Tuesday, May 14, 2013 The Tech 9

FANDOM It’s difficult to separate the concept of nerdiness from MIT. The Coop sells stickers that say Nerd Pride, our mascot is the beaver (nature’s engineer), and Conan O’Brien pokes fun at MIT’s nerdiness on his Twitter. But is the Institute truly a nerdy place? The Tech surveyed the undergraduate population of MIT to settle this question. 1402 students — 31 percent of the under- graduate body — responded. 76 percent of students surveyed 76% of students identified their high school stereo- identified as a nerd type as “nerd,” but are they really? 47 percent of MIT has seen every 10% as preps episode of Star Wars. Only 8 percent watch anime, and 12 percent read 8% as jocks comic books/manga, but the entire school (like much of the world) seems to adore Harry Potter. To limit the breadth of our special, we kept the scope of our survey to media related fandoms like books, television, movies, and video games. We excluded sports and music since both categories are enormous and could merit their own surveys. We were interested in examining whether or not the ste- reotype of MIT as a nerd haven is true to life. In the following pages, you’ll find data from our survey, a spotlight of fandom- based groups at MIT, and an interview with a Comparative Me- dia Studies lecturer about fandoms. Featured are members of our community who shed their Brass Rats to don costumes and become someone else — to cosplay. We spoke with a variety of students about their favorite things, and polled the average American using Mechanical Turk to reveal what their percep- tions of MIT are for comparison. So is MIT truly the home of the Nerdy? It’s up to you to see the data and decide for yourself! Please write to us with your thoughts at [email protected] and may the Force be with you as you embark on the summer!

—Jessica J. Pourian ’13 and Connor Kirschbaum ’13 Coordinators Contributing Editors Jessica J. Pourian ’13 Connor Kirschbaum ’13

Editors Anne Cai ’14 Kali Xu ’15 Jacob Austin-Breneman ’13

Production Judy Hsiang ’12 Aislyn Schalck ’13 Annia Pan ’15 10 The Tech Tuesday, May 14, 2013 The Tech 11

