numbers. But does the
Introduction industry truly understand the motivation that drives the fan?
The word “fan” derives from the term “fanatic” that was
originally used to denote “a temple servant, a devotee” and the I. LITERATURE REVIEW
state of “belonging to the temple” (Jenkins, 1992). Fans
associated with entertainment have been portrayed as “socially A. From Cultural Studies to Fan Studies: Fandom as a
awkward teenage teen boys and furtive single men, along with postmodern subculture
lonely, single, middle-aged women with cats” (Abbott, 2010),
while the term “cult” has been a media favorite choice to
describe fans. There are several types of subcultures, as cultural groups
within larger cultures, fothen having beliefs or interests at
While researching fandom - a term used to refer to a
variance with those of the larger culture (Oxford English
subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of Dictionary). Fandom is one such subculture. A fandom can
empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common
grow around any area of human interest, from celebrities to
interest (Wikipedia)- in the 90s, early fandom scholars sports teams.
contributed to the shift of these negative impressions and
public understandings of what fandom is about. In Henry Henry Jenkins interprets fandom as a community opposing
Jenkins’s words, fans could now be defined as “…spectators to producers of cultural industries, with fans engaging in
who transform the experience of watching television into a rich poaching, transfiguring and opposing the original message
and complex participatory culture. Fans construct their cultural conveyed by the producers; much like a subculture of
and social identity through borrowing and inflecting mass resistance. When television fans meet online, they do not just
culture images, articulating concerns which often go unvoiced share their common love for the original text, but they also
within the dominant media” (Jenkins, 1992). Drawing from his concentrate their collective knowledge, becoming thus a
own experience as a fan, Jenkins provides an insider’s view, community of knowledge and practice, that many times “cause
and understands fans not to be genuine representatives of the problems” to the cultural industry.
so-called "active audience" and more so as proper "owners" of
the genres they are so passionate about. Fans “own” their For members of any fandom, belonging to the group means
genres by actively participating in constructing their mythology more than simply sharing a love towards a show, character or
and building new cultural communities around them. Fan storyline. Being a member of the fandom is a vital part of the
communities are storytellers of a new kind; they produce fan, something that they carry with them and not an extra part
"meta-stories" through which fans express the alternative of themselves. This is consistent with Henri Tajfel’s Social
Identity Theory (1979), according to which social identity is a
person’s sense of who they are based on their group Because the text is a desired imagination of one’s self, and
membership(s). it gives the opportunity to negotiate with their own identity,
fully constructed or not. By re-imagining the artifact (Chander
Tajfel suggested that “individuals strive to achieve both a
& Sunde, 2007 / Hamer, 2006) /Sturgis, 2006 / Ellison, 2013),
distinct and positive social identity as that part of an fans re-imagine the world around them, or themselves, or
individual’s sled-concept which derives from his knowledge of
situations they’ve experienced.
his membership of a social group (or groups) together with the
value and emotional significance attached to that membership
(Tajfel, 1978).
II. RESEARCH METHOD
B. Fan Manifestation: Fan Fiction
This an exploratory cyber-ethnographic study that examines
T Fan fiction is the product of unauthorized writers taking how subcultures and minorities within the fandom appropriate
characters and settings from television shows, movies, comics, Tumblr as a storytelling medium to construct and perform their
or books and writing stories about them (Weiss, 2006). social identity.
Some important characteristics of fan fiction: The study aims to explore and test two research hypotheses:
• It is created by fans and not professionals, for the 1) The assumption that both the original media text and the
greater good of their fandom and for other fans to dynamics of online fandom influence the formation of a fan-
enjoy. based social identity, which as such is part of their personal
identity of fans; and 2) The observation that the main
• It offers and mostly presents a certain freedom to do manifestation of fan identity is an advanced or augmented
as pleased with the source text, describing many times image of fan fiction activity, empowered by platforms, like
things that didn’t happen to the original. Tumblr.
• It appeals to the knowledge of the reader, not citing
information about the specifics of the story, implying A. Research Questions
that the reader will understand easily. Most simply • How do fans use fandoms and the medium of
mention the characters involved, type and setting. Tumblr to express and explore their Self?
• Mistakes and often the medium quality of text, • Does their fan identity blend with their social
implies the lack of professionalism - although many identities, fulfilling their need for social
authors use other fans/ authors to check their texts. integration, and how?
