THE MEDIATED SELF: AN EXPLORATION OF THE SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE

OF MASS MEDIA CELEBRlTY FANSHIP

Michelie Louise Gibson

B.F.A., University of British Columbia, 1979 M.A., University of British Columbia, 1993

A THESIS SUBMITIED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILSOPHY under Speciai Arrangements in the Faculty of Arts

O Michelle Louise Gibson 2000 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY July 2000

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While there are a sibstantial number of mass media fans in North America, limited research has been conducted on this population. Using George Herbert Mead's symbolic interaction theory, this thesis explores the development of self by examining the relationships experienced by fans to stars and fans to fans - in both technologically- rnediated and in-person relationships. Fanship is discussed in light of previous research and theoretical ftameworks/concepts from significant cultural and social theorists on the effect of technology, group thought, the mimetic, the fear of death, and the process by which higher thought is achieved. Three histoncal paths leading to the establishment of modern day fandom are traced: religious icons, technology and iconic manifestations, and literacy and access to images. Twenty screened participants, twelve men and eight women, were recruited, largely through recommendations from media contacts in print, radio, and television. Five fans each from the media sports, music, film, and television are represented, with participation contingent upon achieving a minimum test score on the Fan Identification Inventory. Participants were interviewed in a face-to-face, semi- structured format for approximately ninety minutes. Analysis of data in terms of both Meadian (e.g., aspects of self. mind, society) and post-Meadian (e-g., emotionality) concepts suggests that the fan-star relationship represents a site of deep meaning-making for fans. Eight core characteristics of fans are identified, al1 of which address manifestations of desire. Also, fan-star interxtion contributes to self-development through: providing inspiration to attempt new things; influencing career choices and friendships; symbolizing, through dreams, reassurance and desire; and releasing emotions. Findings relating to technologically-mediated fan-star relationships suggest that many fans experience an intensity of meaning-making that allows self-development to be comparable to face-to-face relationships. Findings relating to fan-fan relationships also suggest substantial opportunities for self-developrnent. The data show that reference groups, the orientational other and nested identities are integral aspects of self- development for fans. Findings support Mead's central principle that individuals develop both through relationships and through desire, which is integral to self-development.

iii Findings extend theoty by showing that technologically-mediated relationships represent an important new mode of interaction. The thesis concludes with a discussion of implications for future research. Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... v

1. Mass media celebrity fanship: Through the looking glass ... 1

1.1 Introduction: The TV has two faces 1.1 (A) Statement of the problem regarding the subjective expenence of fanship l.l(B) Primary research question regarding fanship and self-development

1.2 Review of major terms 1,2(A) Celebrities or stars l.S(B) Fans 1.2(B)i A literature review of types of mass media fans 1.2(B)i(a) Pop culture fans: music, film, and television 1.2(B)i(a) 1 Soap opera fans 1.Z(B)i(b)Sports fans

l.S(C) Toward a definition of normative mass media fanship

1.3 A Fan for al1 reasons: A literature review of varieties of fan expenences 1.3(A) Mass Media: Fanship as religious expression 1.3(B) 1just like it: Fanship as pleasure 1.3(C) Closerthanthis: Perceived intimacy 1.3(D) Who wants to be a millionaire? Fanship and cultural capital 1.3(E) Power to the people: Fanship and social change 1.3(F) Fanship:. ..In sickness and in health

1.4 Technologically-mediated interaction: Literature review

1.5 An overview of histoiical approaches and theories germane to modem day fanship 1S(A) The Frankfurt school 1S(B) Structural anthropology 1S(C) Becorning the other 1S(D) The fear of death 1.5(E) The genetic method 1S(F) Symbolic interactionism

1.6 What's it al1 about? Summary and research questions

2. Toward a theory of the self in society: Symbolic interactionism 2.1 Introduction

2-2 Syrnbolic interactionism 2.2(A) A brief history

2.3 Symbolic inteactionism: Basic concepts 2.3(A) Society 2.3(A)i Locating the cause of an act 2.3@) Mind 2.3(C) Self 2.3(C)i 1-me

2.4 Self-development 2.4(A) Taking the role of other

2.5 Application of symbolic interactionism to the research questions

2.6 A critical look at symbolic interaction theory 2.6(A) Basic concepts 2.6@) Emotions in social interactionism 2.6(C) Post-Meadian critique of symbolic interactionism

2.7 The research question revisited

2.8 The application of symbolic interactionism to the study of fandom

3. Methods: Interviews: Charting a responsive course for qualitative research conversations with the mass media fan ...86

3.1 Design 3.1(A) Why employ the semi-stmctured qualitative research interview? 3.1(B) The use of the interview in relation to symbolic interactionism 3.1(C) A methodological approach to symbolic interactionism 3.1 (C)i The methodological challenge of using symbolic interactionism 3.1(D) Emotionality as it applies to symbolic interactionism

3.2 Sampling 3.2(A) Participant Selection 3.2(B) Initial Contact with Participants 3.2(C) The Fan Identification Inventory 3.2(C)i The development of the Fan Identification Inventory (m 3.2(D) Sarnple Demographics

3.3 Sources of Information 3.4 Interviews 3.4(A) Observational data

3.5 Data Analysis

3.6 Validity

3.7 Ethics

3.8 Limitations

3.9 Positionality

4. The rnapping of Fan-tasia

4.A Fan-tastic facts: Participation patterns 4.A( 1) Discovery 4.A(l)a Frequency of use 4.A(2) Use of technology 4.A(3) Fanship and friendship 4.A(3)a Meeting the stars in person 4.A(4) Collectors 4.A(5) Fans whose play or work is related to that of the stars 4.A(6) Fanship as an alone experience 4.A(7) Fans and religion 4.A(8) Summary

4.8 Hard Core Fans: Do core patterns exist in mass media fans' experience of their chosen celebrities?

4.B(1) 1 gotta be me: Fanship, an expression of individuality 4.B(2) The more the memer: Multiple fanship 4.B(3) Nothing more than feelings: Fanship as a key to emotional expression 4.B(4) Close, but not too close: Friendship, yes - being the star, no 4.B(5) Nobody's perfect: The stars have flaws too 4.B(6) The real McCoy: Fans look for genuineness and integrity in their stars 4.B(7) The Pleasure is al1 mine: Fmship and pleasure 4.B(8) Absence makes the heart grow fonder: Desire, an integral aspect of fanship

4.B(9) Summary

4.C Surnmary 5. The fan-cier: Self and fanship explored through symbolic interactionism .. -137

5.A Tnpping the light fan-tastic: How is the fan's sense of self affected by his or her relationship with favourite stars? 5.A(1) The mirror has (at least) two faces: Roles S.A(l)a Say you, say me: Taking the role of the other 5.A( 1)b The costume trunk: Fantas y role-playing S. A( 1)b(i) Entertainment, education, inspiration S.A(l)b(ii) Practice 5 .A( 1)b(iii) Healing S.A(l)c Walk a mile in my shoes: Role-taking S. A( l)c(i) Empowerment to affect change 5 .A( 1 )c(ii) Selectivity S.A(l)c(iii) Justification S.A(l)c(iv) Tacit Reinforcement

5.A(2) Who are you? 1-Me 5.A(2)a 1 gotta be me: 1-me through creative expression XA(2)b Where were you when.. .? The 1-me as the-line 5.A(2)c Me first, 1insist: "me" versus "1" S.A(2)d Till bad ratings do us part: 1-me and fan loydty 5.A(2)e Would you bnng them home to mother? 1-me and fan shame 5.A(2)f Mass media mass: Fanship as a form of religious expression

5.A(3) Don't rnind if 1 do: Mind 5 .A(3)a Fanlingo: Verbal language 5.A(3)b You don't Say: Non-verbal language 5.A(3)c Matter over rnind: Collecting shared symbols

5.A(4) New Fan-dimg les: The Post-Meadian self

5.A(4)a Fanciful: Fanship toward meaning-making S.A(4)b Fantasts: Fan drearns S.A(4)c Straight from the heart: Expenencing emotions through fanship 5.A(4)d 1s it Live or Memorex? Technologically-mediated versus real life interaction 5.A(4)d(i) Treasure or uash: Putting value on the fan-star relationship 5.A(4)d(ii) Indelible or inauspicious: In-person interaction 5 .A(4)d(iii) Baudrillard' s 1st laugh: Fans who prefer technology

5.A(5) Mead melange: Summary

5.B A fan for al1 seasons: Are the fan's life decisions guided by the presence of the star in their lives? S.B(l) 1 Fancy that: Values and life decisions influenced by fanship 5.B(l)a Fanciful: Career and farnily 5.B(l)b True blue: Mords and ethics 5.B(l)c Starlight: Using fanship in search of clarity

5.B(2) Star power: Summary

5.C Fanning the self: Sumrnary

6. By Association: How is a fan's sense of self affected by reference groups? . .-221

6.1 Together at last: Reference groups

6.1(A) A place to cal1 home: The desire for others fans with whom to share 6.1(B) 1 wanna hold your hand: Fanship and fnendship 6.1(C) Burning up the wires: Technologically-mediated fanship and friendship 6.1(D) Know what 1 mean? Connecting through verbal and nonverbal language 6.1 (E) 1 dare ya: Counterhegemony 6.1(F) You' re a fan? !! Negative reference groups

6.2 The next best thing: The orientational other

6.2(A) I yarn what 1 yarn: Fan orientational others and social interaction 6.2(B) When in Rome: Creating like-minded fans with orientational others 6.2(C) Let's get physical: Fanship with orientational others in relation to intimacy

6.3 Never judge a book by its cover: Nested identities

6.3(A) The cone of silence: Technologically-mediated secrct societies 6.3(B) Love the one you are with: Fans as stars 6.3(C) Join us, won7tyou? TV characters as a reference group

6.4 Group think: Sumrnary

7.0 The view from the looking glass: A discussion of findings ...261

7.1 Well, whadaya know ! Statement of findings 7.1(A) By George, he's right! Findings that support symbolic interaction theory 7.1(B) Whatever your desire: Findings that support post-Meadian theory 7.1 (C) Mediated Mead: Findings that extend or challenge theory 7.1 (D) Fan-toms: Findings related to previous research 7.1 (D)a Para-mores: Parasocial research 7.1(D)b More para-llels: Fan literature 7.1 (E) Interesting interactions: Findings relative to other theories 7.1(F) Fanning the fiame: Implications for symbolic interaction theory 7.2 Fan-tasmagoria: Implications for future research

Appendices

References "1 am not bereft on this earth, so long as this old man is living on ity' (Gorki on Tolstoy)

- Becker, 1973, p. 148

1. Mass Media Celebrity Fanship: Through the Looking Glass

1.1 Introduction: The TV has Two Faces

This statement by Maxim Gorki on Leo Tolstoy distus what 1 have come to perceive as the essence of the mass media fan experience: to be a fan is to have hope that, through fanship, one's desires may be met. 1grew up in a household where actors and politicians were more important than God. 1 watched my parents study and leam from famous people on television. In the2 faces, reflected in the black and white screens from which those famous faces emanated, 1 witnessed an intense concentration. They found meaning- making in the farnous which, in turn, seemed to influence their self-development, and mine. They often managed to meet - and in some cases work with - a number of the celebrities to whom they were first introduced through technology. Why were certain celebrities so important to them? What was it about specific stars that attracted the imaginations of rny parents? What was the nature of their relationship with these people? This thesis has evolved in response to my life-long fascination with the subjective experience of the mass media fan's relationship with favourite stars and the impact of that experience upon self-development. It is a qualitative study of fans in the areas of spcrts, music, film and television. Given the centrality of relationship and self-developrnent in symbolic interactionism, the thesis is based on that theory, a detailed description of which is presented in Chapter Two.

My parents are not alone in their technologically-mediated fascination with the famous. In North Amencan society, mass media consumers are ubiquitous - a formidable percentage of whom are mass media celebnty fans. Fowles (1992) States: Stardom is an indisputably vital force in Our population.. .[stars have] an enormous impact upon our way of life. They are recognized by virtually the entire [North] American population, who observe them closely on stage and off, think about them, talk about them, emulate them, even drearn about them (p. 1).

One-quarter of the average North American's waking hours are spent watching film or television (Martin, 199 1); both are media populated by heavily-marketed, highly recognizable celebrities. To a greater or Iesser extent, mass media celebrities exist in Our conscious and subconscious thoughts and attitudes in myriad ways. Consciously or subconsciously, we may decide to take up a sport or cut our hair as a result of favourite stars; we may develop different attitudes about aspects of Our world as a result of what we have learned from watching favourite stars in certain situations (e.g., Princess Diana and Elizabeth Taylor both showed that AIDS patients were touchable at a time when they were considered pariahs, effectively assuaging that fear in many people). Depending on how one defines fanship (i.e., the relatively passive effort of regular viewing of a prograrn and the intense effort of making pilgrimages to Graceland may both fa11 within the parameters of fanship), 1 believe that the majority of North Americans are fans in one way or another. Grossberg (1992) m&es an even stronger staternent, asserting that everyone is a fan of something and that must be the case since no one can live in a world where nothing matters, including the perspective that nothing matters. If this is tme, then al1 of us are fans, actively or tacitly, and knowledge of the experience of fanship as it relates to self-delevopment can contribute to a deeper understanding of who we are and why we do the things we do.

This chapter lays the foundation for the primary research question concerning the subjective experience of the North American mass media celebrity fan. It will present the problem, define terms, identify salient literature, and culminate in the primary and secondary research questions. Subsequent chapters present the theoretical orientation, methods, results, and a discussion of the findings. l.l(A) Statement of the Problem regarding; the Subiective Experience of Fanship

Given the omnipresence of al1 manner of mass media sports, film, movie, and music celebrities in North Arnerica (Martin, 1991), it is reasonable to question whether celebrities have a substantial effect on society. Surprisingly little empiricai research has been conducted on the mass media celebrity fan experience (Fowles, 1992; Guttmann, 1986; Lewis, 1992; Martinez, 1992). Of the research that has been conducted, most has focussed on the sports fan (Leets, de Becker & Giles, 1995). While information on mass media fanship is lirnited, research contributing to the identification and exploration of the characteristics of normative fanship is even more sparse. It may be that the definition of fanship itself is too restrictive. Redhead (1997) argues that the concept of fandom is overdetermined in that it has focussed on the "fanatic" rather than on the "ordinary supporter or casual television viewer"(p. 29). Existing literature has largely focused on pathological manifestations (Leerhsen, 1986) or on sensationalist aspects of pop culture fandom emphasizing mentaily unstable fans (Jenkins, 1992b), a phenomenon which is corroborated in sports fan research as well (Guttmann, 1986). Although a substantial body of work relating to spectator violence has been produced (e.g., Eichbeg, 1992; Majanovic, 1990), very Iittle work on other aspects of sports fan culture has been generated thus far. Similarly, Harrington and Bielby (1995) note that soap opera fan research has also focussed on atypical fanship and cal1 for studies examining normative fan behaviour.

Moreover, in spite of the prevalence of technologically-mediated fan-star interactions, there is a lack of empiricd research related to understanding the nature of mediated relationships experienced by fans with favourite celebrities (Rubin & McHugh, 1987; Schickel,l985) and with other like-minded fans (Boese, 1998). The need for research in this area is underscored by Redhead (1997) who maintains that "fandom" may have already passsd into "post-fandom" wherein Twenty-First Century fanship largely consists of mediated experiences - even live events feature giant video screens. This research explores technologically-mediated fan experiences; it is empirically-dnven focussing on discovery rather than explanation; and it does not assüme pathology in the mass media fan population. The thesis seeks to: 1) explore how fans' self-development is affected by their relationships with stars and like-minded fans; 2) exanine the nature of technologically-mediated fan interactions with stars and other Iike- minded fans; and 3) chart the identification and description of core mass media fan charactenstics.

1.1 (B) Prirnary Research Question regarding Fanship and Self-development

Mass media fanship is a substantial presence on the North American social and cultural landscape, yet lirnited research has been conducted on this phenornenon. Within the theoretical frarnework of symbolic interactionisrn, the present research explores fans' technologically-mediated and in-person interaction with favourite celebrities and like- minded fans through intra-persona1 and inter-persona1 interaction. Specifically, this thesis addresses the primary research question: "Viewed through the frarnework of symbolic interactionism, how do mass media fans' subjective experiences of their relationships with stars and other fans affect their self-development?"

1.2 Review of Maior Terms

Three terms are explored in this section: the star; the fan; and, mass media fanship. Given that this thesis is about mass media fans (and not stars), 1 have cited a very simple working definition for "star." The development of satisfactory definitions for fans and for fanship (i.e., fan behaviour) is a much more challenging task which speaks to one important aspect of the justification for this research. As will be identified in this section, there are no generally agreed upon definitions for either of these terms. However, this thesis does not seek to create a definition of fans and fanship. Instead, it seeks to contribute to the small body of empirical research dedicated to generating insight into everyday fans and normative fan behaviour. The following sub-sections identify several disparate approaches to these two concepts. 1.2(A) Celebrities or Stars

1 concur with Fowles (1992) who defines "stars" as "people who have achieved great fame in the United States [and elsewhere] as performers - Hollywood stars, sports stars, comedy stars, and music stars" (p. ix).

1.2(B) Fans

A number of theonsts have addressed the challenge of ascertaining the difference between viewer or listener and fan. Within the realm of soap opera fans, Hamngton and Bielby (1995) show that the distinguishing feature between fans and viewers is difficult to identify:

Some [fans] do not read fan magazines but gossip heavily with other fans about the narrative. Soine never engage in gossip about celebrities while others don? want to, and still others thrive on it. These differences illustrate the complexity of defining what a soap fan is, despite assumptions by some scholars that engaging in certain activities defines one as a fan (p. 48).

This challenge exists across other mediums as well. Some suggest that fans are "the most visible and identifiable of audiences" (Lewis, 1992, p. 1). Fine and Kleinman, (1979) argue that fans are a subculture which operates with "a set of understandings, behaviors, and artifacts used by particular groups and diffused through interlocking proup networks" ( p. 18). However, some people choose to be very private about their fanship - sharing their feelings with a limited few - yet are no less cornrnitted than more visible fans.

Jenkins (1 992a) suggests that fans are distinguishable from general audience members by their distinctive interpretation, evaluative criteria, and alternative identities made manifest in the texts that fans produce themselves. He outlines a fanship mode1 focussing on activities as an integrd component. First, fans develop their own unique style by which they receive a narrative, or cultural object, which is then translated into other activities, e-g., art work. Second, fan comrnunities develop around that style of shared interpretation. Third, fandom functions as an art gallery of sorts where creative works are produced and consumed- Fourth, fandom becomes an alternative cornrnunity defined through shared creation and consumption of cultural activities. A rich example of fan cultural activity can be found in K/S slash (the fan-created stories of the homoerotic relationship between the "Star Trek" characters Captain Kirk and his science officer Mr. Spock). So much material has been generated around this scenario that a virtual "mini- industry" of original products has emerged (Penley, 1991 ) including fan-operated advertising and publishing, juried prizes for best storks and videos, annual meetings and fundraisers - dl accomplished without incident of copyright suits by virtue of a dearth of money circulation.

Fiske (1992) differentiaies fans from audience members by degree, rather than kind, of participation. A fan mipht fil1 the gap of an original text by writing in a romantic scene creating an "extra-textual" relationship, as exemplified in the above paragraph. An audience member might privately consider that scenario but would not literally create a response to it. Rather than scrutinizing the extent to which people may actually participate, Grossberg (1992) advocates defining fanship by exploring the relationship between culture and audience at the affective level. He cautions that affect is not synonymous with desire or emotion, but rather is the feeling of life: "a socially constmcted domain of cultural effects.. .Affect is what gives 'color,' 'tone' or 'texture' to our experiences" (pp. 56-7). While Grossberg is careful to distinguish between affect and emotion, the two experiences do overlap. To this end, his appraisal of mass media cultural fans corresponds somewhat with Guttmann's (1986) definition of the mass media sports fan as simply "the emotionally committed 'consumer' of sports events" (p. 6).

1.2(Bji A literature review of tmes of mass media fans.

What follows is an elaboration of the work of the theorists cited above, as well as others who have contributed to the theoretical and empirical study of fans. The work is organized as it has been categorized in the literature: pop culture fans consisting of music, film, and television fans, with a sub-section on soap opera fans; and sports fans.

1.2(B)i(a) Pop culture fans: music, film. and television.

1 have selected Grossberg (1992) as a central theorist with regard to my discussion of pop culture fans because he is interested in the intricacies of relationships - a central tenet of symbolic interactionism. Grossberg explores mass media fandom via an affective interaction between culture and the audience. He does this by first establishing that the barrage of information beinp processed in a cultural presentation occurs for al1 audience members, fans or not. Grossberg cites rock music to demonstrate that audiences never deal with only a single cultural text, that is, just the music or the film or the television show. He suggests at any given time audiences may be fielding information related to:

musical texts and practices, economic and race relations, images of perforrners and fans, social relations (for instance of gender, of friendship), aesthetic conventions, styles of language, movement, appearance and dance, media practices, ideological comrnitments and, sometimes, media representations of rock-and-roll itself (p. 54).

Grossberg (1992) theorizes about the specific ways in which various cultural texts are consumed, interpreted and used - reaching audience members with greater or lesser impact for any variety of phenomenological reasons. Having established the complexity of specifically locating the fan experience, Grossberg determines that the distinguishing feature of fandom relates to a sensibility: to be a fan is to engage with a cultural text "in the domain of affect or mood" (p. 56). He suggests affective sensibility produces personai "mattering maps" that guide Our mood investments in the world. These maps, which he likens to ever-changing investment portfolios, cm function as potentid locations for our self-identification and with what intensities-. .marking out different places (pleasures, meanings, fantasies, desires). ..different purposes, moods, forms, and places of energy.. .they may constmct relatively stable moments of identity.. .by making certain things (or stars) matter, the fan "authorizes" them to speak for him or her.. .In this way, they use the sites of their investments as so many languages which constmct their identities (p. 57-9).

Grossberg maintains that affect, on its own, can never provide its own justification. Affect must be subsumed by an ideology to legitimate its expression. He suggests that this occurs through fans linking their mattering maps to what Lacan cails excess. If somethinp matters, the investment in it can be justified by excessiveness.

Whatever we inirest ourseIves into must be given an excess which outweighs any other consideration.. .This excess, while ideologically constnicted, is always beyond ideological challenge, because it is cailed into existence affectively. The investment guarantees the excess (p. 60- 1).

For Grossberg (1992) excess marks the difference between the fan and the non-fan. The fan is "the contemporary articuiation of a necessary relationship that has historically constituted the popular, involving relationships with such diverse things as labor, religion, rnorality and politics" (p. 63). To this end, al1 audiences variously use text to try to make sense of themselves, their needs and desires, their worlds. Grossberg asserts that audiences are not "cultural dopes," they are usually aware of the manipulation embedded in the media in which they participate; fan intelligence can be located in the manner in which that cultural manipulation is used by fans to expand their own mattering maps toward identity construction:

a fan's investrnent in certain practices and texts provides them with strategies which enable them to gain a certain amount of control over their affective Iives, which further enabies them to invest in new forrns of meaning, pleasure and identity in order to cope with new forms of pain, pessirnism, frustration, dienation, terror and boredom (p. 65).

A fan relationship with a star can provide an affective vehicle for fans in herhis daily life. Through carïng about a celebrity, fans find energy, excitement, and passion to pursue their own projects. Most often, a fan's relationship with a cultural text is based in a consurnerist sensibility emphasizing the production of pleasure. Pleasure comes through the enjoyment of choosing to engage with a text, feeling a part of something bigger than oneself, entertainment through surprise and anticipation, escape from life challenges, temporary fulfillment of desires, the excitement of vicariously sharing the intimacies of another person7slife, and the feeling of camaraderie through identification with a character.

1.2(B)i(a)1 Soap opera fans.

Soap operas are a distinct form of television prograrnming, Le., daily, (usually) hour-long, on-going dramas (Harrington & Bielby, 1995). Accordingly, these viewers' special status has offered unique research opportunities. Rubin and Perse (1987) examine soap opera viewer involvement with media content by way of McGuire7s( 1974) uses and gratifications theory, a primary principle of which is that viewers shape their own media experiences. They assert that the more active the viewer, Le., those who think about and discuss content, the higher level of gratification experienced. This gratification manifests itself in two forms. The first form reflects attention to the content of the program, rendering a variety of rewards including "exciting entertainment, social utifity, escapist relaxation, information, and voyeurism" (p. 263). The second form is based in social utility gratification which overshadows the program itself. The viewer watches the soap opera as a means by which to socialize. While the first form of gratification is a more inner-directed orientation related to technologically-mediated or "parasocial" interaction in that the viewers are personally involved with soap opera characters and plotlines, the second form is more other-directed. Rubin and Perse maintain that the two forms suggest "that parasocial interaction may be a functional alternative to interpersonal interaction" (p. 264).

Perse and Rubin (1989) apply uncertainty reduction theory (which posits that as uncertainty is reduced, liking increases) and persona1 construct theory (which holds that people try to make meaning in their worlds by using individualized constmct systems) to an exploration of soap opera viewers' parasocial relationships with favourite characters. They cite Koenig and Lessan (1985), who state that television personalities may be categorized as "quasi-friends" because - even though the relationship is incomplete - viewers often feel closer to celebnties than to in-person acquaintances. Through uncertainty reduction theory, Perse and Rubin note that much of television viewing, e.g, talk shows, offers viewers the opportunicy to passively observe celebrities socially interacting. In this way, viewers can reduce uncertainty about celebrities' social behaviour. In addition, they cite Clatterbuck's (1979) observations regarding a positive relationship between people's confidence in their attributions toward others and the length of time they have known them and/or communicated with them, andor the amount of information that they have arnassed about them. Perse and Rubin suggest that attributional confidence, built through uncertainty reduction, contributes to parasocial relationship development. They find that the ability to accurately predict the feelings and attitudes of the persona "mirrors" the feelings experienced by those involved in face-to- face social interaction and that "parasocial interaction is a perceived interpersonal relationship on the part of a television viewer with a mass media persona" (p. 59). Utilizing personal constmct theory, Perse and Rubin observe that social comptexity has a direct influence on parasocial complexity (Le., the more soap opera personality nuances with which the viewer is farniliar, the more complexity exists in the parasocial interaction). They conclude "that people constitute a constmct domain that may be sufficiently permeable to include both interpersonal and television contexts" (p. 73).

They point out differences as well - rnost notabiy that "interactive strategies, common in interpersonal contexts, are rare in the mediated context and technically impossible for soap operas" (p. 74). Harrington and Bielby (1995) explore the interplay of inter-personal and technologically-mediated intra-personal interaction in the soap fan experience. They focus on the intra-persona1 experience through the concept of identity management as it refers to involvement with, and the integration of, the soap opera world as an extension of one's identity, e.g., the collection of photographs a fan keeps on his or her bedroom dresser containing pictures of both farnily members and favourite celebrities. Harrington and Bielby maintain that activity engagement and identity management are parallel processes. They apply Fiske's (1987) identification of different texts as a template for their observations of these two elements which, for them, constitute fanship. Primary (the narrative), secondary (news, commercial magazines etc.), and tertiary (viewers' own gossip) text al1 contribute to fanship. Harrington and Bielby state that the tertiary text is a vital component of fanship in "both the social construction of shared meanings and [in] the persistence of long-term viewing patterns" (p. 47). Through al1 three of these formats - via public or serni-public activity engagement and identity management - fans are able to find the affective and subjective experiences that contribute to the development of a particular identity.

Harrington and Bielby (1995) report that the usual pattern of fan development involves the casual discovery of a soap opera which evolves into an increasingly significant activity and is ultimately recognized as important to the fan's identity. As a result of the complicated nature of soap character histories and plot lines, neophyte viewers must be able to withstand a certain arnount of confusion before being able to read the unique coding devices of each program. Often an inexperienced viewer is initiated by another family member who brings them into fandom by explaining unfolding narratives. In this way, fanship cm be a multi-generational phenomenon. They also note that a viewer can become a fan through a variety of "access points" or orientations (e-g., they may focus on acting skills, the story line, or the whole fictional cornmunity in which the soap is set). Regardless, fans can develop stable relationships with fictional characters which grow and change relative to different experiences and phenomenon. Fans may be "breadth" participants, captivated by the genre itself rather than a specific program or actor; or they rnay be "depth" participants, intensely dedicated to one or more shows. Some fans are overt in proclairning their fanship, others are covert to the point of subscribing to soap magazines in other people's names for fear of being judged by those in their imrnediate cornmunity. However, the extent of overt or covert behavior does not necessarily indicate the centrality of fan actitity to someone's identity.

Guttmann (1986) defines the mass media sports fan as "the emotionally comrnitted 'consumer' of sports events" (p. 6). Elaborating upon this description, he continues:

Games like footbail (soccer) provide Satumalia-like occasions for the uninhibited expression of emotions which are tightly controlled in Our ordinary lives. The role of the shouting, screaming, arrn-waving spectator is an alternative to the more restrained roles of parent, employee, and civilized citizen. There may not be a catharsis in the sense of a purgation that produces calm and tranquillity, but this sort of spectatorship certainly provides the alteged "occasions for strong excitement openly expressed" (p. 156).

Guttmann's references to both affect and consumerism touch upon key concepts in Redhead's (1997) assessrnent of the evolution of the sports fan. He maintains that the traditionally violent, identity-making adolescent behaviour of soccer fans has been reshaped by media culture, wherein advertising and popular music have contributed to a "bourgeoisification" of the game such that "a 'man's game' is being transformed into a media event for global-but-localised consumption" (p. i). Though Guttman States that sports fans were the first t\pe of modem fan to be identified as a distinct group, they rnay be the last to be subsumed by a larger popular culture sensibility. Redhead suggests that sports has joined other mass media in a melange of entertainment-oriented information which increasingly blurs the distinction between fans of sports, music, film and television. 1.2(C) Toward a Definition of Normative Mass Media Fanship

While the establishment of an exact definition of the rnass media fan continues to be an elusive endeavor, identifying the structures of normative fan behaviour is even more challenging. Harrington and Bielby (1995) state that excessive fanship exists. However, they suggest that determining the cut-off point between normative and pathological is subjective and is made difficult by the dearth of research in this area. In debt to the Frankfurt School, Jensen (1992) suggests that portrayals of fans as pathological are, in fact, a red herring. Concem about crazed fans and their relation to celebrities cloaks a deeper, unacknowledged issue relating to what we want to believe about modem society. She suggests that the categorization of fans as obsessed loners can be viewed as an ernbodirnent of the alienated, atomized individual; the cliché of crazed crowd members (weeping women and destructive men) speaks to vuinerable, irrational victims of mass persuasion. These images reflect Twentieth-Century perceptions about modem social life resulting frorn the decline of community and the increasing power of the media, respectively. She maintains that one of the key factors in atternpting to determine fan "normalcy" is related to the kinds of culture which are condoned by the existing hegemonic ideology, i.e., status differentiates fans from aficionados. She argues that the uproar by Joycean schoiars over the definitive edition of Ulysses is no different from Barry Manilow fans who build their lives around the latest rendition of Feelitzgs. Jensen calls for social research to be conducted in a way that illuminates the experiences of others "in their own terms.. .to the extent that we stigmatize fandom as deviant, we cut ourselves off from understanding how value and meaning are enacted and shared in contemporary life" (p. 26).

Grossberg (1992) rejects Jensen's (1992) approach as too simplistic since popular art can become high art - and vice versa - and popular culture and high culture can co- exist simultaneously. Like Fowles (1992), he also rejects attempts to characterize fans as passive plebeians who enjoy being fooled and exploited, or as terminal adolescents who revel in the irresponsibility of their fandom. Jenkins (1992b), who concurs with Fowles ( 1992) that "fans are characterized as 'kooks' obsessed with trivia, celebrities, and coIlectibles; as misfits and 'crazies"' (p. I l), suggests that fans threaten the boundaries of "good taste." He declares that taste is interwoven with virtually al1 other aspects of social and cultural experience; "bad taste" brings with it the "full force of moral excommunication and social rejection" (p. 16). He maintains that when fan culture blurs those boundaries by treating popular work as though it warrants the same kind of reverence, scrutiny, and appreciation as canonicai texts, it violates dominant cultural hierarchies. Media fans constitute a unique group "insistent on making meaning from materials others have characterized as trivial and worthiess" (p. 3). In doing so, they identify themselves as a recognizable, yet unfathomable - and, therefore, possibly threatening - other.

The labelling of rnass media fans as "other" corresponds with the work of Sander Gilman ( 1988) whose book Diseuse and Representatiorz - which explores humans' fear of difference - identifies a need to establish socially-sanctioned definitions of mental health and mental illness. Unlike pre-literate society wherein people with, for example, schizophrenia, were often revered as conduits of the holy, modernity reviles and fears mental ilhess and its associated loss of control. To those watching from afar, fans represent that same kind of surrender to a vortex of insanity that is both cornpelling and terrifying. Media stars "provide us with a sort of carnival (bread and circuses!) during which we fantasize about our potential loss of control, perhaps even revel in the fear it generates within us, but we dways believe that this fear exists separate from us" (p. 2). From Gilman's perspective, to be a fan is to succumb to the "virus" of media madness and the fate of social marginalization.

Fanship cm be conceived as a statement consciously selected in an effort to control how others perceive hegemonic society's pre-determined "othemess." Being a fan of a particularly shocking performer cm function as a way to embrace already ascertained otherness. EIements of Goffman's (1963) concept of the "stigmatized self' can account for those who choose to reverse the dynamic. Stigmatized selves may, in fact, feel that they are "full-fledged normal human beings, and that we are the ones who are not quite human" (Lemert and Branaman, 1997, p. 74). According to Goffman, the stigmatized person who is 'bot quite human" may be physically different, possess different beliefs, or exhibit "tribal stimgnas" of race or religion. While some stigmatized persons may react by withdrawing, others are not perturbed. Nevenheless, according to Fiske (1992), the "othemess" or ghettoization of fans is a hegemonic/patrïarchal issue. Fiske observes that the cultural forms most readily associated with fandom such as pop music, romance novels, comics and Hollywood movies are routinely denigrated by the dominant value system, which, however, makes an exception for sports. Jenkins (1992b) concurs, observing that sports fans (who are mostly male and who value "real" events) enjoy a very different status from media fans (who are mostly female and who value fiction).

The perception of the dangers of fandorn can be alarrnist. In his book on the culture of celebrity, Schickel ( 1985) portrays fans as lacking in autonomy, community, identity, power and recognition. He darkly warns that "these creatures" (fans) are manifestations of a force that moves in al1 of us. The inference here is that the desire to become a fan is something to be contained for fear it may drive us to obsession and hysteria. Without question, some fans are pathological, e.g, sorneone who is unabie to separate fiction from reality. Celebrïty stalkers sometimes do kill (eg, actress Rebecca Schaeffer's death at the hands of a stalker fan). This is a frïghiening fact, but how prevalent is the delusional fan? Harrington and Bielby (1992) estimate that the occurrence of "crazy" fans in the soap community ranges anywhere from one to thirty percent. Fowles (1992) asserts that the phenornenon is quite common. He cites a problem CBS had with a poverty-striken character on a soap opera who had to be written out of the show because fans kept sending CARE packages. While some fans are dangerous, it appears there is much confusion about the content of a normative fanship experience. Further, as Redhead notes (l.A(l)), a large percentage of fans may not have been categorized as such. This research contributes to empirical work in both the content and the parameters of normative fanship. 1.3 A Fm for Al1 Reasons: A Literature Review of Varieties of Fan Experiences

The existing literanire on fanship may be grouped into seven sub-categones.

1.3(A) Mass Media: Fanship as Religious Expression

Several researchers have drawn pardlels between different types of rnass media fanship and participation in traditional religious practices; some have made a case for fanship as a form of religious expression. Jewett and Lawrence (1977) utilize mythologist Joseph Campbell's work to argue that science fiction television fans constitute a secular faith: fan literature amounts to a new theology. The lead science-fiction characters fbnction as redeemers while fans are, in effect, disciples. In the realm of sports, Novak (1977) is unequivocal that sports has become CO-equalto, if not a substitute for, conventional religious faith. He describes sports fans, himself included, as "believers" and asserts that most books about sports are a form of hagiography. He States:

Sports is part of my religion, like Christianity, or "Western civilization," or poetry, or politics. Philosophers speak of "language garnes"; their games do not satisfy parts of the human spirit which foott;all reaches. Not that footbali satisfies everything. It doesn't offer much guidance in how to understand a woman. The emotions it dramatizes, deeper and more mystical than doubters will ever understand (p. xv-i).

Having explained his perspective, Novak concedes that sport is not a religion in the same way that Methodism or Catholicism are religions; rather sports constitute a "natural religion" inspiring religious sensibilities. Guttmann (1986) is less clear, stating only that the line between sport and religion is difficult to identify.

The hardy travelers who sailed and trudged to the ancient Olympics witnessed athletic performances that were also religious ntuals. The runners were human but they were also representations of the gods. Modern sports spectators live in a predominantly secular age, but there are clearly analogues to ancient ritual in secular sports festivals like the Olyrnpic Garnes. We have Our sports heroes, just as the Greeks did, and metaphor perrnits us to do figuratively what they did literally, to speak of athletes - at least some of thern - as gods. (p. 177).

From a pop culture perspective, the still powerful presence of Elvis Presley is viewed by some as a fonn of reiigious expression. Gottdiener (1997) writes:

Dead Elvis is a phenornenon that has no precedent in human history with the possible exception of social reaction to major religious leaders such as Jesus, Mohammed, or the Buddha. In contrast to Elvis, the founders of major reli,.=ions, who live on after they have died, remain known principally by what they said.. .people celebrate the communion of Elvis through his material manifestations, not through a sacred text. They seek to feel what Elvis felt, to look like hirn, to possess the abundance of material objects sacrilized by his aura through cornmodification, and to be hirn through impersonation (p. 189-90).

Popular culture constitutes a collective memory which becomes a commodity (Canclini, 1993). Commodities contribute to the administration, renewal, and restmcturing of rneaning. Canclini maintains that popular culture must be defined in opposition to the dominant culture, it is a product of inequality and conflict. To this end, Dead Elvis, an epiphany embodying the possibility of rising from white trash to a social and economic pinnacle, defies the dominant blue chip culture of capitalisrn.

Gottdiener (1997) proposes that Dead Elvis is Our "other Jesus." However, unlike the social consensus against commodifying Jesus, the material objectification of "The King" is acceptible. As a result, Dead Elvis offers "a medium of personal self-expression and liberation through material culture" (p. 192). Gottdiener regards Elvis as a sign system that includes: a headpiece configuration comprised of thick black haïr and mutton chop sideburns which is so familiar as a sign of Elvis that "most Americans could recognize it floating alone on a river, lying on a road, flying through the air, or, in other words, disembodied in any one of many ways" (p. 198); metallic, overstated sunglasses; and the sequined Las Vegas jumpsuit and jacket. He posits that impersonators repîesent a mythical invocation of Presley and that audiences feel absolved by an "Other Jesus" who sanctions fun and secular pleasures.

Another aspect to consider in reflecting on the Elvis' "power" is that he was a musician. Music has traditionally functioned - as Martin Luther describes it - as "the handmaid of religion." Martin (1980) suggests that music has rnoved into the space vacated by religion in the secularized world. He argues that music has always been connected with the role of spiritual harrnony, "with calming the savage breast and healing the distempered soul" (p. 133). In the late Seventeenth Century when scientific rationalism wau encroaching on religion's stronghold on society, music for the purpose of reIigious inspiration had to compete with music emerging as simply entertainment. But Martin argues that musicality and religiosity have always been entwined and that, in the conternporary age, music constitutes a religious experience.

The concert constituency overlaps the church constituency. The slightly wistf'ul unbeliever can see notes as God's Rorschach blot.. . music avoids and transcends the critical problem of language.. .you send yourself to the place of enchantment

JO that things fa11 into place around you. You are sent to sleep in order to be awakened.. .Y& achieve stillness inside the moment (p. 141-7).

1.3(B) 1 iust like it: Fanship as Pleasure

While other fan researchers (e.g., Ehrenreich, Hess, and Jacobs, 1992; Grossberg, 1992; Guttman, 1986; Schickel, 1985) discuss pleasure as an element imbricated within the fan experience, fanship as pleasure has been explored specifically and extensively by soap opera researchers Hanington and Bielby (1995). Accordingly, 1 detail their findings since they provide insight and direction for this study (not only for soap opera participants but dso for other television, sports, music and film fans). Seventy-six percent of soap viewers prefer to watch alone. Harrington and Bielby (1995) Say this choice is closely related to pleasure. Watching alone allows viewers to respond freely without being distracted by others or feeling self-conscious about their behaviour. Harrington and Bielby find that the "pleasure [which] resides in the conscious decision to bracket the reai and enter the fictional" (p. 132) is easier to access in solitude. Pleasure for soap opera fans may originate in: identification and fantasy (Ang, 1985, 1990); resistance to dominant ideology (Grossberg, 1992; Raciway, 1984); the farniliarity and comfort of the generic structure; gossiping without guilt because the characters are not reai; speculating what a favorite character or star will do next; reassurance that no matter what is going on in one's own life, the star, or the star's character, is present; the kitsch aspect of the genre; the relationship between what is shown and what is not (Barthes, 1975); a voyeuristic component; or the opportunity to watch a range of intensely persona1 emotions. They speculate that fans create pleasure with "free spaces," wherein a viewer easily and simultaneousfy accepts reality and fiction:

this dance between realms of experience - between Iiving only in the present and simultaneously experiencing the past, present, and future; between being grounded in the real world and having the freedom to live in multiple worlds - creates space for the wild zone of pleasure (p. 132).

This approach touches upon the Lacanian concepts of the real and the imaginary. However it differs considerably in that Harrington and Bielby suggest that a socially- uncensored, verbal, purposefully imaginary world is achievable. They are interested in "the process by which pleasure is created by fans" (p. 133). To this end, they propose that: 1) pleasure originates from activities and experiences which help fans to challenge boundaries between interna1 and external realities; 2) for fans, viewing triggers the feeling of being in love - limerence; and, 3) a variety of aspects of modern Society explain soap fan pleasures.