Cosplay, from Page 10 to other cosplayers online,” she said. While costumes aren’t required Wang is aware of this issue for con attendance, once you co- as well, and is planning for her next Iron Man splay once it’s difficult to go back to costume to be a Daft Punk / Tron normal attire, the cosplayers said. Legacy crossover. “I’m going to “I think it would “It feels kind of weird to be at continue cosplaying androgynous/ at the one of these conventions and NOT desexualized/masked characters; be a shame be in costume,” Brian Chan ’02, an there’s a different convention expe- if none of the instructor at the MIT Hobby Shop, rience under the helmet.” Institute said. Others are fans of gijinka, a co- best Iron Man splay style where you anthropo- One of the interesting cos- Picking a character morphize a character and repre- costumes came tumes we came across was an With thousands of fictional char- sent it without actually being the out of MIT.” Iron Man suit created by Brian acters to choose from, cosplayers character. Chan ’02, an instructor at the tend to gravitate towards their fa- “You can’t dress up as Pokémon MIT hobby shop. “I like Iron vorite characters, and those who without suits, and that’s a whole Man because it has a good sto- would be fun to act out. different world,” said Vega, whose ry of a self-made super hero,” “I choose from things I’m really Glaceon outfit was an example of he said, “Also, in the series, invested in because that will prob- gijinka. Tony Stark is an MIT Alum, so ably transfer over to the costume,” Gijinka can make it easy to go in I think it would be a shame if said Waln, who adored the Assas- a group. Jacobs, Vega, and Arianna none of the best Iron Man cos- sin’s Creed games. “Doing costumes all dressed as Eeveelutions when at- tumes came out of MIT.” take a really long time, and you have tending Anime Boston. Chan’s costume is not only to want to be making it.” “I like to costume in groups,” Ja- visually appealing, but it is cobs said. “That’s why Pokémon is a functioning piece of engi- usually a good idea, there are lots of neering. It is “made from a big “Cosplaying alone options for everybody.” Jacobs has combination of old-school and also cosplayed in a group as Twi- modern methods,” Chan said. is awkward. light Sparkle (from My Little Pony). After sketching the cos- “Cosplaying alone is awkward,” tume and modeling it virtual- Especially on she said, “especially on the T. If ly, Chan 3D printed the gloves the T. If you’re by you’re by yourself, people start using shapeways.com and the staring.” facilities at the Hobby shop. yourself, people He waterjet-cut and laser-cut Creation of a costume many of the panels and CNC- start staring.” Cosplayers typically plan the milled the others. costumes for a convention far in “Even with all the tech, I Time to pretend advance of the event. Designing a have to put a lot of handcraft- Wang also chooses her costumes costume can take anywhere from a ing time into the costumes, based on how comfortable she feels week to six months to a year. with carving, filing, and sew- The Tech takes an inside look at cosplaying at MIT — playing a character for a long period The worst night? The cosplayers ing the components that of time. all agree — right before the con. couldn’t quite be made by how students take their engineering skills and apply “While I’d be able to pull off “Most of the work is done the machine.” a Sailor Scout costume based on night before,” said Paula Jacobs ’13. All the lights on the cos- them to crafting the perfect costume. looks,” Wang said, “I’d much rather “I was practically tooling to get tume are hand-soldered, he walk around as Surge [from X-Men] the Journey costume done,” Ahearn said. because I’m more comfortable with mused. “It’s Parkinson’s Law — the character, fandom, and outfit.” work expands to fill the time to allot By Jessica J. Pourian is a popular art at conventions and with being a full-time student at pass my classes,” Vega said. But for stressed out with school. Costuming “I generally like to pick some- its completion.” contributing editor festivals. MIT? the most part “as long as it doesn’t was my way of de-stressing.” thing I already have the hair for,” Creating a costume isn’t cheap, Waln’s Ezio costume cost her make something, someone else has er’s machine or one that belongs to MIT has a fair share of cosplay- “It’s difficult,” laughed Michael interfere with [my] studies,” it seems Both Waln and Vega got into cos- added Waln, “I can’t stand wearing either. Cost for a single character $200 and six months of work. Chan already made something a lot like the dorm, the classic item is still the 30 percent of MIT students who ers in its student body. They’ve co- Ahearn ’13, who has cosplayed as to be fine. tuming because of their mothers. wigs, they itch SO BAD.” can range drastically. Some cos- said that most of his costumes are it.” Vega said. best way to make costumes. responded to The Tech’s survey splayed as everything from Harry a number of Homestuck characters Vega’s parents aren’t the only Waln’s mother taught her to sew in Sometimes physical appearance tumes can be assembled for free a few hundred dollars, “if [he] bud- “Everyday office supplies,” can But fabric and fortunate finds (427 people) have dressed up as a Potter and Doctor Who (the 11th!) as well as the protagonist of the ones who see cosplay as an odd use the 7th grade, and she’s been mak- can act as a barrier — “There aren’t from the right selection of items gets well.” Chan saves money by be incredibly useful said Waln. She in the dollar store aren’t the only character from Harry Potter, Fire- to a variety of Pokémon (Raichu, Playstation 3 hit Journey. “Basically of their children’s time. ing her own costumes ever since. that many fictional characters of from a cosplayer’s current closet reusing materials — his Iron Man made the hidden blades for her Ezio thing you need to cosplay — some- fly, Star Trek, Star Wars, or Lord of the Eeveelutions etc.) ,to anime if I’m working on a cosplay and it’s “My parents see it as a time sink,” color,” said Jacobs, who is plan- and a good touch of makeup, while costume has parts that are made costume out of “paper, popsicle times more expensive materials are the Rings. While many of this num- (Neon Genesis Evangelion is a popu- close to the deadline I almost per- said Helena Wang ’15, whose favor- ning to do a Storm (from X-Men) the price of materials for others can from soda cans and scraps from the sticks, a little bit of epoxy putty, rub- needed. ber are very likely casual fans who lar choice) and video game (Team ceive it as another due date along ite cosplay is Zer0 from Borderlands “I’ve stayed away costume soon. “I’ve stayed away be extremely expensive. Hobby Shop. ber bands, and paper clips.” “Different materials you have threw on a Gryffindor scarf to see Fortress 2 and Zelda among oth- with my homework and stuff.” 2, “But they bug me for pictures from too many human characters Vega compared the “work/ You can find costume parts in Other skills can play a role in to deal with in different ways,” said the premiere of The Deathly Hal- ers) characters. Some students have Victoria Vega ’13, who has co- afterwards, so they’re supportive from too many because of that. Pokémon are safe sleep/friends” question students of- surprising places, said a number saving money for a costume. “If you Waln. She rotated between foam, lows, hidden within this statistic is also dressed as superheroes (Mar- splayed as Zelda from The Legend because they know it’s something I because there’s no ‘you’re not accu- ten struggle with to a typical crafting of the cosplayers. Thrift shops are put a lot of care into painting things, plastics, wood, and a variety of a number of devoted MIT students vel Universe) and characters from of Zelda among other things, men- enjoy participating it.” human characters. rate because you’re black.’” problem that cosplayers face. an excellent resource, as are dollar you can get a pretty good result,” other methods to complete her Ezio who take costumes to the next level My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic tioned that part of her family’s hesi- “My parents were not incredibly Jacobs says that she hasn’t per- “You can have it cheap, you can stores and office supply stores. The said Vega. “Little things go a long costume. — cosplayers. (Twilight Sparkle). tation about her hobby stemmed supportive,” Alyssa Waln ’16 (who …Pokémon are sonally had any of these types of have it well made, or you can have Internet serves as an excellent re- w a y .” Participants in cosplay, which is from worry over schoolwork life is Ezio from the Assassin’s Creed safe because experiences since she’s avoided it now,” she said. The three factors source for ideas. Unsurprisingly, the primary tool Engineering short for “costume play,” represent MIT-cosplay balance balance. “They are all pretty ada- games in the accompany photo- dressing in a way that could put her need to be taken into consideration “The Internet is awesome for tu- of choice for cosplayers is a sewing One of the delights of cosplaying fictional characters or ideas through How can you balance the ex- mant about me not sewing until I graph displayed here) said, “They there’s no ‘you’re in that position. “I’ve seen it happen when designing a costume. torials. Chances are, if you want to machine. Whether it’s their moth- working through design difficulties. costumes and accessories. Cosplay tensive process of costume-making graduate because they want me to thought this was a strange hobby for How can you hide things effectively a kid to have.” not accurate within a costume? What’s the best But Alyssa’s parents changed way to make a prop? their mind pretty soon after col- because you’re “Cosplay is an engineering prob- lege application season. A common black.’” lem,” Ahearn said. question during MIT admissions in- In that vein, MIT offers a num- terviews is what you do in your spare ber of resources that can be helpful time, and Waln took the opportu- Ahearn was introduced to the to students looking to cosplay. The nity to discuss cosplay. After she idea of cosplaying by his girlfriend: waterjet and laser cutters scattered received her acceptance letter Waln “I was sort of leery of the concept across campus (though they require says she got an email from Chris Pe- as being an extreme introvert,” he the proper safety training!) are tools terson in the admissions office. “He said, but a friend who was also into that can be used to make authentic said I liked your cosplay video game the hobby encouraged him. “It was costumes. As for workspaces, the stuff and I think you’ll find a place at clear a lot of fun things happened MIT Hobby Shop has classes where MIT,” Waln remembers. “I showed at cons. It sounded extremely scary, students can learn metal and wood that to my parents and they were ok but also a lot of fun.” working, and MITERS offers an EE with it,” she laughed. lab. Trying to craft a costume alone Where does MIT cosplay? in a dormitory can be difficult. Intro to Cosplay What’s the most popular destina- “I’ve definitely upset the mem- After being into anime for a tion for your average MIT cosplay- bers of my common area before,” while, Arianna McQuillen ’15 dis- er? The local conventions are where said Vega, who lives in Random paula jacobs covered there is more to being a most of them start — PAX East and Hall. “If I have balls of yarn flying Paula Jacobs ’13 as a gijinka Twilight fan than just looking at artwork. “I Anime Boston, which are both everywhere” it’s not appreciated. Sparkle from My Little Pony. thought [cosplay] was a promotion- held in Boston in the spring. Waln Waln explained that the hidden al thing” at first, she said, “But then has ventured to Fanime in San Joe, blades for the Ezio costume were I realized it was people doing it in McQuillen to Otakon in Baltimore, one of the most difficult things to their free time.” Wang to New York Comic-Con. pull off, especially considering the Most MIT students who cosplay “Anime conventions are inter- constraints against weapons when started with the hobby while they esting because they are technically going to conventions. It “went were in high school. They discov- anime conventions but if you’re in through ten, fifteen different -it ered it through the Internet, friends, costume … it’s not limited to just erations trying to make it work cor-