Nonetheless, spelling mistakes do not matter.
• Do they feel psychological connection to other
Jenkins describes fans as “passionately embracing favored fans and how does this connection affect their self-
texts and attempting to integrate media representations within perceptions?
their own social experience. Like cultural scavengers, fans
reclaim works that others regard as worthless and trash, finding • Does their Tumblr experience as fans indicate a
them a rewarding source of popular capital” (Jenkins, 1992, p. sense of reinforced and improved community?
86). • Do fans use their interpretive power to consciously
Fan fiction is their way to making the original text their influence the media content itself? And why do
own, liberating themselves from the fear of the producer. It is they feel the need to distort and re-imagine it? If
thus considered to be an act of freedom and free will. Fan they already feel “connected” to the media
fiction: content, and therefore become fans of it, what
dissatisfaction do they “muffle” by this distortion
• Satisfies the need to comment and how it is connected to their personal Self?
• Satisfies the need to imagine the original text in a In this study, we use two cases of fandom as paradigmatic
more suitable to own thoughts and feelings case-studies in order to explore the above questions: The 100
and Once Upon a Time, both active and popular fandoms on
• Allows fans to correct great mistakes on the part of Tumblr. Most significantly though, these are both cases fertile
screenwriters for discussing and analyzing identity formation of minorities.
• Brings favorite characters closer to the fan, by For the purposes of our study, an extensive and purposive
bridging beliefs, sexual orientation, behaviors, etc. field research was carried out, including detailed field notes,
Madly in love with the original “source” text, fans are also analysis of content of selected Tumblr blogs (discourse and
frustrated and concerned by its failure to satisfy them, and visual analysis), and structured interviews/questionnaires with
represent diverse aspects of them. Of course, this is not to say Tumblr users and fans. Those methods were selected in order
that they dismiss the original text. Fan fiction is a way of to shed a light both on the “what” fandom is discussing and on
negotiating everything that does not fit well. Anything is the reasons “why” they are doing so. Discourse and visual
possible, and everything is permitted. If fan fiction is a analysis contains observations, but also assumptions and
negotiation tool, why the need to negotiate? hypotheses, that could be better explained by the fans’ own
words and answers, with the use of structured interviews.
 In the case of both fandoms, field notes were taken Analysis of selected blogs has been complemented by
specifically on the blog analysis, in two parts. First while online questionnaires distributed to members of the selected
studying all the blogs to select the few that would be further fandoms. The questionnaires provided qualitative insights:
studied, with jottings, which is writing down brief words, perceptions, opinions, feelings, attitudes, intentions, and
aiming to describe all blogs. A categorization of facts has been subjective meanings), needed within an exploration of identity-
made, and data gathered revolved around: construction online, and statistical insights (Questionnaires on
Appendix II & III).
• tags used on all blogs,
• notes' number and type in order to determine
interaction,
III. FINDINGS
• date of posts published, in order to determine After the text edit has been completed, the paper is ready
frequency of publishing, and subsequently level of for the template. Duplicate the template file by using the Save
activity of fandom As command, and use the naming convention prescribed by
• content type, to estimate the ratio of visual vs text your conference for the name of your paper. In this newly
content created file, highlight all of the contents and import your
prepared text file. You are now ready to style your paper; use
• content origination, to determine the ration of original the scroll down window on the left of the MS Word Formatting
content vs re-blogs, and finally toolbar.
• content, in order to define specific content pillars,
with the distinction between Alternative Universe A. “The 100”
(AU), Original Text (OT), Re-imagination (RE). The 100 is an American post-apocalyptic sci-fi show on
The CW that premiered on March 19, 2014 and has been
loosely based on the trilogy books by Kass Morgan. This is a
The data assisted in determining the selected blogs that feminist show that depicts women as heroes, villains or leaders,
would be studied by ruling out a great number of blogs that and puts them in the spotlight. In its dystopic world rules and
presented: low level of activity, high level of re- blogging, and norms are not the same. Certain rules can be bent. Bisexuality
content originated by other fandoms as well. At a second level, doesn’t matter, homosexuality doesn’t matter, women can be
an evaluative scheme was applied to decide which blogs are leaders and males can be vulnerable.