Regarding the first point, Harrington and Bielby (1995) use the work of object- relations psychoanalyst Winnicott ( 197 1). The psychological paradigm known as object- relations theory develops psychoanalysis into the pre-oedipal stages. It is concerned with examining the relationship between people (extemal), images (intemal), and the intennedictry area of the psyche that both separates and interrelates the inner and the outer worlds which, for infants, is often characterïzed by transitional objects. It is the transitional object as it rnay be used by adults that intrigues Harrington and Bielby. They recognize that playfulness, creativity and the ability to partake in illusion are ai1 the legacy of early transitional objects - which function as mediators between interna1 and externai reality. They argue that for many adults, television prograrns - which can offer opportunities for playfulness and so on - act as tacit transitional objects in that most people watch an inordinate amount of TV yet almost invariahly deny its centrality in their lives. Second, they ernploy the notion of limerence to argue that the emotional state of being in love can be extrapolated to a cultural base. They maintain that "fans fa11 in love with the love they see on soap operas.. .fans become CO-participantsin the fictional couple's dynamic as it reflects and refracts the experience of limerence that viewers know exists in reality" (p. 137-8). If fictional couples become real life ones, fans glean even more pleasure through the intersection of the fictional narrative and reality. In this case, fans watch for glimpses of the real narrative through the fictional account. Some fans revisit taped episodes, seeking evidence of the real-life relationship, and attempt to identify the exact transition point between fiction and reality. Third, in addition to the previously recognized sites of pleasure, Harrington and Bielby (1995) suggest fans create pleasure through social context. They note that even though people enjoy pleasure in a variety of wayso"the pleasure experience itself is unifying" (p. 130). Fans create and rnultiply their pleasure with like-rninded people, e-g., through comments in fanzines or Internet chat rooms.

1.3(C) Closerthanthis: Perceived Intimacv

Schickel(1985) States that the sense of getting close to a star is an "imagined intimacy" since, by and large, fans' experiences and knowledge of stars occur through reproduction. Fans of a celebrity most often become fans through experiencing the celebrity through the screen rather than face-to-face. The relationship is almost invariably developed, negotiated, and mediated through layers of technological, social, and econornic access to the celebrity. In addition, the relationship is often heavily coded; many stars carehilly present only certain facets of their personalities, hiding, for example, the tmth about their sexuality. RegardIess of the challenge of establishing a feeling of intimacy with a star, fans make the effort. Fiske (1992) cites the example of Madonna fans who Say they like dressing like Madonna because people take more notice of them walking down the Street- Copycat clothing functions as a way to align their identities with Madonna and to vicariously achieve a forrn of intimacy with her through imitation. MTV ran a cornpetition for fans to produce their own videos of Madonna's hit, True Blne. The station was deluged with fan product to the extent that they played 24 hours of a selection of the tapes subrnitted. Fiske suggests this video opportunity provided a vehicle by which Madonna fans were able to "becorne" her, temporarily blurring the boundary between star and audience.

Dyer (1986) posits thfans stnve to feel closer to celebrities because they function as cultural signposts against which we can align ourselves.

Stars enact ways of making sense of the experience of being a person in a particular kind of social production (capitalisrn). .. [whatlmakes them interesting is the way in which they articulate the business of being an individual.. .Stars are also embodiments of the social categories in which people are placed and through which we make our Iives - categories of class, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and so on (p. 16- 17).

If a star provides guidance for a fan in this way, the fan may feel an intimate connection with the life of the star. This rnay be part of what motivates some fans to move beyond a typically one-way fan-star relationship toward a two-way interaction by attempting to contact celebrities. To develop insight into this desire, Leets, de Becker, and Giles (1995) asked university students to express their motivations for writing to celebrities. They found that fans try to contact celebrities through the written word for three main reasons: 1) curiosity coupled with the desire for specific information; 2) the desire to express adulation; and 3) the desire for an autograph, letter and/or items for a fund-raising effort. They also found that the stronger the viewers' curiosity or desire for information, the more likely they would attempt to initiate contact. However, Leets et al. conclude that viewers are not interested in intimacy-related efforts such as identifying with cr emulating celebrities so much as they are interested in seeking out "further information about celebrities' hes for vicarious pleasure" (p. 1 14).

1.3(D) Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Fanshi~and Cultural Capital

Contrary to Harrington and Bielby's (1995) findings that fandorn is often a secret pleasure, Fiske (1992) suggests that being a fan cmbe a public, socially beneficial status. Fan knowledge can be a source of personal cachet and social prestige, which occur through what he terms a "shadow cultural economy"(p. 30). He notes that even though al1 popular audiences engage in some form of semiotic production ( e.g., using lines around the office water cooIer Iike "1s that your final answer?" frorn the television program, Who Wnnts tu be a Millionaire?), many fans turn ihis serniotic productivity into something more which cmbe circulated among a self-defining comrnunity of like-rninded people. Fiske asserts that fandom provides prestige and self-esteem through the possession of cultural capital in three main ways. First, fans use their knowledge of stars to distinguish themselves as distinct and, therefore, dominant - a scenario used by fans to develop self- esteern in the real world. Second, fans use their fanship to create a social identity in private ways, public ways, or through textual productivity - which is generally circulated among other fans. Third, fans accumulate knowledge (through collecting information, books, art, andor memorabilia) of both official cultural capitd (plotlines) and popular capital (e.g., a character is written out of the show right now because she is having a baby in real life) in order to assert their status.

1.3(E) Power to the People: Fanship and Social Change

While it can be argued that sports, film and television celebrities have effected social change, Ehrenreich, Hess, and Jacobs (1992) claim that the most significant example of what they term "star-centered hysteria" as it relates to fanship and social change, can be located in the impact of the Beatles in the mid-sixties. Although by that time male star adulation was not new - Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley had set the stage - nothing prepared the Western World for "Beatlemania." When the Beatles arrived in North America in February of 1964, the crowds of screarning girls were unprecedented. At one point, someone laid daim to some hotel pillowcases supposedly used by the group and, like rnedieval sales of bits of the Shroud of Turin, cut them up into 160,000 tiny squares, mounted them on certificates, and sold them for a dollar each.

Ehrenreich et al. (1992) observe that adults were stupefied by Beatlemania. They point to experts who strove to explain the phenornenon with some bizarre theories. For example, critics speculated that the screarning girls were subconsciously preparing for the matemity ward. An article by New York Times magazine writer, David Dempsey, uses Adorno's suggestion that Beatles fans were like 1940's jitterbug fans: "rhythmic obedients (expressing) their desire to obey (needing to become a mas) to become transformed into an insect (erg0 jitterbug)." Dempsey explains that since beetles were bugs too, Benrles fans wanted to lose their own identity in mas, "insectlike" behavior. Ehretlreich et d. assert that, in fact, Beatles fans were releasing pent-up, socially-imposed frustrations. Beatles fans were publicly advertising a kind of hopeless love (hopeless since there was no expectation of actually bsing with a Beatle) as a way to protest the calculated, pragmatic sexual repression of teenage life. Although sexual repression was nothing new, the cal1 for sexual expression was growing. Rock music, with its driving rhythms and increasingly overt sexual references, represented a timely vehicle for sexual expression and identity. The Beatles, less sexually daunting than Elvis, represented freedom from the split-level house. The Beatles' androgyny obfuscated gender inequity; they represented the prospect of safe sex. Ehrenreich et al. view Beatlemania as an essentid foundation and springboard for the feminist and ensuing counter cultural political movements. The fanship that followed in the rock music movement included the adulation of wornen: Janis Joplin - albeit ultimately a tragic character - inspired women with a more direct desire for ernancipation. 1.3(F) Fanshig: .. .In Sickness and in Heaith

As mentioned (l.A(2)), modem day fandom has ofien been perceived as a form of psychopathy. Media critics, such as Schickel (1985), proclaim that a fundarnentai feature of the fadcelebrity relationship is the "near murderous moments" that occur in fan frenzy. Less dramatically, Jenkins (1992b) notes that "to speak as a fan is to accept what has been labeled a subordinated position within the cuitural hierarchy, to accept an identity constantly belittled or cnticized by institutional authorities" (p. 23). Harrington and Bielby (1995) concur, stating "according to most accounts, to be a fan is to be abnormal: the normal fan is the lunatic fan" (p. 112) whereas, in fact, only a small percentage of fans cm be classified as pathological. They assert that the conternporary perspective of media fans is extremely negative: most people perceive fans to be losers, lunatics, love-sick teenagers or hapless housewives - ail of whom have conflated fiction and reality to such an extent that they can not tell the difference between the two. They point out that this perception is relatively recent, noting that 1970s magazines alluded to fans as people who were understandably enthusiastic about their favourite stars. They cite a 198 1 article in People magazine entitled "Desperate to fil1 an emotion void, some fans become dangerous to their idols" as the genesis of modem day contempt for media fans. This contempt has increased substantidly through print and infotainment teievision into the 1990s culminating with the death of Diana, Princess of Wdes, wherein tabloid readers were cited as the group behind frenzied attempts by photographers to snap her pic ture.

Fans themselves are generally well aware of the public perception of them. To this end, many people lie about how much TV they watch, embarrassed about their viewing habits (McIlwraith, Smith Jacobvitz, Kubey, & Alexander, 1991 ; Whetmore & Kielwasser, 1983). Some, however fight back. In response to an incendiary sketch on Snturduy Night Live wherein Star Trek star William Shatner tells "Trekkies" to "Get a Life!", one fan surnmarizes a Star Trek fans sentiment. 1 resent having those assumptions made about me. 1 have "got a life." 1 have a husband and children. 1 do volunteer work and have opinions on a wide variety of matters, both political and religious. 1 do shopping, vote in elections and change diapers. 1 do live in a real world, with ai1 of its tension and stress. That is the reason 1 am a Trekker. A hobby is necessary for mental health. Star Trek helps me to keep from burning out in al1 the "important" things 1 do. It helps me relax. It helps me retain my perspective. It is fun. It is not my religion. 1 aiready have a perfectly good religion. (Well, I'm Catholic.) And 1 suspect that the majority of fans are more like me than the stereotype (Kuliakauskas, 1988, p. 5).

In addition to fanship as stress-release, Hinerman (1992) identifies other healthful attributes related to the "fan-star fantasy." He States:

at sites of trauma, marked by social prohibition, the gap between desire and ego will be marked, calling Identity and Self into question. At this point, fantasy can be a way in which Identity is sutured together, a way in which desire and ego are stitched and which allows healing (p. 13 1).

He notes that the fantasies of fans are highly persona1 and emotiondly charged- They engage fans ideologically from a specific political place, speaking to those who are denied more "direct" and confrontational solutions to crises, e-g., women who are beaten. He finds that fantasy relationships with stars cm be a powerful and positive tool in coping with challenges of the self and of identity, functioning as liberating and transformatory tools. Hineman's work is informed by French psychoanal yst Jacques Lacan, and by Laplanche and Pontdis (1973), who define fantasy as an

imaginary scene in which the subject is a protagonist, representing the fulfillment of a wish (in the last analysis, an unconscious wish) in a manner that is distorted to a greater or lesser extent by defensive processes. Phantasy has a nurnber of different modes: conscious phantasies or daydreams, unconscious phantasies like those uncovered by analysis as the structures underlying manifest content, and primal phantasies (p. 3 1).

He asserts that fantasy is a necessary component of the fundamentai tension between Lacan's (1978) Imaginary and Symbolic, between the unconscious and ego formations. According to Lacan (1978), fantasy begins in the Freudian pre-Oedipal stage wherein the lack a child expenences each time she or he completes breast feeding translates into the child's desire to seek out a moment of undifferentiated pleasure; that sense of unity exists in the realm of the Irnaginary. Rather than the breast, Lacan uses the concept of the rnirror: when the child first looks in a mirror, shenie does not yet recognize him or herself as a separate entity. As the chiId enters the world of language, shehe moves into the realm of the Symbolic, developing a sense of separation and of self. They must live with the Absence - or lack - yet they yearn for the Imaginary realm. Al1 of this pushes the child's drive for unity and pure pleasure into a framework of desire, repressed and formed in the unconscious. Fantasy is a way to satisfy the desire for fullness of oneness.

Just as being able to repress drives is necessary to life, so too is the functioning of desire and the want to increase pleasure towards satisfaction. Fantasy, then, may well be a foundational mark of human existence. The absence of fantasy in a life would be the mark of full repression and a sign of the "non-human." It would be as impossible to imagine as a person who never dreams. (Hineman, 1992, p. 1 15).

The use of fantasy by fans as a healthy strategy is used, from a different perspective, by Aden (1999), who explores "why we are fans and what we get out of being fans" (p. 1). He bases his exploration on Bourdieu's (1977) notion of "habitus." Habitus is society's collective sense of place bom out of history and its continued reproduction. Aden maintains that habitus is perpetuated by "grand narratives." Unlike myths - which are legitimized in a founding act - grand narratives are oriented toward better future possibilities, e-g., progress (Lyotard,1993). Aden suggests that at the end of these narratives are "places" or "promised lands." These places are shared loci of desire: "the symbolic visions shared by a culture that provide a destination, unique to the culture, where the members of the culture expect to find ultimate fulfillment7' (p. 4). Aden applies the concepts of grand narratives and habitus in such a way as to champion the imagination. Moreover, he establishes that grand narratives rue told through popular stories that are experienced by fans and are "thus not universal but are specific to contextualized cornmunities and are individually accessible through imaginative journeys" (p. 49). Inspired by Walton (1990), Aden regards much of the focus of popular fanship (i.e., fictional representation) as props employed for adult garnes of make-believe which constitute a form of escapism: "escapism through imagination is purposeful; it allows us to move from an unsatisfactory material place to a fulfilling place of the imagination, a prornised land of Our own creation" (p. 6). Aden views this approach as a healthy way both to cope with the mundanities of life and to initiate experimentation with new meaning-making in our habitus. Thus, fanship allows for the enactment of a personal sense of power through a "symbotic pilgrimage as a rnovement away from the place in which we materially reside" (p. 13).

1.4 TechnoIoeical~v-mediatedInteraction: Literature Review

Research exploring the nature of technologically-mediated relationships is limited. Horton and Wohl (1956) first introduced the idea with their term "parasocial interaction," which refers to "a type of intimate, friend-like relationship that occurs between a mediated persona and a viewer" (Rubin and McHugh, 1987, p. 280). It is also described as an "affective participant invol vernent.. .with media personalities based on normal interpersonal expectations and processes" (Rubin and Perse, 1987, p. 248).

While the term "fan" is not employed by either Horton and Wohl(1956) or subsequent theorists who have built upon their work, these researchers describe viewers who behave like fans, Le., people who seek out opportunities to watch certain celebrities. Horton and Wohl maintain that the impression of character reliability and the establishment of viewer loyalty are tied to one another. Over time, the viewer develops a sense of intimacy with the celebrity through watching the personality. They argue that viewers

"know" such a persona in somewhat the same way they know their close friends: through direct observation and interpretation of his [or her] appearance, his [or her] gestures and voice, his [or her] conversation and conduct in a variety of situations (p. 2 16).

While Rubin and McHugh (1987) concur with Horton and Wohl(1956) reparding the sentiment developed in parasocial interaction, they argue that length of exposure to a personality - while deepening the sense of relationsl~ipimportance once it has begun - does not guarantee the development of a parasocial relationship. They suggest "attraction" is key and that "social or work partner" attractiveness rather than physical attractiveness is the pnmqmotivating factor.

It has been speculated that loneliness experienced by mass media fans may contnbute to the development of parasocial relationships with stars (Schickel, 1985), however, Rubin, Perse and Powell (1985) do not find a link between parasocial interaction and loneliness. Instead, they suggest that "the motivating need for parasocial interaction may stem from an active bonding with a persona who is perceived as real and similar, rather than the initially speculated deficiency motivation" (p. 175). They substantiate this explanation with findings showing a dual structure of television use wherein only the first of the uses manifests the conditions required for parasocial relationships. The first use involves "instrumentai desires" for information and entertainment wherein viewers are satisfying information curiosity, they are seeking excitement and are cognitively involved. This "goal-directed pattern of instrumental television use" lends itself to viewers' active engagement with televised material and personalities. The second use involves a "ritualized pattern of time consumption and substitution that [is] unrelated to parasocial interaction" (p. 175) since this type of watching is related to habit or time-filling strategies. Accordingly, Rubin et al. concur with Swanson's (1979) suggestion that rneaning-rnaking for media consumers is not found in content or presentation but in the manner in which viewers affectively construe and create meaning out of a media experience. Once an affective connecrion has been established, other beliefs ensue. Rubin, Perse and Powell (1985) find a significant relationship between parasocial interaction and perceived news realism, Le., the more viewers affectively relate to a news personaiity, the more they trust the information imparted by the newscaster. To this end, they maintain that television personalities encourage parasocial interaction

by employing conversational style and gestures within informal face-to-face settings that mirror interpersonal communication and invite interactive responses. The relationship is magnified by production techniques, such as close-up shots and carnera zooms, which promote a sense of intimacy (p. 156).

Previous applications of symbolic interactionist theory to research on technologically-mediated relationships, appears to be non-existent. However, while symbolic interactionist theory has not been specifically applied to the study of technologically-mediated, or parasocial, relationships, Rubin and McHugh (1987) broach the compatibility of the theory and the study of mass media fans with their recognition of the "contribution of interpersonal communication theories to understanding relationships people have with television personalities" (p. 279). In addition, four studies peripherally address the subject matter as it relates to concepts similar to those of symbolic interactionism: either through fan to fan relationship, fan to star relationship, andor via mediated means. The first examines soap fan Usenet newsgroups and finds that participants are able to create group coherence in this realm with neither places nor faces (Baym, 1994). The second documents the ways in which being a fan of a rock star (Bruce Springsteen) functions in the daily lives of those fans. This researcher notes that fans'

musical listening is connected in a dialectical relationship with their non-musical experiences; that their activities such as collecting memorabilia and identification with Springsteen help to create a sense of self; and that their storytelling creates a strong sense of belonging together which encourages social relations (Cavicchi, 1997, p. 3997).

A third study explores perceived meanings of Grateîül Dead Song lyrics and their relationship to social, psychological, and behavioral variables and finds that the most important predictor of self-identity as a Grateîül Dead fan is social participation. In this case, sense of self appears to be related to being able to converse with fellow fans about the band, rather than to a connection with the band members themselves (Lehman, 1994). The fourth study examines social movements in smdl group communications in Xena: Warrior Princess online culture and finds that this "highly marginalized and often oppressed group" of Xena fans create empowering experiences for themselves in cyberspace" (Boese, 1998, p. 1).

1.5 An Overview of Historical Approaches and Theories Gerrnane to Modem Dav Fanslip

There are two centrd considerations in the selection of a theoretical framework: 1) methodological, and 2) theoretical. The methodological orientation of this study is ethnographie. Ethnography has been selected over other approaches because its potential for descriptive documentation lends itself to studying subjective experience. Ethnography produces "sensitizing concepts and models that allow people to see events in new ways" (Harnrnersley, 1992, p. 12). As Harnmersley notes, ethnography is not a theory since "descriptions cannot be theories, but al1 descriptions are theoretical in the sense that they rely on concepts and theoriesW(p.13). The theoretical orientation of this study is - as has dready been identified - symbolic interactionism. At the end of this section 1 explain why 1 have chosen this framework: Chapter Two provides a detailed account of the theory.

While symbolic interactionism functions as the central framework for the collection and interpretation of data in this thesis, several other theories offer relevant perspectives by which to approach data relating to the process of self, relationships, and technologicaIly-mediated interaction between fans and stars. These theories have been chosen because, in a germane and salient way, they address the phenornenon of self- development through: the circulation of power; the effect of technology; the power of goup thought; the rnimetic; the fear of death; and the process by which higher thought is achieved. Moreover, these theories variously emerge from historical visual traditions and attitudinal foundations which directly or indirectly inforrn modem day fanship. Prior to discussing the theorists, the following is a bnef overview of some of the historical lineages contributing to the visual and attitudinal "language" of mass media fanship.

Stars as they are now experienced ( Le., intimate, mediated close-ups of their faces and bodies and covenge of substantial details of their personal lives) did not exist prior to the Twentieth Century (Schickel, 1985). Mass media fans (Le., those people who have become fans as a result of their exposure to celebrities through moving images) did not exist prior to the Twentieth Century either. The word "fan" - abbreviated from the word, "fanatic" (from the Latin, fanaticus, meaning inspired by a deity; frenzied, frantic) - only came into existence in the late Nineteenth Century when sports journalists began writing about people who faithhilly followed professional sports teams (Guttrnann, 1986). The term was almost immediately expanded to refer to commercial entertainment aficionados as well. The first official organized mass media fan event did not occur until well into the Twentieth Century in the fom of a 1936 meeting of science fiction fans in Philadelphia (Madle, 1994). The first organized media fan movement was also pioneered by science fiction fans when, in the early 1970s, they created a grassroots initiative to Save the NBC television series, Star Trek (Jenkins, 1992b).

Modem fanship in this dissertation is assumed to be a product of modem technology. While pre-fanship of celebrities in Nineteenth-Century theatre and entertainment (e-g., Ellen Tracy, Charles Dickens) was a significant phenornenon in European and North American society, these idealizations are distinct from the modern fan. The birth of the term "fan" as it relates to the current incarnation of fanship, did not occur until the concurrent birth of the moving image a little over one hundred years ago - an event which fundarnentally altered the way in which fans relate to the famous. Technology engenders "an imagined intimacy [with stars] fostered by the media" (Schickel, 1985, p. 25). Film and television screens allow fans to look as unblinkingly and as closely into the face of a celebrity as they can into the face of an intimate partner. The groundwork relating to society's desire for, and receptivity to, modem fanship can be located dong three histotical paths: 1) religious icons; 2) technology and iconic manifestations; and 3) Iiteracy and access to images. While 1 do not delve extensively into the history and development of these three influential paths, 1 survey each as a means by which to orient the theones relative to modem day fanship that I explore. With regard to why these three paths have been chosen, 1 have selected religious icons because 1 believe the dynamics surrounding the traditional icon represent the first recognized technologically-mediated interaction (Le., viewers interact, have some form of a relationship with an image, as opposed to a face-to-face encounter). Technological and iconic manifestations are the modern, generally seci_ilar,expression of religious icon interactions. Literacy uid access to images chart a method of perception, through the written word and through the image, that Iaid the groundwork for the production of the conditions that allow the mass media fanship phenornenon of irnagined intimacy.

Prior to an exploration of the path to modem fanship from the perspective of religious iconical expression, working definitions must be given to the terms "icon" and "religion." Regarding "religion," 1 want to recognize two definitions which 1 have found useful. The first is located in Durkheim's functionalist a~proach:"Religion is a set of beliefs, practices, and social structures, grounded in a people's experience of the holy, that accommodates their emotional, sociai, intellectual, and meaning-giving needs" (Schmidt, 1988, p. 88). The second definition is located in the Weberian perspective, which includes the concept of a supernatural being. To this end, Leeming and Page (1996) summarize religion as "a pervasive human experience or sense of divine reality in a universe and Our needs as a species to understand it" (p. 6). Specifically, they define the role of deities as

projections of the species' sense of significant reality beyond its own immediate understanding and of its attempt, nevertheless, to achieve intellectual and emotionai secunty by relating itself to that reality. The confrontation with deity is the confrontation with humanity with its ultimate boundaries within and outside of itself (p. 3).

The terni "icon" emerges from a Greek word meaning "portrait" or "image." Ouspensky (1978) asserts that an icon is distinguishable from a portrait and al1 other images by its content - precise visual forrns of expression which refer to a holiness that need not be inferred by Our thought but is visible to the eye. His definition suggests that the identification of an icon is, to a certain extent, a subjective exercise. Subjectivity is a factor in the deterrnination of the first documented icons: 20,000 year old French cave paintings (Le Ministere de la culture et de la Francophonie, 1995). It is impossible to prove these paintings have some fom of religious intent. However Saul (1992) maintains that this is almost certainly the case: "the phenornenon of the man-made image has always revolved around.. .conscious or unconscious fear, which in turn is counterbalanced by some combination of magic and ritual" (p. 425).

Regardless of when icons first appeared, the first official intersection of Christian religion and the viewing of art occurred in 692 C.E. By decree of the Quinisext Council, artwork became a recognized conduit for the aesthetic and political sentiments of the sacred. The Council believed that the creation of icons constituted a theology in images that was comprised of a (parallel) language correspondinp to that of scripture (Ouspensky, 1978). Like scripture, traditional icons are perceived to make the image of the Kingdom of God more real. The icon functions as an expression of how Christ is able to unite in Himself both human and divine nature; the inaccessible becomes accessible, the impossible becomes possibIe, salvation from mortality is made concrete. According to St. John of Damascus (1967), icons are channels enabling people to raise themselves to the contemplation of spiritual objects. Nouwen (1987) describes the veneration of traditional icons as affording transformatory experiences generating insight and communion and feelings of closeness to God. Icons are tangible manifestations of the divine. The practice of venerating traditional religious icons has now, however, been augmented andor usurped by moving, rnediated, secular icons. "The divine" is now generally seen in celebrities made farnous through marketing rather than through scripture. Saul(1992) notes that "television has become the daily religious service of the modern world" (p. 454). He asserts that technology renders images "of women more beautiful than women, of men stronger than men - al1 are Godlike and unbearable.. .The electronic image is man as God and the ritual involved leads us not to a mysterious Holy Trinity but back to ourselves" (p. 460).

As with traditional icons, the modern fankelebrityhcon interaction has the external dynamic of a person who is focussing attention on an object that cannot respond in the irnrnediate. In both cases, it is impossible to fathom directly the nature of the viewer's internal experience of that sociai interaction, or how the interaction affects the self. These new technologically-rendered icons are, primarily, the forever-captured moving images of film and television. Secondarily, they are the photographie stills of these moving images, visuai impressions of famous people, fictional realms, and history- making current events: Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Goite with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, the JFK assassination, the first human on the rnoon, Prïncess Diana and the scene of the car crash that killed her. The technology that has made these images possible originates in capitaiism, a "self-regulated system of markets" (Pellicani, 1994, p. 8). From its European birth more than a millennium ago, capitalism grew out of the demise of feudalism which, in turn, ied to the creation of nation-state cities, unprecedented urbanization, and market expansion. The energy of capitalism generated the Fourteenth Century invention of the pedal loom, the spinning wheel and other seminal technologies culrninating four centuries later in the industrial revolution. Concurrently, capitalism contributed to the erosion of the domination of the Church. A theocentric vision of reality was being replaced by an anthropocentric one. Icons were reconceptualized dong with ail other aspects of the Church's hold on societai perceptions.

Artistic technique also contributed to a perceptual evolution away from the Church toward a new kind of icon in the rendering of the image. Saul(1992) asserts that "the question of perspective was solved and the perfect image created between 1405 and 15 15, afier thousands of years of craftsmen stnving towards that moment" (p. 434). Yet, he notes that this technical breakthrough was accompanied by a deflating lack of metaphysicai change. The achievement of realistic rendering did not bring with it an anticipated spiritual transcendence. Subsequent technological developments (Le., the photograph, the motion picture, television and video) further undermined a traditiond rnainstay of the image as a religious enclave. Saul observes that al1 of these innovations, while offering accurate renditions of "reality," have contributed to a growing distrust of the image.

The electronic perfection of the image has been the final step in Western man's search for pure idolatry. The process - which began with Pope Darnasus integrating the rational and pagan foundation of Rome into the Christian church and which took another major step with Raphael's completion of the perfect static image while portraying the Athenian principles for a Renaissance pope - has now come to an end. Man's consuming inner fear is a reflection of that finality. It is as if we and Our image were tuming in an eternal circle staring warily and meaninglessly at each other (pp. 460-1):

The mass media fan's perception has also been informed by the evolution of the written word. While images cannot literally be seen through text, they can be conjured up. A brief survey of literacy reveals a change from text-based imagined intimacy to one inclusive of, or transferred to, a visudly-based one. As with technology, capitalisrn created the crucible in which the development of widespread literacy among the bourgeois occurred (Habermas, 1989). The Thirteen Century spread of early financial and trade expansion frorn northern Itdy to western and northern Europe established a need for increasingly accurate information from afar. Regular postal service and press publications were required by merchants to calculate requirements and products. By the Sixteenth Century, innovative developments in printing enabled increasing numbers of people to have books. For many, these books were religious in nature. Particularly for Protestants, the Bible became the central vehicle by which to lem about God and meaning-making in the world (Gerth & Mills, 1948; Nottingham, 1954). For Seventeenth Century entrepreneurs and others invotved in capitalistic pursuits (Le., middle class businessmen and private propeny owners) news was of primary importance. News itself becarne a comrnodity. Weekly and then daily journais appeared. And while capitalism spawned the increasing need for the written word and the ability to read those words, it ais0 established a climate in which the growth of freedom of expression ultimately allowed for an exploration of a sense of imagined intimacy. According to Habermas, this notion of "freedom" existed within a concentrated group of property owners who compnsed a "fictitious identity" of privatized individuals constituting the bourgeois public sphere. In effect, class interests formed the basis of public opinion. The "interest of the owners of private property could converge with that of the freedom of the individual in general" (p. 56). In the Eighteenth Century. this sense of "freedom" among an identifiable group manifested itself rnost dramaticaily in the 1740 publication of a book about private affairs which shed light on the group's self-knowledge. Samuel Richardson's Parnela is a fictitious story of a fifteen-year old servant girl aggressively and romantically pursued by her employer. The epistolary nature of the novel helped readers to feel as though they had happened upon a real life intimate encounter far exceeding previous parameters regarding the publication of subjective, albeit fictitious, material.

Although the experiences of intimacy and voyeurism in Parnela were text-based, 1 would argue that the inspiration for the creation and selling of socially-sanctioned foms of these experiences can be found in art. The intimacy and voyeurism in European oil paintings preceded the publication of Parnela by at least three centuries and, arguably, while the medium has changed, the methods of perception continued relatively unintempted with publications like Playboy into the 1960s when the feminist movement effectively challenged (although it did not eradicate) these practices by demanding that women be viewed as persons, rather than objects. Similarities exist in that both media deal with intimate material; however, the visud tradition locates the viewer in a different place than that of the reader. Rather than feeling as though one is secretly observing, as is the case with Pamela, the traditional male European art viewer was often made to feel invited into an intimate experience to pmake of everything rather than to spy. As John Berger ( 1972) notes,

in the average European oil painting of the nude the principal protagonist is never painted. He is the spectator in front of the picture and he is presumed to be a man. Everything is addressed to him. Everything must appear to be the resuIt of his being there. It is for him that the figures have assumed their nudity. But he, by definition, is a stranger - with his clothes still on (p. 54).

While many more enlightened and egalitarian culturd perspectives have emerged concurrent with the rise of mass media, it can be argued that mass media fans' method of perception is at Ieast partially informed by the practices of both the European gentleman property-owner/spectator and the reader of Parnela: fans can experience a kind of intimacy without responsibility. Depending on the event, they can both spy ancilor feel invited into the experience. They cmchoose to perceive that a performance has been crafted for them. They can observe a technologically-mediated star unblinkingly and yet be free frcm the social requirement of a response as is the case in face-to-face interactions.

This brief overview of some of the visuaI and attitudinal foundations of modem fanship helps situate the following cross-section of theorists whose work contextualizes elements of the experience of mass media fanship.

1S(A) The Frankfurt School

Originating in 1923 and inspired by a diverse array of theorists (e-,o., Kant, Nietzsche, Weber, Freud), the Frankîurt school emerged partially in response to the need to re-examine Marxist theory in light of the Russian Bolshevik victory and the defeat of central European, especially German, labour movements. While there have been four phases of the school (Bottomore, 1984), the consistent theme throughout has been one of cntical theory wherein criticism of cultural products is employed to reveal hidaen assumptions and debunk their claims to authority in an effort to emancipate society. Subjection to the domination of a powerfùl cultural industry is viewed as leading to the destruction of individual autonomy. Ideally, criticism is developed toward the realization of praxis and the enactment of change. A fundamental orientation of the school lies in its criticisrn of positivism and ernpiricism. Ciairning thai positivism was a key factor in "technocratic domination," the school sought to develop an alternative epistemology and methodology for social research. Marcuse, in particular, systematically described the power of technological rationality which he viewed as an abstract force beyond human control and about which he was profoundly pessirnistic. The school is also dedicated to the fate of the individual in modem society. Specifically, critical theory identifies fears regarding the juggemaut of technological rationality and the human ability to express authenticity. Further, proponents view the fusion of culture, entertainment and advertising as an ovenvhelming impediment to the expression of uniqueness. With regard to the prospect of ernpowering social change, the school views the possibility of a transformation from capitalism to socialism as dependent upon processes of democratization rather than upon changes in modes of production.

As it relates to this study, the application of Frankfurt school critical principles

generates insights relating to how mass media fanship may contribute :.O the enslavement, or emancipation of, fans from hegemonic cultural perceptions and or technological rationdity. For example, Marcuse (1964) believes that technological rationality is an insidious configuration of social cohesion, behaviour and control in our advanced industrial society. "Deceptive liberties" such as free choices around brands and gadgets disguise the loss of personal liberties. Mass production claims the entire individual resulting in mimesis, an irnmediate identification of the individual with the society. Through this perspective, television, film, radio, print and internet technology - and the stars, who may be viewed as carefully marketed "brands and gadgets" - function as the vehicles for the "zombification" of the self. A charting of the social interaction among fans, arnong fans and celebrities, and between like-minded fans may render information regarding fan enslavement by bureaucracy and technology. Another source for analysis of data cm be located in Adorno's (199 1) position that mass culture, through the power of technology, exists, trance-like, in a successful fusion of waking and dream life. Adorno and his colleague, Horkheimer, view mass culture as a product of capitalism that has insidiously permeated society through a subconscious ideology inhibiting freedom from the cornmodity cycle, perpetuated by a regime reminiscent of 1930s Fascism wherein the public world is perceived as a mirage (Connerton,l980). Autonomy is stifled because self-reflection has been reduced to a permanent state of the infantile compulsion towards the satisfaction of needs. From this perspective, mass culture, and, therefore, the stars who fünction as the cogs within it, comprise a vicious spiral which feeds back upon itself in a perpetual state of mass deception. Culture becornes an extension of its own publicity: advertising, information and cornmand dissolve into one another. Adorno uses the concept of rnimesis to explain what he perceives to be the empty ecstasy, the "frozen death," of fans in mass culture. People sublimate rather than genuinely feel. "Participation in mass culture stands under the sign of terror.. .fear of disobedience.. .this anxiety, the ultimate lesson of the fascist era, is already harboured within the very medium of technological comrnunication" (p. 82-3). Adorno is asserting that, as a result of technology, people have lost their ability to develop, seduced by the Freudian unconscious libidinal, pleasure principle and integrated into the mass accordingly. Adorno's work provides a means by which to examine the potential fettering of consciousness via the specific cultural vehicle of fandom. Ln a version of authoritarian personalities and leadership, followers bond with a leader or star through identification, which serves to transform libido. Fans may want to be like their ceIebrity of choice, or, perhaps, secondarily, like the leader of a group of mutually- focussed fans - both potentially having the effect of mass hypnosis.

Much of Levi-Strauss's (1963) structural anthropology can be connected to a historical and present day interaction with religious icons - and, as the theory relates more specifically to this thesis, to the potential for "trance-like" mass media fan subjective experiences. Levi-Strauss maintains that beliefs, as they evolve in the self, constitute divergent interpretations com[ing] from individual consciousness not as the result of objective anaiysis but rather as complementary ideas resulting from hazy and unelaborated attitudes which have an experientiai character for each of us. These experiences, however, remain intellectudfy diffuse and emotionaily intolerable unless they incorporate one or another of the patterns present in the group7s culture. The assimilation of such patterns is the only means of objectivizing subjective states, of formulating inexpressible feelings, and of integrating inarticulated experiences into a system (p. 17 1-2).

In this view, the star might function as Levi-Strauss's "sorcerer" of sorts while the fan might be viewed as a "victim" - both substantiated by a group of believers, ail of whom socially interact, creating a "coherence of the psychic universe, itself a projection of the social universe" (p. 182). Social interaction occurs through magical thinking and magical behaviour spiralling dialectically. Repetition is used to overcome contradiction. "Mythemes" reverberate via universal characteristics which exist on the conceptual Ievel while ritual exists on the level of action. Levi-Strauss's theory offers a perspective by which to examine self-development and group mass media fan behaviour. It also may provide an approach for interpreting data relating to interaction between fans and stars, and to religious expression. Moreover, it may help to account for the technological impact of repetition on fans.

1S(C) Becoming the Other

Mimesis is a copying or imitation of the perceived by the perceiver - the practices of which are referred to in the survey of the Frankfurt School(1 .E(2)) and in the mass media fanship literature review (1 .C). Perspectives on mimesis are described by Taussig (1993) and Girard (1978). Taussig offers a theory blending magic and mimesis in his exploration of Our modem day creation of a second nature. He views the mimetic faculty as "the nature that culture uses to.. .yield into and become Other. The wonder of mimesis lies in the copy drawing on the character and power of the original" (p. xiii). In some cases, the perceiver rnay even assume that character and power; a description also known as sympathetic magic. The invention of "rnimetically capacious" machines such as the carnera (cinema and the mass production of irnagery) in the second half of the Nineteenth Century adds another dimension to Taussig's concept by allowing for a retooling of the mimetic faculty.

Machines of technical reproduction have made possible what Benjamin (Arendt, 1968) terms the "optical unconscious," (Le., camera techniques such as close-ups and slow motion that intervene in our methods of perceptions) which has opened up new possibilities for exploring reality and for creating change in culture and society. Taussig (1993) believes the technologically-facilitated "mirnetic connection" is a body and image interpenetration which can be considered the sympathetic magic of the modemist. According to Taussig, machines also create a new subject-object relationship. Science and art coalesce, effecting physiognomy by stirring waking dreams brought to light by new mimetic techniques and unleashing a new form of imagina1 power. '7'0exercise the rnimetic faculty is to.. .cultivate the insoluble paradox of the distinction between essence and appearance" (p. 176). This new, technologically-aided mimesis offers a reflexive awareness that may "permit the freedom to Iive reality as really made-up" (p. 255). Through technologically-produced mimetic association, Taussig's theory accornrnodates an exploration of the technologically-mediated subjective experiences of fans. In particular, his concepts of "yielding into" and "becoming the Other," offers a way by which to understand the fan-celebrity and/or the fan-to-fan relationship and processes of self-developrnent through technologically-assisted imagination.

The concept of mimesis informs Girard's (1987) theory of the scapegoat. He argues that human Iearning, intelligence, and culture - and, therefore, the evolution of self and social interactions - are based on rnirnicry, imitation, or mimesis. Girard bases his theory in "the founding murder," a phenornenon that cannot be witnessed and or recognized as such without its losing its potency. The victim of the "murder" constitutes the universal signifier, a scapegoat through which society's fears, aggressions, and anxieties are subconsciously funnelled and dispelled. The closer we move toward "the mechanism," the less we are able to understand its crucial importance as a socially unifying and cathartic agent employed to ensure tolerable relations within cornmunities.

Relative to this study, the scapegoat may be a star but he or she may ais0 be another fart. These days, the scapegoat is more likely to be metaphorically - rather than literally - murdered. Girard regards the function of modem day celebrities (the famous and the infamous) through the psychoanalytic concept of ambivalence. Ostensibly, the public is repeatedly, and usually artificially, exposed to figures to whom are then attributed "excessive responsibility" for current opinions, trends, and sentiments.

Celebrities are human lightning rods for the crystallization of collective awareness - a phenomenon that always occurs through an inversion of relations between active and passive, collective and individual. These "chosen" individuals embody the polarization of the popular imagination and, as long as they remain in a favourable public light, are imbued with power accordingly. In the moment of their power, they are a concrete manifestation of the affective state of the collective. After they have served their societal purpose, or in order to serve their societal purpose, these celebrities are scapegoated: they die, either literally or in terrns of the dernise of their careers. Use of Girard's theory would reveal the fan-star relationship as one wherein the star (or possibly a member of the fan community) is selected as an embodiment of societal sentiment, a repository of unwieldy, ultimately socially-destructive feelings. Girard's work offers a way to approach metaphorical sacrifices of celebrities or of fans and the potentiality of the phenomenon of ensuing unification.

1S(D) The Fear of Death

Based in part on the work of psychoanalyst Otto Rank, Ernest Becker (1973) suggests that the fundamental motivator of human behaviour is the fear of death. Becker maintains that the knowledge we wilI die one day motivates humans to take on certain coping behaviours. Becker States that Freud's concept of "transference" - wherein the omnipotence and hero worship children project ont0 their parents is recreated in adults who imbue authority figures with tremendous power and collective fantasies - is a mechanism by which to handle the prospect of death. Psychoanalytic transference is a manifestation of the Freudian supposition of a universal human desire to "surrender to a supenor power" (p. 129). In an attempt to tame the "terror" of our mortality with "magical protection," people want to find their way back to the "oceanic feeling" they experienced as children with their parents. By placing awe and terror in one place, the childhdult feeis they can control their fate: "the object becomes his (ber) locus of safe operation" (p. 146). Transference is "a natural fetishization for man's highest yearnings and strivingsit is ...the establishment of a locus from which our Iives can draw the powers they need and want" (p. 155).

In his exploration of the ontological motives for transference, Becker ( 1973) identifies two opposing desires: 1) to merge and become one with ail; and 2) to be unique. The first motive stems from the human desire to solve the problem of loneliness. Becker notes that, from a Freudian perspective, human desire for oneness, and for God, may be perceived as weak and immature. He defets to Rank for a positive explanation of this desire. Rank (193 1) States that the desire to become part of a greater whole stems from a genuine life-yearning; a seeking out of a plenitude of meanings. Utilizing Becker's work, an exploration of mass media fanship may be viewed as a vehicle for self- development through a quest to "merge" with favourite stars and other like-minded fans in order to develop self-understanding. The second motive may serve a need to distinctly "self-expand" through inspiration gleaned from studying admired star behaviour.

It may be that people's "extreme passion for authority7' (Freud, 192 1) can be at least partially assuaged through celebrities. Stars (and certain fans) may function as leaders ont0 whom illusions of omnipotence and irnmortality can be projected. Moreover, a fan CO-existingwithin a group of fellow fans cm use the group to escape feelings of vulnerability and aloneness. The desire to be subsumed by a larger source of power rnay affect fans7 global perspective by helping to sustain a version of Fromm's ( 1964) "motherly racial-national-religious fixation." Further, stars may perform a Freudian "initiatory act7' - often an expression of forbidden impulses. Once they have done so, fans can repeat the act without guilt as the initiator has assumed the guilt. Becker maintains that groups "use" the leader, sometimes without regard for him or her, with the goal of serving their own goals and needs. Becker embraces Freud's work but he dso recognizes its shortcomings. He cites Redl's (1942) findings, which show that while al1 groups have a "cenrral person" whose qualities hold the group together, only some groups are dominated by strong persondities. This distinction has implications for the study of how fans are affected by favourite celebrities; they may be affected but not subsumed by the presence of the star in their lives.