or just expanded their love of Hal- anime. It’s a lot more broad than the tessa cheng rectly” (the blades were meant to be loween into a full-time craft. name would suggest,” Waln said. Alyssa Waln ’16 as Ezio from the As- mobile). “Junior year sucked,” recalls sassin’s Creed video game series. This “That was a lot of fun actually. It’s Waln. “I was really busy all the time, Cosplay, Page 11 picture was taken at Stanford University. something I’m interested in doing here,” she said. “The idea of proto- type, try it fail, try it fail, try it fail…” For the cosplayers of MIT, cos- 25% of MIT has dressed as a Harry tuming creatively engages their Potter character “At the end of the day, that’s what it is. critical thinking and engineering skills. “I want to build a thing. I love paula jacobs designing things,” said Waln. “At the Arianna E. McQuillen ’15 as a gijinka michael ahearn 8% as a Star Trek or Star Wars character end of the day, that’s what it is. It is Eevee at Anime Boston last year. It is designing and building things.” Michael J. Ahearn ’13 as David Sprite from the series Homestuck. designing and building things.” 12 The Tech Tuesday, May 14 , 2013 The Tech 13 VS OVERALL, MIT STUDENTS PREFER FANDOM STAR WARS TO STAR TREK TREK 3.47 MIT LARGELY PREFERS BUT THE DARK SIDE KIRK WARS 3.76 THE LIGHT SIDE IS STRONG IN SOME MAJORS WAS THE CAPTAIN 0 1 2 3 4 5 BY THE NUMBERS OF CHOICE FOR COURSE 1 93% 21% COURSE 18 “How do you feel about the following titles? (1 = Hate it, 5 = Love it)” What do students do when they’re not psetting? The Tech sur- 55% BUT TREKKIES PREVAIL COURSE 9 92% 20% COURSE 16 veyed 1,402 undergraduate students to discover what was popu- OF RESPONDANTS IN CERTAIN COMMUNITIES COURSE 2 85% 18% COURSE 3 lar across campus. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Harry Potter has the RANDOM HALL, SENIOR HOUSE, biggest following at the Institute. Potter was most popular in EAST CAMPUS, AND MCCORMICK HALL both our free response and in our ratings section — 75 percent RATE STAR TREK ABOVE STAR WARS OF STUDENTS HAVE SEEN PICARD 47% ALL SIX STAR WARS FILMS of students have read all of the books and 71 percent have seen CAME IN SECOND, WITH AND THE ONLY MIT MAJOR all the films. A selection of the most interesting data from our 36% ON TEAM STAR TREK... READ STAR WARS SPINOFFS OF RESPONDANTS survey is presented here. Not seeing a statistic you were inter- COURSE 9 8% AND FAN-FICTION ested in? Send us an email at [email protected].