the most important, in terms of a) fan identity performance, b) The show has been receiving great reviews, up until episode
interaction with other blogs and with the text itself, and c) Thirteen (Season 3, Episode 7) that led thousands of fans to
influence on other blogs. revolt. A popular lesbian character, Lexa, got accidentally
In order to implement this step, an online tool was killed by a bullet aimed for the protagonist and her love
developed that allowed to go back and retrieve older content of interest, Clarke.
any Tumblr blog. The tool, referred to as “blog loader” Young lesbian fans got furious over it, not only because
(Appendix I) was developed as a web harvesting scraper using their favorite character died, but because that death seemed to
the Tumblr API (Application Programming Interface) to gather reinforce the Bury Your Gays trope (as TV Tropes1’ website
all content from blogs, operated in a simple way: the selected explains, often gay television characters are not allowed to
blog’s url was submitted in the tool and then each blog was have happy endings), adding in a long list of lesbian characters
being loaded and presented in a user-friendly format in an on TV being killed instead of getting a happy ending. Fans
HTML webpage, including important information, as expressed that stories and mostly endings like Lexa’s, trigger
mentioned above: tags, notes, date, link to original post. The thoughts of suicide and self-harm and the way that LGBT
data harvested was being saved offline for archival purposes. characters are being depicted on TV only helps form a false
In this way field notes, as described above, were taken and the image of them. It is not that fans and critics did not expect her
evaluation was carried out. death, as it had been foreshadowed the whole season; however,
Following this extensive field research process, a limited most of them believed that a show so diverse and progressive
number (three blogs for The 100 case study and three for Once would never do something that callous.
Upon a Time) of bloggers/fans were selected as the main sites The contributors of the show did everything they could to
of study. These blogs have been analyzed and evaluated based involve young lesbian fans, because they knew that their
on three levels related to their user-generated content: engagement could provide a better promotional tool than any
1. Users’ discourse researching written word, texts, posts other. By Season 2 fans were already turning on Tumblr and
(through discourse analytical methods) creating content about Clexa, as the Clarke and Lexa pairing
was named by fans.
2. Users visual content with images, gifs, memes and
videos being studied and evaluated (through visual analysis) Lexa represented young lesbians in a way they waited for
years, since it was one of the best-developed lesbian characters
3. Users’ interactions and behaviors (conversations,
direct interactions, such as likes and reposts evaluated). 1
A trope is a storytelling device or convention, a shortcut for describing
situations the storyteller can reasonably assume the audience will recognize.
on TV. But it was also this promotional trick that infuriated Alternative Universe stories of course are being used to re-
them, and the consequences were enormous. For weeks after imagine the original plot line. Setthedakonfire creates their
Lexa’s death the hashtag #LexaDeservedBetter trended on own content, not only based on original text, but also on their
Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr along with, to name a few: own drawings using various techniques (sketches, illustration,
#LGBTfansdeservedbetter, #Heda, #Wedeservedbetter. etc.) Setthedakonfire decided to “cope” with Lexa’s death
imagining a different storyline, where she actually doesn’t die.
Fans created a campaign to raise money for The Trevor Furthermore, the blogger, active since 28/2/15, has developed a
Project, a project that provides help to suicidal LBGT young
scheme for their content creation: They use original text and
people, raising more than 140,000$ on Lexa’s name. Websites transform it in a way that showcases what type of lines the two
have been also set up providing information about issues as
characters use around each other in order to prove their
LGBT representation in the media. Creator of the show, Jason emotions or to earn a date. The content is mostly funny and
Rothenberg saw his Twitter followers dropping up to 15.000
ironic.
five days after Thirteen airing. Fans still blamed him for
“queer-baiting” and their reaction became a subject for Questionnaire analysis
discussion for several high-profile media outlets, such as BBC,
The Hollywood Reporter, Indie Wire, Variety, Entertainment Interviews provided the following data: Their immediate
feelings on Lexa’s death were intense, as almost 77% stated
Weekly, etc. The controversy led even Snapchat to create a
“Lexa” filter. Ratings of the show dropped almost 50% after angry or depressed, while 26% disappointed by the outcome.