1.S(E) The Genetic Method

"The genetic method" is an overarching descriptor for the work of Soviet psychologist, Lev Sernenovich Vygotsky (1896- 1934). Vygotsky (1978) is interested in the "process by which higher forms [of thinking] are established (p. 64). His work encompasses three core themes: 1) a reliance on the genetic or developmental method; 2) the belief that an individual's higher mental processes originate in social process; and, 3) the beiief that mental processes can only be understood if we understand the tools and signs by which they are mediated (Wertsch, 1985). Moreover, these themes are intertwined: social process suggests a genetic development analysis; social interaction and mental processes are fùndamentally dependent upon tools and signs, such as language. Vygotsky rejects the use of a single cluster of explanatory pnnciples, such as sexual maturation, as a basis for analysis of human development. Instead, he accounts for change in terrns of multiple forces. Moreover, beyond a certain point, he transfers the bulk of those forces from biological to social factors: "it is not nature, but society that above al1 else must be considered to be the determining factor in human behavior" ( 1960, p. 118). He maintains the "genetic" analysis of development requires reflection on a broad range of factors including phylogenetic, psychological, and sociohistorical considerations. Like Geertz (1973), Vygotsky feels that phylogenetic evolution ceases at the onset of culture in a social group at which point human development becomes dominated by sociohistorical factors rather than Darwinian ones. As a Marxian psychologist, Vygotsky believes that labour is a basic condition of human existence and is the basic form of transformation toward higher fonns of thinking. Unlike other Marxists, he regards the emergence of speech to be of equal importance. To this end, labour practices and social behaviorai practices can only be perfected as a result of a mastei-y of language and other sign systems. Wertsch (1985) labels Vygotsky's vision as the principle of decontextualization of mediational means" (p. 33). This principle - which has important implications for technologically-mediated interaction - describes the phenomenon whereby the rneaning of signs becomes decreasingly "dependent on the unique spatiotemporal context in which they are used."

Portions of Vygotsky's work resemble Mead (Bmner, 1962). In particular, both theorists regard relationship and the social act as a precondition of consciousness. Both theonsts reject the suggestion that etements accounting for social processes can be reduced to those accounting for psychological processes: social interaction is different from the dynamics of individual psychology. Like Mead, Vygotsky is interested in interpersonal and intrapersonal interaction. Like Mead, Vygotsky gives prime importance to the role of languages and symbols in self- developrnent. Vygotsky differs from Mead in that his Marxian orientation leads him to view social interaction and self-development as governed by socioeconomic factors such as historical materialism. Mead, on the other hand, developed a theory that, while ailowing for the impact of an econornic system on the self and the generalized other that contributed to the self s formation, is not dependent upon the strictures of econornic considerations. The genetic theory lends itself to exploring self-development and interpersonal, intrapersonal, and technologically- mediated interaction within the context of socioeconornic factors.

Along with Vygotsky and the genetic method, the other theorists and theories described above contribute to further understanding the data through perspectives beyond the scope of the central theoretical framework of this study, syrnbolic interactionism. While syrnbolic interactionism is used exclusively in the results chapters, the other theories described above are revisited in light of the data in Chapter Seven. 1S(F) Symbolic Lriteractionism

Chapter Two is dedicated to a detailed description of symbolic interactionism and its application. The following is a synopsis of why the theory has been chosen to provide the theoretical frarnework for this thesis. Symbolic interactionism is a social psychological theory fust developed by Mead (1934), focussing on the nature of interaction within and between people. Although it does not specificaily address technologically-mediated interaction, the elements of the theory are such that this phenornenon can be accornmodated. To the best of my knowledge, symbolic interactionism has never been employed as 1 use it - to explore technologically-mediated relationships. An assumption regarding face to face interaction is inherent in Mead's (1934) version of the theory. This study will test symbolic interactionism in a new way. The only similar work 1 have been able to identify which approaches the use of symbolic interactionism is a thesis (Ginsburg, 1998) which analyzes the music of Ani DiFranco as a form of inter-personal communication. Ginsburg finds that DiFranco's lyrics provide listeners with a foundation for relationship with other fans based on empathy and self- disclosure.

While Meadian and even post-Meadian symbolic interactionism does not currently account for technologically-mediated relationships, it offers well-developed intra- and inter-personal concepts by which to understand data. Symbolic interactionism holds that self is a fluid, ever-evolving entity; thus the amorphous nature of the fan, fanship practices and the functioning of the fan within fandom, as observed by Jenkins (1992b), can be addressed. The theory's focus on the dynamics of relationship provides usehl tools by which to study the interaction between fan and star and the participatory culture that exists among Iike-minded fans (Harrington and Bielby, 1995). And the post- Meadian addition of the importance of feelings provides a means by which to account for subjective inter- and intra-personal fan experiences, answering Radway's (1988) cal1 for theoretical sensitivity to fans' unique and individualized emotional expression. As previously stated, this study has three goals: 1) exploring the subjective experiences of fanship as they affect self-development; 2) descnbing and analyzing fans' technologically-mediated and in-person interactions with stars and with other fans; and, 3) identifying normative aspects of mass niedia fanship. The challenges in selecting a theory include the need to anaiyze: intemal and extemal social behaviour; the process of self-development; and, the dynamics of fan to star and fan to fan mediated and in-person relationships. Symbolic interactionism addresses these challenges, first, in its ability to approach the self and the self in relationship as a process. Jenkins (1992b) asserts that fandom is constantly in flux and that fans are actively engaged in continually producing meaning through reinterpreting mass culture images. He points to Hail (1980), who has long maintained that popular culture is "deeply contradictory." Each readerhiewer is constantly reassessing their relationship to cultural products and reconstructing their rneanings relative to irnmediate interests and personal identity - which suggests that a fan's self is always in a state of change.

Second, most fans have only ever had relationships with reproductions of stars. Therefore, even though in rnost cases an original star exists - or has existed - the fan only knows of the celebrity's existence through a reproduced image. As identified (1.D), technologically-mediated forrns of unidirectional fan interaction with celebrities are pervasive (Perse and Rubin, 1989), as are technologically-mediated forrns of fan to fan interaction (Harrington and Bielby, 1995, Jenkins, l99îa). Given that symbolic interaction focusses on relationship, the developed concepts of the theory lend themselves to this new task.

Third, although some fans relate to individual stars, others are fans of teams, groups, shows, genres anaor entire mediums. Symbolic interactionism can accornrnodate any type of relationship - whether it be one-to-one or one-to-a-large-group - because it focusses on dynarnics. This is an important consideration, since as Radway (1988) points out, fans are "free-floating" entities who are informed by, and consequently draw from, an often quirky cross-section of cultural productions. She cautions against attempting to isolate a particular readerhext relationship from the laser cultural context, suggesting instead that research remain open to "the multitude of concrete connections which ever- changing, fluid subjects forge between ideological fraagments, discourses, and practices" (p. 365). Radway's (1988) suggestion that an effective study of fans must rernain responsive to fans' proclivity to create individualized cultural and ideological pastiches also emphasizes the need for a flexible theoretical frarnework. While each of the aforementioned theories offer compelling theoretical frameworks by which to explore aspects of the problem, symbolic interactionism is the only theory that is both well- developed and flexible enough to accommodate the above considerations while allowing for free-floating information to be recognized and processed.

1.6 What's it ail About? Surnrnary and Research Questions

This thesis was born out of my cunosity about the nature of the subjective mass media fan experience and the impact of that experience upon self-development. It has been developed to explore previously neglected areas, including empirically-driven research on mass media fanship and the fan experience of technologically-mediated relationships with favourite stars. Also, it does not assume pathology in mass media fan populations but rather seeks to identify normative behavior. A review of the literature reveals that an immutable definition of fans and fanship is elusive. This thesis does not seek to achieve a definition of, but rather to add information and understanding to the existing body of work. The literature also reveals that only limited research has been conducted on technologically-mediated fanship. The literature identifies at least six themes concerning mass media fan experiences including: 1) religious expression; 2) pleasure; 3) perceived intimacy; 4) pride in fanship; 5) fanship and social change; and, 6) fanship as an indication of sickness or health. While symbolic interactionism has been selected as the theoretical framework, six other theones have been identified as potentiaily contributing insight in a discussion of the results.

This thesis includes six more chapters. They focus on, in order: 2) the theoreticai frarnework; 3) methods; 4) results related to patterns of participation and core fan characteristics; 5) results relating to the self; 6) results relating to reference groups; and, 7) a discussion of the results. Over the next six chapters, the following questions, which have ernerged out of this chapter, will be addressed.

PrimarJrResearch Question:

Viewed through the frarnework of symbolic interaciionism, how do rnass media fans' subjective experiences of their relationships with stars and other fans affect their self- development?

Secondary Research Questions:

What are the varieties of relationships experienced by fans with celebrities?

Do core patterns exist in mass media fans' experiences of their chosen celebrities?

Are fans' life decisions guided by the presence of celebrities in their lives?

How is the fan's sense of self affected by his or her relationship with favourite stars?

How is the fan's sense of self affected by reference groups?

1s there sorne rnanner of religious expression present in fans' experiences of celebrities? 2. Toward a Theory of the Self in Society: SyrnboIic Interactionism

2.1 Introduction

This chapter defines theoretical principles regarding the nature of intra- and inter- persona1 relationships, that allow me to explore the subjective experience of the North American mass media ceiebrity fan. III particular, 1 seek to address why 1 have chosen symbolic interactionism, what constitutes this theory, and how it will be used to undertake an exploration of the research questions. The selection process for an appropriate theory for this study has been a long one. As detailed in Chapter One, Marcuse, Adorno, Levi-S trauss, Girard, Taussig, Becker, and Vygotsky offer compelling perspectives on various intersections of self-development, relationships, culture and society, but only Meadian and post-Meadian symbolic interactionist theory address almost al1 of the considerations of this study. While selecting an appropriate theoretical framework required a fair arnount of investigation, that research was given some direction by virtue of the focus of this study: exploring the nature of the subjective experience of the North American twentieth-century mass media celebrity fan. The tem "subjective experience" led to Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804) and his concept of noumena. Kant (1929) -whose work influenced several of the above theorists, including Mead - argues that two forms of reality exist: the world of phenomena, wherein we can experience things with Our senses and subject them to rational, scientific investigation; and the world of noumena, a metaphysical realm, which he deems to be beyond the grasp of empirical study. Kant feels that humans are both phenomena, "passively" subject to the laws of nature, and noumena, "human souls" containing free will and the ability to actively control and shape our lives.

How, then, to study such a scientificaliy elusive yet twentieth-century-conditioned experience as mass media celebrity fanship? More than two centuries after Kant's observations, Charron ( 1979) notes that sociologi sts such as Thomas Berger ( l963), are still coping with the challenge of situating freedom in social science. Charron quotes Berger: "There is no way of perceiving freedom, either in oneself or another human being, except through a subjective inner certainty that dissolves as soon as it is attacked with the tools of scientific analysis" (p. 124). Berger argues that science isolates cause, not freedom; the assumptions and practices of science preclude the concept of individual freedom.

Charron maintains that pockets of thought in both psychology and sociology (e.g., Gestalt, Weberian) have attempted to remedy this conundrurn through creating perspectives sensitizing us to human behaviour. He argues, however, that the social sciences have made a strong case against the existence of a self-determining, "free" person. A notable exception to this juggemaut is symbolic interactionism, social psychology theory focussing on the nature of interaction between people. Founded upon the work of sociologist George Herbert Mead, symbolic interactionism rejects deterrninism in favour of an ever-evolving process of decision-making based on the self as a thinking social entity - an entity profoundly affected by interaction with others: "The conduct that we study is always the action of the form in its commerce with the environment" (Mead, 1934, p. 328). While symbolic interactionism has not previously been used in a study on this topic, its perspective lends itself to the thesis7 prirnary research question: "How do mass media fans' subjective experiences of their relationships with stars and other fans affect their self-development?" Irnpiicit in this question is a cal1 for an exploration of the dynamics between the fan and the star, the fans themselves, and the various ongoing, self-conversations within each individual fan. Syrnbolic interactionism's well-developed, flexible and responsive principles of social communication support maximizing receptivity to the subtleties of data relating to the self-developmental process of inter- and intra-persona1 experiences resulting from participation in fandom. As a result, symbolic interactionism has been selected as the central theory upon which to base this research. Mead's theory, and its subsequent development and refinement by others, represents an academically-recognized frarnework within which to explore the nature of fan relationships with stars and each other. Rather than approaching the relationships as something that is done "to" fans, symbolic interactionism offers a way to examine the thought processes and behaviour in relationships as an ever-changing, dynamic exchange. Further, this study examines whether symbolic interactionism will allow for the technologicdly-mediated aspect of the fans' experience of "interactions" with a star or stars who are generaily not in the fans' physical presence.

2.2 Symbolic Interactionism

2.2(A) A Brief Historv

Foreshadowings of symbolic interactionism's theoretical heritage can be located in Weberian sociology, which views society as comprised of thinking people engaged in meaningful social interaction with each other, and in Gestalt psychology, which emphasizes the central importance of perception in human behaviour. A debt is owed to pioneer psychologist William James, a functionalist who sought to explore how people develop resources that help them adapt to their environments. He views behaviour as indeterminate and ernergent; something that, since human consciousness and situations are always in a didectical process of flux, is continually evolving. James developed the nascent foundations for key symbolic interactionist principles including the "selective attention of impulses, the dialectic between environment and human behaviour, the idea of the ongoing flow of consciousness, (and) the voluntaristic component in human conduct" (Musolf, 1994, p. 3 1 1-2).

However, the genesis of symbolic interactionism, as we recognize it today, is located in the work of sociologist George Herbert Mead (1863-193 1). In addition, the development of symbolic interactionisrn benefited from the contributions of John Dewey, who offered insights into social-psychological implications, and Charles H. Cooley, who contributed substantially to the exploration of hurnan agency and the active-feeling States of consciousness (Musolf, 1994). Herbert Blumer is also a central figure. Prior to his death, Mead hand-picked Blumer to teach his course at the University of Chicago (Athens, 1993). Following Mead's death, Blumer, more than any other, took on the job of ordering and developing Mead's work; in fact, it was Blumer who coined the terrn, "symbolic interaction" (1937, p. 153). Blumer remained tnie to many of Mead's concepts, elaborating on the work, and later made significant contributions of his own. Blumer also sought to present some guiding principles and an overa-ching methodologicai position. He undertook his work after having identified three essential prernises of symbolic interaction:

1. Human beings act toward things based on the meanings those diings have for them (these things include physical objects, other human beings, categones of human beings, guiding ideals (e.g., honesty). institutions) 2. Meaning arises out of social interaction with others 3. These meanings are deait with through an interpretive process.

The kernel of symbolic interaction was born in an anti-determinist crucible, stirred most notably by James, in reaction to biological determinism. Desmonde (1970) notes that Mead was bom four years after the publication (1859) of Darwin's Origirz of Species. Darwin's work led to the acceptance of the concept of process. Darwin attacked mind-body dualisrn, opening the possibility of viewing psychic phenomena in the same way as other natural processes.

In this atmosphere, Mead was influenced by three intellectual forces: 1) the philosophy of pragmatism, which holds that truth does not exist without interpretation, that knowledge is based on usefulness, and that the understanding of behnviour must be inferred through observation; 2) the work of Charles Danvin, especially the emergent combination of uniquely human qualities and the process of nature as a constant state of change; and 3) behaviorism. Although Mead rejected Watsonian behaviorism (Watson viewed the social dimension of human behaviour as merely extemal influences upon the individual), he embraced the pursuit of understanding covert human behaviour through attempting to fathom the power of reasoning and the use of symbols. Mead evolved beyond traditional behaviorism by suggesting that, rather than passively responding to stimuli, people dynamicall y select stimuli and, to a great extent, determine their environment (Desmonde, 1970). Mead's "social behaviorism" rnoved behaviorism from the study of the overt components of action into the tenitory of introspective, or covert, phenomena as well. Meltzer (1964) observes that h4ead conflates the terms buman behaviour and social behaviour, hunan acts and social acts. He suggests that, for Mead, society is at the core of al1 human activity and quips that Mead's posthumously published book, Mind,se% and society, would have been more aptly titled: Society, se& and rnind. Counter to the design of Mead's book, and to Meltzer's assumptions regarding Mead's work, I will attempt to lay out the cornerstones of symbotic interaction in what 1 have found to be the most useful order of cornprehension: society, rnind, and self. This will be followed by a discussion of methodologicai considerations and a critique of the theory-

2.3 Svmbolic Interactionism: Basic Concepts

From the outset, Mead (1934) States that he wants to ded "with various phases of social experience... from the standpoint of society, at least from the standpoint of communication, Le., interaction, as essential to the social order" (p. 1). Mead sees society as pnor to the development of the mental processes of the individual. However, there is a chicken or egg aspect in Mead's thought because he also views society as the product of a confluence of symbolically interacting individuals. Unlike Durkheim, the individual is not shaped by society but is actively involved in its development. The products of interaction, central to the individual, are vital for society: a shared perspective (a set of shared symbols) enabling a continuing complex society through cooperation between individuals. The basis of a society is a consensus, a shared understanding about the world, and this understanding stems from the process of interpretation on the part of individuais participating in myriad social acts.

Mead argues "that human group life was the essential condition for the emergence of consciousness, the mind, a world of objects, human beings as organisms possessing selves, and human conduct in the form of constmcted acts" (Blumer, 1969, p. 61). However, he also emphasizes that society is not a system; "it is a vast number of concurrently occumng social acts, some Iinked, some not, some repetitious, some brand new - al1 serving the purposes of the participants, and not the requirernents of the system" (p. 75). Society and the individual exists in a syrnbiotic relationship. The individual is the result of society but society depends upon individuals. Ultimately, social control is a matter of multiple and shared decisions regarding self-control.

BIumer (1969) States that symbolic interactionism is based on several "root images" which serve to represent the manner in which the theory holds society and human conduct: human groups or societies [people engaged in action]; social interaction [between actors, not between factors imputed to them]; objects [can be physical (chair), social (teacher, mother), abstract (morals, ideas)] - since, in order to understand people, we must be able to identify their world of objects and view them as social creations; the human being as actor [a person can be an object of herlhis own action, eg, being a student, a lawyer etc.]; human action [a person must interpret in order to act]; and the interconnection of the lines of action [a joint action such as a marriage, a business transaction which occurs with societally pre-established meanings of what to expect] . Blumer sumrnarizes:

This approach sees a human society as people engaged in living. Such living is a process of ongoing activity in which participants are developing lines of action in the multitudinous situations they encounter. They are caught up in a vast process of interaction in which they have to fit their developing action to one another. This process of interaction consists in making indications to others of what to do and in interpreting the indications as made by others. They live in worlds of objects and are guided in their orientation and action by the meaning of these objects. Their objects, including objects of themselves, are formed, sustained, weakened, and transfomed in their interaction with one another (p. 20- 1). For Mead, the primary mechanism whereby hurnans interact with one another is through the spoken word. Influenced by Wilhelm Wundt's theory of language (e-g., parallelism: wherein signification gestures are constituted as such because they trigger psychical correlates in responding organisms), this belief is the linchpin in Mead's exploration of what constitutes the developmental phases of the mind and the self as generated through the social process. In an introduction to Mead's work, Charles Morris surnrnarizes Mead's intent, "to show that mind and the self are without residue social emergents; and that language, in the form of the vocal gesture, provides the mechanism for their emergence" (p. xiv).

2.3(A)i Locating the cause of an act.

For Mead, the unit of focus is the act. The act encompasses the total process involved in human activity. Blumer (1969) refers to social acts (or, as he calls it, joint action) as ranging from a dyad to huge organizations. He notes that Mead considers the social act as the fundamental unit of society. Each person occupies a different position and acts from that position, fitting into society by taking account of different things and interpreting their significance for his/her prospective action. And although individuals act within the framework of social organization, people do not act toward culture or social structure, they act toward situations.

The essence of society lies in an ongoing process of action and that action rnust be viewed in terms of how the separate lines of action, or acts, rnerge and fit. The confluence of these separate lines of action may not corne together easily since a trans- group definition of a sociai act, may not exist. Each social act has a history. This history usually emerges from a common identification of the social action that is enacted by its participants. This cornrnon identification accounts for stability in group life. However, stability does not preclude uncertainty: social acts may (or may not) be initiated, interrupted, abandoned, or transformed. Further, new situations may cal1 for the invention of new types of social acts. Mead (1934) is resolute in explaining that an external, observable act is always the result of a process originating within an individual. Although we cannot view the exact machinations of a person's internal process, "there are characteristics of that inner organic conduct which do reveal themselves in Our own attitudes, especially those connected with speech" (p. 6). He outlines four stages of the act: impulse (discornfort or disequilibrium); pe.rception (seeking out aspects of the environment that can be used to attain goals in the situation); manipuiation (using objects according to goals defined); and consummation (the goal is achieved, equilibrium is restored). However, having identified specific components of a social act, Mead emphasizes that the social act must be taken as "dynarnic whole." To this end, Charron (1979) sumarizes that an act is motivated by a number of factors: significant others, reference groups, perspectives, mind activity, roletaking, self-analysis, self-judgment, identity, self-communication - al1 covert activities that go into the making of an overt one. The act might be a conversation, a fight, or a game - al1 occurring via "significant gestures" wherein the act has meaning to both the actor and the other to whom the actor gestures. Charron States:

Each actor has a past to draw on to help define the situation, and each has a view of the future. The actors give meaning to situations using these tools, sometimes paying particular attention to those with whom they interact in the situation, often using those outside the situation as guides ( p. 134).

The actors use of syrnbols in preparing for, engaging in, and cornpleting an act is key. Symbols are used to pick out stimuli so that various potential responses can be organized into a course of action. Since human patterns are not stabilized, this behaviour is not only physiologically based, it also involves considering present and future actions of those in the group: ascertaining, and responding to, the intention of the acts of others. Unlike other animds, or pre-language children, Mead maintains that this singularly human characteristic is contingent upon the ability to interpret and make meaning of significant symbols. The syrnbol becomes "something which, in the imaginations of the participants, stand for the entire act" (Mettzer, 1964, p. 14). 2,3(B) Mind

According to Mead (1934), "the body is not a self, as such; it becomes a self only when it has developed a rnind within the context of social experience" (p. 50) and it is Ianguage - the use of symbols - developed through society and via certain physiological capabilities, upon which the transformation of the biologic organism to a "minded individual is based. Mead conducts a Darwinian-like cornparison between other members of the animal kingdom and humans in order to emphasize his point about human beings' unique communicative abilities. He points to a number of examples of useful and intelligent conduct on the part of other-than-hurnan animais but asserts that only humans can be reflective, only humans can think. Mead identifies two forms of social interaction: "the conversation of gestures," used extensively in the animal kingdom, including by humans, and the "use of significant symbols," employed exclusively by humans. (Blumer describes these two forms as "non-symbolic interaction" and "symbolic interaction.") The difference lies in the application of conscious thought. Foote (195 1) juxtaposes motivated and non-motivated behaviour: the growing of whiskers is non-motivated, shaving them off is; going to bed is motivated behaviour, sleeping is not.

Gestures become significant symbols when they implicitly arouse in an individuai making them the sarne responses which they explicitly, or are supposed to arouse, in other individuals, the individuals to whom they are addressed; and in al1 conversations of gestures within the social process, whether external (between individuals) or internai (between a given individual and himself), the individual's consciousness of the content and flow of meaning involved depends on his thus taking the attitude of the other toward his own gestures (p. 47).

Mead (1934) views verbal language as centrai to the development of rnind. It is the primary focus of symbolic exchange, providing the mode by which to realize meaning, old and new: "Language does not simply symbolize a situation or object which is already there in advance; it makes possible the existence or the appearance of that situation or object, for it is part of the mechanism whereby that situation or object is created" (p. 78). Cooley (1964), one of Mead's influences, underscores the importance of verbal language in symbolic exchange.

It is doubtful whether it is possible to use langage at al1 without thinking more or less distinctiy of someone else, and certainly the things to which we give narnes and which have a large place in reflective thought are almost dways those which are impressed upon us by contact with other people.

Language is the means by which the rnind develops, by which realizations occur. To this end, Mead feels new language can reorient an individual's thinking.

A person Iearns a new language and, as we Say, gets a new soul. He puts himself into the attitude of those who make use of that language. He cannot read its literature, connote converse with those who belong to that community, without taking on its peculiar attitudes. He becomes in that sense a different individual (p. 283).

Language predisposes certain interpretive choices. It is one eIement of the concept of symbols - symbols being a class of objects, acts, and words used to represent or stand for whatever it is that people agree they should stand for. They are defined according to their use. They have meaning to both the user and the others with whom the user is communicating. Our social interdependence is most profoundly apparent through our use of syrnbols. "Without other people each individual will be without a symbolic Iife and al1 the things which symbols make possible" (Charron, 1979, p. 36). Symbols make complex group life possible, and they make the human individual possible. The interaction that gives rise to our reality is symbolic. Through symbolic interaction with others, we are able to give the world meaning, developing the reality toward which we act. Through shared symbols, the past is recorded so that each interaction does not need to start frorn scratch. Symbols also facilitate transcendence of space and time through enabling people to understand worlds they have never seen: to get outside of themselves and imagine the world from someone else's perspective. Temporary transcendence also allows us to entertain abstract realities such as good, evil, freedom, God, creativity, self-direction, and problem-solving.

For Mead (1934), symbols or langage develops the mind functioning as a vehicle through which meaning can be described or accounted for at its "highest and most complex stage of development" (p. 79). Blumer (1969) suggests "meaning" is often neglected by social scientists who either take it for granted or view it as a neutral link between factors responsible for human behaviour, e.g., social position or cultural dicta. Contrarily, symbolic interactionism maintains that meanings are central in their own right: to bypass meaning is to lose sight of a core method in the formation of human behaviour. Additionally, symbolic interactionism eschews the notion that meaning emanates from intrinsic makeup or from a confluence of psychological traits. Rather it argues that meaning only ever results from interaction between people: meaning is a social product. The process of interpretation of those interactions is a crucial component of creating meaning as opposed to simply applying pre-established meanings. The rnind develops through interpretation.

Within the triadic process involving significant gesture, adjustive response to that gesture, and the result of that interaction, meaning-making is continual. If a stable, new meaning toward an object is to develop, a transformation in meaning must occur in which the person develops a new conception of the nature of that object. As Charron explains (1979), people treat objects with constant redefinition occurring in interaction with others; truths, ideas, attitudes, perceptions and perspectives are dl conceptualized as a process. People are not "brainwashed" and conditioned so much as they are constantly testing and reassessing their truths: "Tmth is arrived at through interaction, and it is also transformed in the process of interaction" (p. 31). Of note, the search for "truth" in meaning-making may happen on many levels. Stone (1970) observes that since a primary tenet of al1 symbolic interaction theory States thai the self is established, maintained and altered through communication, most symbolic interactionists have chosen to concentrate on verbal communication. However, Stone argues that appearance (gestures, grooming, clothing, location) is as important a fom of communication and meaning-making in symbolic interaction. Appearance establishes identifications of the participants. It is more basic than discourse in that it sets the stage and delimits the conversation. It provides the mind with parameters. Appearance and discourse are a dialectic process working back and forth on one another "at times shifting, at other times maintaining the direction of the transaction" (p. 397). Appearance helps announce identity, show values, express mood, and propose attitude. Appearance can set value and mood. For exarnple, clothes mobilize responses in at least four foms: identities are placed, values appraised; rnoods appreciated; and attitudes anticipated.

Meaning-makkg and the search for tmth within the social process are al1 part of Mead's (1934) concept of reflexiveness as the essential condition of "minded behavior." However, mind is only part of Mead's vision of society and the human order; he considers mind the "twin emergent of the self'; mind is the result of not only verbal and sensory symbols but of self as well.

2.3(C) Self

Mead (1934) views the devetopment of the self along the lines of Locke's concept of "tabula rasa," as sornething that emerges through the process of social experience and activity. Mead envisions the self as a process rather than as a structure since as a structure, one misses the reflexive quality necessary to render and define a self. This reflexiveness is exhibited in conscious behavior. As described by Blumer (1969), di11 objects are social products in that they are formed and transformed by the defining process that takes place in social interaction. Anything of which we are conscious (e.g., a remark by someone, the ticking of a clock) is something we are indicating to ourselves. The conscious life of a person is a continua1 flow of self-indications. To indicate something is to set it apart from its environment by making it into an object. This process is very different from responding to a stimulus, it involves interpretation or acting on the basis of symbols. In this way, individuals are ultimately able to step outside of themselves - to become an object to themselves - by taking the attitude, or experiencing themselves indirectly from the perspective, of other members of the same social group. Interaction is integral to the process of self-emergence. The self changes or stays stable as a result of interaction. The development of self-interaction transforms a person from a responding organism, whose behaviour is the result of outside stimuli, to a being whose action is the result of interna1 interpretation. Under the rubric of self falls the ability to self-communicate, self-control, self-direct, analyze situations, self-judge, and self-label - al1 of which are the result of socialization (Blumer, 1969).

In addition to language, Mead (1934) cites three stages in the formation of "self ': the preparatory, or presymbolic, stage wherein a command of language has not yet developed and imitation of others dorninates the mindset; the play stage, which occurs during language acquisition, wherein a child is able to assume the perspective of one significant other at a time - these significant others become role models; and the game stage, wherein a person is able to assume the perspective of several others simultaneousiy. Selfhood is achieved when a person is able to act toward himherself more or less as shehe are able to act toward others; a person becomes, in effect "a society in miniature" (Charron, 1979, p. 7 l), able to think, point out, interpret and cornmunicate with herhimself in diverse ways. It is during the completion of the third stage that Mead's (1934) concept of the "generalized other" becomes relevant. Mead builds his case for the existence of the "generalized other" by discussing the relation of the universal to the particular. He Iikens it to a central nervous system response that can take into account dl complexities and occurrences and transcend them into a universal, eternal object or entity. As this relates to the game stage and to group behaviour, groups of individuals who participate in a common social process of experience develop comrnon meanings and symbols. When the self is able to take on myriad attitudes of others towards itself, a kind of "crystallizing" occurs of "al1 these particular attitudes into a single attitude or standpoint which may be called that of the 'generalized other9"(p. 90). It is in the form of the generalized other, "that the community exercises control over the conduct of its individual rnembers; for it is in this form that the social process or community enters as a determining factor into the individual's thinking" (p. 155). For Mead, in order to constitute a self, membership in a cornmunity, no matter what size, is an irnrnutable requirement. The realization of selfhood cdls for taking others into account. Through the generalized other, not only is a conscious self defined via the organized response of the members of that comrnunity or group, but the group also provides the infrastructure for attitudes, habits, intonations of speech and expressions, many of which also contribute to the development of the unconscious self.

In the most highiy developed, organized, and complicated human social cornrnunities - those evolved by civilized man - these various socidly functional classes or subgroups of individuals to which any given individual belongs (and with the other individual members of which he thus enters into a special set of social relations) are of two kinds. Some of them are concrete social classes or subgroups, such as political parties.. .the others are abstract social classes or subgroups, such as the class of debtors or the class of creditors, in terms of which their individual members are related to one another only more or less indirectly.. .the given individual's membership in several of these abstract social classes or subgroups makes possible his entrance into definite social relations (however indirect) with an almost infinite number of other individuals.. .cutting across functionai lines of demarcation which divide different human social communities from one another (p. 157).

Charron (1979) feels Mead is not totally clear on whether or not he views the generalized other as a single, a composite, or an assortment of generalized others. As a student of James, who wrote, "properly speaking, a man has as many social selves as there are individuals who recognize him and carry an image of him in their rnind" (1892, p. Mg), Mead may well have implicitly intended that the concept refer to an assortment of generalized others. Certainly Goffman (1959) - a theorist who benefited from Mead's legacy - has interpreted James' work in this way when he suggests that we are different "selves" to different "audiences."

This uncertainty was originally dealt with by Hyman (1942), who formally developed the concept of the "reference group" in relation to urban societies, wherein a person may have many reference soups and with each, share a different perspective, including a perspective on the self, which may be quite segmented from the other reference group selves coexisting in the sarne individual. Sociologist Tamotsu Shibutani (1955) further develops the concept of reference groups. According to Shibutani, al1 groups - regardless of size, composition, or structure - may be classified as reference groups. Of primary importance to individuals are "membership groups," in which they participate directly. But other types of groups (e-,o., ethnic groups) also constitute reference groups - as do somewhat unformed groups such as those "bom ahead of their time." He States, "reference groups, then, aise through the internalization of noms; they constitute the structure of expectation irnputed to some audience for whom one organizes his conduct" (p. 565).

Put another way, reference groups constitute perspectives. In symbolic interactionism, perspectives and interaction, not attitudes, are central. While attitudes are tied to stimuli from the external environment, influence behaviour, and are generally fixed and difficult to change, perspectives are based on groups with whom the individual identifies, engender the development of a behavioral response in the moment, and are ever-changing. Charron (1979) observes that the symbolic interactionist perspective "conceptualizes the human as more cornplex, less predictable, more contradictory, more situational, more dynamic, and less passive that do al1 other social-scientific perspectives" (p. 27). People guidé themselves based on the perspectives they adopt from those with whom they interact. Since perspectives are situational, we al1 have many perspectives, e.g., at work one is a lawyer, at home one is a parent. A person judges perspectives according to how useful they are to him or her. Learned through communication, perspectives are dynamic, they are not passively acquired and applied. During interaction, they are rejected, altered, replaced or reused, depending on the situation. They are conceptual frameworks - used to make sense out of situations - containing biases, assumptions and value judgments, which we employ to organize our perceptions, make an ordered view of the world, and control our behaviour. Shibutani (1955) explains that the inconsistency in behaviour as a person moves from one social context to another cm be accounted for in terms of change of reference group. Reference groups help explain differential sensitivity and reaction of various segments of an audience to mass communication.

A reference group becomes any collectivity, real or imagined, envied or despised, whose perspective is assumed by the actor ... a perspective is an ordered view of one's world - what is taken for granted about the attributes of various objects, events, and human nature. It is an order of things rernembered and expected as well as things actually perceived, an organized conception of what is plausible and what is possible; it constitutes the matrix through which one perceives his environment (p. 16 1).

Charron (1979) notes that by the time an individual reaches the reference group stage, he or she is defining herhimself in concert with a wide assortment of others - significant others and/or reference groups that are alive or dead, imaginary or real, frorn the past or in the present, and physically present or physicaily distant. I would suggest that reference groups cmbe actively sought out by individuals in search of opportunities to explore and expand upon various aspects of themselves in environments that are supportive of those aspects of self.

Shibutani (1955) examines the conceptions of reference group implicit in how the term is used. He cites the comrnon usages: that a group can serve as a point of reference in making comparisons or contrasts, especially in forming self-judgments; that a reference group is a group in which one desires to participate; that a reference group's norrns are used as anchoring points in structuring the perceptual field. He is most interested in this last description of a reference group which, in effect, constitutes an individual's frarne of reference. He maintains that ordered perspectives allow people to hold that their ever-changing worlds are relatively stable and predictable. He emphasizes that perception is selective and largely dependent upon what is anticipated and what is taken for granted (e-g., a fan and a non-fan watching the sarne star will extract quite different meanings from the same situation). To underscore his point, Shibutani points to Goethe's contention that: "history is continually rewritten, not so much because of the discovery of new documentary evidence, but because of the changing perspectives of historians" (p. 563). He also cites Dewey's work to discuss how changing perspectives can create distinct groups which form through contact, association, and exposure to specific types of information - which lead to certain communication channels. Even in 1955, Shibutani notes that

since communication networks are no longer coterminous with territorial boundaries, cultural areas overlap and have lost their territorial bases. Thus, next- door neighbors may be complete strangers.. .the loosely connected universes of

special interest - the world of sports, of the stamp collector, of the daytime seriaLeach of these worlds is a unity of order, a universe of regularized mutual response. Each is an area in which there is some structure which permits reasonable anticipation of the behavior of others, hence, an area in which one may act with a sense of security and confidence (p. 565).

In these universes of special interest, special meanings and symbols contribute to the evolution and refinement of distinct cultures which further separate, or distinguish them from outsiders. "In each world there are special noms of conduct, a set of values, a special prestige ladder, characteristic career lines, and a cornrnon outlook toward life - a Weltnrzschnuung" (p. 566); a social world in which a person may seek to establish himlherself as a force with which to reckon ancilor to maintain and enhance status.

In modem society, participation in a distinct culture almost invariably occurs concurrent with participation in a variety of other social worlds, creating a segmented life filled with a number of unrelated activities. In addition, the combination of social worlds is different for each individual. The sheer number of internalized perspectives may lead to confiicts and incongmities. Shibutani notes, however, that most people's collection of reference proups tend to be mutually sustaining. Each social world in which an actor places hirnherself allows for different roles, different relationships and the revelation of different aspects of their personalities. Conflicting reference groups may cause an individual to ultimately choose between them; this results in "the lose of responsiveness to the demands of one social world and the adoption of the perspective of anothei' (p. 568).

In relation to the concept of reference groups, Kuhn (1964) asks, "By what process do one's others get selected?" (p. 7). Kuhn rejects Cooley's (1964) suggestion that we must imagine others' imaginings. However he recognizes the long-term conundmm in which thinkers on this topic have been caught. On the one hand, he agrees with Mead's denunciation of Watson's insistence that only overt events be studied; on the other, he agrees with Watson's demand for the need for empirical demonstration of covert behaviour. Kuhn resorts to Hyrnan's statement that people make fundamental judgments and self-assessments based on psychological identification, rather than on formal membership, with various groups. He posits that the reference group is a special kind of other, "one in which a person feels psychologically identified as opposed to one with which he is merely sociaily associated" (p. 8) and suggests, as a result, that there are two kinds of others: those with whom we are physically connected; and those whose behavior qualifies ours. People behave in tems of the kind of person they think they are. Additionally, Kuhn adds a sub-category to the concepts of the generaiized other and reference groups: that of the ''orientational other," which he defines as

the others to whom the individual is most fully, broadly and basically cornmitted, emotionaily and psychologically;... who have provided him with his general vocabuIary, including his most basic and crucial concepts and categories; ... who have provided and continue to provide him with his categories of self and other and with the meaningful roles to which such assignments refer ...with whom his self-conception is basically sustained and/or changed (p. 15).

Although he does not elaborate, Kuhn suggests that studying these questions would constitute exarnining the processes by which the self is formed and sustained. Another interpretation of the concept of reference groups cm be found in Feldman's (1979) notion of "nested identities"; that is, of multiple identity patterns within one sphere of life. Like reference groups, identities tell people what to do and what to expect during a given interaction. Feldman defines an identity as:

a socially situated (social) placement which links an individual with others because of some significant commonality.. . Identities are not imrnutable. They are constantly being subjected to change and challenge and therefore require social support and social validation (p. 400-01).

Although multiple identities are often unrelated, there can be identities nested within identities, like Russian dolls. Feldman (1979) offers the exarnple of being " a college professor in general, a college professor at my university, a sociologist, a member of the sociology department at rny university, or as part of an identifiable clique of sociologists within my department" (p. 40 1). Nested identities are situational (e.g., at a convention versus in a department meeting); they are generally evoked as shared identities (Le., being a college professor at a department meeting may not be significant until one goes into a larger unit including people other than college professors). Further, while al1 identities are potentially nested, not al1 are. Ostensibly, the more one devotes to an activity the finer the gradations become.

Mead (1934) asserts that emerging from within, and standing upon, the social foundations of the self are two distinct ways of being: the "I" and the "me." Mead views the two as separated and yet belonging together: "The ;'I" both calls to the "me" and responds to it. Taken together they constitute a personality as it appears in social experience" (p. 178). The "1" is subject, the "me" is object. The "I" is the social force, the active agent, that with which we can surprise ourselves with our own actions: "The '1' is the response of the organisrn to the attitudes of the others; the 'me' is the organized set of attitudes of others which himself one assumes. The attitudes of others constitute the organized 'me,' and then one reacts toward that as an 'I'." (1934, p. 175). Meltzer (1964) declares that the "I" is the impulsive tendency in the individual; it is the unorganized, undirected, spontaneous aspect of human experience. The "me" represents the incorporated other within a person. It is the organized set of attitudes, definitions, understandings and expectations common to a group - it is the generalized other. Every act begins in the form of "1" and usually ends in the form of "me." The "I" gives propulsion, the "me" gives regulatory direction to the act. He examines the "I" and "me" in light of Freud's "Id," "Ego," and "Superego." However, that cornparison is only surface. Mead's "I" and "me" are presented as engaging in close collaboration whereas Freud's "Id" and "Superego" are locked in endless combat on the battleground of the "Ego." Meltzer accounts for the differences by observing that Freud studied abnormal behavior whereas Mead was focused on generic behavior.

Wiley (1979) explains that Mead looks at the "I" as the underlying agent or actor whereas the "me" is the aggregate of everything else -

the body, the internalized morality and culture, the contents of memory, the self- labels and traits of a lifetime, and the entire storehouse of the personal past. As the grammar of the terrn indicates, the me was the object as it has accumulated and grown until now; the 1 was the subject, moving as fast as tirne, and giving identity to activity of the overall self.. .The object of reflection is inescapably seen as an object, as in the past, and as me, even though we might almost catch it in that transformative movement whereby the 1 slips into the me (p. 89).