“I consider myself a serious…” 15% WE ASKED MIT STUDENTS TO RATE 30 TITLES HARRY POTTER IS THE MOST 12% 11% 10% 9% 8% 8% POPULAR FANDOM @ MIT 3% Avengers • Batman • Call of Duty • Colbert Report • Daily Show • Disney • Doctor Who • Family Guy • Firefly • Game of Thrones • Halo • Harry Potter • Hunger Games WHERE WOULD MIT UNDERGRADS PLACE THEMSELVES IN HOGWARTS? MOVIE-GOER TV WATCHER WEBCOMIC GAMER MANGA THEATER-GOER ANIME COMIC BOOK James Bond • Lord of the Rings • Minecraft • Monty Python • Oprah • Pokemon READER READER (LIVE) WATCHER READER Portal • South Park • Star Trek • Star Wars • Starcraft • The Office • The Simpsons Twilight • Walking Dead • World of Warcraft • Zelda MIT’S FAVORITE 45% RAVENCLAW “How do you feel about the following titles? (1 = Hate it, 5 = Love it)” MOST COMMON IN... ORIGINAL POKÉMON RANDOM HALL (60%) and BURTON CONNER (52%) (1072 respondents) (To arrive at these thirty titles, we ran a Mechanical Turk study to determine which shows, games, and movies were percieved as having the biggest fandoms)

1 98 The first Pokémon 31% GRYFFINDOR CHARIZARD So What does MIT LIKE? MOST COMMON IN... game was released in Harry Potter, The Avengers, Lord of the Rings, and Batman BAKER HOUSE (51%) and FRATS (44%) 2 87 1999, when today’s MIT 37% of respondEnts rated all four of these titles as 4 or 5 on a five-point scale PIKACHU undergraduates were, on 14% SLYTHERIN 3 67 average, 6 years old. WHAT DOES MIT NOT LIKE? CHARMANDER MOST COMMON IN... Twilight. EAST CAMPUS (26%) and SIMMONS HALL (19%) 4 65 EEVEE FAVORITE POKEMON’S WHAT ABOUT THE THINGS WE DIDN’T LIST? EVOLUTION STAGE RESPONDENTS WERE ASKED TO NAME THREE OF THEIR FAVORITE THINGS. WE SAW A LOT OF... 10% HUFFLEPUFF 5 63 MOST COMMON IN... SQUIRTLE BY GENDER What does the average ENDER’s GAME, SHERLOCK, AND MODERN FAMILY MCCORMICK HALL (16%) and NEXT HOUSE (16%) 39 55% Random Hall American think is popular 6 Burton Conner MEW 56% What does the average American think is popular at MIT? Next House at MIT? 44% Big Bang theory, game of thrones, walking dead, BREAKING BAD, AND CALL OF DUTY Sorority 37 According to our Mechanical Turk experiment where we polled 386 Americans on what they thought a typical MIT student enjoyed. East Campus 7 45% DRAGONITE Notably, the answers for Harvard or state university students were extremely similar. Senior House 1. Big Bang Theory (25%) MacGregor House 33 Grand Total 2. Game of Thrones (21%) 8 Off Campus JIGGLYPUFF of students have read McCormick Hall 3. Walking Dead (12%) 29% Simmons Hall 9 27 ILG THE LORD OF THE RINGS Maseeh Hall BLASTOISE New House 4. Breaking Bad (11%) Early stages Final stage Fraternity 10 24 Women prefer Pokémon in early evolutionary stages, such as Eevee and Bexley Hall 5. Call of Duty (9%) Ivysaur. Men prefer final-stage Pokémon like Charizard. HAVE SEEN ALL THE MOVIES Baker House NINETALES 57% According to our Mechanical Turk experiment where we polled 386 Ameri- cans on what they thought a typical MIT student enjoyed. Notably, the answers for Harvard or state university students were extremely similar. 14 The Tech Tuesday, May 14, 2013

By Jessica J. Pourian Fandom in student groups contributing editor

MIT Quidditch Members: About 8. What is it?: The Quidditch team plays Quidditch, the fictional game from Har- ry Potter. The game is played on a field, with players holding brooms between their legs. The snitch is a cross country runner and bludgers are dodgeballs. Except for the lack of flying, the rules are nearly the same as they are in the book. The MIT Quidditch team is part of the International Quidditch Association, said Chinua “Chewy’ Shaw ’13, a chaser and captain of the team. The team was recognized by the ASA in fall of 2009, and has since been competing with other local schools like Harvard, Bostun University, and Tufts. “We are kind of a lower key team,” Shaw said, “We just practice a few hours every week.” Practices are 2-3 hours each week, on Briggs Field and games occur about once a month. Popular Fandoms: Unsurprisingly, Harry Potter is enormously popular within the team. Though most people are HP fans, “There are a couple people who aren’t but thought it’d be a crazy thing to try out,” Shaw said. Contact: [email protected]