This obviously explains the uncharacteristically high
her death (from 1.881 viewers in millions to the premiere of
the third season, to 1.03, according to percentage of 41% of fans that don’t want to continue watching
the show (whether this sentiment remained the same or not, as
televisionbynumbers.com), only to spike for the finale, where
her promised, but temporary return would occur. the weeks passed or once the new season will air, remains to be
seen). As one respondent mentioned: “She was a fully realized
For most of the fans this is a fight for their rights and their character, complex, not just good, or evil, making complicated
weaponry varies from voting on polls for Clexa to win the best decisions, and not always favourable ones. A strong leader
TV couple or the Vote the Character You Want to Bring Back (and badass warrior). Had nothing to do with her sexuality,
for Lexa to raising Billboards about their cause in central other than that it's so rate for characters who ARE gay to be
places of US. They also take a stand and comment unfortunate MORE than their sexuality”.
events, like the shooting of Orlando, as it is evidence that much
Almost all of the participants knew about the use of
work needs to be done to reach equality.
#Lexadeservedbetter and 71% have even used it to express
Tumblr blog analysis their thoughts. While the first medium in which they used, the
hashtag has been Twitter, obviously mostly because of the
Blog analysis of the Clexa fandom provided the following
nature of the micro-blogging platform and the ease to follow
observations: discussions, Tumblr comes second and fans that used it in all
• Most of the Clexa blogs were either created during Social Media come next.
the season 2015-2016, or intensified their posting The sentiment around the question “Why was Lexa’s death
during the same period. important to you?” is almost overwhelming. Even the language
• Bloggers have been enthusiastic about the and tonality used to answer this question, implies an audience
storyline up to the controversial episode. and a group of fans with great intelligence and with a need to
feel part of something bigger: “Because Lexa was me. She was
• Bloggers showed excitement about Lexa being in killed-off, I see that every day for someone like me. Her death
the finale and grateful that they were present while didn't have any importance. So why would mine.” Another
the two actors were shooting the scene, up to the responded noted: “It was a catalyst for year of frustration
point that they felt betrayed. boiling up. We finally felt safe, were assured the writers
More specific, Clexainparadise blog posts daily since understood our fear and then went and did it anyway. They
February 2016, with a great tendency to creating what I’ve took away hope.” One respondent mentioned that: “I did some
called augmented fan fiction 2 , through Alternative Universe thinking and I have come to realize how much and how badly
3
short image stories. There are several examples that show bad representation has impacted my life. I don't want the next
exactly how that type of fan fiction works. The blogger would generation of LGBT youth to grow up again thinking they are
describe the setting with a short sentence and then they post expendable”. Those answers only confirm research questions
several pictures or GIFs together. This is a very short story regarding the blending of fans’ social identities with their fan
type, yet descriptive and creative at a point where no plot gaps identity, and of course the psychological connection to other
exist, if the reader is familiar with the characters. fans.
44,5 % of the respondents create their own content inspired
by and based on the show, while almost 50% of that percentage
2 Augmented fan fiction is a term I’ve used to describe the use of visual engage in this practice regularly, thus confirming our
media of memes and even more gifs as being the next step in fan fiction, or an
assumption that creating content is a way of expressing the
augmented type of fan fiction, through which fans are able to imaginatively
reconstruct meanings, themes, roles, and identities, including their own. personal and social identity. Research question, regarding their
3 In Alternative Universe story several elements of the original artifact are conscious attempt to influence the text itself, assumes that fans
being replaced and embodied with a “what if” element. create content in order to fix the original text's storyline. This
notion is also being supported by the answers of the
respondents, with almost 45% admitting that they create
content for this particular reason. Twitter is their preferred Tumblr blog analysis
social media platform, which complies with its adoption rates Swan Queen has been present on the Once Upon a Time
by the population of Internet users, while Tumblr comes fandom almost since the beginning of the show, and has been
second with a 24%, an impressive percentage given that very active on Tumblr, and usually has the top positions of
Tumblr is not only less popular as a social medium, but is also Tumblr Fandometrics, a Tumblr blog that measures the most
presents more difficulties in terms of content-creation. popular fandom blogs on several topics including television.
As far as fandom is concerned, the great majority of the The Top 20 of Fandometrics are usually compatible with and
affected by the TV shows that are being aired at a specific
participants clearly state the importance they ascribe to their
fandom. 72,5% of the respondents appear to feel connected to period of time. ‘Once Upon a Time’ though appears to be
constantly present on the chart, even during hiatus, along with
other fans by being a member of the fandom and creating
content, while a 70% believe that other fans affect the way they some classics like Doctor Who or Sherlock.
perceive themselves as well. A very high percentage of As observed in other fandoms, there are a few popular
respondents (78%) also feel a difference being part of a group. blogs that count for the vast amount of new posts, notes and
As far as content is concerned, 87,5 % of respondents hope that interactivity, following a power law distribution, and many
they will make a contribution in change, but a lower percentage smaller. The later were studied and showed mostly the same
(65,5 %) actually believe that this will happen. Finally, an practices, and this is the reason why one representative case
astounding 90% state that TV series in general and specifically was chosen as a focus and go more into depth.