Desmonde (1970) observes that Mead acknowledges situations wherein al1 the members of a group go through a cornrnon venture which sometimes creates a profound closeness, and subsequent feelings of exaltation.. Mead States that these feelings of exaltation consist of a fusion of the "1" and the "me" and that this fusion is at the core of al1 religious experiences. Mead describes it as "a peculiarly precious experience" which involves "the successful completion of the social process" (1934, p. 275). 2.4(A) Taking- the Role of the Other

Mead (1934) reiterates that "the self is not something that exists first and then enters into relationship with other, but it is, so to speak, an eddy in the social current and so stiil a part of the current" (p. 182). Comprehending this social current requires a detailed unpacking of concept central to symbolic interactionism: taking the role of other. Mead (1934) argues that taking the attitude of the other toward oneself, that is, becoming an object to oneself, "is the most effective means of adjustment to the social environment, and indeed to the environment in general, that the individual has at his disposal" (p. 100). It is central to the development of self: for the emergence of self (to become an object to herlhirnself as others are objects to hidher); to lem to self-communicate; self-control and self-direct; to develop an understanding of the perspectives of others; to lem how to control interaction with others; and to be able to love others; to be able to cooperate with others; to be able to view the present from Our own past and future perspectives. Mead views taking the role of the other as a fundamental component of the development of "social intelligence" and the self:

these specifically social expressions of intelligence, of course, acquire unique significance in terms of our view that the whole nature of intelligence is social to the very core - that this putting of one's self in the place of others, this taking by one's self of their roles or attitudes, is not merely one of the various aspects or expressions of intelligence or of intelligent behavior but is the very essence of its character (p. 14 1).

Taking the role of the other provides tremendous insight. Cooley's (1964) early work on taking the role of the other is instructive:

so in imagination we perceive iri another's rnind some thought of Our appearance, manners, aims, deeds, character, friends, and so on, and are variously affected by it. A self-idea of this sort seems to have three principle elements: the imagination of our appearance to the other person; the imagination of his judgment of that appearance, and some sort of self-feeling, such as pride or mortification (p. 115).

Kuhn (1970) corroborates that "the imaginations which people have of one another are the solid facts of society" (p. 121). He notes Cooley's observation that the imagination is logically pnor -as far as the actor is concerned - to the physical prescence of the other. In fact, regarding the question of the reality of dead or fictional characters, Cooley maintains that, in so far as we imagine them, they are real. So, the notion of the other, regardless of how the other manifests, is crucial to al1 meaning, al1 reality - and al1 of our realities of our selves are derived from the image we imagine others have of us. But Mead (1934) is careful to point out that an individuai cannot simply take something that is objective and maice it subjective. Mead gives the example of the symbols a police officer uses when directing trafic. These symbols do not become subjective when someone driving by takes the role of the police officer. The driver has been trained under a definite set of circumstances to handle his or her vehicle according to various gestures and symbols. A young child may take the role of the police officer subjectively. However, through the generalized other, an adult overrides the potential for subjective experience in deference to traffic regulations which are dealt with objectively following socidly sanctioned rules.

Foote (1951) attempts to address the issue of motivation in role theory. He points out that taking the role of another is not necessarily a given. He points to Mead's example of two baseball teams playing, noting that if the people on the teams do not know each other, the situation becomes "as Mead left off in describing it - a sort of empty bottle of behavior and forma1 relations, without motive or incentive Save the undifferentiated phsyiological necessity to dispense energy and kill time" (p. 16). But if those two teams were in a World Series, everything would change, and that change would be in identity. Underscoring Mead's contention, Foote points out that we learn many more roles than we ever play overtly. We limit our role-playing repertoire to the ones we have learned and define as our own. Foote suggests that an actor must know who he/she is in each role and act with considerable conviction and clarity if the behaviour is to be believable. In most situations, our identity is so habituai that we ignore it and concentrate on the environment. Full cornmitment to identity perrnits full motivation. Foote believes that faith in our conception of ourseives is the key to fully realizing Our resources and that cornmitment to various identities is achieved through practice and experience.

In disciissing the challengzs inherent in taking the role of the other in various situations, Karp and Yoels (1979) introduce the concepts of "biographical strangers" - people whom we have never met before and therefore know nothing of their past - and "cultural strangers" - those occupying symbolic worlds different from our own (values, attitudes, life styles). They suggest that the kinds of interactions that occur with strangers demand pattemed and predictable "presentations of seif." This establishes a "nom of trust" (p. 90) which underlies our behaviour with others (e-g., bank tellers, home repair people). However, we can never "perfectly" take the role of others, so a measure of doubt about others' motives always exists. As a result, "face" information becomes very important (i-e., the characteristics of people, like clothing; the time and place in which those peop!e are; and the poses they adopt).

2.5 Application of Svmbolic Interactionism to the Research Ouestions

The primary research question, "Viewed through the framework of symbolic interactionism, how do mass media fans' subjective experiences of their relationships with stars and other fans affect their self-development?" can be explored employing a number of Mead's central concepts. From Mead's perspective, both the "1" and the "me" constitute part of the subjective experience of the North American mass media celebrity fan. The "me" is formed through the attitudes of others, functioning as the generalized other, the "Y is the means by which one reacts toward the "me." This principle sparks a nurnber of possible data collection considerations including: Given, as is usually the case, that the fan has not personaily met the star, how might the fan's fantasized projections about the star's attitude toward himlher affect hisher sense of "me?" If the fan fraternizes with other like-rninded fans, how does those other fans' reaction to the fan affect the fan's sense of "me"? If the "I" gives propulsion and the "me" gives, in a regulatory way, direction to the act, how might a star's configuration in a fan's life affect the fan's "I?"

Another symbolic interaction principle which can be used to explore a fan's subjective experience is "takin,o the role of the other": How often do fans take the roles of favorite stars? Inforrned by Foote's (195 1) work, what motivates fans to take the role of favorite stars? How does it make them feel? What kind of insight do they gain by doing so? If taking the role of the other is a regular exercise, how do those experiences instruct the daily lives of fans? Mead's concept of the social act also provides an element by which to study the pnmary research question. Given that Mead feels the social act encompasses the total process involved in human activity - cdhgupon people to interpret, build constmcts and act toward situations, How do fans use their relationships with stars and other like-rninded fans to partake in the social act? How are stars used as reference guides to draw upon the past and to project into the future? As Mead has noted, a socid act is comprised of outer and inner conduct; thus, what kind of characteristics of inner conduct are revealed through fans' attitudes and speech?

The concept of reference groups also provides a rich perspective upon which to draw in response to the prirnary research question. Kuhn (1964) answers his question, "By what process do one's others get selected?" by suggesting that people are drawn to those with whom they feel a psychological identification. Perhaps stars somehow function as meaningful self-reflections for various fans. Kuhn's question about trying to understand process constitutes a key consideration in the preparation of semi-stnictured interview questions employed during data collection. Another useful Kuhnian concept emerging from his reflection on reference groups, is that of the "orientational other"; that is, the other(s) who have most profoundly provided guidance around self-development. This concept is reflected upon relative to an exploration of the depth of presence of a star in a fan's life. Also of interest is Feldman's (1979) theory of "nested identities" especially as it relates to how an individual's identity as a fan may be situated within their other identities. Through Mead's (1934) theory, answers to the first secondary research question, "What is the nature of the varieties of relationship experienced by fans with selected stars?" are obviously rooted in the spoken word - the focus of symbolic exchange. However, Stone's (1970) assertion that appearance (which cm establish identification, show values, and express moods and attitudes) is as important a form of communication in symbolic interaction as is verbal language offers vaiuable additional guidance. Mead's belief that meaningrnaking through shared symbols is a fundamental method by which human behaviour is formed is examined via the second secondary research question, "Do core patterns exist in dl mass media fans' experience of their chosen celebrities?" As Charon f 1979) notes, tmth is transformed in the process of redefinition occumng in interaction with others. Questions such as: Do al1 fans consider themselves close to the stars? and, Do al1 fans share affective experiences? may render fruitful data with regard to the question of core characteristics.

Blumer's (1969) notion of "root images" and the idea that people develop lines of action in a world of objects such that they are guided in their orientation and action by the meaning of objects (which, as explained earlier, can be physicai, social, or abstract), provides a theoretical framework for the third secondary research question, "Are the fan's life decisions in any way guided by the presence of the star in their lives?" For exarnple, Blumer cites the "interconnection of the Iines of action" as a root image: Do fans look to the behaviour of favonte stars as a way to determine social etiquette and behaviour in situations, such as a business transaction, which generally occur within the context of pre-es tablished rneanings?

The fourth secondary research question, "1s the fan's sense of self affected by their connection with the star?" is considered in light of Mead's proposition that the self is a process, not a structure, since a self cm only be rendered and defined via reflexivity and a continual flow of self-indications. The self changes or stays stable as a result of interaction. In particular, Kuhn's (1964) "orientational self' provides a useful way to approach this question. Mead's concept of the "generalized other," and subsequent theorists7honing of that concept through the development of "reference groups," provide a useful approach by which to explore the fifth secondary research question, "How is a fan's sense of self effected by any relevant reference groups?" Mead states that the realization of selfhood requires membership in a community and the subsequent taking of each other into account. More specifically, reference groups provide an array of conceptual frameworks by which to make sense out of situations and form self-judgments. The star and his/her perceived world may function as a reference group for the fan; fellow fans of the star may function as another. As Charron (1979) notes, reference groups may be constituted by those who are alive or dead, imaginary or real, from the past or present. Thus, a number of possible types of reference groups may exist for fans.

The concept of reference groups also offers a rneans by which to reflect upon the sixth secondary research question, "1s there some manner of religious expression present in the fans' experiences of the stars?" This question will be considered in two ways: the first involves looking at whether or not fans are involved in traditionally-defined religious reference groups, like Catholicism; the second involves searching for manifestations of traditionally identified religious behaviours (e.g., prayer or ritual), in an effort to rernain open to the possibility of a new form of religious expression arnong fans. Mead (1934) alludes fleetingly to religion, suggesting that at the core of al1 religious experiences is a feeling of exaltation resulting from a fusion of the "1" and the "me."

2.6 A Cntical look at S ymbolic Interaction Theow

2.6(A) Basic Concepts

Mead's concept of "1-me" poses a number of problems for a variety of theorists. In his exploration of self-genesis, Wiley (1979) observes that, although Mead transforms Kant's distinction between the transcendental (the 1) and the empirical (the me) into an Hegelian "1-me" dialectic, the concepts are still blurry. He laments that even Blumer ( 1969), who developed Mead's work quite robustly in many areas, has added to the confusion by replacing the "1-me" formulation with the terms "communication with himself," "self-interaction," and "interpretation" (p. 5). Wiley suggests one way to clarify Mead's work is to stress "the dialectical growth of an '1-me' relationship" (p. 102)- as opposed to Mead's linear expansion of the me. Wiley suggests a remedy involves viewing Mead's work on the structure of the self in concert with Alfred Schutz's (1967) work on the "we" relationship. Wiley maintains that the birth of the "1" is achieved through the "we" experience. He points to Schutz's insight - that the only direct, irnrnediate experience we have of the self is not with our own, but with sorneone eise's - as a useful concept. He elaborates on Schutz's work, explaining that Schutz feels that people experience the core self or 1 in the irnrnediate present. When this encounter is two- way, the participants have a "we" experience, in which two people share a temporal now, subject to subject, or 1 to 1, which Schutz describes as "shared time consciousness." Schutz believes that we experience the other more closely than the self and, in doing so, the child moves from the me to the we to 1,

Kolb (1944) criticizes Mead for using the "I" as a catch41 "for everything that cannot be explained by the organized set of roles which the individual takes over in the processes of interaction" (p. 292). He asserts that the concepts of "I" and "me" become "hopelessly confused" because, according to Mead, we are not conscious of either one of them until they have passec! into experience and we are able to respond to them. Kolb also explains that the "I" is supposedly differentiated from the "me," in part, by unpredictability; however surprises in the physical world can usurp that differentiation rendering it untrue, on at least some occasions.

Meltzer (1964) declares that, because Mead was never able to create a comprehensive surnrnary of his theories, many of Mead's (1934) major concepts are not thoroughly presented. Meltzer finds the concept of "I" hazy. He charges that Mead labels the "1" the "not-me" aspect of self which, in his description, cornes close to the concept of "impulse," and that Mead's discussion of the exact nature of impulses is constituted by a reflection on whether or not an impulse is biological in character, or socially generated. Further, he notes that nothing in Mead's theory offers a clear position on the nature of the un- or sub-conscious.

2.6(B) Emotions in Social Interactionism

Another area in need of elaboration relates to affect. By the rnid 1980s, most symbolic interactionists had thoroughly acknowledged the importance of emotions in the understanding of the self (Collins, 1985; Denzin, 1984; Kotarba and Fontana, 1984)- Franks (1987) is unequivocai in stating that "affect is now recognized as a crucial underpinning for rational orientations and individuai well-being" (p. 2 19). Building on William James' specificity theory, Franks posits a fusion between rnind and body and emotion and body "whereas thought provokes the movement of muscles used in its outer expression, sentiment also provokes the movement of facial muscles involved in its outer expression" (p. 230). Other than Franks, forays into the role of affect in a symbolic interaction process, (e.g., Ellis, (1991); Kmg, (1993)J are limited. Little energy had been devoted to affect until well into the late 1970s. At the beginning of that decade Cottrell, Jr. (1970) larnents that up until that point researchers had "almost completely ignored" (p. 63) ernpathic responses. He States that social psychologists "have recognized the universality and central importance of this process" and yet it has not been the subject of intensive research. Cottrell refers to tests at Corne11 (Dymond, 1949) of ernpathic responsiveness showing wide variability among individuals and differences based on the situationai context as well.

As far as 1 can discern, Mead (1934) recognizes the importance of exnotions however they seem to be diverted from the social act to the surprise element of the "1." Building on James' ( 1892) definition of self-feeling, Cooley ( 1964) seems to be the only "founding member" of the symbolic interactionist movement who acknowledges the importance of emotions in human Me:

the emotion or feeling of self may be regarded as instinctive, and was doubtless evolved in connection with its important function in stimulating and unifying the special activities of individuals. It is thus very profoundly rooted in the history of the human race and apparently indispensable to any plan of Iife at al1 similar to ours (p. 136).

Given that there still is reiatively Little symbolic interaction research on emotionality, this study seeks to make a small inroad into this neglected area.

2.6(C) Post-Meadian Critique of Symbolic interactionism

Denzin (1988) strips symbolic interactionisrn to the core in an effort to bnng it into the Twenty-first Century. What follows is a surnmary of Denzin's cal1 for a complete overhaui of symbolic interactionism via the development of a poststructural- interactionist-interpretive theory of the subject, self, and language. 1 present a fairly detailed outline of Denzin's criticisms because 1 feel they provide some useful "red flags" and suggestions for an adapted symbolic interactionist theoretical framework within which to embark upon the research. Denzin's (1988) main contention is that the work of Mead, Blumer, and, more recently, Perinbanayagam (1985), is outdated in terms of developments in poststructuralist social theory. He charges that central concepts in symbolic interactionist (Le., the social act, language, and self) are deeply flawed. Since 1 have concentrated on Mead throughout this chapter, 1 will continue to do so here.

There are a number of conceptual problernatics. To begin, Denzin ( 1988) asserts the generic features of social acts are unclear: "When does an act begin and when does an act end? What constitutes the impulse to act?. .. What are the precise referents of an act?. ..How do self-interactions differ from social acts?. ..[and] How is a social situation untangled from a social act?" (p. 58-9). Denzin (1988) suggests Mead's (1934) description of "the act" is flawed because it is mediated by a definition of self that is problematic due to Mead's erroneous assumptions about language - which Mead deems to be a fundamental causal factor in the development of self. Mead based his understanding of the evolution of language on Darwin and Wund-t , both of whom have been discounted by twentieth-century linguists. Yet Denzin does not completely disregard Mead's work, stating it can be revisited through Saussure's (1966) conception of the sign: "Both give primacy to what is signified by the symbol or sis, that is sound- image, or the object. Mead and Saussure assume that language is both an individuai, psychologicai phenomenon and a phenomenon that exists at the level of the social, or the structural" (p. 55). Denzin observes that

by assuming a transcendental signified, [Mead] underdetermine[s ] the place of Ianguage in the constitution of an object's meaning ..[Mead's] mode1 of the symbol and the object rests on the circular, psychological tautology that the meaning of an object, as given in the gesture, symbol, and action, is revealed through the action persons take toward the object.. .the symbol only refers to a created object. Hence the syrnbol produces a fictive "reai" in the contours of the image that is called into existence when the symbol is spoken. The symbol does not denote an objective reality (p. 62-3).

Regarding the self, Denzin argues that there are three basic problems with the traditional interactionist approach: 1) the fallacy of the self as the center of interaction; 2) the failure of interactionists to conceptualize the verbal person; and 3) the asexuai nature of self. Denzin tackies the first point by way of Heidegger (1982) and Sartre (1964), who both suggest that the self arises through a person's being in the world:

The person is seen as producing streams of experience which are then claimed as being part of the self, but this is after the fact, not prior to experience or during experience.. .(which is counter to) the "who" that is the person's being in its everydayness. This is the self of the 'they-self the inauthentic self of the me which has assumed its selfhood in the terms given to it by others.. .Mead's self is socially overdetermined (p. 68).

Denzin suggests that, in fact, the centre of the self is situated in language, not in social interaction. Building on this proposition, he asserts that the "1" and the "me" cannot be used as referents of stable, interna1 structures of the self; they are merely pronouns standing outside of immediate experience - "indexical tems that reference taken-for meanings in the interaction process" (p. 69). Instead, he locates the inner, phenomenological features of the self in Lacan's (1978) concepts of metaphor (condensation) and metonymy

(displacement) - pnmary drearn-coding processes in the unconscious state, and rich in layers of rneaning which have been grounded in social interaction. These linguistic functions become conduits to deep, inner structures of experience which an individual cmclaim as his or her own. This subjectivity is shaped by a "cornrnodity structure of signs and objects. [A person's] subjectivity circulates within the political economy of objects and sipns he has attached himself to, including those in his social relationships" (p. 72). Denzin's third point is based on Lacan's assertion that implicit in the acquisition of language is an alignment along the axis of gender - an issue never taken up by traditional interactionists. He elaborates on the importance of this issue by recognizing research identifying different mord codes between males and fernales, evident early in childhood (e.g., Gilligan, 1982; Kohiberg, 198 1).

After ostensibly decimating Mead's theory, Denzin (1988) revisits symbolic interaction through a new, poststmcturalist approach. In doing so, he identifies desire as missing in Meadian theory and a key concept at the center of consciousness.

Desire is a project within consciousness which conceptualizes itself within its own language and locates its own facticity in the world of others. In its moment of realization, the desiring consciousness turns back upon itself and becomes its own motive for being in the world. Out of this reflection arises a self, phenomenologically rooted in the interactional world of others. This reflected- upon-self is indexically referenced by the "I" - "you" linguistic pair, but its inner meanings are expressed through metaphoric and metonyrnic associations (p. 75). From this perspective, Denzin advocates subscribing to Heidegger's (1982) approach to language: that a person metaphorically "dwells" within language; language "houses" one's being,

2.7 The Research Questions Revisited

In light of the critique of Mead's (1934) original concepts, how can the use of symbolic interactionist theory be reconsidered with respect to the research questions? Regarding the pnmary research question and the use of Mead's concept of "I" and "me," Wiley's (1979) focus on Schutz (1967) and the notion that the birth of the "I" is achieved through the "we" experience is a useful addition. It allows for a more precise method by which to explore how the presence of a celebrity in a fan's life might affect the dynamics of the fan's "1." In particular, Wiley uses his acknowledgment of Schutz's insight - that the only direct, immediate experience we have of the self is not with our own, but with someone else's - to suggest that this two-way encounter engenders a "we" experience, in which rwo people have "shared time consciousness" thereby moving the "me" to the "we" to "1." Applied to the primary research question and to the secondary research question conceming the nature of various fan relationships, Wiley's observations spark questions surrounding whether or not "we" moments occur for fans even though - almost without exception - their experience of the star is one-way and from a distance. If these moments occur for fans, what is the nature of those situations?

In addition, the primary research question can be better served via criticism reiating to the lack of attention to affect in symbolic interaction theory. Franks' (1987) observations that the fusion of rnind, body and emotion can lead to instructive body and facial muscle movement is useful. It underscores the need for the researcher to maintain an awareness of changing facial expressions, body language, and overall demeanor during interviews. Cottrell, Jr. (1970) stimulates further thought by asking: "When an individual manifests a change in his or her self-other pattern, what happens to the previous pattern?" Cottrell's sensitizes researchers to probe for the discovery and description of pivotal moments in a fan's recollection about how feelings changed, or emerged, in relation to favorite stars. And Ellis' (1991) cal1 for an "emotionai sociology" - wherein the researcher remains aware of her/his own emotions - emphasizes the affective attunement required by researc hers in studying the expression of feelings. These theorists offer sensitizing caveats relating to the need for awareness about the history, packaging and expression of emotion as it applies to the fdcelebrity relationship. Additionally, the secondary research question concerning religious expression can be further explored keeping affect in mind. Perhaps somewhat ironically, this cm be accomplished by utilizing one of the few references to affect that Mead makes when he States that a feeling of exaltation is at the core of al1 religious experiences.

Also reiating to the prïmary research question and al1 six secondary research questions, MeItzer's (1964) criticism -which paraliels Denzin's (1988) critique - that nothing in Mead's theory offers a clear position on the nature of the un, or sub, conscious is worth noting. As far as I cm ascertain, Mead only addresses this consideration obliquely when he notes that the social act is comprised of outer and inner conduct. In tems of incorporating exploration into the un, or sub, conscious in this research, Denzin's observations about the importance of exploring desire, of attempting to fathom dreams, and of the richness and layers of meaning in language al1 provide tangible directions.

Finally, aithough not a criticism, pet- se, 1 want to acknowledge the challenge of employing syrnbolic interaction theory as a framework in this study. Generally speaking, a fan's experience of a star is a one-way, technologically-mediated phenornenon. This application of symbolic interactionism to relationships that are not face-to-face breaks new ground and, accordingly, requires an openness to new eventualities. Strictly speaking, rnost fans and their favourite stars are strangers. However, this situation challenges Karp and Yoels' (1979) description of biographical and cultural strangers - which calls for patterned and predictable "presentations of self." Pilot research (Gibson, 1997) conducted for this thesis suggests that, even though a fan may not have ever met a favourite star, they may exhibit a substantial degree of familiarly and assumed intimacy with the star. To this end, Schickel's (1985) concept, "imagined intimacy" may constitute an important element in understanding the dynamics of the fan's experience of interaction with favourite stars. Most fans' experiences and knowledge of stars occur through a kind of BaudriIlardian reproduction: close-ups on TV and film, in magazines, and over the airwaves that are bereft of the experience of an original through which to contextualize the experience of the mediated. It may be that for most mass media fans, the mediated is the original. And yet, in this context, "original" assumes new meaning. Fans experience a relationship that is almost invariably developed and negotiated via layers of technologicai, social, and econornic access to the celebrity which is usually coded and controlled by agents and marketers. It is into this dynamic that 1 introduce symbolic interactionism - a theory previously developed and understood in relation to face-to-face social interaction - in an attempt to explore one side of a technologically-mediated social interaction.

The phenomenon of technologically-mediated relationships has not been addressed by Meadian scholars. Charon ( 1979) fleetingl y suggests that individuals employ TV heroes as roie models with whom to interact. Like Aden (1999), Charon also maintains that symbols facilitate a re-negotiation of space and of time, affording the opportunity for "temporary transcendence" wherein we can entertain abstract realities such as good and evil. It rnay be that fans' ability to entertain abstract realities can engender rich, and possibly healing (Hinnerman, 1992), fantasy relationships with stars somewhat akin to the "holodeck" scenarios depicted on the Star Trek TV series. (The holodeck is a computer-generated program available to crew members who program it to enact anything they can envision.) While no prïmary research to date has used symbolic interactionism to address such research goals, 1 argue that the above technologically- mediated scenarios can be understood as manifestations of relationships and of self- development. 2.8 The Application of Symbolic Interactionism to the Study of Fandom

1 want to take a moment to register Blumer's (1969) suggestions for the study of mass media effects as they may contribute to this study. Blumer feels that "al1 major channels and forms of communication are intertwined in a vast communicative process" (p. 185) and, as a result, create some set-ious methodologicai challenges in that it is virtually impossible to look at these distinctly. BIumer saw the need to avoid isolation by studying systernically; to recognize that everything is constaiitly undergoing formation; to view the "audience" "not as responding to stimuli but as forging definitions inside their experience" (p. 191); to view the network of relations as a developing process and therefore constantly moving in new directions; to reflect the empiiical world in which the infliience is operating; to catch the dispositions of those being studied in the form of their developing experiences (interests, views, feelings); to study any given media experience in relation to other experiences (e.g., in my case, asking participants whether they are church-goers as well as fans); to consider how the media-influence enters the experience of people; and to explore media-influence in breadth (i.e., television, film, radio, magazines, live events). Throughout the study, these points are taken into consideration.

In spite of the fiaws and missing ingredients subsequentiy cited in his work, Mead, the official "father" of symbolic interaction, advanced the study of selfhood from Newtonian physics (i.e.,Watsonian behaviorisrn) to quantum mechanics. George Herbert Mead has opened up a field of thought that allows for "singularities," "discontinuities" and "incommensurability" in human behaviour thorough defining a new, arnorphous teniplate for observing social interaction - the self existing in several States at once. Critics having identified some of the weak areas in symbolic interaction, the overall framework of the theory still appears to provide a solid structure within which to pursue and explore the nature of the North American mass-media celebrity fan. The strengths of Meadian and post-Meadian symbolic interactionist theory lie in the opportunities to observe the revelation of inner conduct through attitudes and speech; the effect of membership in a comrnunity as it relates to the realization of selfhood - elements of which contribute to the process of the unconscious self; the process of the development of the conscious self through social interaction based on the interpretation of symbols; and the importance of emotions as they stimulate and uniS. the development of self. To this end, symbolic interaction provides ample opportunity to examine the various ways in which fans interact with themselves, one another, and the celebrities they follow. 3. Methods: Interviews: Charting a Responsive Course for Qualitative Research Conversations with the Mass Media Fan

3.1 Design

In accordance with symbolic interactionism, data were collected primarily through a series of serni-structured qualitative interviews. Twenty fans were selected, five each from the areas of television, film, sports and music. Each fan was asked to participate in: 1) an exploratory meeting, to determine if helshe wanted to be involved in the study; 2) an approximately one and one-half hour face-to-face interview; 3) and a brief (five minutes) follow-up phone interview. The times and locations of the interview were mutually determined. Al1 of the interviews took place either at the participants' places of work or private residences over the penod of June - August, 1999.

3.1 (A) Whv Emplov Semi-structured Qualitative Interviews?

Qualitative interviews are compatible with the research goai of discovery. Maso(1996) notes that qualitative research is concerned with revealing the quality of a phenornenon, accomplished through generating "as many different reactions to the research question as possible" (p. 40). She further obsewes that the qualitative interview lends itself to flexible and spontaneous interaction between two people: "such a multi- coloured interview should be.. .flavoured with techniques used by therapists, journalists and police officers, and with a pinch of impulsive behavior of the interviewer." The semi- structured qualitative interview maximizes the opportunity to explore and be sensitive to participants' descriptions.

3.1(B) The Use of the Interview in Relation to Svmbolic Interactionism

The qualitative interview method accords with symbolic interaction theory since it constitutes "a social relationship that must be nurtured, sustained, and then ended gracefully" (Mishler, 1986, p. 79). Like symbolic interactionism, the qualitative interview is built upon social interaction involving at least two individuals and the dynamic, continualfy moving and unfolding interchange between them. The interview is "literally an inter viecv, an interchange of views between two persons conversing about a theme of mutual interest" (Kvale, 1996, p. 2). It is designed to seek patterns of inter-relationship aïmong many categories rather than the sharply delineated relationships often sought in quantitative work (McCracken, 1988). To this end, the qualitative interview complements a central tenet of symbolic interactionism: that of regarding the process of interaction as a rich site for data collection and analysis.

3.1(C) A Methodolo~icalApproach to S ymbolic Interactionism

The 1934 posthumously published collection of Mead's lectures is a seminal body of work, but Mead left much to be accomplished in terms of completing a comprehensive approach to symbolic interactionism. Blumer's 1969 book, Syrnbolic Interactior;: Perspective and Method, presents a solid contributicn to identifying the need for a methodological approach to accompany symbolic interactionism. In it, he maintains that the methodological orientation/implications of symbolic interaction lie in direct observation and analysis of subjects/situation. Blumer underscores both the importance of exarnining the nature of the empiricd world and of theoretical flexibility regarding being able to accommodate the "lines of action" of participants. In this research, face-to-face interviews allow for the direct observation of emotions, as they are experienced ancilor relived in discussing the nature of participants' experience of fanship. Where salient, my observations of the expression of emotions are detailed in the data.

Blumer (1969) is sensitive to the pitfalls of detached observation and of placing too much faith in the expertise of "scientific" techniques. To this end, he argues that in order to understand the action of the people being studied, it is necessary for the researcher to see the participants' objects as they see them and - as much as possible - to take the role of the participant and understand her or him from their perspective rather than how shehe "appears" to an outsider. Karp and Yoels (1979) state that the accumulation of information is critical to taking the role of the other: "identification of others precedes identification with hem" (p. 80). In order to understand another person's behavior we must consider their motives, their goals, the meaning they confer on the gestures of others, their identities, their self-concepts, and the processes through which they define social situations. As a researcher and a fan (see 3.9), 1 used my own insights in order to facilitate participants' descriptions of experiences of fanship. My ability to encourage participants' discussion of their fan experiences was further augmented as a result of previous casual associations with some of them (e-g., 1 have worked in the sarne media outlets with two of the participants and therefore had pre-established a cornfortable rapport). Regardless, given Blumer's observations that social interaction is a formative process in its own right - people are actively building and reshaping expression in light of their encounters with others - the ongoing challenge as a researcher remained my openness to discovery wherein 1 was not only attending to the content of the interview but also to the nature of the moment in which that content was being discussed.

3.1(C)i The methodo10,oical- challenges of using svmbolic interactionism.

The irnplementation of the responsiveness to self and social process required by symbolic interactionism poses methodologica1 challenges. As Denzin (1970) States, "reality as designated by synibolic interactionism is a "negotiated existence embedded in an ongoing social process" (p. 449). Yet "we are given few Ieads as to how to make this subjective Iife accessible to observation or systematic inquiry" (Kuhn, 1964, p. 5). In regard to accomplishing the transition from theory to empirical data, Denzin highlights a number of considerations. First, the researcher is no different from the actor in that both are constantly negotiating definitions, meanings, and lines of action. However, the researcher rnust attempt to establish some consistency so that she can repeat her activity. Second, different methods reveal different aspects of the same process or event. Third, not only do different methods reveal different aspects, but different researchers generate somewhat different interpretations. Fourth, even when the sarne methods, objects, and investigators are combined, we can expect different results because "change, not stability, is the hallmark of this social reality.. .[therefore researchers are] involved in the process of scientifically reconstmcting a world that refuses to stand still and arbitrarily accept one interpretation" (p. 450).

In order to cope with the above factors during both the data collection and the analysis stages, Denzin (1970) advocates that both symbols and interaction be brought together before an investigation is complete (the reflective nature of selfhood mut be captured); the investigator must take the role of the acting other (to allow those beinp studied to express their subjective experiences); the duality of human existence (Le., internal and external conversations) must be taken into account; and the "situated aspects" of human conduct (the time-space dimensions of interaction) must be considered. Basically, symbolic interactionist research rnethods must capture the element of process in human interaction: "the emergent relationship between self conceptions, designated meanings, and reflective interaction must be recorded. analyzed, and explained (further)... the very act of engaging in social research must be seen from the perspective of symbolic interaction" (p. 454). Drawing heavily on Blumer's work. Denzin suggests that, in order to realize these goals, the researcher must continually attempt to move subjective experiences to the level of consensual, or shared meaning. He advocates that researchers employ "sensitizing concepts" that remain non-operationalized and guard against their transformation into rigid, operational definitions.

As the sole researcher with whom al1 twenty participants interacted, 1 attempted to keep symbolic interaction theory at the forefront of my thoughts .- both in the questions 1 introduced and in my awareness of the nature of the interaction between the participant and myself. Although each situation was unique, 1 attempted consistency in trying to fully support the participants in the relating of their subjective experiences of fanship in their own ternis. As much as possible, 1 developed a line of questions and comrnents based on their interests and what they deemed to be worthy of discussion about their fan experiences. Only in the event of a lu11 in the conversation were relevant topic areas introduced as a means by which to explore as many aspects of each fan's experiences as possible. 3.1(D) Emotionaiitv as it Applies to Svmbolic Interactionism

As a post-Meadian theorist, Ellis (1991), who calls for an "emotionai sociology" wherein researchers remain aware of their own ernotions during the pursuit of in-depth descriptions of lived emotional experience, provides guidance on how to receive and understand participants' expression of emotion during interviews. Emotional sociology - in part, an extension of Cooley's (1969) concept of "sympathetic introspection" - is especially aligned with Jackson's (1989) recomrnendation of temporarily taking on the other's views as our own thereby allowing Our bodies to experience what we think Our participants are feeling. Quoting William Blake that "a tear is an intellectual thing," Ellis maintains that through "studying emotions emotionaily, exarnining our own emotions, and concentrating on the introspective narrative of lived experience - emotional sociology offers a more holistic understanding of ernotions and a fuller appreciation for how emotional experience is connected to other dimensions of human life" (p. 125). Given that emotionality is an integral aspect of subjective experience, these considerations were an important aspect of data collection and analysis; 1 address how they have been handled methodologically in 3.4(A).

3.2(A) Participant Selection

Potential participants were sought through thirteen different people. Eleven contacts were media associates and friends in the sports, music, film and television industries. One contact, who suggested two participants, worked in sales and marketing for a government corporation. Another contact, who suggested three participants, was a social worker. The media contacts worked at: The Bridge Studios, Postmodem Sound, ETC Concepts, Bruce Allen Talent, The Province Newspaper, BCTV, Global-TV, C-FUX- FM, Real West Magazine and as freelance television and film unit publicists. In several cases, contacting a fan was a two-tiered process in that a media contact would suggest to me an intermediary person (not necessarily a media person but one who was aware of potential participants). In these instances, via the prirnary contact, the intermediary introduced me to potential participants. In four cases, 1 approached the participants directly. These participants variously work in media or in other fields, were media associates anaor casual friends. None of the participants was a close friend or a relative.

In al1 cases, the people facilitating contact with fandpotentiai participants were briefed on the purpose and nature of the proposed research. Their help was sought only if they were cornfortable with the intent of the study. If the media contacts were willing and able to suggest potentiai participants, they were asked to approach individual fans and explain the nature of the study. By and large, 1kept my description of the work as simple as possible. Media contacts were asked to tell potential participants that someone they knew was collecting data for a doctoral thesis on the experience of fanship and that their participation would require completing a face-to-face, audio-taped, one and one-half hour interview. A certain amount of screening occurred before anyone was contacted. At least ten people were mentioned by the media contacts, discussed by the contacts and me, and dismissed because they were too young (under nineteen), unavailable, could not be located, or deemed by the contacts to be otherwise inappropriate.

3.2(B) Initial Contact with Participants

Twenty-five people were approached and ail agreed to consider participation in the study. Once potential participants had been contacted, they either phoned or E-maiied me, or their phone numbers were forwarded to me so that 1 could contact them. In al1 cases, our initial exploratory meeting was by phone. At that time, 1 provided further elaboration on the nature of my research. 1 explained that I was hoping to develop an understanding of how they felt their lives had been affected by their fanship. If the potential participant was still interested, 1 asked herhim to provide me with responses to the Fan Identification Inventory (FI0 (Appendix B) via the phone. Three people who had initially agreed to do the interview backed out - al1 due to lack of time - prior to my screening them further with the FIL Ln two cases, the FII scores were not high enough to warrant any further contact. For those with hi@ enough scores, we proceeded to establish a mutuaily agreed upon time and location to meet. During that discussion, 1 advised potential participants that when we met, and pnor to getting the interview undenvay, 1 would ask them to read and sign an informed consent form (Appendix A).

3.2(C) The Fan Identification Inventory

The FII was used to provide a working measure or "screen" of fan intensity thereby establishing for the purposes of tfiis study some baseline measure amongst participants. The FI1 was developed based on the work of several researchers (Fine and Kleinman, 1979; Fiske, 1992; Grossberg, 1992; Guttmann, 1986; Harrington and Bielby, 1995; Jenkins, 1992b) who have attempted to define various forms of mass media fanship. The FI1 is comprised of eight Likert-scale questions with a maximum score of 5 points each (maximum total score = 40). Only participants with a score of 24 or more were accepted.

3.2(C)i The development of the fan identification inventory FIl3.

Few mass media celebrity fan identification tools have been developed. Stever (199 1) identified Michael Jackson fans by asking a group of concert attendees and another group of undergraduate students in humanities at a southwestern university to fil1 out a questionnaire. Fanship (or lack thereof) was determined based on a rating scale component with a 10 score constituting a "very dedicated fan," 4-7 constituting "somewhat a fan," and 1 indicating 'hot a fan." Stever does not account for scores fallinp in the 2-3 range. Even less exacting Brown and Schulze's (1990)' Leets, de Becker and Giles' (1995, and Arnett (1993) al1 recruited fans by virtue of people simply identifying themselves as such. Weiller and Higgs' (1997) approach regarding sports fans of the American Girls Professional Baseball League in the forties, is a bit more cornprehensive in that they adopt a behavioral measurement. They recruited people to fil1 out an open ended questionnaire by placing ads in newspapers in cities where the league franchises had existed. People who responded were accepted as fans if they had attended a minimum of three garnes per season for three of the 12 seasons when the league was in existence. Weilier and Higgs also provide a description of sports aficionados,

A committed sports fan is one who invests time, money and emotion into a sport. He/she has sorne knowledge regarding the sport and may expenence altering mood States while consurning an event. To these individuals, sport is rnuch more than a mere diversion. It involves levels of intensity and excitement, leading to increased heart rate and emotional arousal (p. 2 12), but they do not relate that description to their selection or identification of fans.

Having explored previous efforts I chose to develop an instrument for this study that could accommodate a variety of mass media fanships (i.e., sports, music, film, television, individual stars, teams, groups, shows). Based on the literature reviewed in Chapter One, 1 applied findings and speculation related to fan characteristics from a number of theonsts to create a working mode1 of mass media fanship including: the fan's own opinion regarding the intensity of hisher fmship; amount of social interaction (Le., conversation and sociaiizing, related to the star/group/show/team); degree of involvement with related memorabilia; effort put into arnassing information about the star(s); and degrees of entertainment, emotional reward, and inspiration gleaned from the star(s).

The formulation of questions involved using core findings from earlier work and creating a simple statement. For example, given that Grossberg (1992) maintains that affect is a key factor in fanship, the Likert-scale statement concerning affect reads: 1 enjoy the emotional involvement with this star/group/show/team. Although al1 eight statements are based on the subjective assessrnent of the participant, it is hoped that through inquiring about a variety of aspects relating to mass media fanship, some form of validity was achieved. Since the FII has not been tested beyond this study, its reliability and vaiidity is undetermined. However, it does appear to have face validity. 3-20)Sample Demographics

Twenty people were interviewed; five in each of the categories: film, sports, music and television. TweIve men and eight women participated. The breakdown by gender within each category is as follows: Film: two wornen, three men; Television: four women, one man; Sports: one woman, four men; Music: one woman, four men. They ranged in age from 28 to "mid-50s." Al1 the participants were Caucasian and middle- class. All but two were Canadian-bom. At the time of the interviews, al1 the participants were employed. Types of careers included: comptroller; graphic designer; radio announcer; social worker; publicist; drug counsellor; victim's advocate; newspaper columnist; university professor; hotel manager; school teacher; makeup artist; sound engineer; and magazine publisher. About one-half had at least sorne post-secondary education. Al1 but two were married or in a long-term relationship. Eight of the twenty participants had children, one was pregnant; two had step-children.

3.3 Sources of Information

Data were primarily collected through semi-structured interviews. However, 1 also kept a researcher's log documenting dates, administrative details, and my impressions of each of the participants. 1 also remained receptive to opportunistic sources of evidence. For example, my noticing a strategically-positioned picture in a fan's office prompted a discussion regarding her feelings about non-fans' knowledge of her fanship, thereby adding to the richness of the data. Finally, debriefings (via telephone, E-mail, mail, or in- person) - which involved checking findings, clarifying any confusing comrnents, and thanking the participant again for their time - although adding nothing new to the data, served to reconfirm patterns discovered during the interviews.

3.4 Interviews

As noted previously, 1 interviewed twenty fans; five from each category of sports, music, film and television. The total number was arrived at by noting the appearance of originality versus redundancy in the material gathered in the interviews. Seidman (1998) stipulates two criteria for "enough" interviewees: sufficiency (Le., "are there sufficient numbers to reflect the range of participants and sites that make up the population so that others outside the sample might have a chance to connect to the experiences of those in it?" (p. 47-8)) and saturation (i-e., "the point at which the interviewer begins to hear the same information reported" (p. 48)). Within the parameters of the study's middle class, Caucasian group of adults, both criteria were met. Within each of the four categories, 1 found that by the fifth interview 1 was able to accurâtely guess what participants were going to Say about various topics.

In keeping with Seidrnan (1998)' each interview lasted about 90 minutes. He offers that the 90 minute length, rather than seeming too long for participants, tends "to make them feel they are being taken seriously" (p. 14); 1 found this to be true. 1 was able to monitor the length of time with both rny watch and my use of 45-minute-per-side cassette tapes. The interviews never went longer than 90 minutes but some were as short as one hour. The time differences generally occurred as a result of the speed at which people spoke. Invariabty, the participant and 1 had exhausted the interview topic after about 75-80 minutes, at which time 1 took a moment to go over my notes and they reflected on any additional cornrnents that came to mind-

Set questions were not employed in the interviews. Rather, topic lists were created relating to theoretically relevant subjects. Throughout the organicdly generated conversation (i.e., one in which the interviewee led the discussion based on herkis fafiship practices), 1 kept track of the topics being covered. Toward the end of the hour and one-half, any topic that had not been addressed was introduced. This approach allowed informants the opportunity to freely move from one subject to another, maximizing their ability to recall and express their experiences in their own way. Topic areas included:

-Why the fan was attracted to the star (Le., were they made aware of the star through friends or relatives, various forms of media?; were they drawn to the star's performance abilities, their personaiities, styles of language, movement, appearance, ideological cornrnitments, or Internet use?)