The Assassin’s Guild Members: 100–200 (“that’s counting people who don’t play very often”). What is it?: “The Assassin’s Guild runs live action roleplay games,” said Alex omari stephens—The Tech Westbrook ’13, who served as the Secretary of the Exchequer (treasurer) of the Guild last year. “LARP is where people act out various roles in a set them. You pre- MIT Science Fiction Society check out any book they like. In addition to tend to be a character that’s given to you and it’s like acting, but without a script.” Members: 200–300 officially, about 0–15 serving as a library, MITSFS invites authors It is similar to a game of Dungeons and Dragons, but live action. Concerns about attend any given meeting. to speak. Recent guests have included John keeping a straight face shouldn’t deter anyone from joining, Westbrook said. Office location: W20-473 Scalzi and Charles Stross. “People do break character so don’t feel nervous!” she assured. What is it?: “We’re not fans, we just read Popular fandoms: “In regards to fandoms, Game length varies — some are 10 days and have 60–70 players, but there are the stuff” is one of the mottos of MITSFS. we declare ourselves not fans,” said Alex also 3-days and 1-days. Housing the world’s largest collection of sci- Westbrook ’13, former Skinner (president) of Asked if anyone cosplays for games, Westbrook replied, “Sometimes people ence fiction and fantasy, MITSFS has over MITSFS. “We have novels based on a lot of do dress up. There’s a wide variety, some people will go extremely dressed up, 65,000 titles in their library (and more copies fan things … people generally read what they some people will go in what they came from work. There’s no requirement that of books located off-site). They have every- want to read.” you dress up.” thing from Asimov to the most recent sci-fi Thoughts on the survey: It’d “be interest- Popular Fandoms: The Guild hosted aHarry Potter inspired game during IAP novels — most of the club’s money goes to- ing to see if we could ask everyone [about sci- of 2011 and had a Team Fortress 2 game recently, but they mostly stick to their wards buying books. fi]” Westbrook said, “To see what percentage own storylines. However, Westbrook hinted that there are plans for a Firefly game MIT community members pay $11–15 a of MIT is actually interested in that stuff.” sometime in the near future. year for a subscription to the library, and can Contact: [email protected] Contact: [email protected]