The 100 and Lexa character helped them crucially in accepting
who they really are and coming to terms with their true selves. General Practices
• Content creation revolves around Alternative
B. Once upon a time Universe fan fiction in the form of texts, and GIFs
‘Once Upon a Time’ is a TV series airing on ABC, a
• Posts usually try to prove that Swan Queen is
traditional family- oriented network. Since 2011, when it canon
premiered, the series received positive critical reviews and its
fan base quickly grew. Being an asset of ABC, and • Swan Queen Week, a specific week twice a year
consequently of Disney (which owns the network), this was the that all SWEN fans create fan work based on
first show or movie that attempted to modify dominant different prompts given to them by other fans
perceptions about what’s good, family life, family values, and daily, is a content pillar for GIFs creation
happy endings. In the series, good people also have weak
moments or do evil things. Backstories of characters provide • Other usual content pillars for the fandom are:
this aspect of their lives and actions. The two characters that favorite moments, 366 days of Swan Queen, Swan
express that point of view more are Regina Mills (a.k.a. Evil Queen in every episode, the Swan-Mills family,
Queen) and Emma Swan, which could also be the reason why Swan Queen looks (that depict mostly emotions of
the show has focused on them, and why they enjoy the biggest the two characters based on aired scenes)
fan base. • Fans show that they equally love the characters
Sings of diversity and presentation of strong female and the actresses, posting in a 1:3 ratio also images
characters have also been one of the points that earned Once of them in real life or behind the scenes images.
Upon a Time critical acclaim. It is still a family show, but When those images show the good relationship
family can take various forms. between the two actresses, the excitement is
evident both in authors’ comments and on notes.
Nobody could predict at the beginning of the show though
that the emotional connection between Regina and Emma Key Observations
would be so powerful to turn into one of the strongest ships Posts’ tone is often full of sarcasm and irony, both of which
4
for the series; a pairing that falls under the slash fiction play a key role in persuading and deepening the meaning of the
category with the name Swan Queen. Their relationship has argument, while at the same time manifesting the author’s
been tumultuous at first, with both the women wanting the best attitude
for their shared son, leading to endless fights between the two.
Their dynamic has evolved throughout the series though, from Even though slash fiction's main characteristic of sexual
enemies to unwilling partners, to friends that would risk stories is still evident, it represents a small percentage of GIFs
everything for each other. Emma's and Regina’s relationship and images. Most of the posts are of emotional sentiment.
shifted to a pattern of moments where the two would often In studying specific blogs, A Swan and A Queen is a blog
sacrifice themselves for each other, choose the other more than that mostly reblogs instead of creating content, yet it provides
anyone else in the town, choose to believe in each other and several good indications of augmented fan fiction, enabled by
also share intense moments of confessions and goodbyes. Tumblr, as well as the levels of creativity fans present. Image
stories were created on with other characters often acting as a
4 Ship refers to fans supporting specific and not always canonical conclusive factor for Emma and Regina to realize and admit
relationships between characters of the show and derives from the word their feelings.
relationship.
 Varquez or Swan Queen [Looks at Emma] is one of the Those notions are an evident part of their content, but those
most popular Tumblr blogs, not only in Once Upon a Time numbers only further support the observation. 83% feel that
fandom, but also in fandom in general, with almost 240,000 their favorite TV series and character helps them express and
page views, since 2013. Its anonymous author has stated in her accept themselves, while 80% believe that TV should set the
“About” section all of their interests, which explains why posts pace in order for wider communities to accept new.
do not exclusively present Once, but also other TV series,
mostly fantasy, superheroes or sci-fi. Yet, she posts almost IV. DISCUSSION
daily, often more than five posts per day, while she is also one
of the sources of content creation for OUAT inside the fandom, It becomes obvious how fandom is able to generate a
with an impressive number of notes, almost 1k per GIF symbolic communication as well as a symbolic construction of
creation. As stated by the author, they are “in love with what the self. Fandom becomes the symbolic glue of an imagined
OUAT could be, NOT with what it is, has fallen into the community as well as a powerful medium for the narrative
vagenda of Swan Queen”. affirmation of one’s true identity. This is compatible with
Jenkins who stated that: “fans construct their cultural and
Questionnaire analysis social identity through borrowing and inflecting mass culture
Once Upon a Time fandom is more diverse and fragmented images, (and by) articulating concerns which often go unvoiced
as different characters compete in terms of fan base. within the dominant media” (Jenkins, 1992, p.23).