-The ways in which fans explore and express fanship (Le., are they members of fan clubs? do they go to live events featuring the star? do they "publicize" their fanship at work? how much of their spare time do they devote to pursuing their fanship? do they collect memorabilia related to the star? do they emuiate the star in various ways such as verbal expressions, manner of dress, moral and ethical choices?)

-Fans' experiences with other fans (i.e., do they go to fan conventions? exchange memorabilia? do they have social events related to the star with other fans? are they involved with other fans in writing stories or creating art related to the star)

In conducting the interviews, 1 subscribed to Seidman's (1 998) cal1 for "active" listening. Accordingly, 1 listened to what was being said, 1 listened for the participant's more thoughtful "inner voice," (partially reveaied through facial expressions, body language, and cadence) and 1 "listened" to the feel of the social interaction bctween the participant and myself. 1 also subscribed to other techniques advocated by Seidman: following up on what the participants said; asking questions about unclear information; asking for more information when a story seemed incomplete; asking genuine and open- ended questions; avoiding interrupting; asking for concrete details; and occasionally sharinp personal experiences. Further, I trusted my instincts by following hunches; and 1 gave participants "space" by tolerating silence. Further, I adopted Wester's (1996) recommendation of partially analyzing the interview while it unfolded. In this way, 1 was able to ascertain when to pursue a topic further or when to be satisfied that 1had collected enough data on that topic. In keeping with symbolic interaction theory, 1 embraced Coenen's (1996) observations that the "living" process of the research interview calls for an awareness that both the participant and rnyself were "interview partners" who could move and affect one another. This feeling of one another's life does not consist primarily of a rationai knowledge that can be cleariy formulated. It is sooner a growing bodily interwovenness that realizes itself in the irnrnediacy of mutual reaction, a moving together in which al1 our senses and al1 Our expressions (the physical, the mental and emotional) participate, and in which both individuals are absorbed as if into a larger whole (p. 12 1-2).

3.4(A) Observational Data

Along with collecting verbal data, I tried to be sensitive to nonverbal information. This challenge was dealt with methodologically through my watching participants closely during the interview for instructive information via facial expressions, body language, voice and the kind of energy they seemed to be exuding over the course of conversation. As this contributed to my supporting the participant to describe the experience of fanship as thoroughly as possible, if noticeable changes in any of those areas occurred, 1 would either bring the change to the attention of the participant and ask them what was going on for them at that moment, or 1 would redirect the conversation - often through paraphrasing, rather than questioning - to more specifically and more deeply explore what they had been talking about when the emotional change surfaced. In terms of reporting and translating nonverbal langage in the data analysis section, 1 was careful to include mention of gestures, body language, laughter, tears, or other emotions, altered voices, and telling facial expressions in brackets preceding accompanying verbal statements. On occasions when 1 was struck by the importance of nonverbal data, 1 would describe the situation out loud on the tape recorder (e-g., the Clint Eastwood fan described a drearn wherein Eastwood appeared on one side of him and his father appeared on the other side; as the fan gestured, 1 made note out loud of the respective shoulders to which he was pointing). In order to prompt my own memory, the researcher's log also included descriptive notes of the appearance of each participant at the interview. 3.5 Data Analysis

Materials gathered through the interviews were processed systematically and exhaustively through the theoretical frarnework of symbolic interactionism and in terms of the research questions. Aspects of construing and experiencing, and patterns of experience (Yin, 1989) were studied for insights and content linkages. Key symbolic interactionist concepts were used to understand types of behaviour described by participants. For example, in employing the key symbolic interactionism concept, "1-me," analysis of the data reveaied several distinct sub-patterns showing how various fans used their fanship to manipulate exposure to "I" opportunities versus "me" situations.

Synthesis and analysis of the data was loosely based on Van Manen's (1990) approach whereby many levels of assessing the information are incorporated, moving deductively from the general to the specific. First, the data were transcrïbed verbatim, with observational data included in brackets preceding the relevant quotes. Then the data were reflected upon as a whole. Next, sections of interviews were appraised for descriptions, beliefs and preferences relating to the research questions. Salient data were transferred in "chunks" to sections relevant to each of the research questions. Next, those data were broken down in more detail (e-g., information gennane to the "self' was catalogued and explored in areas such as "1-me," "rnind" and so on). The data were further categorized into themed sub-sections within each key concept, eg., "maxirnizing the "I" versus "maxirnizing the me." Once the data had been parceIed out as specificaliy as possible, I began the writing process. Along with reporting overail discoveries, much of the writing constituted the comparing and contrasting of data clustered within sections and sub-sections. Finally, when the three re.sults/discussion chapters were drafted, the original interviews were revisited in an effort to guard against the possibility of distortion of data. This process was followed by the search for themes across the individual interviews, mass media categories, and various syrnbolic interactionist concepts in an attempt to identify core characteristics of mass media fans. 3.6 Validitv

1 concur with Altheide and Johnson's (1994) assertion that knowledge is based on assumptions and that validity is relative: "validity depends on the 'interpretive communities,' or the audiences - who may be other than researchers and acadernics - and the goal of the research. Validity will be quite different for different audiences" (p. 488). To this end, 1 sought to present the "truth" of my findings through orienting readers. 1 have described rny personal background, interests and biases (see 3.9). 1 have described the relatiomhips between the observer and the observed. And, 1 have described the theoretical perspective employed in developing data collection and interpretation strategies. Moreover, 1 have presumed a "generalized other" to whom this study will be presented and have written accordingly. While each reader brings her or his own context of interpretive meaning to the reading of this thesis, 1 have assumed that rny "interpretive cornmunity" has a fairly well-developed knowledge of current mass media and pop culture influences and practices. (Also, see 3.8.)

3.7 Ethics

Approval for this research study was sought from, and awarded by, the Simon Fraser University Research Ethics Cornmittee. A consent form (see Appendix A) was read and signed by each participant pnor to the interview. Emphasis was placed on confidentiality and anonymity. Participants were told that they did not have to mswer any question that made thern feel uncomfortable and that they could withdraw at any tirne. 1 attempted to treat each participant with respect and dignity throughout the course of Our conversations. In each case, participants were formally thanked with a follow-up phone conversation. Regarding data analysis and presentation of results and discussion, al1 identifying information has been removed from the data. Data will be kept in a Iocked file cabinet for a five year period after degree completion and then destroyed. 3.8 Limitations

In addition to validity issues aiready cited (see 3.6), the generalizability of the findings is relative to the context of the method: the qualitative interview. Disadvantages to embarking upon a data collection strategy based on interviews include the following: pre-existing research shows that fans are sometimes shy, secretive or embarrassed about their fan activities (Gibson, 1997; Harrington & Bielby; 1995; Radway, 1984); an in- person interview situation may frighten away certain types of fans who want to remain totally anonymous; and, an interview situation is vulnerable to interviewer-induced bias which can result from variation in the wording of questions, voice inflection, the ability of the interviewer to be sensitive to subtle interviewee cues, or an extremely positive or negative personal connection between the interviewer and the interviewee. Some types of answers may have been tempered by respondents possibly concerned about social desirability. Also, the goai of the interview is not to prove or disprove a theoretical proposition but to develop or enhance understanding of subjective experiences.

There are other validity issues. The selection of participants was not random, but was developed by virtue of the researcher's contacts. The participants represent an age range between late twenties and late fifties, and mass media fans outside of these parameters did not contribute to the data pool. Children, teenagers and seniors may well exhibit very different characteristics from the types of fanship practices docurnented in this study. The participants were lirnited to English-speaking, rniddle-class, North American Caucasians who were willing to be audio-taped. Other cultures and races or those who are particularly shy or private may well use fanship differently.

Further refinement of the methodology might be developed to enable accounting for ephemeral, intuitive moments unfoldinp in the relationship between interviewee and interviewer. It rnay be useful for the interviewerh-esearcher to adopt what Mindel1 (1985) describes as the fluid ego wherein one is open to "the body experience, mood, or fantasy" (p. 65). In this way, an interviewee's fleeting glances, brief pauses, shifting body movernents and the like may be noted in the moment and responded to accordingly by the interviewer with the goal of encouraging thicker, Geertzian descriptions from interviewees. Enhanced interviewer awareness could allow for a deepening of the interviewerhnterview relationship facilitating the revelation and processing of more layers of information. Moreover, taking the time to acknowledge and discuss with the interviewees the potential meaning of subtle interactions may engender an exploration of both the interviewer and interviewee 1-me transition points, which could provide additional fruitful data. For example, an interviewer may point out that he/she repeatedly observed the interviewee shift in their chair while talking about a specific experience. This information could prompt insights on the part of the interviewee about previously unidentified feelings. Additionaily, videotaping interviews may offer more opponunity for depth of analysis regarding non-verbal language expressed both intra- and inter- personally between the interviewer and interviewee.

3.9 Positionality

As self-described fan Lany Grossberg (1997) States, no research is untouched by the perceptions of the researcher.

The collapse of cntical distance and the crisis of authority is not epistemological but a concrete historical dilemma called into existence by the fact that, as critical intellectuals, we are inextricably linked to the dominant forms of popular culture; we are fans writing about the terrain, if not the objects, of our own fandom. Consequently our critical authority cannot be built on privileged distinctions of taste and distaste. Reflexivity is, then, a possibility for rearticulating the basis of inteilectual and political critique; it is a strategic and empowering response to those historical conditions that must take account of the complex ways in which we are already articulated into the politics of cultural tastes, not only as fans but as critics (p. 25 1).

To that end, 1 wmt to contextualize the personal genesis of this study. My family contains a few British Columbian and Canadian "celebrities." Over the past three generations, members of my family have experienced public recognition: through the development of successful businesses (e-,o., logging, rnining, farming, transportation, communications, international resort developrnent and management); the pursuit of public office in multi-levels of government (member of parliament, members of the legislature, party leader); and the establishment of profiles in print, on radio, and on television (columnists, hosts, correspondents, interviewees). Growing up, 1 periodically attended events involving my family only to arrive home and re-view those events on a television screen. My father's father and his three brothers, my mother's father, and both my parents developed local, regional or national profiles.

In terms of self-development, the importance of fanship in my family has been tacitly underscored by both of my parents in different ways. While 1 was growing up, my father was intensely involved in national politics. 1 took his fanship to be implicit in that he was one of three people to encourage Pierre Trudeau to run for Prime Minister and subsequently worked for four years during the time of "Trudeaumania" as Trudeau's special assistant. As a result of my father's position, 1 was able to gain insight into, and juxtapose manifestations of, fanship both in-person and through technologically-mediated experiences. My mother's fanship is located the redm of film and television entertainment. She has been a passionate fan for as long as 1 can remember. 1 have long watched her use an encyclopedic knowledge of North Amencan stars as a means by which to define herself. My mother becarne a gossip columnist when 1 was in my late teens. She charted both the ebb and flow of local celebrities and the lives of Hollywood, Broadway and British stars. She has been to the Academy Awards, as a journalist, on numerous occasions. On one of those occasions, 1 went to the Academy Awards with her. (She was working for Vancouver Magazine. 1 was working for CBC Newsworld.) For my mother, close encounters with stars represent important life events. They are translated into topics for conversation, articles, radio and television appearances, and, in turn, a sense of self.

1 have been both a small-time "celebrity" and a fan. After graduating from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, 1 pursued a career in media. 1 had trained as a sculptor but 1 felt traditional gaileries were not very efficient ways to communicate; 1 looked to radio and television as more effective opportunities to spark reaction and provoke thought. 1 began in radio but quickiy moved to hosting a daily program on a local Vancouver television station. After a few months, 1 began CO-hosting the station's flagship two hour, nightly, current affairs program. Shortly thereafter I was hired by CITY-TVin Toronto where 1 worked for two years before coming back to Vancouver and working for CBC television. I have now worked in front of and behind the camera for many years and continue to do so on a limited basis. Currently, 1 work sporadically for Entertainment Torziglzt, conducting interviews with visiting stars, and field-producing entertainment stories in western Canada. 1 dso travel throughout western Canada reporting for the Washington, D.C.-based television show, Wodd Bltsirzess Revierv. 1 conduct interviews and produce Electronic fress Kits for American and British film production companies. 1 work as voice talent for radio and television cornmercials and documentaries. And 1 produce television specials and documentaries for regional and national television.

In these capacities, 1 have watched fans become overwhelmed when they corne in contact with a favorite celebrity. Many fans appear to be in shock when they meet a star who has previously existed exclusively in the Baudrïllardian (1983) realm of endless reproduction. 1 have also watched celebrities marvel, and sornetimes panic, at the prospect of functioning as an unwitting conduit for fans' hopes and dreams. These experiences have laid the foundation for this research study.

To a certain extent, it was my fascination with this phenomenon that led me back to school to earn a Master's degree in counselling psychology. Throughout this process 1 gained some insight into possible motivating factors in the development and maintenance of the fan/star relationship. Serendipitous conversations durhg this time in my on-going capacity as a journalist and with clients in my private practice as a psychotherapist led me to pursue an interdisciplinary doctoral program in an effort to further explore the subjective experience of the rnass media celebrity fan. In terms of my own specific history with fanship, 1 have been, and continue to be, a fan. My first bmsh with fanship occurred when 1 was twelve. While staying at a resort in Hawaii. it came to my attention that the then famous teenage idol, David Cassidy, was staying in the room next to mine. In rny zeal to see him, 1 came close to falling three stories as 1 attempted to peer around a balcony partition. As a teenager, 1 becarne a cornpetitive horseback rider and subsequently a fan of international riders. 1 was also a jazz and rock music fan - to the extent that 1 became a joumalist as a way to be able to taik with artists whose creativity I adrnired. Currently, 1 am a fan of the soap opera AI1 My Children. 1 record it and watch it at the end of most days as a way to reduce stress. For me, the star is the show itself, rather than any individual appearing on it. 4. The Mapping of Fan-tasia

This chapter describes salient sample characteristics of the participants; it has been divided into two sections. The first section details findings in seven areas relating to various aspects of fanship. The second section responds to the secondary research question: "Do core patterns exist in mass media fans' experience of their chosen celebrities?" Eight core fanship patterns emerge from the data.

4.A Fan-tastic Facts: Participation Patterns

This section describes characteristics of the sarnple. In particular, information germane to the beginning and development of participants' fanship is exarnined. With the goal of presenting data as effectively as possible, each of the seven sub-sections is organized in one, or a combination, of two ways: the first describes aspects or dimensions of a pattern of behaviour; the second describes patterns based on type of fan. Selections have been made based on atternpting to maximize analyticai strength and clarity.

4.A(1) Discovery

Ail of the participants discovered their favourite stars/sports/shows/bands through technologically-mediated means. Fifteen of the twenty participants discovered the object of their fanship on their own; the other five fans were introduced by close relatives. None of the fans were introduced by friends. Seven participants were adults when they became fans; five were teenagers; eight were children.

Those who discovered the object of their fanship on their own are fairly evenly distributed over the categories: four television fans, four film fans, three sports fans, and four music fans. This suggests that, across media, the opportunity to make independent decisions about likes and dislikes is an important component in the development of fanship and may contribute to the intensity andor longevity of the fanship as well. Of the five participants who became fans as a result of being introduced by - or with - another person, ail had this experience with a close relative. One television fan discovered her favourite show with her sister; one film fan discovered his favourite star with his father; two of the sports participants became fans through an introduction by close relatives; and one music fan made the discovery through his brother. It may be that closeness of relationship with the "contact" person with whom a fan makes their discovery of fanship is a factor in the likelihood of becorning a fan.

Of the participants who became fans in adulthood, four are television fans, while the three other fans are from the areas of sports, music, and film. Of the five participants who became fans as teenagers, one is a television fan and the other four are music fans. Of the eight who became fans as children, four are film fans and four are sports fans. These patterns of fan-onset may be related to cognitive developmentai windows (e-g., music is often an important aspect of self-expression during adolescence) or nostalgia (e-g., the object of fanship rnay double as both a present day experience and as a desired tie to another time in a fan's life).

4.A(l)a Frequencv of use.

The frequency of participation in fan-related practices varies relative to media. Type of use is a consideration. Primary use is categorized as viewing of, or Iistening to, the actual performance for which the star is, or stars are, known. Secondary use is categorized as reading or watching material about favourite stars. Tertiary use is categorized as face-to-face or mediated conversation about favourite stars. For ail of the television fans, primary use is high; four fans watch televised or taped versions of favourite programs daily. The fifth fan watches her favourite show weekly. Additionally, she periodically views tapes she has made of the show. Among the film fans, primary use is much lower. While al1 of the fans report repeated viewings of favourite stars' films, film star output of material is considerably less than that of television stars. Therefore, frequency of participation is markedly less as well. For exarnple, the Woody Allen fan, whose favourite movie is Aunie Hall, has seen that movie twenty times over the years - a number which she considers to be high. However, relative to soap opera fans, who watch twenty prograrns per month, the Woody Allen fan's primary frequency use is low. Primary use among sports fans is dictated by seasons of play. AI1 the sports fans report unflagging viewership during broadcasts of their favourite sports. In addition, the tennis fan records al1 matches and saves her favounte tapes for repeated viewings. Among music fans, primary use appears to be regular yet discretionary, with no particular pattern except that al1 report playing favourite music whenever they want to - which might be every day, twice a month, etc.

Secondary use among the participants is high (i.e., weekly reading) for one half of the participants, sporritic for another seven (Le., a few tirnes a year) and non-existent for three. Tertiary use is high (Le., discussions about stars almost daily) for seven participants, moderate (i.e. discussions once a week) for six fans, and almost non-existent for seven fans. While there does not appear to be strong patterns in tems of the overlap of fans between groups, data suggest that the more often primary opportunities are avaiiable, the more tertiary activity occurs while the less frequent the primary opportunities, the more secondary activity occurs.

4.A(2) Use of Technology

Only one participant - a television fan - uses the Internet heavily, Le., usually at least once a day. One music fan uses the Internet moderately, i.e., thrice weekly. One television fan visits the Intemet sporadicaily, i.e., twice a month. The Iimited number of participants involved in Internet use may be related to the relatively mature age of the sample. Otherwise, technology is used in so far as it serves the various forrns of fanship: television and sports fans videotape televised events to a considerable extent; music fans use technology extensively in the forrn of records, casette tapes and CDS of favorite music artists; film fans report reglar use of technology in the form of videotapes and DVDs. 4.A(3) Fanshiv and Friendship

Al1 of the participants describe Fanship as an important aspect of their friendships. Aithough friendships may have been sparked by a mutual fanship, discussions about favourite stars occur in conjunction with other discussions (e.g., work, farnily, romance, health). Further, none of the fans belong - or ever did belong, regardless of the longevity of their fanship - to fan clubs, so friendship between Iike-rninded fans occur through other means. It rnay be that the dearth of fan club membership arnong participants is related to age andor level of sophistication.

In spite of the prevalence of high-technology in establishing fanship, data suggest most fan friendships develop through in-person interactions. Eleven fans report making friends in face-to-face situations. Sports and music fans describe making friends through attending public sports and music events. At these events, serendipity plays a part in the developrnent of friendships, e.g., striking up a conversation with the person beside whom one happens to be seated. Two sports fans and three music fans describe this phenornenon. Fan friends are also made through happenstance discussions with people at work and other settings. Two music fans and four sports fans report rnaking friends in this manner. Only three participants report the formation of friendship through technological means. Two participants - one female television fan and one male music fan - found friendships through the use of "high" technology via the Internet. The Yes fan used "low" technology to form fan-related friendships. She actively sought friendships through placing an ad in a British music magazine. She received sixty responses and corresponded with about thirty people until she narrowed the list to a few people - one of whom became her best friend.

Ten participants - four sports and five music fans, and one film fan - report that fanship plays a major role in their friendships, Le., at least one-half and up to ninety percent of their friendships are fan-related. Six fans - two film and four television fans - report they have "a few" friends who are fans. Four participants - one sports and one television fan, and two film fans - state that they have a very limited number (Le., one or two) or no friends who are also fans. The difference between the sports and music fans versus the television and film fans may be located in the nature of fan practices. Television and film do not lend themsehes to meeting new people; also these fans repeatedly describe solo-viewing as a preferred mode of experiencing their favorite stars. Of the sports and music fans, only the tennis fan specificaliy States she prefers watching televised tennis aione.

EIeven participants - two music, three television, three sports, and three film fans - have tried to encourage family and friends to develop an appreciation of their preferred stars. Of these efforts, nine participants - two music, two television, one sports, and two film fans - feel they were successful in encouraging friends and family tc become like- minded fans. For some participants, "fanship and friendship" intersects with "fanship and family." Eight fans - three music and three sports fans, one television and one film fan - describe sharing their fanship as friendship with family members. This finding suggests that fanship may be used as a focus by which to enhance and strengthen family bonds. In the cases of four fans, fan friendship extends to intimate relationships. A female television fan, a female music fan, a female film and a male sports fan al1 describe situations wherein mutual appreciation of favourite stars was an important factor leading to romance - two of which resulted in successful marriages, a third in a serious long-term relationship.

4.A(3)a Meeting the stars in person.

Seven participants - three music and three film fans, and one sports fan - have met their favourite stars. Fourteen participants - five film, three music, three television, and three sports fans - express interest in, if the opportunity presents itself, becoming friends with favourite stars. A fourth television fan expressed an interest in a friendship with the fictitious character played by an actor but not with the actor herself. A fourth music fan is casual friends with her favourite artists. Almost one-half of the participants have "met" favourite stars in their drearn worlds. Eight fans - one music, two television, two sports, and three film fans - report having had at least one drearn about their favourite artists or athietes.

4.A(4) Collectors

As is the case with fans becorning friends with other fans, types of media lend themselves to certain practices. Music and film libraries cm be readily arnassed by those types of fans. Sports and television fans, by virtue of the volume of material available to them, are less likely to collect everything produced - although one sports fan and one television fan cite limited collections of favorite events or shows. In some cases, there is not that much tu collect, e-g., soap opera memorabilia- In dl, thirteen of the twenty participants have, or have had, some kind of collection related to their fanship. Three participants - al1 music fans - are avid collectors, seeking out anything related to their favourite artists. Nine participants - two music, four film, and three sports fans - are modest collectors, i.e., they collect relatively lirnited and select types of mernorabilia. One sports fan collected hockey cards as a child but does not pursue collecting as an adult. The seven remaining fans do not collect, and never have coilected, star-related items.

4.A(5) Fans Whose Play or Work is Related to that of the Stars

In terms of work, seven participants - five film fans, one sports and one music fan - feel that their careers have been influenced by their fanship. In terrns of play, eleven of the fans participate in activities also practiced by favourite stars. Four of the five music fans play or wnte music (three began before the onset of their fanship; one began partially in response to his fanship). Three of the five sports fans play the sport of which they are a fan (one began playing as a result of her fanship, the other two began in childhood and continue to play). One fan played his favourite sport as a child but does not play it now. One fan played his chosen sport until adulthood but does not play any longer. None of the television fans act. However, one has been inspired creatively in another way: she writes fan fiction. Another does a lot of public speaking - which requires some acting and presentation skills - as a result of her fanship. Of the five film fans, three have never attempted acting; one acted as a young adult( as a result of his fanship); the other is doing what he admires in his favorite star: directing (a pursuit he began partially as a result of his fanship).

Preferences for viewing or listening to favourite artists or athletes Vary from not caring about whether sorneone else is watching or Iistening with them, to feeling very strongly about the matter one way or the other. Six participants - five television fans and one sports fan - prefer to have their fan experiences alone. Seven participants - two

music, three sports, and two film fans - prefer experiencing their fanship with others.

4.A(7) Fans and Religion

See section 1.E for definitions of religion. In dl, thirteen of the twenty participants were raised as some type of Christian: four of the music fans; four of the television fans, three of the sports fans, and two of the movie fans. Only three of the fans - al1 of them sports fans - regard, or have regarded, their mass media fanship as a forrn of religious expression. Three music fans are open to the idea that mass media fanship and religious expression may intersect in some way.

4.A(8) Summary

Seven characteristics of the sample have been identified. Further exploration of patterns revealed in the data follow in the next section and Chapters 5 and 6 .

Frorn the perspective of symbolic interactionism, the above data suggest that relationship is, for the majority of fans, an important aspect of the fan experience. Yet, fanship also appears to be an opportunity to assert individuality; most participants discovered favourite stars of their own accord. Fans are affected by their interaction with stars on a variety of Ievels, including their choices in activities, friendships, and work.

4.B Hard Core Fans: Do Core Patterns exist in Mass Media Fans' Experience of their Chosen Celebrities?

Eight core fanship patterns are identified- 1 define "core" as fan experiences described by at least three out of five participants in each of the categories (sports, music, film and television). Data suggest that while individual fan interests may vary considerably, several aspects of fanship exist across types of fans.

4.B(1) I Gotta Be Me: Fanship, an Expression of Individuaiity

In spite of the phenornenon of millions of other people liking the same stars, fanship of rnass media celebrities is perceived by individuai fms as a singular experience. It may be compared to the ownership of a pair of a mass-produced jeans in which individual selection, purchase, and multiple wearings personalize the buyer's relationship with the jeans. And the more often the jeans are worn, the more unique to the owner they become.

Fifteen of the twenty participants (four television, four film, three sports, and four music fans) describe discovenng the focus of their fanship on their own (4.A( 1)) by happenstance through technologically-mediated means. Data reveal that the discovery of stars is, in and of itself, a way of asserting the uniqueness of self. For example, the Seinfeld fan describes the importance of being regarded by his friends as "pioneering" in his discovery of the program. To that end, he created situations where he wouid be recognized as such. The choice of the star(s) is a way to say to others: "This star is an extension or symbol of aspects of me. To understand this star is to understand how 1 feel." The Denis Leary fan surnrnarizes this attitude: "When 1 heard him, it meant so much to me. 1 felt if they Cher friends] listen to him, they'll feel the same way 1 do." Fourteen other participants aiso regard their selected star(s) as a kind of "fingerprint" identifying - and unique to - them. For example: the Clint Eastwood fan strives to "do the right thing" like some of the characters Eastwood plays; the hockey fan strives to be a person who will b'sacrifice ail for the good of the team;" the Stanley Kubrick fan is, like Kubrick, a "perfectionist" in his work; one of the The Young and the Resrless fans wants to live in luxury Iike the characters on that soap opera: the Bruce Cockbum fan sees himself as a "mini Bruce Cockburn" who tries to perform "random acts of kindness" and supports environmental causes.

Fanship as an individual pursuit appears to continue to manifest itself beyond the star disccvery stage. For example, the Grareful Dead fan was not consciously spending a lot of time thinking about the use of drugs when he was first captivated by the music of the band; however the lore of drugs constitutes a component of the "Deadhead" experience. His fanship contributed to his rumination on the negative and positive aspects of illegal drug use. He is now a drug avoidance counsellor. It is impossible to know which came first: his interest in the use of drugs, or his appreciation of the band, but (consciously, or subconsciously) he chose a fanship that provided a vehicle for that type of self exploration and expression.

Choosing one's fanship on one's own appears to be a significant aspect of the fan experience. In doing so, participants make a symbolic statement to themselves and to those around them about themselves. Fanship as an individual pursuit also consists of consciously or subconsciously using the symbols associated with chosen stars by which to explore uncharted aspects of self.

4.B(2) The More the Merrier: Multiple Fanship

Al1 of the participants (except for the Robert Redford fan who had no thoughts as to why he was a fan of Redford only) are concurrently, or have been, fans of other stars. Further, fanships often span mediums. For example, the Seinfeld fan is also a Bob Dylan fan; the Woody Allen fan is also a Stevie Wonder fan; the Keith Richards fan is also a fan of Winston Churchill; the hockey pool fan is also a film fan with "three or four hundred videos" in his personal library; and the Clint Eastwood fan is also a fan of both hockey and soccer.

Other participants sought out comparable fan experiences. Team sports fans liked other team sports: the football fan also enjoys hockey and basketbail; the golf fan is also a passionate hockey fan and talks knowledgeably about severai other sports. In terrns of music fans, the Bryan Adams participant is also a fan of Bruce Springsteen - both stars present themselves as working class rock stars. The Yes fan also appreciates the music of Genesis and of Seal - both of whom offer sophisticated orchestration rich in minor chords. Amont the film participants, the Stanley Kubrick fan also likes the similarly stylistically-sophisticated work of director Frederico Fellini and the moody and chailenging work of film actor Robert DeNiro and director Sam Peckinpaw. The Woody Allen fan is also a fan of Richard Pryor, whose comedy, Iike Allen's, can be frenetic and self-deprecating, and of Goldie Hawn, whose comedy, Iike Allen's, can be quirky. From among the television participants, the Xena: Wai-rior Princess participant is also a fan of The Averzgers. She cites the parallels between the two shows in the "campy send-ups," "tongue-in-cheek humour, and strong female leads. And the Seinfeld participant points to a number of comedy programs which he feels are part of a lineage leading to SeNifield: "1 grew up on The Phi1 Silver Show and Surgeant Bilko. And went from there to Tlze Dick Van Dyke Show to Mary T*r Moore, Cheers, and then to Seinfeld. So there is a kind of apostolic succession here."

Sorne participants exhibit eclectic tastes within mediums. The fan who Iikes Denis Leary's angry and counterhegemonic ways is also a fan of a major symbol of mainstrearn culture - Marilyn Monroe. The fan who admires the somber and apocryphal music of Bruce Cockburn also enjoys the wacky and colourful music of Cyndi Lauper. The Clint Eastwood participant, who enjoys Eastwood's portrayal of psychologically-wounded "good guys," is also a fan of several British actors who portray an assortment of psychoiogically-complex heroes including Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine, and Anthony Hopkins. Some fans describe logical cross-medium fanships: the Bruce Cockburn music fan is also a fan of David Suzuki, who, like Cockburn, is an environmentalist. He also is a fan of Robin Williams, a cornedian who, like Cockbum, presents himself as a End and gentle person. The Denis Leary film fan aiso appreciates Axe1 Rose, the lead singer of the hard rock band, GL~S'n Roses who, like Leary, presents himself as an angry person.

These data suggest that some people may have a propensity toward mass media fanship. It may be that once the language and the particulaï- kind of social interaction required of fanship has been established, subsequent fanships are more likely. Or, some people may be predisposed to elements of fan behaviour such as the ability to develop and retain detailed knowledge related to the focus of their fanship.

4.B(3) no th in^ More than Feelings: Fanship as a Key to Emotional Expression

As will be discussed (5.A(4)c), the experience of emotions through fadcelebrity interaction is described by fifteen (four television, five sports, three film, and three music fans) participants as an element of their fanship. The îelevision fans tend to use their fanship to both release and repress emotion. The sports fans tend to discover and release emotions through their fanship. Inexplicably, the film fans descnbe using their fanship to process emotions specifically in terms of guilt, e.g, the Stanley Kubrick fan who feels guilt about his German ancestors' participation in the "evil" practices of Nazi Germany. The three music fans state that their fanship enables the experience of a greater expanse and depth of emotion than they do in everyday life.

4.8(4) Close, but not too Close: Friendship, Yes - Being the Star, No

The nature of the connection desired with the star is consistent across mass rnediums. Eighteen of the participants (four sports fans, four television fans, five film fans, and five music fans) express an interest in being friends with their favourite artists (either the artists themselves or the characters they play) or athletes. However, none of the twenty fans interviewed wishes to trade places with those stars. None wants to cope with the burden of fame. The reasons vq:constant scrutiny; lack of privacy; constant pressure to perforrn at a top level and to be "on show"; constarit travel; and the responsibility of so many other people's jobs resting on a star's shoulders. Several participants express an interest in aspects of stardom, best summarized by the Stanley Kubrick fan: "1 have no desire to be hirn. 1 am certainly envious of his opportunities." Only the Clint Eastwood fan toys with the idea of being his favorite star for even a Iimited period of time-

1 would love to be him for a penod of time. Experience what he experiences. Wouldn't it be nice to be hirn when he accepted his Oscar? Just the sheer energy of al1 that admiration and accolades. It's something that most individuals don't ever get to experience - get to actually act in a movie from start to finish and get to see this piece of, you know, corne to life and actually happen, become a finished product. You know, he would definitely be rny first pick if you asked me if there is anybody that you would Iike to trade lives with for a period of time. It would be him, yeah. Not forever, no. Because 1 am happy with who 1 am. 1 am generally an individual who likes who 1 am, feels very secure in who 1 am and enjoys my life. 1 don't think 1 would trade it with anybody.

One of the soap fans raised the possibility of being one of the soap characters. However, that exercise resulted in the realization that, in fact, she desires something possessed by the character.

1 think ideally 1want Nicky's freedom because she has money, but 1 want to be me and have my own life. 1 want the freedom that cornes with not having to work for an income. But, actuaIIy if 1 were truthful, 1 would imagine, because Victor is the source of al1 her money and because he is very chauvinistic and patriarchal, she doesn't have half as much freedom as it looks like she has. He probably would expect her to be home every night for dinner. 1 have more freedom that she has but it don't look that way because she had economic freedom and every year that goes past that I don't have it makes me feel 1 never will. It's the econornic freedom but 1 actually wouldn't like to spend my whole day arranging flowers and butting my nose into my children's business to try and solve things and just waiting for rny husband to come home from work. 1 wouldn't like that really.. .but that freedom not to have to go to work every day, it's so appealing to me. It's so appealing.

Although none wants to be a favourite star, many are interested in friendship with the star, albeit some (the fans of Denis Leary, Keith Richards. and tennis) only tentatively so, for fear that they rnight be disappointed. The hockey pool fan and one of the soap opera fans are not interested in the prospect of fnendship with favorite stars. The hockey pool participant cannot imagine what he and hockey stars rnight have to discuss: "The problem is 1 wouldn't know what to Say. 'Hi.' I mean what do you Say when you meet someone? 'Like your hockey. Hi, how are ya?' It would be nice to meet them but.. ." The soap opera fan has no interest in friendship with the stars of her favourite program: "1 just want them to exist in the TV for an hour a day. 1 don't want them to have any more connection with my life. That is enough."

While another soap opera fan is interested only in friendship with the characters (6.A(3)), and the Seinfeld participant likes both the concept of a friendship with the characters (6.A(3)) and a friendship with the stars specifically in the capacity as a writer on the show, the remaining participants warm to the thought of simple, casual friendship. With the exception of the Yes fan - who maintains a casual friendship with the members of that band - the depth of reflection on the potential of fnendship varies. It ranges from entertaining the idea for the first time during the course of the interview, to one that has been considered extensively, as exemplified by the hockey fan's description of the type of friendship he can envision with his favourite player, Wayne Gretzky:

1 could imagine talking to him about his childhood. What it was like. What it is like to fulfill those kinds of dreams. 1 could also imagine our conversation tuming to children real fast and how he probably sees his own childhood through his kids eyes now. Similar to most of us do, but on a different level, not a better level, just a different level. Yeah, then, there7sthe gossip part: "What was this pyreally like?" You know? "It is really truc that you guys went out drinking with the Russians after you played thern?"

The Clint Eastwood fan is aiso easily able to imagine a significant friendship with that star.

1 am a golfer, 1 would LOVE to play a round of golf with him. I would love to go out and have a beer with hirn. 1 would love to become - no. 1 would love to write a script and get into the industry on that side of it. Not that that would be my one reason for becoming a friend of somebody like that. In losing a dad when you are a teenager, he would be a surrogate father figure.

The Eastwood fan and the hockey fan have considered the potential of a friendship to a fair depth. Most participants are like the Keith Richards fan, who has imagined a casual relationship.

1 would like to be his pal. 1 would start off saying, "what your music has meant to me down through the years." 1 would like to get to know hirn in a way other than the typicai fan kind of relationship. Just have a couple of beers, shoot a bit of pool, play sorne cards. Just hang 1 mean f know the music and 1 love the music. That7sbeside the point, it would be interesting to gain a dimension of the man beyond the music.

Other participants, such as the Stanley Kubrick fan and the Robert Redford fan, are interested in the prospect of befriending their favourite stars for the opportunity to discuss work-related issues. The Redford fan elaborates:

1 would hit him with dl kinds of trivia questions about what he has done over the years.. .in Jererniah Johnson, there were some actors in the film who do not get listed at the end of the fiim. I would probably like to know who they were because in other films, I recognize them in other films he has done with them.. .Yeah, like in Butch Cassidy, Warren Beatty and Steve McQueen were considered for the role, how did he end up getting it? Just a lot of trivial facts that other people wouldn't care about but for me are quite interesting.

4.B(5) Nobodv's Perfect: The Stars Have Flaws Too

These fans, although enarnoured of their favourite stars, are not impervious to the stars' flaws. Perhaps this core characteristic is a fimction of the age of the interviewees - the youngest being 28 years old. Eighteen of the twenty participants (ail but the Bruce Cockburn fan and the Robert Redford fan) spontaneously alluded to their chosen celebrities/sports/programs as possessing positive attributes in some areas and flaws in others.

Both the The Young and the Restless soap opera fans describe the show as featuring "bad acting." The Woody Allen fan (S.A(2)e) and the Clint Eastwood fan (S.A(l)c(ii)) are "disgusted" by the romantic relationship paths followed by those two stars. The Stanley Kubrick fan concedes that Kubrick could be "a really nasty, crabby man." The Jerry Garcia [Grateful DeadJ fans laments Garcia's heroin addiction problern. The hockey fan surnrnarizes: "Unfortunately, society puts them on a pedestal. They are just like anyone else, they put their shoes on like anyone else, they have problems like anyone else." The Xeria: Warrior Princess fan reiterates the "they are just people" sentiment.

Essentially they are just people like you and 1 who have gotten lucky, hopefully, through talent; not al1 of them even look that good (laughs), but through talent - or whatever - achieved a certain status. But on one level it is a fdse status. 1 mean they are just people, with a particular taient and, you know, 1 guess the utilitarian side of me says there is no difference between somebody doing an acting job well and somebody being a superlative secretary except that one is more visible than the other. But that visibility gives a false weight to the value of what they are doing.

Seeing the stars, however, as people who have both great strengths and weaknesses is not aiways immediate. The Yes fan laments that it took her many years to adopt a more pragmatic attitude toward her favourite band.

They are just people. And that 1was so willing to put them in this place above me; 1 look back now and 1 think 1 would have gotten a whole lot more out of the experience of meeting them over the years if 1 had been able to get past that and just see them as people. There were times when, invitations that they had extended to us where I would have been much too shy, or tongue-tied, that it would be really hard to communication with them.. .l know it's never right to give your power to other people and 1think 1 had a tendency to kind of do that then - just from being young and feeling a little bit beneath these guys. These very sophisticated artists. So, yeah, if 1 could have changed one thing 1 just wish 1 could have got that a little bit sooner: they are just people.

Of note, while the music, film, and television participants describe a variety of flaws, al1 five sports participants point to one particular issue that, though not directiy related to their favourite stars, they maintain is affecting sports in general and, as a result, threatens to erode the depth of their fanships as well. That issue is the high salaries of the athletes. The tennis fan elaborates that as a result of what she deems to be unsportsman- like behaviour motivated by greed among the younger female players, she is preparing to stop watching women's tennis altogether: "They seem a Iittle more in it for the money. They don? have the sportmanship at dl. At's like win, win, win.. .and 1 am really disappointed in that.. .Their attitudes just stink." The football fan reframes the sme sentiment relative to his sport: "Over the last 20 years, the business of sports has affected who 1 care about because of free agency. Seinfeld said it best. He said: 'YOUdon? cheer for your favorite team, you cheer for the uniform."' The hockey fan concurs: Everything has a price to it and that's where sports has changed ...Now, you pick up today7spaper and 1 parantee, haif the stories in there are about money, contracts, agents.. .If anything, it has driven me a bit away from sports. When you hear some of the comments athletes make now, you know: "1 am insulted by being offered a million and a half dollars." You just Say: "Get a reality check here. You should be grateful for what you have, and for that gift you have."

The golf fan is equally critical of some tearn athletes who place more value on their salaries than the needs of the tearn for which they play.

Al1 these - especially hockey players - "1 am not getting paid enough money, 1 am holding out." Weli, I'm sorry. You7reletting 18 other guys on your team down. And 1 know it's a business for you but still, it's a tearn. You have been brought up to play as a team. You're gettin' paid good money no matter what, so stop your whining !

Although al1 these fans do not demonstrate any apparent illusions about favorite artists or athletes being flawless, cornrnents by the Bryan Adams participant underscore that this is not necessarily the case with other fans beyond this study.

It's being able to distinguish between what you Iike about Bryan Adams and the fact that he is a human being, the same as we are. And just 'cause you are a fan, you don't have to think that he is perfect and he is above everyone else because he is not. He has done very welI at what he does but at the same time, like if he goes through a iittle fashion booboo, like 1 think he did a few years ago, other fans will Say: "Oh no it's great, he's branching out." It7slike: "He looks like an idiot!" And 1 don7tmind saying that to other people. But at the same time 1 will Say, it's not my place to judge him. 1 still dig the music 'Dut [for] other fans ifs like: "Oh no, don't Say that! It's a sacred." It's like he's a god! And they are afraid to speak negatively against him or the music. Further, although the participants with whom 1 spoke view the stars as "real" people with strengths and weâknesses they feel ovenvhelrned when given the opportunity to meet the stars face-to-face. Severai fans who relay stories about meeting favourite celebnties describe feeling awkward and not knowing what to Say, as illustrated by the Denis Leary fan (who had even planned what she might Say in the event of meeting Leary) :

We introduced ourselves and he started being funny right away. Neither of us [the fan or her boyfriend] could think of anything intelligent to Say whatsoever. But, at this point, everything was kind of foggy and far away, for me.. .it was very disconcerting. The woman he was with just stood there laughing at us the whole time. Like I just felt like such an idiot. 1 can't even tell you.

4.B(6) The Real McCov: Fans look for Genuineness and Integritv in their Stars

Al1 of the participants emphasize the value they place on feeling confident of their favorite stars' genuineness and cornmitment, either as professionai performers or in terms of persona1 integrity, or some combination of the two. Consistency in whatever area is important to the fan is integral to the maintenance and perpetuation of their fanship. While no participant actually said the following, the underlying assumption appears to be: "In comrnitting to being your fan, 1 have entered into a social contract based on who you publicly andor privately purport to be. Don't abuse my trust in you." Once the "contract" is signed (Le., a fan officially - to her or himself and, possibly, others - recognizes him or herself as such) it takes a lot to break it (e-g., the golf fan who stopped being a Canucks hockey fan because it caused him to become clinically depressed). By and large, fans are very loyal and forgiving of challenging behavior (e-g., the Woody Allen fan is still a fan of Allen, the performer, in spite of her disgust at his marrying his step-daughter):

What is so disappointing now is that what 1 thought Woody was al1 about may not have been me. And 1 am having a real problem with that.. .Couldn't he have found somebody else?. ..Tt's disgusting.. -1really hate to think of it. 1 keep thinking one of these days, he is going to be totally exonerated.