Anime Club their preference,” said James A. Duyck ’14, club Members: Showing attendance of 30–40, president. over 100 Library members. “It really depends on what you like already,” Office Location: W20-445 said Steve Powell ’14, “There’s such a diversity What is it?: The mainstay of the club is the of different types of genres that are represent- weekly anime showings in 3-133, which are ed by anime.” open to the MIT community. To mix it up, the Though it’s difficult to suggest one anime club often hosts other events like a movie or for everyone, the club members recommend- karaoke night, game night, or barbecue. ed Hayao Miyazaki movies to start for the an- The club maintains a large library that ime novice. members can access for a small fee ($5 a se- Thoughts on the survey: Approximately 7 mester for students). The library includes a percent of MIT students identified themselves large collection of manga (Japanese comic as serious anime fans on our survey. “I’m not books) and DVDs of anime. surprised,” Duyck said, “That seems about Popular Fandoms: The interests of the right. ” anime club are very diverse. “Everyone has Contact: [email protected] greg steinbrecher—The Tech The Anime Club has an extensive library on the fourth floor of the Student Center. Fandoms, the Internet, and Harry Potter An interview with Flourish Klink, co-founder of FictionAlley and CMS lecturer By Deena Wang and fandoms. thinking about it, and I think it’s a really interesting associate campus life editor It’s easy to internalize this idea of The Author series despite being something that I sort of hate in or what’s valid or what’s good or what’s important, the end. Flourish M. Klink, a lecturer in MIT’s Compara- and I really got caught up in that. It took me until I want to keep being involved in the community tive Media Studies (CMS) program, has built a life my senior year of college to realize I was very in- and talking about it and thinking about it in differ- around fandoms. After running her own Harry terested in the [religion degree] I was studying, but ent ways, and using it as a tool to think about the Potter fansite and being on staff at Fanfiction.net, part of why I was studying it was because I couldn’t world around me, a way to talk to people about at age 13, Klink co-founded the Harry Potter fanfic- envision a world in which I could talk about fan- important issues, whatever. When you say you’re tion website FictionAlley with nine others. Fiction- dom and anybody would take me seriously. I had a fan, that kind of engagement isn’t included, and Alley was “incorporated as an educational non- known Henry [Jenkins, former Co-Director of the people don’t think of it. And that’s really about profit with the mission of helping people learn to MIT Comparative Media Studies program] from what my thesis was about. I was using to some write through fanfiction,” said Klink, and it was one when he was doing research for his book Conver- degree the idea of humor as a way in, the idea of ho yin au—The Tech of the first fanfiction forums on the Internet that gence Culture. I was one of his informants. I called humor and anti-fandom as a way of saying there’s made writing improvement a site-wide mission. him up and said “Okay, I think I might want to go also more complex ideas that you can have. I mean that, and that’s mostly because I think there’s a The Tech: Could you tell us a little bit [about] to grad school,” and he said “okay, why don’t you yes, anti-fandom is one thing because people are lot of stuff that will be lost. Tumblr is not always how you first got involved in fandom? come to grad school at MIT?” I only applied here anti-fans and they behave in ways a lot like fans the most reliable service in terms of storing your Flourish Klink: I was very into The X-Files when and nowhere else, and I came, and coming here except they hate the thing, but there’s also this [stuff]. In certain ways, a GIF can never die because I was a kid. At the time, it was the late 90s … I think was how I met people at the Alchemists. whole world of gradations of feelings about it. if you delete it, the people who re-blogged it still it’s fair to say that it’s the first fandom that primarily For that company now, I do research on differ- These things have been talked about plenty in the have it, but where does Tumblr make their money? existed on the Internet. So I was a kid, I had Inter- ent fan cultures we’re working with and I also write literature on fandom, but the terms of the discus- I don’t know. I understood how LiveJournal made net access, I spent a lot of time searching online for what is essentially fanfiction. At least, it’s not fanfic- sion are not built to include them. … We don’t have its money, but I don’t know how Tumblr does, and things I liked. I found X-Files fandom. tion because it’s “canonical” but I write transmedia a word for people who are still deeply emotionally I don’t know if it’s going to shut down, or what’s go- I realized pretty quickly that on the Internet, no extensions. For instance, [for] a recent CW Televi- invested, but maybe not always in a positive way. ing to happen. one knows you’re a dog, so it didn’t matter that I sion show, I ran the tumblr account of one of the And that limits the way people can think about We’ve already seen this happen with Delicious, was 10. As long as I had good grammar, people characters, and responded to people, and kept it their audiences. which used to be a center of fanfiction recom- would talk to me, which was great. So when Harry populated. TT: What directions do you see fandom going mendations and fanfiction links. Delicious shut Potter came out, I got really obsessed with it. Since TT: You wrote a Master’s thesis on the topic in the future? down, it was bought, and it was gutted. And now, I had found there was a community for The X-Files, of how people within fandom use humorous and FK: I think there’s a lot of things that have many, many years of fanfiction links and probably it seemed like there must be such a thing for Harry dramatic images and videos to criticize the original changed since fandom moved off of LiveJournal the best way to find fanfiction online, gone. I don’t Potter also. There wasn’t, so I made a website for it work in an accessible way. What insights have you and on to Tumblr. For about 10 years, fandom was know what’s next, and I think it’s a mistake to think and met with the one other person who had a web- gained into the nature of fandom because of your really centered about LiveJournal. Moving to Tum- [people will] turn away from this idea of casually site about it at the time. research? blr has made a lot of changes in terms of how you propagating GIFs, or whatever they’ve got, because TT: You’re currently a lecturer in CMS, and you FK: Well, I think to some degree the word fan get involved in fandoms, and how you can build I think it’s too exciting, it’s too great. I don’t know wrote your Master’s thesis on fandoms. Could you is, I’m not sure I would say the word is a mislead- communities or not. I think that fandom has be- if in 10 years, we’ll be able to look back on it and tell me a little about how your experience in fan- ing one. I have spent many years of my life involved come a lot more decentralized and there’s less of have the same kind of record of what’s happening dom has affected your career path? in Harry Potter fandom, and it’s certainly affected an emphasis on fanfiction now than there ever has right now, and I don’t know whether we’ll continue FK: So I do lecture in CMS, but that’s not really my life more than any other story, but I actually been, and more of an emphasis on GIFs, on a lot to see organizations forming in the same way they my career. Most of my work is working for a [trans- have a lot of problems with the last three books. I more visual stuff. GIFs get a lot more traction be- used to do. Something new may come up, some- media storytelling] company called The Alche- strongly dislike the last Harry Potter book. I got so cause you’ve got a way to propagate images a lot thing new may appear, but I don’t know what that mists, for which I’m the chief participation officer, mad when I read it. I thought it was terrible, but more easily. is yet. which means I take care of questions about fans that doesn’t change the fact that I’m involved with In the long-term, I’m a little concerned about For the full interview, check The Tech’s website. Tuesday, May 14, 2013 The Tech 15

C. J. Munroe ’14, Course 2, Next Tastes If you could meet one fic- I was known as a smart tional character, who would person. That’s about what I it be? was known as. Harry Potter — just the at MIT first thing that came to mind. What do you think is the most popular TV show at By Kali Xu Favorite movie, TV show, MIT? Campus Life Editor book, or video game. I don’t even know. It Video game: Super Smash, could be one of a few things. What kind of thing does the movie: Lord of the Rings tril- I know a lot of people do that much anymore. average student like? The aver- ogy, book: Harry Potter and watch Game of Thrones, I Juanita Ballesteros ’15, age professor? The Tech polled the Goblet of Fire, TV show: know there are people who How often do you watch TV? a random sampling of students Everybody Hates Chris. watch Doctor Who. It’s also Not often. If there’s Course 4, Burton-Conner and professors to find out! changed while I’ve been sports on I might watch a lit- If you could meet one fictional character, What was your high school here. I know people used to tle bit. I don’t usually watch who would it be? stereotype? watch Glee. I don’t think they TV shows. Harry Potter.