CaptainSwan seems to be getting more attention, gathering The first set of questions revolved around the motives,
almost 40% of the participants on the survey, but other than feelings and reasons behind their fan activity, and additionally
that fans are divided between Swan Queen, Rumbelle their Tumblr blog activity. We asked if fans use their fandom
(Rumplestiltskin and Belle), OutlawQueen (Robin Hood and to express their Self, and if their fan identity blends with their
Evil Queen) and SwanFire (Emma Swan and Bealfire). social identities. The self-reported answer to both of those
Consequently, it makes perfect sense that fans were drawn to questions is affirmatively positive. Almost all of the LGBT+
this show, not because of one specific character or of some participants on the questionnaires confirmed that they became
incident that picked their interest, but because of the very fans because of the characters and because they are good
character of the show. Many answered that they began representation of their own selves, an indication of how fan and
watching out of interest for the premise the retelling of fairy social identity may blend and feed on each other.
tale characters, “of original Disney characters brought together
to create a brand-new story”. Others “love the idea that the The second set of questions aimed to determine the
stories we know come from a bigger story that we don’t”. As importance that shared fandom and the feeling of community
one respondent mentions: “I grew up on the fairy tales and lost has for the fans, and if it fulfills a need for social integration.
sight of the moral aspects. OUAT holds on to the essence of Both fandoms seem to corroborate this hypothesis as well in
fairy tales while incorporating real life issues!” various ways. The answers of Clexa fans imply that even
though they are still angry and disappointed by the canon
It would seem that the sentiment behind this fandom is less storyline, they nevertheless feel blessed and happy that it has
intense than other cases. The fact that almost 40% of the motivated people to unite under a common purpose, a notion
participants do not care about the development of their favorite that has been supported with actions like the Trevor project or
character further supports this notion. Of course, Once Upon a the websites and billboards that provide information for
Time lasts six seasons, during which several pairings (love, LGBT+ youth. On the other hand, and in a lighter tone, SWEN
friendly or enemy) have been promoted. Swan Queen was the express their satisfaction for the fandom and the community in
focus of the first three seasons, while later on Captain Swan a total different way. What is interesting though in both cases,
took their place. Based on this, one could hypothesize that is that even though they appreciate the community, they firmly
Swan Queen fans are not as loyal as they once were. state that they do not create content searching for the
Other than that, this fandom shares some common acceptance in the forms of likes and re-blogs of other users. On
characteristics with other shows: 86% have been frustrated the contrary, they create content to express their Self, as a
with the show, while most of the fans (74%) feel connected to means to constructing and accepting the Self.
other fans by creating their own content about the show. The The last set of questions centered on the creative
two photo-sharing social platforms, Instagram and Tumblr, are appropriation of the original text, and asked fans if they
the preferred medium to publish (40% of respondents), but a consciously try to affect the media text itself, and if so, why
lot of the fans (17%), use all social media to publish their they feel the need to do so. Both fandoms emphatically stress
content. the need for re-imagining what is a rather disappointing
When asked why they do create content, they answer in an original media text. It is interesting to observe the emotional
expected way. 43% have not actually considered the reasons connection fans testify towards certain aspects of the text,
why, while 29% do it for fun and 23% to fix the storyline. while at the same time expressing their discouragement and
Also, 74% state that they feel connected to other fans when frustration by it.
creating content, 49% that other fans, their common activities The study of social identity and fandom in relation to digital
and discussions affect the way they perceive themselves, and media is open to further research, especially since new media
even if they do not consciously act to change what bothers appear constantly, while on the same time new fandoms arise,
them (66%), they do feel it is important to be part of a group based not only on fun and entertaining factors, but on social
(77%) and that it makes a difference to their lives. elements as well.
 To further study Augmented Fan Fiction in the context of er&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false,
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APPENDIX Ι
APPENDIX II
APPENDIX IΙΙ
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