When the "contract" is perceived to have been breached (eg.,as in the cases of the sports participants described above (4.B(5))) fans feel betrayed. The Another World soap opera fan was furious when, during fans' efforts to Save the now cancelled program: one of the actors dismissed the fans' attempts to resurrect it. This participant felt let down by one of the people from whom she had most expected appreciation of, and support for, her efforts. Conversely, when a star demonstrates integrity and personal ethics that appeal to a fan, that behaviour engenders respect, appreciation, and inspiration - as exemplified by the Bruce Cockburn fan.

You see him doing videos to get the message across. If you do see him doing commercials, it is like, environment comrnercials, like that. You don't see him doing Coca-Cola comrnercials going: (in a funny voice) "Hey, it's the real thing. I'm makin' a million bucks." You don't see him doing any of that fake, false stuff. And because of that, everything he has done, 1 have believed in, and it has helped me.

Once a fadstar "contract" has been established, the bond, from the fan's perspective, can be very strong - as is the case for the Denis Leary fan. Her fanship extends beyond an appreciation of his professional talent to al1 aspects of his life: "Like no one could speak il1 of him. (laughs) Like, "Shut up!" It was like, you know when someone says something bad about your father or mother and you get, like, pissed off at them? Even if it rnight be true you are still, like, "Shut up!"

While feelings ( e.g ., anger at the perception of betrayal; strong loyalty in the face of damninp evidence to the contrary) appear to be a defining characteristic of fans, the qualities fans want to know are consistent and genuine in favourite stars Vary considersbly. When the Yes participant fïnally met Yes' lead singer, Jon Anderson, she was pleased to discover that he surpassed her expectations: "Jon Anderson was just my God at the time and he was so wonderfui. He was great. He sat down and chatted with me for about haif an hour and 1 was so in shock I could hardly even hem what he was saying." For the Yes fan, integrity and genuineness is related not only to professional components of his musical persona but to his persond communication skills as well. She was impressed by his music first, but ber fanship deepened as a result of his taking the time to talk with her. Other participants have different expectations, but the desire to see the star's traits displayed is a meaningful aspect of ongoing fanship. The Keith Richards fan declares that Richards is like "a dangerous grandfather" still keeping people on edge, in spite of his age. The football fan, who is also a hockey fan, was thrilIed to discover that Gordie Howe's hand, when he shook it, was actually was "so big." The Stanley Kubrick fan has carefully studied behind-the-scenes footage depicting Kubrick's directing style to confirm that Kubrick really lived up to his reputation:

Watching the film you can tell that Stanley Kubrick is a very meticulous, plodding, methodical, uncompromising kind of guy who is really interested in making his own film and not satisfying anybody and probably doesn't really care about the rnoney involved.

The Xena: Warrior Princess participant reported that as a result of the reading she has done about the actor who plays "Xena," Lucy Lawless, she is happy to know that Lawless is "an interesting person and it would probably be very easy to have a conversation with her on just about anything" The hockey pool fan, while more a fan of the statistics of hockey than the players, is still appreciative of ex-Cmnck Trevor Linden's behaviour on and off the ice and points to Linden's charity efforts as an admirable example of someone with integrity. One of the The Young and the Restless fans, while enjoying the work of the actor who plays "Nicky," is even more appreciative of the actor's real life successful escape from an abusive childhood.

Both the Clint Eastwood fan'and the Robert Redford fan are most interested in loyalty as a benchmark of genuineness and integrity. They note that, by virtue of repeated appearances of bit actors in both of those stars' films, they believe that their respective favorite stars are loyal to others. Summarizes the Redford fan: "He treats people fairly or kindly that have obviously been fair or kind to him."

Given the opportunity to meet the star, this quest for assurance of integrity and genuineness continues. The Clint Eastwood fan recounts the opportunity to spend tirne in the same room with Eastwood dunng a private screening: "And he tumed and goes: 'Hey, kid, get me an Evian water.' Just Iike that: 'Hey, kid, get me an Evian water.' I grabbed it and opened it for him and they just sat right at the bar and 1 just stood back and they started chatting." In repeating Eastwood's request for water, the fan reveals his delight in the manner in which the request is presented. Eastwood's delivery is akin to that of one of two of his most farnous characters: Dirty Harry, and The Man with No Name. His choice of "Hey kid" confirms the fan's extrapolation that Eastwood, the person, possesses the same desirable qualities found in some of the characters he plays. Eastwood's use of language comparable to that of the characters he plays, constitutes evidence for this fan thg: the integrity and dependability to which he is drawn in Eastwood's characters cm be found in Eastwood the person as well.

4.B(7) The Pleasure is al1 Mine: Fanshit, and Pleasure

With the exception of the hockey pool fan, another core characteristic exhibited by participants is that fanship bnngs them pleasure. And, if one allows that fanship can center around a situation as well as a person, the hockey pool fan dso experiences pleasure through competing in his hockey pool. For everyone else, when asked about favourite stars, participants became more physically animated: eyes shone, faces opened, and bodies moved more freely.

None of the fans could explain the reasons for their specific fanship. For most, their fanship can be best described as strong feelings of appreciation. This appreciation was expressed repeatedly, uniquely, and across mediums. The Denis Leuy fan feels pleasure through the deep affinnation she felt in her discovery of someone who verbalizes her thoughts. The Another World fan delights in both the sense =>fimbrication with her beloved soap characters md the stress-relief they provide. The hockey fan revels in the passion of the garne and feels inspired by the sacrifice demonstrated by dedicated tearn players. For rnany of the fans, the sense of pleasure their fanship provides them is, in no small way, about fun; as is the case for the Xena: Warrior Princess fan:

There's an awful lot of TV out there that is just stupid. And this is stupid but it doesn't take itself senousIy at dl. It's very tongue-in-cheek and it makes fun of itself.. .it is just sheer entertainment.. .I still participate in the world of Xena because it is sheer fun.

In addition to fun, the tennis fan explains that a good portion of her pleasure revoives around her enjoyment of experiencing "the best."

Well, 1 think it gives an appreciation for the best physically, and psychologically, the best that humans can do. I just LOVE watching these people who are just so good at what they do. It doesn't necessarily make me want to do better or anything. 1 mean, they are not splitting the atom. They are not curing cancer or anything. But that's what 1 just love. 1just want to Say: "Look at the perfection!"

The appreciation of "perfection" is a specific understanding of pleasure; other fans are not as able to explain what it is that brings them pleasure. The hockey pool fan elaborates on his "1 just Iike it" rnentality.

1 think sometimes, you know, sometimes we need to be distracted.. .It's an enjoyable distraction and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. You work hard, you've got enough things going on in your life. Perhaps it's not high-brow enough or perhaps you could be ending world hunger but sometimes it's nice to just lose yourself and that's okay. 4.B(8) Absence Mâkes the Heart Grow Fcnder: Desire. an Integral Aspect of Fanship

From Denzin's (1988) postmodern perspective on the development of self, desire (an unsatisfied longing or craving) is an integral component in the process of self- development. Desire is directly or indirectly described as a motivating factor in the origin and perpetuation of fanship by al1 twenty participants. Fanship initially "fills a hole," which participants either knew existed prior to the outset of their fanship or recognize once the fanship develops. It then evoIves into a tooi used in the process of self- development. For sorne, such as the hockey pool fan, the desire or the "hole" is, at least on a conscious levei, as simple as time: "Hockey fills a void for me.. .1t9ssomething that 1 do and it fills that time." However, what began as a way to fil1 time has transformed into a different kind of relationship to fanship. The hockey pool fan recently joined a baseball pool and the reasons he gives for expanding his sports fanship repertoire have nothing to do with time.

Some of the people in the hockey pool were in the other pool, so I thought I'd try it. As a result of playing the pool, I have started to watch baseball now, and 1 am starting to develop an appreciation for the game that 1 didn't have before ...and there's a whole bunch of different people in this pool. So you meet new people and that's nice.

A transformation of a different sort occurred for the hockey fan, who developed an appreciation of the sport because he wanted to find a way to distinguish himself from the rest of his farnily, none of whom were sports fans. However, a "passion" for watching the garne engaged him and has ultimately affected central aspects of his life. He States that "99.9 percent of my male friends are through sports," and that watching team sports has affected the way he approaches his career. The football participant began watching the garne because his father watched it. He has corne to appreciate football to a depth that goes far beyond the desire to please a relative: "It's just, 1 mean, there are biblical references that don't do it justice." For three of the five film fans, the initial attraction of the movies was escapism: not necessarïly from their lives, but to another kind of experience. The Robert Redford fan enjoys both the feeling of being in a different time and of Redford being a kind of "everyman hero." The Woody AIlen fan describes her "guilty pleasure" as escaping to a drug store to read movie magazines which she regards as both "brain candy" and a way to relax. The Clint Eastwood fan describes a particularly traumatic tirne in his life after his father died in which he used the movies to help himself cope:

1 did actually become quite a - not recluse - but I would go to the movies and, I guess, escape. 1 had always gone to rnovies but in that time - 15,16,17 - as soon as 1 got my license, 1 was in these dusk to dawn drive-ins. 1 remember one time period I went to the Cornet Theater and saw two matinee movies, went out and had dinner, picked up a buddy and went to the dusk to dawn drive-in. 1 saw SIX movies in a twenty-four hour period.

Although al1 three film participants report that they stiIl use movies for escape from time to time, fanship has also assumed importance for their careers; it has inforrned and inspired their jobs in the film industry. The other two film fans filled "holes" relating to a lack of empathy, someone with whom to share a cornrnon attitude; they directly sought a reference group in their chosen fanship. These fans (after having metaphoricaily filled in the "hole") built upon the subsequent fondation created and now have careers in the film industry.

None of the music fans initially sought out artists or forms of music in an effort to fil1 a hole. However, al1 the music participants describe awareness of a kind of craving experienced when they do not regularly listen to select music. These fans describe favorite music as something to which they have become "addicted;" an experience which cmcenter, comfort, tramport, transcend and substantially enrich their lives by stirnulating new kinds of intra- and inter-personal communication in ways that they did not even know were rnissing. The Bryan Adams fan sumarizes: 1 started listening to his music*..at an impressionable age. So my system is used to it, it needs it, and if 1 don't want a withdrawal, it's like: "1 need an Adams fix. WhereTsa tape? Where's a CD?". ..It's almost like having a piece of you in the music and when you hear that, it's like having a friend.

Of the television fans, the Another World participant began watching that soap opera as a way to pass the time while she was recoveiing from an injury. Like the hockey pool fan, "filling a void transformed into a meaningful experience. This fan feels her life has been ennched by thought-provoking plot lines; inspirational personality traits and fashions; and her relationship with the characters on the program, whom she considers to be "good friends." The Seinfeld fan also regards the characters on his favourite program as friends. He gravitated to that show during a time in his life when he was between relationships.

They were kind of companions. Companions in a phase of life,. .you consume a certain kind of food in a certain period of you life and then you go onto sornething else. This must be how television and cinema, and even literature work. That the work in question embodies metaphors for Iife as you see it at that time. Now, if you are lucky, the text, or persona, whatever, evolves in a way that you cm keep Company with it. That happened for years with Bob Dylan. Like everybody got a jolt when Bob Dylan turned up with an electric guitar. A lot of people fell away from Dylan. But 1 kept with Dylan, so 1 kind of evolved with Dylan. You are lucky if that can happen.

This participant feels his Seinfeld fanship may not evolve, or transform, with him. He has since filled the hole that Seinfeld served with a long-term relationship. He notes that the content of Seinfeld - rnuch of which centers around single people looking for dates - is no longer germane to his life.

Well, 1 think the Seinfeld enthusiasm is actually qualitatively different. 1 think my enthusiasm for, Say, Bob Dylan and David Attenborough, BBC Nature Programs, and so on, many of my enthusiasms had to do with positive, linear development of myself. I think where Seinfeld was concemed, because of who 1 was and the age 1 was when 1 watched Seinfeld. There was something delightfully retrograde in my actually identifying with Seinfeld and Company. Simply because at that time, between maniages 1 was sort of feverishly dating and out every night and so on and getting a, really, looking back, a kind of childish sustenance out of the Seinfefd scripts.. -1had been married. Divorced. And then for fifteen years 1 "gatted about and dated and so on. So 1 think, although the Seinfefd characters were fifteen years younger than 1, because there had been this odd slippage, through my marital status, they were doing the same things.

The Xena: Wnrrior-Princess fan describes a sirnilar transformation in her relationship with that television show. When she first came across the program, she was in need of filling a "hole"; that is no Ionger the case. She still enjoys the program, but it has taken on a different meaning and focus for her.

At the time 1 started watching, 1 was in the process of breaking up a relationship so there wasn't a whole lot of good romance in my life and there [on Xena: Warrior Prirzcess] was something that was an image of a relationship that I appreciated. In terms of my life. It's one room in a big house. It's not the major part of my life. There was a period of a few months when it probably was. When the rest of rny life was not going well at al1 and so I was doing rny very best to stay out of the rest of my life. But, when 1 am not going through personal traumas, this is one room and I've got an awful lot of stuff that 1 do. I think it's added to my life. 1 don? think it's a substitute.

While fanship is described by most participants as ultimately an "addition7' rather than a "substitute," the addition of favourite stars in some fans7 lives is identified by them as so satisfying that their fanship has becorne something upon which they have corne to depend. Although their fanship is no longer "filling the hole" that rnight have created the circumstances by which they were particularly receptive to the discovery of the object of their fanship, it is functioning as an especially compelling element in these fans' lives. Nine of the participants (three of the music fans, three of the TV fans, three of the film fans, and one of the spons fans) describe their fanship as a kind of pleasant addiction. In this case, the desire to experience favourite stars has, in the rninds of these fans, crossed the boundaries of a psychological to that of a physiological yeming. The Grarefil Dead fan explains:

With that band it always was a very peaceful, mellow, soft experience. It's reai1y a body expenence. The songs are, transporting.. At's just essentially pleasure and good physical sensations. It's very, it's very, addictive might not be the right word but, it's seductive. It makes you want to go again.

The Bryan Adams fan also employs the word "addiction" to describe his relationship to Adams' music, but he is careful to define the way in which he is using it.

It's an addiction, not to the person, where there's stallcing or letter writing or any of that, that's dangerous; but to the music, 1 don? think it's a bad thing cause it can't hmyou. It's not a drug, it's not alcohol, smoking or anything, it's not offensive to other people. You can take it with you, at home, or on a Walkman, or in the car and if yod need it you just pop it in and it just gives you some sense of balance. It's not a bad addiction.

The Yes fan does not actually use the word "addiction" in her description of listening to the band's music; she does, however liken it to a drug.

1 have said to friends many times, you see God over and over again through their music. To me, music, and in particular, you find this in the realm of progressive music, is one of the greatest thrills in the world. It's like a drug that is a shortcut to the highest places you could aspire to get to and yet it's a completely healthy, wholesome thing. And to me, that is pure magic. To be able to have music transport you to these incredible places. With Yes music, you always had images and paintings in your mind as you were listening to it that were unlike anything you get anywhere else.

Drug-related terminology is also used by the Woody Allen fan in her description of watching Allen perfom.

1 always go to see him when 1 go to New York.. .The music is just wonderfui. 1 was just mesmerized by it. High as a kite afterwards. Thrilled! Thrilled! 1 don't know! (laughs) It's extremely hard to articulate what you feel because it is so, um, so emotionai, and it's so deep and 1 don't know where it comes from.

Although he never uses the word addiction, the football fan's description of witnessing a successfui play cm also be likened to drug-induced experiences: "When it happens that way, one of those rare plays where it dlcomes together like that.. .Yeah, 1 get a tme rush off it. There's an adrenaline rush. Your heart starts pounding and your palms are sweaty." Soth of the The Young and the Restless soap fans feel they are "hooked" on the program. One describes her draw to the show as a habit and an addiction in the sarne breath: "Tt's a habit. It's an addiction. 1 think if it weren't an addiction, it wouldn't make me so damn mad when they preempt it for something." Regardless, it is a part of her life upon which she has corne to rely for a certain kind of sustenance. Similady, the Stanley Kubrick fan regards his fanship and the viewing of Kubrick's work as a shortcut to stimulating feelings to which he has returned on countless occasions.

It is like comfort food, iike visual cornfort food in way. 1 find that no matter how many times 1 have seen The Shining.. .and know that this place is just a set, it stil! spooks me.. .lt is like putting on a pair of [slippers] - 1 have a hard time renting films because 1 like to see the ones I've got over and over again. And I've bot a hundred and something films there. 1generally have a small core of films that 1 like to watch over and over again. The Redford fan also describes repeated viewings of Redford films bringing with it a sense of "safety and cornfort." The sarne description is echoed by the Seinfeld fan, who also uses an image of consuming and dependable sustenance.

It was a nightly addiction. 1 mean 1 really wanted at the end of the evening to watch a Seirgeld episode. I needed a Seinfeld fix. And 1 think the key to that, or the give away there is the fact that even though an episode came on which 1 knew I'd seen not once, but two or three times, didn't really rnatter. What does it matter, it was Seinfeld! It was like saying, "I've had eight hundred Kokanee beer in my life, so what? This Kokanee beer, I've had it before, 1know exactly how it tastes and that's exactly why 1 am drinking it." So 1 think there's the addicted element, which can be fine. 1 am addicted to a cup of coffee in the morning. 1 am addicted to writing. 1 am addicted to good things.

Data related to the secondary question: "Do core patterns exist in mass media fans' experience of their chosen celebrities?" reveal eight patterns. The data regarding fanship as an expression of individuality reveal a phenornenon reminiscent of Saint- Exupery's The Little Prirrce (1943), the story of a boy who realizes that even though the rose he thought was unique to hirn is, in fact, one of millions, it still is unique because it belongs to him: he cares for it, and waters it, and loves it. Fans know their "relationship" with a favourite star is one of millions but, the fanship is experienced uniquely through their individual perceptions. The data regarding multiple fanship suggest people who are fans of one star, or in one area, are likely to be fans of other stars, or in other areas as well. The additional fanships may be similar (eg., the Bryan Adams fan is also a fan of Bruce Springsteen, who is similar in appearance and musical style) or quite different (e.g., the Keith Richards fan is also a fan of Sir Winston Churchill) in terms of the focus of their appreciation. Data suggest that the prospect of befriending a favourite star is highly appealing to fans. However, no matter how much a fan may appreciate a star, no one values the star's talents or life situation over their own. These results dovetail with the data regarding stars having flaws that no matter how enarnoured any of the participants are with favourite stars, none had any illusions about celebrities not having problems the sarne as - or sometimes even worse than - anyone else. This sub-section reveals that, while al1 the participants accept a variety of flaws, the sports fans dl took umbrage with the flaw of unsportsman-like behaviour, particularly as it relates to money. In contrast, the data regarding fans seeking genuineness and integity in their stars show that, other than greed, fans consider flaws inconsequential, or even endearing in their indication of human frailty, as long as they feel their favourite stars present themselves as tmthful and consistent. Two patterns (fanship and pleasure and fanship as a key to emotiond expression) reveal that the opportunity to process affect is a core component of mass media fanship. Fun and pleasure serve as a fundamental aspect of the continuing fan experience. However, fans seek an array of emotive opportunities including: the experience and repression of emotion, the release of stress, the stimulation of tears, and the processing of feelings of guilt.

Data relating to desire as an integral aspect of fanship show fanship originates in a conscious or subconscious yearning, which then transforrns into a process of self- discovery once the initial longing has been addressed. Even once the transition to that next stage occurs, for sorne fans, a type of craving continues wherein they experience a kind of addiction to the fanship experience. While desire has been identified as a core pattern, the eight core patterns can be distilled into one overarching category: the affective experience of desire. This has been shown in a nurnber of forms: the desire to express one's self as an individual through one's choice of fanship; the desire to experience multiple versions of fanship; the desire to be friends with the stars; the desire for a confirmation of a star's genuineness and integrity; the desire for pleasure; the desire for the repression or release of emotions; and, desire itself as an integral aspect of fanship are dl directly related to feelings of yearning or longing for a certain type of emotional experience. Indirectly, the pragrnatism exhibited by participants regarding their recognition of stars having flaws may also be likened to a form of desire in that if the stars can more readily be viewed as "like me," the likelihood of a fi-iendship is more viable, as is the likelihood of being able to redize certain admired qudities in favourite stars in one's self.

This finding corroborates Denzin's (1988) assertion that desire is an important rnissing element in Meadim theory and is a key concept in the process of setf (2.5(C)). Denzin's view that desire becomes its own motive for being in the world and that out of this realization "arises a self, phenomenologically rooted in the interactional world of others" (p. 73,suggests mass media fanship is an interactive vehicle ernployed as a way to explore and develop the self. Further, Denzin maintains that "this reflected-upon-self is indexically referenced by the "1" - "you" linguistic pair, but its inner meanings are expressed through metaphoric and metonymic associations" (p.75). The Iargely technologically-mediated social interaction with stars provides an opportunity for metaphonc and metonymic associations which contribute to fulfilling desires - in this case, through fan practices. Ln terms of fans being able to assuage desire by achieving specific emotionai experiences, it cmbe argued that technologically-mediated social interaction is more effective than face-to-face interaction. Electronic interaction with the stars is lirnited to two senses, sight and sound, and may be accordingly intensified in certain ways. The messages being imparted are underscored by specific camera angles and/or specific presentation of material. Technologically-mediated encounters with stars may afford fans more controllable ways by which to experience desired emotions. In this way, once-removed fanship may lend itself more powerfully than face-to-face interaction to surnrnarizing and distilling desire-related eIements of the stars to which are fans attracted.

These data estabiish a foundation from which to address the prirnary thesis question: "Viewed through the framework of symbolic interactionism, how do mass media fans' subjective experiences of their relationships with stars and other fans affect their self-development?" From the perspective of symbolic interactionism, these data relate to the central pnnciples of the theory concerning relationship and the development of the individual as a result of the impact of society upon the individual. Discovery of fanship, fanship and friendship, meeting the stars in person, collectors, use of technology, fans whose play or work is related to that of the stars, and even fanship as an alone experience dl reveal fanship as an at least dyadic experience.

Most of the results from the secondary research question, "Do core patterns exist in mass media fans' experience of their chosen celebrities?" can be understood through symbolic interaction concepts - although, by and large, through concepts developed or refined by post-Meadian theorists. The eight identified core patterns of fanship constitute different facets of fans' relationships with stars which, in turn, contribute to the continuing process of self-developrnent. These core relationship components cmbe viewed through Denzin's (1988) postmodern addition to symbolic interaction which acknowledges affect in general, and desire in particular, as elements at the centre of consciousness and self-development.

The following two chapters build and elaborate upon these fanship characteristics and pattems of participation with regard to fan self-development. 5. The fan-cier: Self and Fanship Explored through Syrnbolic hteractionism

This is the second of three data-based chapters. This chapter examines intra- persona1 interaction experienced in mass media fanship; the following chapter addresses inter-personal interaction. Types of relationships covered in this chapter include: self as fan to (aspects of) self (e-,o., self to emotional self, self to creative self, self to self-esteem self and fan to technologicalfy-mediated or face-to-face star(s)). Types of relationships discussed in the next chapter include: fan to fan; fan to non-fan fan to in-person star; fan to reference group, orientational, and nested-identity selves; and fan to family member (who may or may not also be a fan).

This chapter explores data in light of Mead's concepts of self and mind. These are combined since Mead considered mind the "twin emergent of the self." The realization of selfhood enables persons to think, point out, interpret and cornrnunicate with themselves in diverse ways. The four secondary research questions reIated to this chapter are: "How is the fan's sense of self affected by his or her relationship with favourite stars?" "Are fans' life decisions guided by the presence of celebrities in their lives?" "What are the varieties of reiationships experienced by fans with celebrities?" and, "1s there some manner of religious expression present iii fans' experience of stars?" These questions provide frameworks for addressing the issue of whether or not fanship - and the ensuing varieties of direct and indirect relationships fans experience with stars - may be used toward the realization and development of selfhood.

5.A Trippine the Light Fan-tastic: How is the Fan's Sense of Self Affected by his or her Relationshi~with Favourite Stars?

This section addresses the secondary research question: "How is the fan's sense of self affected by his or her relationship with favourite stars?" Four central symbolic interactionist concepts are employed: the concepts of "roles" and "1-me" are applied to data relating to self, while the concepts of "shared symbols" and "language" are applied to data relating to mind. 5.A(1)The Mirror has (at least) Two Faces: Roles

Three symbolic interaction concepts related to roles are explored in this section: taking the role of the other; fantasy role-playing; and, role-taking. Twelve of the twenty fans interviewed describe engaging in a variety of behaviours related to one or more of these concepts.

5.A(l)a Say you, say me: Taking the role of the other.

Chapter Two explored how taking the role of the other requires taking each other into account, taking the attitude of the other toward oneself. When Mead (1934) formulated the concept of taking the role of the other, he was referring to self as process occurring through taking the attitude of the other, or experiencing oneself indirectly from the perspective of others. Since Mead makes no mention of it in his writings, 1 assume that he had face-to-face interaction in rnind. However, al1 the participants report experiencing most, if not dl, of their relationships with favourite stars through technologically-mediated experiences. As a result, in tems of the majority of mass media fans, taking the role of the other in the Meadian definition of the concept is not shown in the data. None of the participants discuss imagining themselves from the perspective of favourite stars.

The closest manifestation of the concept occurs when one of the soap opera fans directly addresses her inability to take the role of the other in the Meadian tradition by citing a series of Zeller's TV comrnercials. While not a fan of the soap opera on which the star featured in the commercial works, she is amused by a sentiment arnounting to a "high-tech" version of Althusser's ( 197 1) "Hey, you there!" (p. 174) concept of interpellation - wherein once a person addresses another person, an ideology "recruits" or "transforms" the other in to a subject understood through the perspective of that ideology. 1 reaily like that Zeilers commercial where what's-his-name from The Young and the Restless (Eric Braedon - who plays a suave and debonair multi-millionaire business tycoon) is taiking to woman watching TV and he actually cornes to life and he wants her to run away with him. 1 think it really speaks to a lot of fans. Here you are watching TV and al1 of a sudden this character is addressing you specifically. 1 think it would be a hoot. It would be fun. And 1 think a lot of fans who saw the commercial in the back of their minds thought, "Wouldn't it be neat if so and so on their soap came to Iife and took me away from al1 this? Just get me out of here!" (laughs)

This fan appreciates the tongue-in-cheek postmodern pastiche of a fictional character advertising to a clichéd portrayal of the weeping soap fan doing her ironing. She laughed at the fantasy and improbability of being able to take the attitude of the other with this soap opera actor through the idea of his focussing - from amongst millions of other soap opera fans - soleIy upon her.

The ratio of mass media fans to stars is one of the reasons why the symboiic interactionist principle of taking the role of the other is not present in the data. The Meadian definition of this concept requires tangible reaction to the person taking the role of the other so that they may assess how they are doing in the eyes of the person whose role they are taking. This process is not generally possible in star-fan relationships. Rarely do fans ever physicdly meet their favourite stars, the nature of the typical fan-star relationship is such that millions of fans assume that they will never have that opportunity. As a result, imagining how the star may view them is considered a moot point by some fans. As the hockey pool participant States:

You have a certain vision in your rnind but there is not flesh, there is no bones, it doesn't compare. It's like looking at something in 2D and your friends are three dimensional and they are there, there's everything going back and forth. You are looking at a picture, that's all. There's nothing corning back at you. This man is the only interviewee whose fanship revolves primarily around a non-human focus - statistics and competition - rather than "flesh and bone" stars. His is an accurate description of the physical reality of the fan-celebrity relationship. However, the rest of the participants discuss favourite stars from a "three-dimensional" perspective. To this end, given the opportunity, al1 of the participants state they would like to be friends with select stars or with characters portrayed by those stars. While only the Yes fan has become "casual" friends with the band, to varying degrees, al1 of the participants have imagined, or could readily imagine, friendship with the stars. Even the hockey pool fan expresses mild interest in friendship with a few different players but negates the possibility with the assurnption that "we would have nothing to Say to each other." The Woody Allen fan ruminates that she and Allen could "phone each other. Go out to dinner. Hang out. He does that with Diane Keaton. 1 would just like to do that. It would be fun!" The Keith Richards fan "would like to get to know him in a way other than the typical fan kind of relationship. Just have a couple of beers, shoot a bit of pool, play some cards. Just hang." The Another WorId fan envisions a friendship with a character that would constitute a strategic alliance against those who would hurt them, "We'd go shopping. We'd go out for elaborate lunches. We would scheme. If someone does us a dirty deed. We would be in there figuring out how we can get them back. It would be fun!"

The above descriptions constitute a pre-condition for taking the role of the other: imagining situations wherein fans could actually find thernselves in positions to imagine how they may be seen by the stars. Another pre-condition for taking the role of the other is evident in the data on fantasy role-playing wherein participants take the attitude of the other by imagining themselves io be favourite celebrities (e-g., the hockey fan "fantasized what that must feeI like" to be a hockey star scoring the winning goal of an important game; the golf fan, the Another World fan, and the Robert Redford fan al1 describe versions of imagining themselves as either favorite stars or characters portrayed by stars (see sub-sections 5.A(l)b (i), (ii) and (iii))). Moreover, since most fans will never have the opportunity to take the role of the other with favourite stars, a blocked transference rnay be occurring wherein the fans themselves, having studied the celebrity, assume or have projected ont0 them by others fans, the role of the celebrity. Fans are able to imagine what the stars may think of them through the eyes of other fans, thereby vicariously cornpleting the taking the role of the other social interaction process. For exarnple, the Gratefrd Dead fan describes listening to the band as a "very peaceful, mellow, soft experience." At Grateful Dead concerts, this participant does not fraternize with the band but he does have the opportunity to take the attitude of the other toward himself with other fans in the audience and other audience members can do the same with him. Perhaps not surprisingly, "Deadheads" take each other into account in a "peaceful, mellow, soft" way.

The people around you, on either side of you, you could be in the most packed place, you could be crushed right near the front. When people move in, it's like moving into marshmellows, or like you have hockey equipment on when you fall. It's very soft. Everybody is very conscious of not being aggressive with each other.

The above points - the presence of two pre-conditions for taking the role of the other and the "blocked transference" idea - are made to argue for an expanded version of the Meadian concept of taking the role of the other that can be applied to data emerging from technologically-mediated experiences. As the data will demonstrate, many of the participants feel they are experiencing meaningful - albeit uni-directional - exchanges with favorite stars. Of note, Cooley (1902) reêognizes that living, dead or fictional people, in so far as we imagine them, are real. Cooley's observations suggest that the nature of the interaction, Le., face-to-face versus technologically-mediated, is seconded by meaning. If a living, dead, or fictional person somehow appeals to a fan, then that person has assumed meaning in the fan's life. Since, in one way or another, al1 of our realities of ourselves are derived from the image we imagine others have of us, the more meaning a star has in a fan's life, the more powerfully a fan may "take the role of the other" with regard to the mediated star. Aithough participants do not describe seeing themselves through the eyes of favourite stars, they do take the star or stars into account in ways that can affect their self- development. The golf fan describes leming to better self-comrnunicate by watching how professional golfers talk to themselves during cornpetition. The Another World fan describes developing an understanding of the perspectives of others through the insights she gleaned from a story Iine about abortion. The hockey fan describes being able to view the present from past and future perspectives through anchoring his own life line with that of various hockey events. The Stanley Kubrick fan describes being able to reflect on the nature of evil through Kubrick's work. The Xena: Warrior Prilzcess fan describes discovering new aspects of her own creativity through the vehicles of the Xena characters. The Bruce Cockburn fan describes using Coburn's energy in his own Song writing process and having the work change accordingly. These participants do not directly describe seeing themselves thorough the eyes of favourite stars, but they do describe the experience of intense "meaning-making" through their relationships with favourite stars.

S.A(l)b The costume trunk: Fantasv role-plavin~.

When Mead (1934) writes about role-playing, he restricts his discussion to children playing.

Children get together to "play Indian." This means that the child has a certain set of stimuli which cal1 out in itself the responses that they would cal1 out in orhers, and which answer to an Indian. In the play period the child utilizes his own responses to these stimuli which he makes use of in building a self.. .such is that simplest form of being another to one's self. It involves a temporal situation (p. 150-1).

In spite of the racism that reflects the period in which Mead is writing, this example shows that Mead treats role-playing as a less developed form of taking the role of the other. The data collected in this study do not correspond with Mead's view of role- playing as an under-developed taking the role of the other. The fantasy role-playing described by participants appears to provide them with a self-contained satisfaction. They do not aspire to anything more than what they have already constnicted. For them fantasy role-playing enables the creation of desired experiences in the areas of entertainment, education, practice, inspiration and healing. In this way fantasy role-playing is not less than taking the role of the other, simply different. On the other hand, in light of Mead's (1934) interpretation of taking the role of the other as more developmentally sophisticated than fantasy role-playing, the experiences reported by the participants may be the result of their maturity. As adults, tney have already developed a cornmand of taking the role of the other and have realized the basic insights it affords toward realizing selfhood. In this situation, perhaps fantasy role-playing is be used as a free-standing tool in the ongoing process of self-development rather than as a stepping Stone to the more complex task of taking the role of the other.

Fantasy role-playing may not always need to be consciously played out; simply watching may function as a shadow forrn of fantasy role-playing. Foote (195 1) observes that we al1 leam many more roles than are ever overtly assumed. We limit our role- playing repertoire to the ones we have lemed and defined as Our own. But, this does not mean that people do not lem from viewing and thinking about what they have seen. Foote's observation is corroborated by the Atzother World fan who muses about the hundreds of hours she has spent watching her favorite soap: "1 think it has made me want to be a better person. It's made me more sympathetic to other people's problems. 1 think it has really given me empathy because I have watched it and sort of had a dress rehearsal for real life."

Three sub-sections, describing different manifestations of fantasy role-playing, follow. Of the twenty participants, seven describe versions of this experience: three are men, four are women; two are sports and three are film fans, one is a TV fan, and one is a music fan. S.A(l)b(i) Entertainment, education, and inspiration.

The three fans who describe using fantasy role-playing for fun, learning and inspiration are men - two sports fans and a music fan. Both sports fans appear to have technologicaily-mediated relationships with favourite stars that are quite intimate. They routinely imagine themselves into the minds of admired athletes. For the hockey fan - who is also an amateur hockey pIayer - watching a hockey game is an opportunity to fantasy role-play the emotional "rush" of a big success.

It's a fantasy. It might bring you back to 25 years ago when you were out in the back alley and you had just scored that goal... And we'd win and we'd go steal a garbage cm and hold it over Our heads and it was the Stanley Cup...I was watching Brent Hull score the winning goal this year and 1 was fantasizing what that rnust feel like.. .For that moment, it makes you proud. The fantasy of something you have done, bringing twenty thousand people out of their seats. Putting millions of smiles on millions of peoples faces.

This fan uses fantasy role-play for more than pleasure; he also uses the visualization skills he has developed through imagining himself in his workplace. To this end, as a controller of a large Company, he sets out to support and inspire his fellow workers.

If 1 am able to do something to make them think better about themsetves, they may not even realize what I have done. And 1 don't even care if they redize 1 have done that but just the ability to know, when you are on your deathbed, that 1 was able to make a difference in someone's life. And sports has triggered that in me.

Similady, the goif fan uses fantasy for entertainment, education and inspiration; lessons that he applies to bis athletic activities and to his work life, When 1 am walking down the fairway it's like: "1 am Tiger Woods, I just hit the big tee-shot. And this is pretty cool." ...1 have been doing that al1 my life. Playing road hockey. You are Ken Dryden. You are Bobby Orr. Even today playing hockey, 1 sort of emulate and pretend 1 am certain players because that is the style of playing. There's a certain satisfaction you get to see these guys do well. There is a part of me that: "If they can do it, 1 cm do it attitude.". .. When 1 drive into work in the moming. It's like: "Here's what my day is.. .," and you hear this from golfers al1 the time. They have a garne plan. They know how they want to play on the course and they want to stick to their garne plan.

The Bruce Cockbum fan describes another use of the fantasy role-play in that he images Bruce Cockbum existing in his mind, rather than the other way around, as is the case for the two sports fans. This fan, however, is not seeking physical insight or inspiration; he is Iooking to achieve peak creativity. His method of doing so is to figuratively invite Cockbum to interact with him as a kind of muse during his creative process.

1 play and 1 think about him and 1 play it again as if he was me and it cornes out different, but 1 like it. It's still me playing, but it's him playing through me.. .ItTs sort of looking at it from al1 angles. 1 want to see how he would do it. So sometimes if 1 think about him doing it when I am writing, it may corne out just perfect.

5.A( 1)b(ii) Practice.

For some fans, fantasy role-taking functions as a starting point for determining a life course. Like many visual artists who copy those whom they admire, the copying sometimes transforrns into the unique: familiarity leads to insight, insight leads to taking liberties with another person's style, which can lead to originality. In this way, data suggest that social interaction, even the technologically-mediated variety, leads to a more defined self. Two film fans, one man and one woman, describe this process. The Robert Redford fan initially interpreted his appreciation of his favourite star literally. He went through a "stage" where he took acting classes and tried to copy Redford's style. Then he realized his relationship with Redford's screen persona had merely directed him to what he really wanted to do with his life.

He has probably pushed me subconsciously that much further into where 1 am now, which is the film biz. He has probably helped me in that way. Because, when 1 saw him on the screen, 1 suppose, 1 probably said to myself: "That's who 1 want to be." 1 don't Say that anymore.

The Woody Allen fan describes a sirnijar journey wherein a strong childhood desire to become a movie star ultimately revealed its genesis in her underlying goal to live a sumptuous life. For years, while she pined for, and fantasy role-played, movie stardom - al1 the while never taking any steps toward that goal - her genuine desire remained obscured from her consciousness. As with the Robert Redford fan, her fascination with movie stars and the fantasy role-playing did ultimately orient her toward a career path in film industry journalism.

When 1 was a kid, 1 really wanted to be a movie star. When I was seven years old, my parents took me to this movie called, The Greatest Show on Enrrh. And I saw, for the first time, this actress named Betty Hutton.. .I flipped over Betty Hutton. Totally flipped. 1 wanted to be her.. .And then, it transferred, it was me wanting to be a movie star.. -1didn't want to study, or act, or get up in front of people, but 1 wanted to BE a movie star, 1 didn't want to work to get there.. .al1 1 knew was they were rich and they seemed really happy and they had this exciting lifestyle and they lived in this mythicd place called Hollywood that 1 could never get my parents to take me to but 1 knew that if 1 ever got there 1 would just be the happiest person on earth.

The Woody Allen fan is also a Goldie Hawn fan. During the course of her work, she had a chance to meet Hawn. That meeting five years ago cleared away any vestiges of childhood desires and any ongoing adult fantasy role-playing regarding being a star. She seemed really normal. And was her life better than mine? 1 remember that being a specific thing because Goldie was my age and grew up in the sarne era that 1 did and 1 think 1 wanted to compare whether my life was as good as hers. She bas had the success and the rnoney and everything and 1 was, definitely I would Say with her, making a cornparison to my life. And, 1 felt fine about my life. 1 mean, she is richer and al1 that sort of stuff, but 1 still felt okay about my life.. .And 1 wasn't the least bit sad. And that's why 1 am in the business 1 am in.

5.A( 1)b(iii) Healing.

Sometimes fantasy role-playing can help one deai with unresolved issues. Two female participants - one TV and one film fan - use fantasy role-play for some cathartic insights. Irnagining herself in the position of a fictitious character on her favourite prograrn allowed the Arzother World fan to iook differently at a painful event in her past. This fan had felt deep guilt about having helped a friend undergo an abortion. Ultimately, through fantasy role-playing, she found a way to reflect on her actions and make peace with herself.

And then a few years later, the show dealt with the abortion issue. It brought back al1 the mernories of that day I went with my friend. And 1 was really rooting for Rachel not to abort because 1 thought, "How are you going to feel? How will your friends feel? If your friend feels as bad as 1 felt then, don't do it!!!" You know, it made me confront what I thought 1 had done. It also made me confront the issue myself and what would 1 do and why she did what she did.. .So you could think about it, And like 1 Say, try to forgive myself through watching what Rachel was doing.. .It brought back a lot of issues and a lot of memories and it upset me but 1 also felt a bit of redemption. 1 could finally come to terrns with what 1 did.

This sarne fan also used the characters and the way they looked and handled themselves to help her rework her perception of her appearance. 1 grew up thinking 1 was not an attractive person.. . [Another World] helped me because 1 was watching the characters and looking at how great they looked and how they changed their appearance. And how, okay, for example, when they bring a new character and they didn't want her to be considered beautiful, 'cause everybody got beautiful eventually on the show. (1 laugh) Oh yeah! No kidding! And they would put her on with no rnakeup, dowdy clothes. And then, as she became more a part of the show, she became very beautiful: eye makeup, the whole bit, the lips, and her clothes becarne trendy. And 1 thought: "Yeah! If she can look that good, then I cmtoo. If she can go from being dowdy, and frumpy and not vely pretty to being a knock out.. ." 1 mean, I even tried that once. You ever see those, you know where you can go to get your hair and your makeup and then your photographs done? Tt's a hoot. 1 did that, from watching the show. And it was at the end of the TV Guide and they showed before and after pictures and they made you look really glamourous. And 1 thought to myself: "1 am going to try that." So 1 went and did it at a studio and they did the hair and the and, oh man, 1 am good looking !! ! (she giggles) At least in these pictures.. .[Another World]

healed me in my own self-image. And it has healed a lot of my own issues. I've gotten comfortable in my own skin.

For the Denis Leary fan, healing through fantasy role-playing also involves reworking self-darnaging perceptions. In this case, fantasy role-playing constitutes adapting Leary's comedic persona allowing her to express and dissipate pent-up anger in a "much healthier way."