Favorite movie, TV show, book, or video game. Walter Lewin, Course 8 professor Book: 100 Years of Solitude. Favorite TV show? survey data, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, What was your high school stereotype? The NBC News at 6:30 and Game of Thrones are the most popular I guess I was a nerd. series, followed by Doctor Who, Sherlock, Favorite movie? and Pokemon. What do you think is the most popular Les Enfants du Paradis I would never want to see any of these TV show at MIT? movies. Game of Thrones. Favorite book? Enter ten professor’s offices (choose For the Love of Physics (by Walter Lewin) at random). That’s the average MIT taste! How often do you watch TV? Come see my office or see the office of the Twice a week (an hour a week). What do you think of MIT’s tastes? From our provost! Amie J. Guo ’14, Course 14/15, Baker If you could meet one fictional Tori M. Jensen ’16, Course 2, Maseeh Michelle M. Victora ’14, character, who would it be? If you could meet one fictional character, who Course 8, Burton-Conner Blair Waldorf (from Gossip would it be? Girl). Jay Gatsby. If you could meet one fictional character, Favorite movie, TV show, book, Favorite movie, TV show, book, or video game. who would it be? or video game. DefinitelySims for PC. And Super Smash for any Batman. Suits. other console. I really like She’s the Man. And TV show, The Office. Favorite movie, TV What was your high school show, book, or video stereotype? What was your high school stereotype? game. Not sure — probably preppy. Late! The Dark Knight, Firefly. I like shows that What do you think is the most What do you think is the most popular TV show at MIT? got canceled prema- popular TV show at MIT? How I Met Your Mother. I hear everyone talk about How I Met Your Mother. turely, like Firefly and Game of Thrones. Wonderfalls. They’re How often do you watch TV? like, the underdogs How often do you watch TV? During the semester, probably once a month, if that, but I usually catch up that didn’t make it. I 4 hours a week. over the summer. feel bad for them.

What was your high school stereotype? Nerd, but not geek. I hung out with the smart kids, did Matthew Vander Heiden, Course 7 professor Gene M. Brown, well in school, and I was pretty bookish. But everyone knew Favorite TV show? The movies I do watch are almost al- Course 7 that I really liked Batman. People would bring it up and joke It depends on my mood. When I ways mainstream movies. about it, but I wouldn’t say I was a stereotypical comic book have time to watch TV, which is a bigger professor geek. I just liked the movies a lot. issue, sometimes I watch a half-hour Favorite movie? Favorite TV show? comedy, sometimes I watch whatever’s That also depends on the genre. I don’t really watch TV What do you think is the most popular TV show at on. There’s no rhyme or reason to it. Favorite comedy, for a while I really shows. I watch baseball and MIT? I guess I like watching football. I like liked Old School. More recently, I liked football games. I like sports. Game of Thrones. watching Spongebob with my kids — the first Hangover, and the other ones Spongebob’s legit. It’s really good, it re- weren’t as good. I don’t get to watch a Favorite movie? How often do you watch TV? minds me of the Looney Tunes cartoons lot of movies, but it’s very random, be- I don’t go to movies. It’s Not that often, I just watch movies. See I don’t like TV when I was growing up, it has some- cause I have kids, so I watch Disney and been so long, I really can’t because it seems serialized, and then I have to keep up. thing there for everybody. Pixar movies with my kids a lot. I like think of any. Actually, I guess that’s not fair. I watch it over mealtime, I can tell you what I don’t like. I can’t Finding Nemo and Wall-E a lot. My fa- which is the most boring answer ever. But I watch it over stand reality TV. But on the other hand I vorite one is The Incrediblesthough. lunch sometimes—Scrubs or Adventure Time or some- don’t like really artsy stuff either. thing with no commercials. I hate commercials. I’m actually really appreciative of Favorite book? pop culture. But there’s certain aspects I read all kinds of different things, so of it I don’t like. I can’t remember the I’m not really prone to favorites. I know last time I went to the Kendall Square I’m not being very helpful. Cory Monroe ’13, Course 6-3, theatre, for instance. I’ve been there, Sigma Alpha Epsilon but probably 12 years ago. That’s where What do you think MIT students like? you go to see a “film,” if you want to see I bet it’s the whole gamut. It’s prob- If you could melet one fictional something with subtitles and a beret. ably as diverse as it could be. character, who would it be? Randy Marsh (from South Park).