1 was angry about a lot of things in my life. And Denis Leary was so angry about everything that 1 really, really identified with him. He had a way of expressing that anger without scaring people, he expressed it but it made people laugh so it was okay. And I think 1 really started to adopt that. 1 know when 1 used to get angry, it was kind of alarming for other people if I got an-gy. They didn7t understand it, It was very severe and stuff. Then, over the years, I notice that now, when 1 get angry about something, it's usually kind of funny. Like 1 am able to Cet angry in a way where 1 can sti!l crack a joke. And the other person cm crack a joke. And 1 can laugh at myself.. .I think Denis Leary [helped]. .. with the way 1 handle my anger and how it changed.

5.A(l)c Walk a mile in my shoes: Role-taking.

While the fantasy role-playing reported by participants serendipitousiy enhances their understanding of self or provides instruction on how to live life (according to the fan's values) more successfully, role-taking is adopted for a specific purpose; even if that purpose is not obvious to the person doing the role-taking. Nine of the participants (six males and three females) describe some form of role-taking: two male film fans and one female film fan; three male music fans; two female television fans; and one male sports fan. The majority of the film and the music participants (five males and one female) describe experiencing this practice - although it is not obvious why this is so.

5.A( 1 )c(i) Empowerment to affect chan~e.

Six participants expenence role-taking as an empowerment to do something more in their lives. In each case, fans descnbe possessing an unexpressed or undeveloped version of a favorite star's behavior. The Denis Leary fan describes the effect on an aspect of herself with the discovery of Leary's raw views on modern life.

Being a fan of his and reading his material and seeing his standup, made me far less tolerant of other people's bullshit and far more likely to Say something about it. It would piss me off, but 1 would swallow it. 1 would just not say anything and 1 don? hide it now and sometimes 1 get in trouble for that. ..but 1 don? care.

Along the sarne lines, the Bruce Cockburn fan has become more socially conscious. 1will recycle everything.. .and he has been reinforcing it into my brain al1 these years. 1 think he just wanted people to listen and form their own opinion, but form a moral and a humane opinion. You know you hear these things: a random act of kindness. 1 do these things so often, it's ndiculous.

Sirnilarly, the Bryan Adams fan has adopted Adams' public persona as someone who Iives an uncomplicated life.

He's pretty black and white. His music is simple. He is a simple gcy. And even Bruce Allen, his manager is the same in that he feels this way: "1 don? care if you don't like it. That's just the way 1 feel. And if you don't like it, fine." And so, 1 have sort of adopted a lot of that in the way 1 work.

The Clint Eastwood fan role-takes Eastwood's manner of social interaction as a professional and as a mentor.

He is definitely a part of me. And 1 would have to say there are probably a few characteristics that I have tried to copy or bring out in myself. I think his professionalism, the way he handles himself, the way he is respected within the industry, 1think 1 have tried to attain that in what 1 do. He is quite professional, he is very good at what he does. When he says he is going to do something, he is going to do it. He71 deliver, that kind of thing. 1like to try and mentor younger people who are wanting to corne in (to the business) and that is something Eastwood bas done through his career.

Role-taking a favounte star's professional behaviour is also a strategy adopted by the Stanley Ku brick fan. There are things about him that 1 greatly admire and perhaps, on an unconscious level, try to emulate a little bit. He bas a certain photographic style and 1 take photos quite a lot. 1 have a little Nikon that I keep on my hip when 1 am working and whenever I see any kind of a situation that is interesting, photographically, 1 will take a shot.. .He had started out as a photographer.

Rote-taking is not confined to real life stars, nor is it confined to doing the right thing. One soap opera fan relates how she was motivated by fictional characters to do something that she would not have thought of on her own.

1 would never ever, ever have gone through with [it] if 1 hadn't been watching that show so much and thought that there were quite a few women on that show who would have done the same thing. 1 made a cassette tape without telling the person who I was taping that 1 was making that tape. And never in a million years would 1 have done that.. .And, it was so out of cbaracter for me to do that and 1 do know that - having watched that soap opera so much - that was a soap opera-ish thing to do.

5.A( l)c(ii) Selectivity.

Appreciating the conduct of a star in some areas of the star's life does not necessarily lead to role-taking on the part of the fan in other areas of the star's life. Two male fans underscored that they are selective about the qualities they admire in their favorite stars. Having studied Clint Eastwood, and having adopted various elements of the way Eastwood socially interacts professionall y, this fan avoids other aspects of Eastwood's lifestyle:

1 don't try to mode1 rnyself after Eastwood as a husband (laughing) or anything because he has had a tumultuous life in marriage and relationships.. . you know, 1 have been married 18 years and 1 am a very monogarnous man and have a family. He has two chitdren, divorces his wife, farnily splits up. That kind of - it doesn't change my appreciation of him as an actor, producer, director, but as a man, 1 kind of thought: "Hrnmm, you know, that's not that nice a guy."

Selectivity is also exhibited by the hockey fan. hstead of personal relationship issues, this participant feels that a rift between his lifestyle and those of many hockey stars makes the prospect of role-taking untenable.

Now, they live lifestyles most of us, 99% of the population can't relate to anymore. Six or seven years ago the gap between the average person and the athlete, yeah, the athlete probably made a little more money and lived a little better lifestyle but they still had sacrifices to make. Now, 1 hate to say it, but it is money that has driven it the other way and now they are out of touch with reality. If anything, it has driven me a bit away from sports.

Having identified distastehl star behavior, this sarne hockey fan has chosen to consciousiy role-take other social interaction practices demonstrated by athletes.

Where it has really affected me, and it ties in with my job.. .it has bought me into that whole team philosophy. 1 love watching the playoffs for that reason because it's selling out at al1 costs and sacrificing everything individual for the benefit of a tearn goal. And that's where it has led into my life now because.. .a lot of what I do here is to get everybody going in the same direction, get cornmitment, the

dedication - al1 sacrificing your own personal agenda for what's good for the team, or, in this case, the Company. So, if you ask me how it has defined me now, that's how it has defined me now. Big time.

S.A( 1)c(iii) Justification.

While the Denis Leary fan feels a "kindred spiritship" with Leary which she employed to change the way she expressed mger, the Stanley Kubrick fan uses his "spiritship" with Kubrick to justify his preexisting behaviour. In the only example of this type of behaviour to be found among the participants, the Kubrick fan uses Kubrick's reputation as a "control freak" to give credence and support to the way he too works.

Hearing and learning about the fact that you cm get things done in a way that you need to have them done is very inspiring. He does his own thing. He does it his way and is very uncompromising. He's a perfectionist and you realize that it7snot a bad thing to be so obsessed about something. He is proof positive that you can go about it your way and stick to your guns and get it done the way that you see fit.. .And, 1do admit to being a control freak and and retentive kind of guy and 1 know from just the various biographies and watching the film you can tell that Stanley Kubrick is a very meticulous, plodding, methodical, uncompromising kind of guy who is really interested in making his own film and not satisfying anybody and probably doesn't really care about the money involved.

5.A( 1)c(iv) Tacit reinforcement.

Tacit knowledge of the self and the reinforcement of that knowledge through tacit means emerges in the interviews. Guidano and Liotti (1983) define "tacit knowledge" as "the relationship with self-knowledge [that] can be only of an indirect type; that is, individuals use mainly inferential procedures in order to construct characteristics they consider to be their distinctive features" (p. 59). They maintain that the relationship between tacit and explicit self-knowledge is "based on a continuous interplay between the individual's intentionality. regulated by conscious knowledge about oneself, and the aspects of his or her imaginative and emotional life, which are mainly regulated by tacit self-knowiedge" (p. 60). Two of the participants do not appear to be aware of the meaning-making symbols and scenarios to which they allude. However, woven together, threads of their conversation provide insights relating to the reward and longevity of their fanship. In the case of the Keith Richards fan, much is made of the rock star's legendary toughness. Keith still represents a bit of a, almost a dangerous grandfather, if you wili. He still wears the skull ring. He still has his bracelet thât is, in fact, stolen silver handcuffs. I'll give you a story that 1 read about once with Keith. He's one of the few people, if the only one, who can walk around any neighbourhood of New York City any time of the day or night? by himself, and not be molested. He's out walking dong the lower east side, late at night, collar up, hands in pockets walking down some lonely Street corner. And the body language, you begin to see these shadows, the night creatures gathering alone the streets, like some sci-fi movie: predatory. They start to move towards him. As they come into focus, they realize who he is and they Say: "Oh, Keith, it's you man, we didn't realize". They were gathered to rob this person, whoever it might be, sorne kind of encounter, it probably won? be pleasant for the person but when they realize it's Keith, they back off. Nobody rolls the prince of darkness. And Keith is no superhero, he couldn't have defended himself, but it's like that old joke when lawyers go on vacation to Club Med. The sharks won': bite them. Professional courtesy.

Although he never States as much, through this fan's rock 'n roll-style attire and his casual physicdity he invites speculation that he has role-taken Richards' tough guy persona. In doing so, this fan has adopted visual reinforcement for vestiges of a teenhood vulnerable to the threat of bullies.

Don? you ever wonder what it would be like to go back to high school? Just being able to walk into the school and having the calm that cornes with rnaturity and not giving a shit about what the other kids think? Not giving a shit what they Say, like, who cares? Like al1 the things that used to bug you when you were a teenager? That's why you see some of the kids, like 1 look back on it now, like those guys that kinda drifted through the school. They were just these guys, didn't talk much, didn't do much, real individual kind of guys. Guys that seemed to have it sussed (he snaps his fingers). They are not putting up with B.S. and nobody buggeci them, nobody picked on them. They were like grownups. They just existed. Through role-taking through Keith Richards' cachet of impe~iousness,this fan becomes tough: to be a fan of Keith Richards is to metaphoncally have some power over bullies. Being on Richards' "side" may provide this fan with some reassuring additional clout. A comparable dynamic emerges with the Another World participant. However, instead of connecting with the public persona of a rock star, this fan gravitates to one of the characters on the show. However, the actor who plays the character is of no interest to her. Like the Keith Richards fan, she alludes to challenges as a high school student. Parallels between what happened in her life and the character on the soap opera enable her to identify with the soap character and reinterpret her own history through studying and adopting the indomitable spirit portrayed by the character.

1 would love to be Lilla. She is a southern belle. She came on the show two or three years ago - just hell on wheels. She was going to cause so much trouble. And she did ...She is a little bit like me. She is a lot more flamboyant. And she is more emotional. But there are certain things about her. She is always trying to get accepted.. .And they really humiliated [her] .. .She was crushed. And 1 liked the way she handled it. She was crushed, but within a few hours she was back: fighting, and high-spirited.

Have you ever been crushed in your life, like Lilta was?

Oh yeah. In your teen years. One time, 1'11 never forget it. This half-decent Iooking guy - 1 guess he was egged on by his friends, and he was supposed to take me out and 1 sat there waiting for hours. Luckily 1 had a girlfriend and her boyfriend, and they kind of comforted me, but 1 was crushed. You know that memory. 1 was seventeen. It still - 1 think about it and 1 still feel crushed.

Having endured what the Another World participant perceived to be a comparable cruelty, the soap opera character demonstrated behaviour for the fan which provided a meaningful role-taking opportunity. During the interview, the Another World fan gives the impression - through facial expressions and body language - of being a shy person who has made a decision to be bold. She appears to be role-taking Lilla's feisty behavior at both overt and tacit levels: overtly, in that she describes being very conscious of feeling "shy," "crushed" and having to "fight back" daily in her work as an advocate to overcome her naturally quiet predisposition to speak publiciy on a regular bais about difficult issiies; tacitiy, in that in spite of her obvious shyness, she also exudes a strength and confidence that belies her description of herself - a presence that suggests a deeper fortification to be forthright from the character of Lilla than that of which this she is aware. To this end, the Another World fan muses, "never in my wildest drearns would I have expected I'd be doing what 1 am doing."

5.A(2) Who are You? 1-Me

Taken together, the "1-me" constitutes a personality as it appears in social interaction. The attitudes of others (understandings and expectations common to the group) constitute the organized "me'' - the object, which one assumes. One reacts, spontaneously, impulsively, towards that "me" as an "I" - the subject, the active agent and that with which we can surprise ourselves by our own actions. Given that the "me" is formed in reaction to the attitudes of others, is there a separate "1-me" exchange which occurs for the fan that is distinct from other aspects of their lives? For al1 of the participants, fanship is an integral part of who they are. For three, the attitudes of others contribute particularly strongly to their organized "me," as exemplified by the Grarefui Dend fan.

This band really helped to create an identity for me. That's not what I was into it for. It's always interesting to me and to other people to be a Dead Head who leads a normal Iife: a productive, normal life. It's especially interesting that 1 work in the dmg field. The band would often get on stage stoned; trip out with their instruments, you know? So. it's very interesting that 1 now end up as a drug counselor. And the young kids that I see, some of them know about the Grateful Dead. They are always arnazed- You know, "How can you dmg counsel if you like Gratefril Dead?" It has really provoked me to think a lot of thîngs through, like answers to those questions.

The Yes fan echoes this sentiment: "1 would Say it's going to be ingrained in me till 1 am a littie old lady. 1 will be a little old Yes fan. To me, it bas just totally taken root in me. It's um, it7sjust a part of my being." For the Woody Allen fan, her sense of "me", in no srnall way perceived through her adoration of movie stars, has been a defining part of herself from eariy chiidhood.

When 1 was a kid, it was just movie stars, movie stars, movie stars. That was my life. It's al1 1 really thought about.. .I was an only child. 1think 1 had a very rich fantasy life. 1 was very lonely. I was very lonely.. .. Hoilywood seemed so glarnourous and exciting to me. Everyone was so warm and there was al1 that farnily, that kind of thing.

This film fan feels her sense of "me" as a movie fan - particularly as a Woody Allen fan - is so strong that it has influenced her choice of husband: "1 am with a Jewish gyfrom New York. Right? Yeah! He kinda looks like Woody Allen." (laughs)

5.A(S)a 1 gotta- be me: 1-me through creative expression.

Only one fan describes using creativity in the conscious pursuit of exploring the parameters of "1-me." hspired by Xena: Warrior Princess Intemet fan fiction, the Xena fan challenged herself to write a story which served to clarify some of her "me" desires.

1 was writing about a relationship that 1 would want to have in terms of strength of love.. .It was through the fan fiction that 1 started thinking about types of relationships and what 1 wanted - how relationships work. This fan also surpnsed her "I" regarding her ability to be creative; using it to chart new territory in her self. Further, she was surprised to discover that wnting fan fiction iinearthed a part of her Iife that had been left fallow.

1am a designer and illustrator by profession and it's a profession that has just gotten more and more technological and less and less rewarding as the years have gone by. Um, when I wrote that story, 1 got the feeling out of it that I used to get out of doing good design, good illustration - just completely satisfying on a creative level.. .So its made me think 1 have to go looking for that satisfaction elsewhere.

5.A(2)b Where were vou when.. .? The "1-me" as time-line.

Three of the participants reflect on their process of self relative to an historical perspective on their fanship. For one long-time hockey fan, his recollection of "1-me" is deterrnined through what he was doing at tirnes in his life when important hockey events have occurred. He experiences the surprise and exciternent of the moment as an "1." In turn, those memones form a series of definitive "snap-shots" of "me."

That's the other thing sports does for you. It becomes a time-line. You Say.. .[the last time the Canucks played in the Stnnley Cup finals] "Oh yeah, '94'1 was married, didn't have kids." You know what 1 mean? It sort of gives your life a chronological order. You can remember certain events and where you were at that tirne and it gives you a chance to see how far you've corne since then.

The Clint Eastwood fan has adopted a sirnilar approach to how he takes stock of his own life history.

For some reason, there are scenes from some of those movies that redly do stay with me. Little B-grade movies. That one scene will really rernind me of that time period. Some people remernber their life through music. I can rernember my life through movies.

Similarly, the Seinfeld participant, who is also a longtime Bob Dylan fan, locates even the most persona1 of experiences relative to his fanship: "WeI1, my father died the morning after 1 discovercd Bob Dylan on a BBC play in 1963." The power of Bob Dylan in this fan's life is such that even the death of his father is recounted in relation to Dylan.

5.A(2)c Me first. 1 insist: "me" versus "I".

Data reved that fans use their fanship to try to stay within a preferred "1-me" zone of surprise versus stability. This phenomenon may be likened to the existentialist intra- psychic conflict of ontological anxiety versus ontological guilt (May, 19%). People experience ontological anxiety when they are faced with uncharted, and therefore anxiety-provoking, possibilities; they experience ontological guiit when, in choosing to remain in a familiar situation, they rue rnissed opportunities. Thirteen of the twenty participants - al1 five sports fans, four of the TV fans, three music fans, and one film fan - describe attempting to control "me" or "I" experiences. In particular, male sports fans appea.to seek "1" experiences. The femde sports fan, a male music fan, and the male and fernale television and film fans describe striving to create the stability of the "me" experience. Two other music fans report a blend of both "I" and "me" wherein they enjoy a comforting familiarity in favourite music which, in turn, seems to function as a backdrop for the thrill of "I" experiences and revelations. The film fan sought the guarantee of a "me" experience. That the majority of sports fans seek "I" moments as opposed to the rnajority of TV fans who seek "me" situations rnay demonstrate a self- selection process wherein people gravitate to certain types of fanship baseci on the need for surprising versus stabilizing experiences.

The male sports fans often go to considerable effort to maintain the opportunity for surprise. As the golf fan explains: "When E realiy got into it, 1would tape matches if 1 wasn't available to see them at the time. Then, 1 would avoid the radio so 1 wouldn't know who won." Similarly, the hockey fan avoids knowing the outcome of a game since knowledge destroys the enjoyment of watching it unfold:

To tape a garne and then watch it, after 1 already know what's going on, 1 wouldn't waste my time because the immediacy of it is gone. The thrill of it is gone.. .The whole idea of sports is the unknown.. .It's an anticipation and it's an excitement. And al1 of a sudden it could be elation or dejection depending on what happens in that event.. -1guess it's your subconscious saying: "1 don't know what's corning next."

For three of the four male sports fans, witnessing a sporting event in person is clearly the experience of choice. The hockey fan explains: "I'd rather be there in person because you are seeing it unfold in front of your eyes. The next best is on TV because you are seeing it front of your eyes, but you are not there live." For another male sports participant, the thrill of being a sports fan is not in the drarna of the garne or the prowess of the players but in statistics. His "I" moments are located in the pitting of his knowledge of the players against his friends' knowledge through hockey pools. Hockey pools are based on various participants making up their own teams by selecting players from across the league. The statistics that the players arnass over a season are then compared to render a winner. He extols: "The fun is winning. You have a player on a bad team, you have a cheap rate, he gets traded to a good tearn and suddenly you have a better asset. It's basically about being able to phone up your friends and harass them." In this scenario, the "1" surprise component is still at work, but it is specifically focussed on establishing the "me" as a winner. The thrill of how the "1" feels in reaction to a good play is only permane as it relates to: "Did the "me" outsmart my hockey pool cornpetition?" Another sports participant, a female tennis fan, describes delight in experiencing emotions, but also her need to control the nature of those emotions. Watching favourite players win is thrilling, but she finds viewing a match where they lose too painful. To that end, she tries to avoid putting herself on that affective roller coaster.

The most enjoyment I get out of watching is when 1 have heard the scores already on the sports and they said Tim Henman won his match. Then, 1 pleefully rewind the VCR and sit back and cm watch the match. But 1 find it really hard to watch when 1 think the person I like is going to lose.

Employing fanship as a rneans by which to maintain a comfort zone regarding "I" versus "me" experiences extends to other medium as well. The Bryan Adams fan uses listening to Adams' music as a way to "ground" himself when he has been exposed to too many "1" experiences in a àay. As a student at a music school, he was routinely exposed to a lot of new music but it left him feeling off-balance.

1 would listen to some really great jazz and 1 would listen to it and appreciate it but 1 don't go home and listen to it. At the end of the day when 1 go home, it's like, enough of that, give me something that is familiar. It's like your mom's home cooking. It's like, give me something that is farniliar because that is going to bring you back to some place of home. It'll calm me and remind me of what 1 like. Basically, his music is a piece of me, not him personally. His music is a piece of me. And just, the same way, like, a t-shirt, or a teddy bear, or your own bed. You just go, 1 love this bed, 1 want to sleep in that bed and stay in there for a long time. It's something that you crave, and you want to return to feel like yourself.

Some fans find the prospect of "I" experiences undesirable. To that end, their fanship is used as an attempt to exclude "I" encounters from at least part of their day. Fanship is treated as an oasis away from the "1" surprises that are unavoidable in daily living. One of the The Yourzg and the Restless participants regularly purchases copies of Soap Opem Digest - which reports on upcorning changes in story lines and cast rnembers - specifically to avoid any surprises.

You don't know ahead of time who is going to corne into your life. You don? know ahead of time how the plot of your life is going to go. That must be why people like going to fortune tellers and astrologists. They want plot portense, they want to be able to biiy a little Soap Opera Digest for their life. But you can't. 1 do like it that you can for this show.

This soap fan strives to maximize her sense of "me." She has created at least one space in her life that functions as a reprieve, a rest stop, from the vicissitudes of the outside world. She notes that she initially sought the stability offered by monitoring plot lines when she had been hospitalized for severe depression ten years ago.

I definitely used it as a stable part of my daily cchedule. Especially when 1 was in the hospital.. .. It was so bizarre. The people were so bizarre. Not the staff, but the patients. It was scary, obviously. It seemed very out of control because the people al1 seemed out of control, so it made me feel out of control. But having this thing [the soap opera] in the day where 1 knew what everybody would look like [helped]. 1 pretty much knew what they were going to Say. They were al1 pretty. There were no lunatics. That was very, 1 felt very normal when 1 - 1 remember thinking: "Okay, well, this is a stable point. 1 have been watching it for years, 1

will watch it for years more - and people aren't like [those at] the Psych hospital on Tlze Young and the Restless.

And now?

1 think, just because I know it is there and it never changes and it, it gives me structure. That's the thing. No matter how horrendous a day 1 have at work. No matter what is going on in my personal life. Yowzg and the Restless wiI1 always corne on TV at five o'clock. Everyone will always look good. 1 will always know how to sotve their problems quicker than they do. The women will never work. Everyone will always be rich. It's structure. If my day has no structure, it at least has structure between five and six.. .That's the healing of it I think.

Another fan of The Young and the Restless similarly employs the predictability of the show to anchor her sense of "me" against too many distressing "1" moments. My rnarriage was abusive, physically abusive. And he didn't want me to read books. He didn't want me to watch TV. Al1 1 was supposed to be doing was thinking of ways to make money or clean up the house. So, when he was out of the house 1would turn on the TV and watch my Y and R.. .It helped me get through the marriage. It was just that mainstay in my life that I could always rely on it. 1 could always rely on it being there where at that point in my life 1 couldn't really rely on anything else. Plus, because he was so adverse to my family, he didn't want me to have a relationship with them. So, just to have that every day at eleven o'clock. It was there for me, the only thing that really was. It kept me going. 1 don? think they ever had a story line about abused women on that show. It was the reminder of my Iife before - that it's not normal to have the life 1 was having. I could look at Y and R and see that even though these people had not great lives, but they didn't have physical abuse in their marriages or their relationships.

During a traumatic period of her life, this participant engaged her fanship as a cornerstone, rerninding her of the "me" that she used to be before the marriage and the "me" that she wanted to reclaim. She maintains that, ultimately, her fanship contnbuted to her ability to gain the clarity and the courage required to leave her abusive marriage.

Less dramatically, some fans use their fanship to dwell in the realm of "me" out of persona1 preference and cornfort. One of the reasons the tennis fan enjoys watching the sport so much is the emphasis on the etiquette of the game.

The thing about tennis that 1 think is so superior to other sports is the sportsmanship. The fans are quiet and show respect. They (the players) even hug each other at the end of a match because they have a mutual respect. They shake the hand of the ref. 1just love the sportsmanship of this because it is just lost in so many [other sports]. ..I like the properness of it.. .Wimbledon is my favorite, and 1 like it better than the US Open because the US Open gets a little bit louder. The Robert Redford participant dsc appreciates the solidifying sense of "me", fcund in repeated viewings of favourite movies- He speculates he has watched bis favourite Redford film fifty times.

Maybe it's like going back to the womb. 1 don't know (laughs). There's that feeling of safety and comfort. Watching that film that, still after al1 those years, means so much to me, still means a lot to me. It really is like going back to a piece of childhood. And fortunately 1 had a good childhood. So 1 can go to that world once in a while to escape. We ail Iike to hide from reality once in a while when the day gets to you, or people get to you, Reality sucks sometimes.

Like the participants discussed above, the Seinfeld fan seeks a kind of guarantee of quaiity through sameness. However, he frames the experience differently, likening watching that program to an addictive, nourishing daily ritual.

1 actually fed on Seinfeld. It was a nightly addiction. 1 rnean 1 really wanteci at the end of the evening to watch a Seinfeld episode. 1 needed a Seirzfeld fix. And 1 think the key to that, or the give away there is the fact that even though an episode came on which I knew I'd seen not once, but two or three times, it didn't realIy matter. What does it matter? It was Seiizfeld! It was like saying: "I've had eight hundred Kokmee beer in my life." So what? This Kokanee beer, I've had it before, 1 know exactly how ir tastes, and that's exactly why 1 am drinking it. So 1 think there's the addiction element, which can be fine. 1 am addicted to a cup of coffee in the morning. 1 am addicted to writing. 1 am addicted to good things.

Some fans use the farniliarity of the "me" as a way to surprise themselves with the "1." As already desct-ibed (5.A(2)a), the Xena: Warrior Princess participant recognizes aspects of the Xena characters in her "me" - which can led to "1" experiences. She points to the discovery of another fan's story on the internet in which Xena rapes Gabrielle: "She wrote a story in which the rape made sense. You absolutely identified with Xena and understood wh y she did it." Through her fanship, the Xena: Warrior Princess fan was transported to a psychological place she likely would have not visited otherwise. Ln this way, she found an oppominity to negotiate revelations in the "1" and subsequently the "me," Ieading to an expansion of self.

While the Bryan Adams fan generally sought the familiarity of a "me" experience, two other music participants, the Grarefui Dead fan and the Yes fan, describe fairly fluid "1-me" experiences wherein listening to favourite musicians is both an assuringly predictable event and a base from which to intellectually or emotionally joumey into "1" territory. The "1-me" fluidity described by the two music participants also contributed to their respective development of unexpected new life skills that contributed to an expansion of their sense of "me". For a time, the Grntefrd Dead fan represented Jerry Garcia's artwork. He describes the experience as "a big, huge addition to my life." Sirnilarly, the Yes participant's appreciation of the group prompted her to co- create a fanzine about the band. Producing the fanzine required ski11 sets that she had to develop. In doing so, she surpnsed her "I" and expanded her sense of "me."

So much of what 1 have learned has helped me with other jobs since then: writing.. .the physical layout.. .we did a lot of artwork.. .and doing interviews. There was al1 kinds of great experience. And that led a few years Iater to organizing conventions.. .It was a great training ground. There's things 1 am doing now that 1 look back and Say ..A's been very helpful. ..lthink that was a very good confidence builder.

S.A(2)d Till bad ratings do us part: "1-me" and fan loyalty

Five participants identify fan loydty as contributing to integrated sets of attitudes that build a sense of "me." Four of the five are spons fans. Perhaps sports fans focus on loyalty because they deal with that aspect of fanship more ofien than other types of fans. The possibility of loss is a constant factor; one with which al1 sports fans must reckon. For the hockey fan, loyalty is one of the defining components of his fanship and his sense of self.

1'11 always be a fan. It doesn't mean 1 won? criticize them if 1think they're doing something they shouldn't be doing. But they are the local team, 1 am proud of my city, 1 am proud of where 1 grew up. They are a part of me. They have been a part of me for 30 years now. It's like being loyal to your cld high school 1 guess. 1 am not going to compare, because it is not the same thing, but when you think of your child, your child does some bad things, you might not agree with it, but you will always support them. It's dong the sarne lines, you know, they are mine. 1think of thern as MY team.

The tennis fan regards loyalty as a way to establish the longevity, and therefore, the depth of her fanship; a quality that she values in other people and as well as herself-

Well, on the back of my bedroom door 1 have this old, old, Bjorn Borg poster - it is so tom ...And, it's almost like a proud display of something. If somebody looks and says: "Wow, that's an old poster. Oh yeah, remember Bjorn Borg." It makes me feel like, because it's a player that's retired 1 can Say: "See ! 1 am not just a 'faddie' person. 1 am not just in this ncjw".. . 1 guess there is some kind of stability in that. And again, it's tradition. 1 respect that in people. People that stick with things and support it years and years later.

For other participants, loyalty offers an opportunity to reconstruct a sense of "me." They see themselves as underdogs. By aligning themselves with sports star underdogs, these fans hope to experience themselves - through the "I" - as winners. The hockey pool fan has held a deep-seated sense of "me" as underdog since childhood. When his chosen underdogs win, he takes it as a personal victory stating simply that: "There's hope!" Along the sarne iines, the golf fan employs loyalty to the underdog as a way to encourage himself in his own athletic pursuits. 1 guess they are inspiring to me more than mythmg. 1 feel inspiration from them and joy for them. You can really do a lot of soul-searching. Just projecting yourself into the situation and reaiizing that you have been in that situation in a smailer way or in an equai way,. .You have to keep in mind, "1 can succeed in my world."

Having acknowledged the benefit he gains through his reiationship with the underdog, this sarne golf fan rues that the cost of loyalty can sometimes be too high. He points to an experience he recently underwent as a Vancouver Canuck hockey fan.

1just couldn't take the losing anymore. Losing, losing, losing, losing. And it was affecting me as a person. You want to succeed. We were failing.. .it was affecting me at work, it wàs affecting me at home. 1 was grumpy. I am seeing myself in a negative light: "That was lousy. 1 didn't do well. 1 am not perforrning well.". ..I sought out some counselling.. .It really made me aware, 'cause at the time 1 wasn' t aware that the Canucks were affecting me to such a degree .. . after awhile, it wears you down, defending, defending. Al1 of a sudden it's like 1am the team. It's like, "Wait a minute! 1 didn't let that goal in. 1 didn't miss the net. 1 didn't take a stupid penality.". ..Now it's to the point where 1 am not buying season tickets. 1 have decided that's it.. ..It hurt! It was a sad day for me. I'm lettin' my tearn down. In their darkest hour, I am jumping ship on 'em.

This fan's sense of "me" was so wrapped up in his loyalty to the Canucks that it touched al1 aspects of his life. The competitive aspect of his personality sought out the opportunity for an "1" thrill in the spontaneity of winning. Instead, the "1" was repeatedly trounced upon and ultimately permeated his "me" with a "ioser" mentality.

The other fan who discusses fan loyalty as related to her sense of "me" is the Woody Allen fan. Like the sports fans, she regards loyalty as an important aspect of her fanship. Given revelations about Allen's indiscretions with one of his step-daughters, this participant has found maintaining her loyalty challenging. However, she has chosen to remain loyal rather than to rework her sense of "me" - a "me" who includes a deep appreciation for Woody Allen in spite of his behaviour: "And what is so disappointing now is that what 1thought Woody was al1 about may not have been me.. .I really hate to think of it. 1 keep thinking one of these days, he is going to be totally exonerated." It rnay be that to even entertain that her favourite star had done something morally reprehensible involves substantial psychological work reevaluating and relocating aspects of herself that have been tied to her appreciation of Woody Allen; work that she felt loathe to do. Similarly, the sports participants may have found that with so much of self invesied in certain athletes or teams, to choose to abandon them was to choose to abandon aspects of self that contnbuted to their attraction to the star(s) in the first place. This phenornenon may have been at work during the O.J. Simpson trial when a substantial number of Afncan Americans refused to believe that a person in whom they had invested, or projected onto, so much of themselves was capable of murder.

5.A(2)e Would you bring them home to mother? "1-me" and fan shame.

For five participants, including the Woody Allen fan and the hockey pool fan, loyalty to their favourite stars in spite of the shame they feel in themselves for doing so, constitutes an important aspect of their sense of "me." The participants deal with this inner conflict of loyalty and shame in varying ways. For one of the The Young and the Restless fans, the particularly strong sharne and embarrassment components of her "me" are handled by attempting to control and avoid any "1" situations.

1 wouldn't want anyone to know my attachment to it or my loyalty to it. And 1 don't want anyone to know that 1 am a fan and 1 don't want anyone to know that 1 watch that show and 1 am extremely careful where 1 would ever make a reference to it. 1 am particularly careful at school. 1 would not want the parents or fellow teachers to know because it's such a non-intellectual, non-acadernic thing to be devoting an hour of your day to; especially any of my fellow teachers. 1 really wouldn't want them to know because 1 think that would diminish my credibility. It would make them feel superior, or be superior, intellectually - that they wouldn't spend an hour.. .the majority of thern would not give up an hour a day for escapist TV. 1 definitely would not want the parents to know that the teacher of their child was someone who watched 7?ze Young and the Restless religiously, because it is so non-intellectual.

As a result of this participant's concerted efforts to keep her fanship a secret, her "me" is reinforced ty an intemalized assumption of the attitudes of others. She does not know whether fellow teachers and students' parents would, in fact, judge her negatively for her soap opera fanship.

Contrarily, althougb the Woody Allen fan (who is also a fan of other movie stars and musicians, e.g, Goidie Hawn, Richard Pryor and Stevie Wonder) is ashamed of her mass media fanship - which she feels is a terrible weakness - she does not attempt to control knowledge and the potential for unpleasant "I" moments by hiding her fanship from others. Rather, she minimizes the potential for "1" moments through being completely open about it. Her openness results in reinforcement from her friends of her sense of "me" as one who partakes in shameful fan practices.

It's embarrassing. 1 look at somebody like the woman 1 told you about earlier, who is a fan, and goes around and gets autographs and 1 have nothing but pity for her really. (laughs) It is really kind of sad.. .And, you know, when 1 go to New York, 1 always go over to Woody's. 1 know where he lives. It's like a joke with my friends 'cause they just hate him.

The Yes participant's experience of "1-me" as it relates to fan shame is located between the two participants described above. She is not embarrassed about her fanship but she is cautious about discussing it. Her sense of "me" is deeply defined by her Yes fanship and she is cornfortable with that self-perception. However, she bas chosen to protect herself from potentially unpleasant "me" disruptions or "1" surprises by carefully selecting the people with whom she shares revelations of her fanship. Now that 1 am in my forties, 1 am almost a little carefül who 1 tell about that! There7sa certain flakiness that could very easily be attached to that. And also people might perceive me as being stuck in a time warp. If 1 sense that somebody can appreciate it, then 1 would talk to them about it. But, Say, in the workplace, 1 don't talk about it there.

At the other end of the spectrum, having acknowledged that being a fan is "unsophisticated" and linked to "a certain low brow-ness," when the hockey pool participant senses that people are judging him as "total white trailer trash" for being a fan, he becomes defiant. He uses an affront to his sense of "1-me7' as an opportunity to "stick it to" anyone who shows distaste for his fanship. This participant States he would paint his face for a hockey game simply to irritate a disdainhl person: "Even though 1 have never painted my face in my life, 1 would do it just to get them." The hockey pool fan's response to any feelings of shame experienced in his "me" as a result of the attitudes of others is to strive to create "I" experiences for both himself and the offending parties resulting in pleasant surprises on his part and unpleasant ones for the latter.

In between loyalty and shame is a kind of postmodern anti-loyalty and an accompanying anti-shame; that is, if one does not admit to being loyal, then one cannot feel shame about that loyalty either. The Seinfeld fan feels that his relationship with the show is in keeping with the nature of the prograrn.

1 am not any more loyal to Seirtfeld than any of the characters would be to me. It7s a kind of cynical transaction. It al1 cornes down to the one liner and that's making fun of people. Getting off a good one. And nobody is spared because the good one is more important than anything else.. .So even my enthusiasm is by default. It's the opposite of the ordinary kind of loyal, positive fan. in this case, the "me" is deftly spared any cornmitment or possible sharne by virtue of the nature of the fanship itself. S.A(2)f Mass media mass: Fanship as a form of religious expression.

While the other "1-me" sub-sections examine separate manifestations of "I" and of "me," this sub-section explores results containing an arnalgarnation of "1" and "me." As outlined in Chapter Two (2.1 (C)i), Mead (1934) maintains that religious experiences are the result of feelings of exaltation caused by a füsion of the "I" and the "me"; an event that represents the successful completion of the social process. Most participants report cases of "1-me" fusion moments with a celebrity, with a character played by the celebrity, or with an dstic or athletic endeavor produced by a celebrity, e-g., the Denis Leary f=, the Woody Allen fan, the Another World fan, the Grnteful Dead fan, and almost al1 the sports fans. However, only the Yes fan (who alludes to "seeing God when listening to their music) and the football fan (who suggested that "therc are biblical references that don't do it [football] justice") make any overt reference, or connection between their fan experience and traditional concepts of religion. To this end, the following are findings relating to the secondary research question: "1s there some manner of religious expression present in fans' experience of stars?"

Thirteen of the twenty participants were raised as some form of Christian. Seven had no religious upbringing. Asked outright, seventeen of the participants say that they cm imagine fanship functioning as a form of religious expression for other fans but assert that this is not the case for them. Three of the fans - al1 sports fans, two of whom had been raised as Christians - feel that they have in the past, or that they currently cm, interpret their fanship as a form of religious expression. The hockey fan, a non-practicing Catholic who believes in God, States that sports used to be his religion.

It was. Not now. My farnily is my religion, if you want to put it that way. A lot of things have changed over the past few years because of having a family. 1 am a huge fan but 1 have it in better perspective now. If we had this conversation eight to ten years ago, that was it. I'd go out with guys, that's al1 we'd talk about. Now, yeah, we'd talk about the Canucks for a while and then we talk about our kids and then we start talking about some of the trials and tribulations we have in our lives.

The tennis fan, who was raised as a mernber of the United Church but "most admires Buddhism," applies three approaches to religion in reflecting upon the nature of her appreciation of tennis. One involves spiritual expression: "Religion, as 1 understand it, is a spirituality, and that's the way I feel about Buddhism." Another embraces a Durkheimian perspective on religion (i-e., society worships itself functioning as a strong influence on individual behavior by sanctioning societal noms) as a means to comfort viâ social dictums: "But I look at tennis as more of a traditional religion. Like 1 defend it to the death. 1 don? like to see change, like the Catholics don't like Latin taken out of the rnass, you know?" She also introduces a Weberian notion of religion (Le., the use of religious value judgments and convictions to create meaning) as a way to give meaning to her life: "And, it does give meaning sometimes, I think, to my life. Like 1 Say, if 1 am down, I cm play a tape and feel better from watching it. So, in those ways, it is like a traditional [religion3."

The golf fan, who had no religious upbringing, thought aloud as to whether or not he was religious, then responds, as follows, to the question regarding whether or not fanship may function as a form of religious expression.

1just have no thought about it really. But 1 do believe in, you know, sports. It's a foundation for how 1 live my life and that, so in that sense, it's a religion for me. You can't talk bad about it because for me, it would be bad. 1 would have to defend it.. .There's guys that have been better than everybody else as long as they have been around. Wayne Gretzky. 1 mean, how do you explain? He lias set every record and put it out of reach. Michael Jordan: Out of reach. They are just amazing, amazing people. One person, better than everybody else by far. These guys corne dong once in a while. I don? expect to see another Wayne Gretzky. If 1 do 1 will consider myself privileged. 1 think 1 am seeing one of those in golf right now in Tiger Woods. I wasn't really old enough to see Jack Nicholas in his prime, who is supposedly the God of golf and 1 will accept that because he has got al1 the records. And so, sure, these guys are something from sornewhere. Why are they just that much better than everybody else? One person in every sport. There is one. But there is only one. Why is that? And so, yeah, they are Gods-

Having acknowledged limited examples of overt recognition of fanship as a forrn of religious expression, the following description from the hockey fan about the energy and emotion surrounding the Canucks' success in the 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs approaches Mead's (1934) vision of the fusion of "I" and "me."

Me and rny buddy, Ifriend's narne] we'd go to al1 the garnes. We'd phone each other three times a day: "Okay, three more hours." We are out to the Coliseum for game six, against New York. The game started at five, we went out there at two. Just to be there, and hang out. And much to Our shock, as we were driving to the game, [we would say] "This is kind of stupid when you really think about it," but we were on Our way. "We'll just have a beer and hang out." There were probably ten thousand people there already (incredulous) and they were just waiting. This is cool, this is so cool. 1'11 never forget that as Iong as 1 live. The emotion of that two months when the Carzucks did the unthinkable of going to the Stanley Cup, when they shouldn't have. They were the underdogs. And it was the highest of highs. Conversely, when it ended, it was a big, huge, empty feeling. It was like, "This is over. I don? have this in my life anymore. We dldn't win. It just died." Wheew, It was a sense of relief! E got control of my life again because it took over my life for two months.

Three more participants, al1 music fans, reflect on the prospect of music as a form of religious expression. The Grateful Dead fan, an ex-monk, offers these observations: It is a bit like church (laughs). It really is. It's probably like church in the true sense, if church is where you go where you praise, and the glory of God. Church is realiy supposed to be about that more that going to ask for a million bucks or something, it is about that too, askin' for blessings and it's about giving thanks for the blessings you have. Mostly, it's about worship and adoring, you know, and witnessing. 1 would Say, yeah, that the band, the music, the events, are the best church you'll run into.

Further, the Grarefit1 Dead fan describes en musse experiences with other Deadheads as a very unifying and tmsting situation.

1 know that it is the most carefree of tirnes.. .it's probably Iike the old Bacchandian rituals or sornething. You Ieave your ego at the door. Everybody is the same. You are not concerned about having to protect yourself. Even at the club last night. You put your coat down. You leave your drink. 1 am on the dance floor. My beer is at the table with rny coat, rny keys. 1 am thinking, "Under normal conditions, you would never do this.

The Yes fan, who had virtually no exposure to religious teachings during her upbringing, regards the band as good spiritual teachers who have strongly influenced her thinking.

It's a very spiritual thing. Yes are a very ultimateIy positive band, as the name suggests. And there's a real positive edge that goes throughout every piece of music that they have ever produced that you don? find with a band like the Rolling Stones or a lot of very successfûl bands who have a very negative edge, rïght? Also, the individu& in the band are very deep thinkers. They are very welf read and great travellers so a lot of their philosophies have corne through the music and to be exposed to that when you are in your budding years of adolescence, that's very, very inspirational and it can't help but influence your own spiritual growth. The Bruce Cockburn fan, an ex-Catholic, is resolute about not being a religious person. However he does speak in quasi-religious tems when discussing his relationship with Cockburn.