Robert Langer, Favorite movie, TV show, book, or Course 10/20 video game. Ofir Nachum ’14, Course 6-3/18, Burton-Conner Super Meat Boy (video game). If you could meet one fictional charac- professor ter, who would it be? Favorite TV show? What was your high school Yossarian (from the book Catch-22). Law & Order stereotype? Seems like a funny guy. I think he and I Favorite movie? Outgoing? I guess that’s not real- would get along; we’re both really para- Casablanca ly a stereotype. Social butterfly. No- noid. Sometimes I walk alone at night body really knew me as like a geek. and I get scared. I imagine Yossarian’s Favorite book? the same. The Last Lone Inventor What do you think is the most popular TV show at MIT? (by Evan Schwartz) How I Met Your Mother. Favorite movie, TV show, book, or vid- What do you think of MIT’s eo game. tastes? How often do you watch TV? Movie: Crash, book: The Stranger by They’re similar to others’. I’d say 2 hours a week. Okay, actually I guess 3. Albert Camus, video game: Halo: Reach. I don’t watch TV.

What was your high school stereotype? Junot Díaz, Course 21W professor Drug dealer. No, actually, I derived my coolness factor from math competitions, Favorite TV show? What do you think of MIT’s tastes? From so that stereotype would be, I dunno, mafia boss. Currently? Borgen, a Danish series about our survey data, Harry Potter, Lord of the the first female prime minister and this Rings, and Game of Thrones are the most What do you think is the most popular TV show at MIT? anime called Gargantia that’s currently popular series, followed by Doctor Who, How I Met Your Mother. streaming in the U.S. Of all time? The Wire. Sherlock, and Pokemon. No question. Our students are so incredibly diverse — How often do you watch TV? it’s hard to generalize. I’m incredibly nerdy I don’t watch TV willingly. Unwillingly — one episode a week. Sometimes I try Favorite movie? so all the nerdy stuff you mention above I’m to get away with half an episode, but people are persistent. Central do Brasil. into too. Well, except for Pokemon. 16 The Tech Tuesday, May 14, 2013 Here are the editor’s picks of the 400+ comments from the fandom survey. Have something you wish was included? COMMENTS Send us a letter at [email protected]. Nikola Tesla is the beast I would love to know the and I would go gay for percentage of the student After coming to MIT, I haven’t had much Tony Stark. End of story. body that reads fanfiction. time to read for fun.. It’s probably my fault for being involved in too many LOST IS THE BEST TV SHOW EVER CREATED. things anyways.. but I can’t wait until I have children. Because then I could read them all the WHAT THE HELL. books I want to read, using “bedtime Why are you stories” as an excuse.. I just need to TV shows are justify to myself that reading fantasy is assuming that we are beneficial in some way.. degenerative to all such giant nerds? our society and I I wrote a diatribe about how have stopped watching much I hated Pokemon at the age I went to the Hobbit premiere dressed as the them at around the age of 6. I have never seen Star Wars One Ring. I got an inflatable inner tube, cov- of 8 when I realized that or read Harry Potter. I didn’t recognize any of the names from ered it in gold paper, and sharpied the elvish there are far more en- Firefly. or Star Trek. phrase around the outside. It was awesome. lightening and mentally stimulating things out there than poor cinema- I was hoping this survey would touch upon Some days, I tography and completely the more obscure fandoms, telling people spend more time repetitive plotlines. reading fanfiction they are not alone in these fandoms. than doing work.

Should have asked more about music WHAT ABOUT BOARD GAMES???? things... most MIT students don’t have time I was so excited to do this survey when I read the description, for shit like watching TV. At least music can and then you entirely dropped the floor beneath me. Dude, sometimes be experienced while multitask- people geek out over board games too. ing. I don’t give a shit about pokemon or firefly, but I’m actually looking forward to the Do any of us actually have When I went to Harry Potter World new Hobbit movie. in Orlando, I cried. Multiple times. time to feed our addictions? All things Joss Whedon (Buffy, Fire- fly, and Dr. Horrible are favorites). Whoever made this survey is a I’ve been to most of the Harry Do you think there is 1st-gen Pokemon supremacist Potter midnight premieres a certifiable ‘nerd’ dressed in costume and it is the and should be shanked. Arceus is the only series I have ever been en- score? best Pokemon. One does not compete thusiastic about. PICARD DIDN’T NEED A GIRDLE with God. However, I definitely AND HE’S OLD ENOUGH TO enjoyed 50 Shades of Grey. FATHER KIRK Which label best I’m mostly Star describes you in I think I like Picard more than I don’t give a shit Wars, but I also high school? Kirk and Janeway because about any of these really Star Trek, My answer: he’s bald and that makes him so I don’t get the nerd things... very trustworthy and under- tension between I don’t go standing. I do not know why where are the sports/music this is the case. questions?? fandoms there... by labels.

The Vampire Diaries is like no other. For those I’m in the Les Miz fandom! of you who say “Oh, just another thing about My high school year- Vampires and Werewolves, lame.” book quote was from Star Don’t forget us theatre geeks! YOU ARE WRONG. Wars. The Vampire Diaries is totally 100% badass, In hindsight, it was prob- with just the right amount of action and ro- ably not the best choice, I don’t know anything about Star Wars, Star mance. In the first season, one of the main bad Trek, Firefly, or Lord of the Rings.....I feel like ass vampire characters, Damon Salvatore, is but it’s a great series so pictured reading Twilight and saying “...what I’m not embarrassed. a bad nerd. the hell is this crap. Vampires don’t sparkle.”