1 guess that one of the big things is that, 1 believe him. 1 really believe that al1 of the things that he said, he said. 1 believe that he has seen al1 the things he has seen and he has not distorted the picture. He is basicaiiy a mirror. And that's a hard thing to believe. You don? even know if the news is right. 1 hate to say that. Who do you believe? So, 1 believe him. Because he doesn't ram it down yoiir throat. He doesn't mix messages. He doesn't use fancy words, he just tells it like it is.. .He's a good guy. I don't want him to be a saint. The higher the pedestai, the farther they fall when anything goes wrong. 1 think because of al1 the similarities 1 have with him, and what he says, 1 think he's a really interesting person that 1 look up to. 1 wouldn't go as far as saying he is a god; an icon, for sure! He is a bearn up in the heavens somewhere.

It is not clear why the majority of the sports participants view, or have viewed, their fanship as a forrn of religious expression. Nor is it clear why the music participants are more readily willing to consider their fanship in light of the possibility of religious expression. Sports and music fans have clustered together elsewhere in Chapter Six (6.A( 1)b) in which both appear to view fanship as an opportunity for developing or enhancing friendships.

5.A(3) Don't Mind if 1 Do: Mind

According to Mead (1934), self and rnind develop concurrently within the context of social experience. Components of rnind include meaning-making and reflexiveness through non-verbal language (Stone, 1970) such as appearance, gestures, groorning, clothing and location - which al1 contribute to the expression of values, mood, and attitude; verbal language and, shared syrnbols. Mass media fanship, especially since it occurs largely through technologically-mediated means, not only allows fans to study the non-verbal through a basically unidirectional social process, but to do so repeatedly.

Reoccurring exposure to shared symbols contributes to a shared understanding of the world but, like the process of self, is not a static phenomenon. As Charron (1979) explains, people treat objects with constant redefinition interacting with others; truths, ideas, attitudes, perceptions and perspectives are al1 a process. People are not conditioned so much as constantly testing and reassessing their truths: "Tmth is arrived at through interaction, and it is also transformed in the process of interaction" (p. 31).

Ten of the twenty interviewed fans identify the importance of verbal and non- verbal language, and shared symbols in their fanship. Sometimes these rnind concepts evolve through the process of social interaction; their ever-changing status being the very reason they maintain ineaningfulness arnong fans. Sometimes the rnind concepts remain the same; in this case, the fan's connection with the concepts are deepened as a result of longevity and repetition.

5.A(3)a Fanlingo: Verbal language.

Only two participants (one film and one sports fan) feel they have embraced special verbal language pertaining to their fanship practices. The Denis Leary fan describes using the movie star's material as a kind of secret handshake which adds extra rneaning for those who recognize her imitation of his work.

Sometimes 1 quote but not everybody knows that 1 am quoting him. If they know him then they'll Say something. (pause) He swears a lot and 1 went through a stage where every second word was a swear word.. .that, and delivery; it's a certain inflection. It's very dry. He ioses his patience and it's very exasperated like: "Are you stupid?!" (inflection goes up yet it is a bit of a statement too) "It's a bit contemptuous. It's exasperated; it's Like (waves her hand heavenward): "Hellooo?!" And 1 do that kind of stuff now. And 1 definitely do express rnyself that way and people think it's funny, that's the thing. It's like, it makes people laugh.

For the football fan, simply being in a group of like-minded people stimulates a certain style of comrnunicating.

1 am kind of a charneleon and there will be times when I will be speaking with a group of hockey players and 1'11 just start taking like a hockey player. There's like a (changes his voice) "Canadian certain kinda thing where ev-eerybody starts talkin' like Don Cherry: That's just greeeat!" 1 think that7spowerful.

In both cases, these participants show their special knowledge and assert their fan status by changing their voices and adopting special words. Response from other fans who understand the nuance in the conversation reflects back, and therefore helps to define, these participants' sense of self, as further explored in the next chapter.

5.A(3)b You don' t sav: Non-verbal language.

Seven fans cite non-verbal language, e.g., clothing and appearance, as an aspect of their fanship. Three of the five music, three of the five television, and one of the film fans discuss this concept as an etement of their fan experience. It is not apparent why the majority of the music and television participants choose to use non-verbal language while only one film fan and none of the sports participants choose to do so. 1 can only speculate that music fans are already processing "right-brain," non-verbal language through their appreciation of music, which may extend to an increased awareness of other types of non-verbal language as well. Television, film and sports fans also process considerabIe amounts of non-verbal information with multiple layers of visual information; why the television participants place more emphasis on non-verbal social interaction than do the sports and film fans is unclear. Three of the music fans regard non-verbal language as important. For them, appearance signifies much about the celebrity and inspires them to adopt certain styles. The fifty-year old Keith Richards fan carefully studied Richards' "look" at the outset of his hship; thirty five years later, he still enjoys his favourite star's appearance and demeanour.

Keith was a guy, no matter how [well dressed], shirt, tie, slacks, the whole nine yards, Keith was always kind of rumpled. He looked like a little English school boy. One part of the shirt was always hanging out, this wasn't done up, his tie wasn't knotted. It's almost Iike his sou1 was trying to shed his clothes without taking them off ... If there is one pop star 1 would want to emulate, dress like hm, and walk around like him, it would be Keith Richards. He is the classic rugged individualist. The first time 1pierced my ear was because Keith had his pierced. There was a time with a man wearing a pierced ear was shocking.. .there's a bit of the seditious little shit in me that finds that fun.

He still wears eanings in both ears. He feels they are symbols of a battle in which he fought - resolutely inspired by Richards - during a tirne when "you were sent home from school until you got a haircut.. .I look at some of these young kids today, you walk by them on the street and a little part of me says: 'You owe me."'

For the middle-aged male fan of the Grateful Dead, wearing certain clothes in certain settings takes on almost a ritualistic quality. Appearance is an important part of the experience of the event. Dressing up is a shorthand way to announce one's "insider" status (Goffman, 1963; Stone, 1970j.

You always dress up for shows. You get a chance to be you and creative.. -1 have my tie-dye shirts, tie-dye shorts and Birkenstocks, bandana around my neck because it gets hot.. .I always wore a purple overcoat that was a woman's, a lady's, PURPLE wool, it was like a, PURPLE coat, mid-calf length. Probably have makeup on. You look the scene. For other fans, what the star wears is taken as a kind of standard uniform, as is the case for the male Bryan Adams fan. Copying the clothes that Adams wears is a way to share symhols, and to more closely align himself with the star.

1 kind of like, for a long time, he just wore simple clothes. That has had a big influence on what 1 wear. In high school 1 would wear jeans and T-shirts because he was doing that. Plus it was practical. And as an adult, 1still love wearing jeans and lumberjack shirts or, real simple. ..It's inspiration. Kinda almost tike guidance in the sense that you can just Say: "Well, he's doing it."

Only one film fan feels that consideration of appearance contributes to her fanship. However she (the Denis Leary fan) does not dress like Leary herself, but she wanted her boyfriend to do so: "Denis Leary wears jeans and T-shirts and leather car coats. And he didn't affect my style but 1 pestered my boyfiend until he got one of those jackets" (laughs).

Sometimes wearing certain articles of clothing is a forrn of homage to a favorite star and a way to feel closer to him or her, as is the case for the Another WorM soap fan who makes a point of wearing rnismatched earrings on a regular basis.

It felt really good. It felt, yeah, this is me. These are the rnismatched earrings. Frankie Frain was one of my favorite characters, that's why 1 Wear the mismatched earrings (she gestures). She was sort of psychic, and she was a little off the wall but interesting, really interesting and 1 always saw the earrings and thought, "Oh yeah, she can do it, so can 1.". ..And 1 find that if 1 dress up like the characters for work or whatever, and look good. It gives your more confidence, builds up your confidence, your self-esteem. The earrings are my trademark. Everyone knows me for rny earrings. (laughing)

Although the other two soap opera fans do not feel that their own appearance has been markedly altered, they too enjoy that everyone on soap operas looks attractive. Physical appearance is not the only element of non-verbal language transmitted in relation to fanship. While the Gratefid Dead fan enjoys dressing in an appropriately celebratory manner for concerts, he dso connects with other Deadheads through well- known and shared syrnbols.

My car has a series of dancing bears with a little bib. That would be a universal sign, you go to Germany, you go to Japan, Nepal. Every knows you are Dead Head. Everybody knows. EVERYBODY knows. So it's al1 these symbols that indicate that you are part of this. You are part of this group.

5.A(3)c Matter over mind: Collectin~- shared symbols.

Collecting tangible symbols is a way for some fans to feel closer to favourite stars or to the desired sentiment those stars help to generate in fans. Four of the twenty participants (two music fans, one sports and one film fan) actively pursue the collection of mernorabilia relating to their favorite stars. Moreover, two of the sports fans and one of the film fans mentioned collected sports cards and movie magazines, respectively, as children but had long since discontinued the pursuit. Twelve cf the participants state they have no interest in collecting and do not understand the practice. The golf fan goes so far as to say he feels memorabilia would sirnply clutter his house. Of the four fans who collect symbols, only the two music fans express a tme passion for it. The Yes fan can be placed in this category but even she States that, with the development of other interests in her life, especialIy a family, comprehensive collecting is more a pursuit of the past.

1 had a real drive thorough the '70s and hdfway into the '80s to collect every little article or newspaper, anything in print that ever had anything to do with Yes. Downstairs Z've got 22 scrapbooks full of stuff ...1 guess it just makes you feel cioser to the band. It feels like it gives you a more complete understanding.

The Grateful Dead fan also enjoys collecting and still feels enthusiastic about discovering meaningfbl mernorabilia. He describes the endeavor as something that is not done so much to "get close to the band" - as with the Yes fan - but rather something which helps him to become doser to aspects of hirnself with which he likes to commune.

It keeps me happy. I guess the one thing is that being around this music and being around the people that love this music, being around that whole changing consciousness scene of the last sixties, 'cause, don't forget, 1 was a teenager in the sixties.. .Wherever 1 go, 1 am looking for stuff that is connected to that movement. I am looking for books, for music books, for photographs.

The other two participants who collect memorabilia are the Clint Eastwood fan and the hockey pool fan. Like the Yes fan, the Clint Eastwood fan says collectinp is a pastime he used to pursue more actively, before he had a farnily. Even then, his interests lay solely in amassing movie posters, preferably signed. The hockey pool fan offers an exarnple of the collection of symbols that are very specific in their rneaning-making. In this case, mernorabilia - rather than being about the sport or the athletes - is used as a testament to the fan's ability to be there at the beginning of things.

My weird thing is the hockey draft. 1 don't know why but 1 love the hockey draft. 1 have for years. 1 tape it. 1 watch it. 1 never watch the tapes again. 1 keep al1 the books. 1don't know why. It's just the strangest thing. It's just kind of neat to see where sorneone started and how they were viewed at the time and you look back and sec: "That guy was drafted 72nd overall but he's the best player in the draft." You see their progression and that's kind of interesting.

5.A(4) New Fan-dangles: The Post-Meadian Self

Much of Denzin's (1988) criticism of symbolic interactionism centres on Mead's (1934) lack of attention to the development of self through tacit, subconscious, and affective means. However, it is not always possible to clearly identify the process of self- development. As the Robert Redford fan explains, his fanship just "is." You are asking me a lot of conscious questions and 1 think al1 I cm Say is subconsciously, he has affected me. 1 don't stop to think about it. It doesn't consciously affect my everyday Iife. It's very interior. 1just like what he does. 1 just like the characters and the performances that he comes up with in film. For the most part, Redford's cool.

Having acknowledged that challenges exist in attempting to understand some of the underlying aspects of self identified by Denzin and others, a substantial amount of data regarding post-Meadian subjective experiences of fanship was generated. These data would have been rendered meaningless if they had been applied tc a strictly Meadian version of symbolic interactionism. However, when the data are examined with a postrnodern perspective on s ymbolic interaction theory, sixteen of the twenty fans provide further insight into the subjective experience of fanship.

5 .A(4)a Fanciful: Fanship toward rneaning-makin-

As Denzin (1988) observed, traditional symbolic interactionism theory is lacking in its ability to handle inner aspects of the process of self. Denzin advocates paying attention to metaphor (condensation) and metonymy (displacement), priniary dream- coding processes in the unconscious state, and the layers of meaning that are grounded in established dyads or groups of like-rninded individuals. These concepts become conduits to discovering the deep, inner structures of experience and conscious and subconscious desires unique to each fan. As Denzin explains, a person's "subjectivity circulates within the political economy of objects and signs he has attached himself to, including those in his social relationships" (p. 72). Two participants (one a music fan, the other a film fan) describe deepl y meaningful relationships with favourite stars that serve to enrich their innemost processes of self.

Metaphor and metonymy are apparent in the Keith Richards fan's experience of fanship. In elaborating on his relationship with Richards as a symbol of imperviousness, it appears that this fan has developed a rich and powemil mythology around Richards which has contributed to this fan's self-development. The imagery and the language he uses in describing Richards is suggestive of an archetype of the ''mgged individualist" - a roIe this fan repeatedly works toward in his own life.

It harkens back to the single combat warrior: that image of David and Goliath; that image of Lancelot. Arthur's kingdom has a problem with a dragon, or a beast, and he's got al1 these fabulous knights who are loyal to him, but Che has] to chose one to send out; and there's that concept of the champion. The village or the tnbe or the culture will finds its hero to go out.. .You know that if this were post- apocalyptic times or pre-apocalyptic times, ancient times, Keith would be a tribal leader. Keith would be a warrior chieftain. You know it. They traded their lance and their war horse for an electric guitar. This rugged individual who: "1 car,? get a job in a bank, look at me," beyond the music he is a cultural icon. And 1 think it's Keith's survivability. He's the elder statesmen. In gang terminology, we cal1 'em "0.G.s": the "Original Gangsters." He would be an O.G. These are guys in the hood. They are not in the day to day workings of the gangs anyrnore but they have respect. They were there in the beginning. They are still righteous guys, they still cary thernselves well and they gain respect from the younger gang members and 1 think Keith is that way. Keith doesn't have anything to prove.

This fan has created a world that contextualizes Keith Richards in an historical perspective in a number of romantic and risk-taking roles. In this way, Richards cm be viewed as a multi-layered and substantial archetype, greatly enhancing pieasure and meaning-making in this fan's inner life: to believe in and appreciate Keith Richards is to be associated with not just a man but a morality, a way of being - that of the "rugged individualist."

In this next case, the development of an inner structure of meaning is built upon a specific relationship. The Clint Eastwood fan is careful to explain that his appreciation of Eastwood is limited only to the roles Eastwood plays in which he is "the hero, the guy who cornes in and saves the day." This fan does not "care at al1 for" movies wherein Eastwood plays "a jerk." The inner structures of meaning appear to be specifically associated with protagonist roles. His desire to be "the one who can be counted upon to help out" is meaningful in light of this fan's personal history. He and his two younger siblings lost their father at a young age and he heas always regretted his inability to help them more.

Unfortunately, for my sister and my brother, 1 becarne kind of The man with no name (an Eastwood character). 1 thought, the only way I was going to get through this was to take care of number one: "If I can take care of myself and I cm get on a level playing field then 1 will be of some help to the others." What 1 did was put up a wall and dealt with myself emotionally and got through it. My sister and brother did not have the support that 1 as a man would like to have given them. 1 wasn't a man yet. But 1 was forced into the situation of being the man of the house.

In gravitating to, and repeatedly watching, Eastwood characters who "save the day," this fan may be trying to feel some ternporary reprieve from what he expresses as a relentless guilt about a very challenging life situation. Tacit role-playing of Eastwood's fictitious protagonists may help to shore up an historical aspect of self that cannot be resolved but, through viewings of specific Eastwood characters, rnight possibly be somewhat rewritten.

S.A(4)b Fantasts: Fan drearns.

Nine of the participants experience some form of dreaming about their favourite stars. Six (one film fan, one television fan, two sports fans, and two music fans) are able to readily recall the specific nature of their dream(s). Continuing with the Eastwood fan, the depth and intensity of his incorporation and appreciation of certain Eastwood characters' "do the right thing" personas into his perception of self is also apparent in a dream experienced by the fan about ten years after his father's death. It was about my dad's airplane crash. ..I wasn't where it actuaiiy happened but, it did happen up country by a lake. And 1 was by a lake and 1 was there, by myself and it was kind of dusky and my dad's voice said something to me. 1 turned around and he was, it was very eene, he was, nght out of a horror movie, he was a charred figure and 1 was totally frightened in my drearn and then his voice said: "No, no, no! 1 can only appear to you in the way in which 1 lefi. So, 1 am not going to hurt you." And 1 stili was scared. And Eastwood came off to the side and he was there, it seemed, he was there to reassure me or protect me. It was a very weird dream. Dad here (gestures to his left) and Eastwood there (gestures to his right), and by a lake. It was very strange. And Eastwood was in western gear, you know, holster and guns.

In this dream, Eastwood appears to have been present as a protector. Eastwood is a reoccurring symbol related to dependability in this fan's subconscious. In the following example, it is the fan upon whom Eastwood can depend.

And 1 have had other dreams where Clint has just shown up and been part of the cast of my dreams. One time 1 had this really neat loft office and he came in and they were running around doing location shooting for a movie they were doing. He came in and he needed to use the phone and he knew that 1 [couid help him] and it was kind of neat.

Like the Clint Eastwood fan, five other participants dream of doing something in relation to a star. The golf fan, for example, drearns of being a caddy.

Actually one of the drearns was with the Masters and 1 was with Greg Norman, and 1 was caddying for him. It was great. We had a good time. 1 was just giving him his clubs and arguing with him: "1 don't think it's a three iron, I think it's a four iron." Back and forth. ..I am sure there's a little bit of "wanna be" in there. I'd love to caddy on the pro tour. The tennis fan drearns of being a ''bal1 girl":

Yeah. 1 dream tennis. 1 know a couple of really clear dreams 1 have had. And 1 must be, like a bail boy or something because it's aIL from low down on the court. And 1 can almost not see the players but 1 can just see the balls going back and forth. And 1 can hear the squeaking of the tennis shoes, their runners on a hard court. And I've had a couple like that where, it's so much sound, images, it's

really strange. It's atmosphere. There's no plot. There's nothing happening. 1am in the rniddle of it. It is just surrounding me. There's no score, there's no outcorne.

The Anobier World fan drearns of being a part of the show:

1 am in the show, or 1 am friends with somebody in the show.. .I remember colours. 1 remember what 1 was wearing. In one [dream], 1 was wearing a bright red, gorgeous dress. 1 remember the clothes 1 am wearing more than anything else. Al1 of a sudden, 1am transformed. 1 am looking just like the giarnourous people in the show and it's a really pleasant dream.

The Bryan Adams fan dreams he is in the band: "I've dremt I've been on stage with him which, ironically, has happelied as well. 1 was just kind of part of the band, basically. Which is something 1 would daydream of, particularly at a younger age." The Bruce Cockburn fan also dreams he is playing instruments with Cockburn: "1 drearnt that we were playing guitars together, and 1 was good too. It was pretty funny. They are always short, really short dreams."

With the exception of the Eastwood fan, for whom Eastwood functions as a protector figure, the other five participants seem to be fulfilling a desire to be close to what it is the star does. Perhaps significantly, the golf fan and the tennis fan are in the presence of professionai athletes but they are not on par with thern; they are supporting cast rnembers. In contrast, the soap fan, and the two music fans are participating on an equai level with their favourite stars. It may be that sorne fans' sense of self, even in the drearn realm, is regulated such that their subconscious does not allow for drearns involving equal status with the celebrity.

5.A(4)c Straight from the heart: Experiencing emotions throuah fanship.

As discussed in Chapter Two, post-Meadian symbolic interactionism includes affect as "a crucial underpinning for rational orientations and individual well-being" (Franks, 1987). Fifteen of the twenty participants describe employing their fanship to express or redirect emotions which, in turn, contribute to an improved sense of well- being. Four of five television fans, al1 five sports fans, three of the film fans, and three of the nusic fans feel that their fanship contributes to emotional expression. The television fans use their fanship in two ways: to release and to repress emotions. For the Seilfeld fan, an active seeking out of specific emotions is a way to "self-medicate" with health- sustaining humour. He identifies what he is missing in his life and he seeks out a remedy accordingl y.

Canada is not a funny country. Ireland is a funny country full of funny people who Say funny things. Among the people 1 know, 1 am the one who says funny things, they think 1 am very funny. Whereas, when 1 am back in Ireland, 1 can barely get a word in edgewise. So, in order for me to live here in Vancouver, 1 need laughs. And 1 imported these Iaughs from the States via Seinfeld.

A11 three of the soap fans employ their favourite soap operas as a way to escape overwhelming and stressful emotions. Al1 three state that the viewing of their favourite soap opera is time when the phone is taken off the hook, the front door bel1 is ignored, and husbands and children are trained to honour that special time and "leave momrny alone." The Another World fan explains: I'd get home totally stressed out and my husband, he's quite supportive, and he would see the level of stress and he's Say, "Now, go to Another World. And I'd go to Another World and you could physically see yourself mentally, emotionally, physically relaxing.

Watching a soap opera can also create stress. The Another World fan finds that if a plot line happens to intersect too closely with anything negative in her own hfe, it exacerbates her emotional state.

We'd also had a dear friend, in real life, commit suicide. And 1 was watching the show and they were showing Marley at the time who was going to attempt suicide and 1 am literally talking to the show: "Don't do it! Don't do it! 1 can't handle it. If she commits suicide, 1 can't stand it. I can't stand it. 1 won't be able to stand it!" Because this is what happened to me less than a week before. So sometimes it gets a Iittle too entwined especially when you are hurting, It just cornes too close to home. 1 prefer it when it is a little bit out there.

Plotlines that parallel life cm also be a source of positive emotional expression. One of the The Young and the Restless fans found humour while being treated in a psychiatric ward for a nervous breakdown.

1can remember patients, and 1did too, we talked about how humourous it was the way Ttze Young and the Restless portrayed a psych hospitai because we were in one and we knew what one was really like. And the way they had it on Y arzd R was typical of that whole show. Okay, it was probably a private American hospital that you had to pay tons and tons of money for, but she didn't have to Wear a gown. She had al1 her normal clothing. And, al1 the furniture - she had a suite of her own, and al1 the furniture was chintz covered and beautiful. And here we were in [narnes hospitai], which is the best of the best, the best psych hospital you can be in [names city]. And it was just, it bore no resemblance to Ashiey's nervous breakdown and her psychiatric hospital experience. It was very funny. The sports fans describe their fanship as a way to experience and release emotions. For some, emoting via sports fanship is one of severai methods of emotional expression (e-g., the hockey fan repeatedly uses the word "passion" in describing the feelings stirred in him by the game) but he also describes expressing deep emotions with friends and family. For others, emoting via spons fanship represents the only socially acceptable choice. For exarnple, the tennis fan describes corning from a family in which the expression of emotions is frowned upon; to this end, she "adopted" the tennis stars as technologically-mediated relatives who have accepted her emotionai expression. When these "family members" reach benchmarks in their careers, she experiences profound ernotions with them.

1 totally vicariously, I have cried watching tennis. 1 have absolutely been sitting there bawling my eyes out for some player. When Pete Sampras played against Alex Corretja And Pete Sampras got sick and was throwing up on the court.. . Pete Sampras won that and at the end they both came over and hugged each other and 1 was sitting there with tears running down rny face. When Strphan Edberg retired, 1 cried; Boris Becker retired at Wimbledon,1 cried.

Sirnilarly, the golf fan is easily moved by sporting events. He is aware of how his fanship is an acceptable way to release emotions generated from both the excitement of a sports moment and from other pent-up, hidden feelings.

Sometimes it will bring out emotions in me that don't corne out anywhere else. Rarely do 1 cry. 1 certainly don't cry over personal issues. My father died. 1 didn't cry. But 1 was choking back tears when Mark McGuire hit the home mn. That created tears of joy for me. And when Payne Stewart won the US Open. It was just such a neat thing. He had about a 25 foot putt on the final hole. Nobody makes that putt!. ..it was just unbelievable and 1 was choking back the tears then (he is tearing up as he recalls it as we talk). It was just such a cool moment seeing his joy. Just seeing his joy and how he reacted to it. He's a real classy guy. It was a really emotional moment and sports does bring that ernotion out in me that doesn7tcome out in real life! In real life, 1am very closed and guarded and private. It's [sports] a vent for my emotions.

The golf fan describes a release of emotion as a result of a favourite sports figure. Contrarily, the football fan describes expenencing emotion through his fanship as it relates to interaction with fellow fans.

Sometimes 1just want to go to a building full of people and yell rny head off for a couple of hours. Get my yah-yahs out a little bit. It's funny though, you can't be a fan without dealing with the emotional roller coaster. You ask a lot of people about being a fan, most people, 1 am guessing, will initiaily respond to you about the good times. What about the atmosphere of a crowd leaving a rink, or a football stadium when your tearn has been trounced?

The hockey pool fan also alludes to riding an "emotionai roller coaster7' with a win or a loss. However, he does not place significance on the presence of other fans in relation to the degree of affect he feels, Alone or in a crowd, just knowing that "we won" or "we lost" is an experience he views as either a positive or negative reflection on his being.

1just like winning, that's all. 1 don't know. 1 am competitive. And 1just like, ever since 1 was a kid, 1 don't like to lose.. .when the Canucks win a game: "Hey we won a game!" It's us.. .it has more meaning.. .ifs like: "Those bozos lost last night!" or "We won!" It's this thing where 1 guess you attach yourself to them and you become a part of it. It7slike your kid. Your kid does well in school and you didn't do well but she did and that's a reflection on you maybe.

Inexplicably, the three film participants al1 describe using their fanship, as it applies to processing emotions, in terms of guilt. The Woody Allen fan States that reading fan magazines, a practice which helps her to "get away from everything" and revel in a "fantasy world" is her "guilty pleasure" and her "dirty little secret." The Denis Leary fan, pnor to discovering him, used to think certain thoughts, but self-censored and did not express them. Her discovery of Leary ernpowered her to release, guilt-free, repressed emotions and opinions: "It was like being able to define this sort of vague feeling that 1 had, somebody putting it into words." The Stanley Kubrick fan describes utilizing his fanship as an opportunity to explore the genesis of ethnic guilt.

1 am very curious about the essence of mil. 1 am of German descent. 1 am thinking of the holocaust. And 1 think, 1 strongly believe that a lot of people of German descent have a bit of guilt involved in what has happened but 1 don't think that the holocaust is an isolated incident.. .So 1 can't really explain why I'm interested in that but 1 guess maybe because 1 am constantly looking for verification of certain theories that 1 have of [human] nature.

The three music fans al1 speak of the expanse and depth of emotion they experience as a result of listening to their favourite artists. The Yes fan and the Grateful Dead fan describe being "transported" to another, quite joyful, emotional realm. The Bruce Cockbum fan finds that he simultaneously experiences opposing feelings of melancholy and heady, youthful promise when listening to that music.

Tt takes me back, [and] it puts me in a good mood for a couple of reasons because back then 1 was young and 1 wasn't afraid of anything and you know, you get the young feeling: take on the wodd.. .Sornetimes I get melancholy.. .his music reinforces al1 the things that are going on and nothing has changed. It really bothers me. Very strong stuff.

The above exarnples descnbe participants using their fanship for emotional expression and liberation. However some of these same participants, such as the Denis Leary fan and the Bruce Cockbum fan, also describe feeling emotionally overwhelmed when presented with the opportunity to meet their favourite stars in person. In this case, several of the participants describe "feeling iike an idiot." The Yes fan, who ultimately becarne casual friends with members of the band, descnbes how it took her many years to stabilize her social interaction with the group.

1 look back now and 1 think 1 would have gotten a whole lot more out of the experience of meeting them over the years if 1 had been able to.. .just see them as people. There were times - invitations that they had extended to us - where 1 would have been much too shy, or tongue-tied, that it would be really hard to cornmunicate with them.

5.A(4)d 1s it Iive or Memorex? Technolo~ically-mediatedversus real life

interaction.

This section juxtaposes and explores the in-person and technologicaily-mediated experiences of fans with favourite stars and other fans. Since Mead never addresses the phenornenon of technologically-mediated social process, a challenge exists in terms of interpreting the data. Nor have subsequent symbolic interactionist theonsts shed light on this type of interaction as it may affect the structure and development of the self. However, critics of Mead's work offer suggestions for theory developrnent that may be useful interpreting data on technoIogically-mediated social interaction.

In particular, Wiley's (2979) argument that the birth of the "I" is achieved through the "we" experience, in which two people share a temporal-now (2.5(A)), is a useful starting point from which to approach the technologically-mediated expenence. For the typical mass media fan, the "we" experienced in the temporal-now is a one-way experience that, by and large, occurs on the fan's terrns, e.g., whenever they feel like playing a video-taped event or CD. Face-to-face interaction is generally non-existent or a rare, fleeting, and usually unique interaction. The following three sub-sections discuss both uni-directional and two-way "we"-in-the-temporal-now relationships. S.A(4)d(i) Treasure or trash: Putting vaiue on the fan-star relationship.

As discussed (4.B(4)), for eighteen of the participants, the opportunity for face-to- face interaction with favourite stars is the most prized scenario. The Xena: Warrior Princess fan surnmarizes the feelings expressed by those participants interested in fn'endship with the stars regarding in-person versus technologically-mediated social interactions.

There is definitely a hierarchy. Face to face people is at the top. Probably a few people who 1 know online but have never met would be second and the show would be third. Because technology filters things. So when you connect with somebody through technology you are connecting through filters.. .A real person, when 1 am sitting face to face and we are having an interaction. There is a directness to it. There is any number of visual cues that 1 am getting, auditory cues that 1 am getting, things bounce back and forth and I may have expectations about what that person is going to Say because 1 know them but they can certainly always surprise me. To a certain extent 1 am going to perceive them through my own personality and my own expectations but when they are there, 1 cm do that less. When 1 am online and their personality is more lirnited, 1can filter more of what they are through myself and so 1 can tend to make mistakes about who are what they are.. .When I look at television, it's not reality. A person facing me is reality. A person on the other end of an E-mail is real but it is a filtered reality and 1 don't know how true it is because 1 am applying my own cognitive filters to it plus they are presumably as well. So, to whatever extent, 1think some people lie about themselves and 1 can't make any judgments. When it goes to a TV show, it's not reality at ail. It's fiction and so my response to it tends to be filtered through my perceptions to a much greater extent. Which doesn't mean it can't be useful because 1 think what happens is you bounce yourself off the fictional image and take what you need from it. 1 have noticed in discussions about Xena that the things people see are so totdly different. One person will see one thing and one person will see something entirely different from the sarne thing. And they will have huge arguments about what is actually going on and what the intentions of the people making the show are and it's because they are filtenng it through their own perceptions.. .so 1 think you cm get a lot from these shows but that it is internally generated or it acts as a catalyst. 1think it acts as a cataiyst for internai stuff you generate yourself.

The hockey fan concurs that technologically-mediated interactions can be powefil, often visceral, expenences that make cornparisons to in-person interactions mute: they are completely difference experiences and must be regarded as such.

It711bring out different emotions. Not better, not deeper. Just different emotions. You can yell. You can react to something they have done, partially because they are not there to hear you anyway. Whereas, with a friend, you are not going to react to something they have done because you are cognizant of how they may feel about it, al1 the other things, because you are interacting with another human being.

The Bruce Cockburn fan finds that a technologically-mediated relationship, while perhaps "not better" or "not deeper" than an in-person relationship cm be more dependable and last longer. He contrasts his relationship between Bruce Cockburn and a high school friend, both of whom he credits with profoundly influencing him, and both of whom he "met" at the same time.

[Names friend] helped me relax and look out at the world. 1 started listening to what people were saying: 1 got that from [friend]. And that's when Bruce Cockburn came into my life and 1 started listening to what he was saying. 1 love the music anyway, but 1 just liked what he was saying: be a good person, do al1 tkese great things, and 1 just Iiked the way he Iooked at everything.. .With [friend], she was a high school fnend, but you pow out of high school. The only thing that was constant in rny life was Bruce Cockbum. There was a couple of years when Bruce disappeared, he didn't do anything. But as soon as he came back, it's like an old sweater, 1 was listening again. But 1 never stopped listening to his old stuff.. .So the reinforcement of Bruce being out there, was always there.. .It's just an understanding 1 have between rnyself and hirn, but he doesn't know about it ...If he knew, that would be great, but it doesn't matter because he made me a better person.

While he never met lead singer, Jerry Garcia, the Gratefirl Dead participant also feels a very strong connection with Garcia that he regards as a real relationship. He too viewed himself as a one-way friend to the point that when Garcia died of hg-related complications, he felt guilt - as a friend might feel guilt for not having been able to save their friend. This fan does not view not having met Garcia as an impediment to how well he felt he knew him.

Quite well.. .anecdotally, tdking to people, from reading, from TV, from interviews, and from personal contact, because, don't forgot, by the end, by 1990, 1 was starting to rneet people that knew Jerry.. .I have a well-rounded picture. I know what a drug addict is like. 1 know what a heroin addict - Jerry, Jerry was doing heroin since, probably mid to last '70s, on and off.. .(relates dates of Garcia's ailments and sicknesses). .-1 remember thinking, "Geez, he's doing heroin. He's smoking cigarettes, a lot. 1 am a drug and alcohol counsellor. 1 am a Dead Head.. .maybe 1 should start using al1 of those hats and maybe 1 could insinuate that he needed treatment, or something" (laughs). ..You know, when he died, 1 went through a lot of regret about that.. .A persori like me really wasn't going to make a difference. 1 thought about sending him packages of material. 1 have an extensive video and print library about dmgs. 1 thought, "Maybe 1'11 send him a video." Then I thought, "He's busy. He's stoned al1 the time." Especially with heroin. That's deadly.. .People who are stoned on heroin don't keep appointments., -1 never did write him. 1 never did write him.

At the other end of the spectnim, the hockey pool fan denounces the concept oîa relationship with stars within the context of a technologically-rnediated interaction.

One exists and the other doesn't really. One is just an icon. You have a certain vision in your rnind but there is no flesh, there is no bones. It doesn't compare. It's like looking at something in 2D and your friends are three dimensional and they are there, there's everything going back and forth. You are looking at a picture, that's dl. There's nothing corning back at you. It's like you've seen the Monn Lisa, how does that effect you? It's a painting. It can be beautiful but, 1 dunno. A relationship is a two-way thing. We are having a relationship right now. With people who are celebrities, Cam Neely: there's what he is and what it means but it's not, for me, a relationship.. .I've gotten stuff from a book. 1s that a relationship? 1 don't think so. It depends how you definite a relationship. There is something there, you get sornething from it, but 1 don't know if it's what 1 consider a relationship. It's Iike you'll follow their stats but it's not dynamic in the sense that you get something back but you don't get the person. You don't know the person, you get the perception of the person.. -1know their achievements and what 1 have heard in the press about them. 1 know aspects of them. I can fool myself to think 1know them but, you don't know them. They could be horrible people. They could be wonderhl peopie. You hear little bits about your Trevor Lindens, who are supposedly the salt of the earth, but you don't know.. .I am not going to get hua. 1 am not going to get my feeling tromped by them. 1 will never see them. They may disappoint me with their play or if they go out and kill a bunch of people, 1 might be disappointed in them but I don't really have anything to be cautious about because there is nothing for me to lose, on a personal level. On a fan levei, you think, "Oh 1 wanna see them win. 1 wanna see them do well." But does it effect me? I'll get up tomorrow and go to work and.. .that7smy life. This is just kind of an interesting distraction.

S.A(4)d(ii) Indelible or inauspicious: In-person interaction.

When fans do interact with favourite stars face-to-face, the meetings are very meaningful to the fan- Since they have been exposed to a tremendous amount of sensitizing, howledge-building, and media-marketing around the star, a fan's account of meeting a star in-person, or even seeing them up close, is often extrernely detailed - comparable to the ability to recall powerful life events such as accidents or the meeting of an important romantic partner. Seven fans - three film and three music fans, and one film fan - have meet their favourite celebrities. Of the seven, four volunteered that their intense desire to meet their favourite stars subsided considerably once they had done. Sorne examples of the detail in descriptions of the meetings follow. The Woody Allen fan begins.

What happened was in 1977,I happened to be in New York for a wedding. And heard that he was playing and he has this incredible jazz band, sort of a Dixieland band. And at that time he was at Michael's Pub, which was fairly close to where 1 was staying. And, it was 1977, at the time when New York was a little dangerous to walk the streets but 1 didn't care. 1 went out by myself. 1 walked to Michael's Pub. 1 went by myself. Walked in, waited in line, sat at a table. Sat at a table with another couple. And he came in and my mouth just fell open and 1just watched him. And he is an amazing clarinet player and it was reaily, really entertaining and, you know, 1 always had the feeling that Woody was quite unapproachable and 1 could never go up to hm and Say, "1 really iike you" (scninches up her face and says this in a silly voice). And so 1 had no intention of going anywhere near hirn, 1 was just going to watch him and go home. And 1 noticed at the intermission, he stayed on stage and he came and sat on some stairs corning down. The table was right in front of the stage and he sat there and people started coming up to him asking for his autograph and he was taking them on! And 1 thought, "My god, this is arnazing." So these people at my table went, "Go on, go on," so, off 1 went. And we chatted about a few things. He asked me where 1 was from. 1 said, "Toronto." He said, "God, everyone in this room is from Toronto tonight." And we kind of talked and he was actually, 1 think, 1 mean 1 was looking quite good at that tirne. 1 was half my age now, and 1 weighed 118 pounds, 1 had dieted füdeously for this wedding, so 1 was looking pretty good. And 1 know that he was about to make the move on me. It was quite funny. And suddenly, 1 turned

bright red and 1 thought, " 1 don't think 1 could get involved with him, 1 really don't, even though 1 am crazy about him." And so 1 kinda said, "Well, see ya, uh, bye." And 1 left. (she laughs) My face was still red when 1 left. It was red for about an hour afterwards.

In describing his meeting with Bryan Adams, this participant produced photographs during the interview of his in-person interaction with his favourite star. He told a lengthy story about the pre-meeting events culminating in the following description of an opportunity to play on stage with Adams and his band.

The seas parted. And my wife is standing there saying, "He can do it. He can play." And Bryan is standing there looking right at me and looks at me and he goes, "Alright." So 1 go, "Oh man!" So 1jump up on stage and he says, "Where ya from?" (pulls out a photograph) So that's rnc and him on stage, in Vancouver last year. So, "Where ya from?" "Vancouver." And the joke was, 1 used to work at GM Place and dl these gys who are working there heard rny voice from the dley and they are going, "1 think that's [says his own name] on stage!" And everyone rushed to the bowl. And he throws me on stage and said, "You play drums? Well, get on there." And I see Micky (the drummer) and Micky gives me the sticks and says "have fun." And so we got to go through a Song and he keeps his guitar player and his keyboard player on stage so someone knows what they are doing and he sits on the drum nser in front of me and they start playing a Song 1 know 'cause 1 used to play to his songs dl the time in my basement. 1nailed the first dmm roll of the Song and he turns around and he goes (nods with his head approvingly) like, "We got a drummer here." And that's a photo of that shot (pulls out another picture). And so 1 got to play on stage with Bryan Adams as a drummer.. .it was like a drearn come true through my admiration of him. My mom

said, "Some people have dreams to be lawyers" - or just to do something, you know, a realistic dream. She goes, "You had a drearn that was quite unredistic. You wanted to play drums with Bryan Adams. Your odds of doing that are very slim. But you got to do it." She goes, "Do you know how many people would kill to be in that position?" It's nothing 1 could have planned.. .It was cool in terms of the sense that 1 thought, "Well, 1 really can't get any higher than this." It was Iike, "1 have met the guy, my wife has met him, got photos of him. He knows my narne. He knows 1 am out there." 1 don't know if it means anything to him. To me, it's just kinda neat that he knows who 1 am.. .It probably decreases my quest to meet him, 1 would imagine. Not that 1 was on a quest to meet hirn before but at the end of my Iife I guess 1 will look back and Say that was a pretty cool moment because 1 got to do it.

The Denis Leary fan also reports that, since meeting her favourite star, her interest in him has diminished. Yet she still has an intense recollection of the events surrounding her first and only meeting with Leary which occurred with her boyfriend of the time.

We both knew al1 the Denis Leary stuff off by heart. He was just as big a fan as 1 was and then, 1 guess, it was Decernber of 1995. E had heard Denis Leary was here shooting a movie. So, for three weeks 1 freaked out. Every time 1 saw a tall, blond guy 1 would go (sucks breath in noisely and quickly) "It's him." (laughs) Of course, 1 never saw him.. .I was just going crazy. "Oh my god, he's here and ifs so close." And 1 had al1 these really, really clever, intelligent things built up in my head that 1 was going to Say if 1 saw hirn and stuff. And, finally, 1 gave up. My friends, at this point, were really giving me a hard time. They'd smack me in the arm, "Look, it's Denis!" and I'd (sucks in air drarnatically), "Where?" And then they'd laugh (laughs). They'd totally make fun of me. [boyfiend] and 1 went to go see a movie and the movie was sold out so we went Christmas shopping at a toy store on Granville Street. We walk into the toy store and 1 see yet another tail, blond guy standing at the counter with some other people and 1 go, "Oh that guy kinda looks like Denis Leary, huh?" And I roll rny eyes, and 1 hear him tdk, and it's him. And I am like (sucks in air again dramatically). And 1 grab [boyfriend] and I go, (in a loud stage whisper) "It's Denis! It's Denis!" And [boyfriend] says like, "Uh huh." And 1 go, "No, it's Denis. Look!" And he goes, "Holy shit!" And 1 am like, "1 know! 1 know! Where's he going? What's he doing?" "He's leaving." "What should we do?! What shouid we do?!" Both of were like, "Okay. Let's follow him. We have to talk to km." So we followed Denis Leary a block down Granville Street and he goes into this store that sells hunting knives. So we follow him into the store and 1 am going into shock at this point. I'd don't even know, like, what to do. 1 mean, I have met a lot of farnous people, especially between what rny rnom does for a living, what 1 do for a living and 1 don't care. It7sgot notfiing to do with them being famous. That's the thing. Like it was never about Denis Leary being a farnous -y. It was about the stuff that he had to Say. Like, if he had been my plumber and said that stuff, I would have felt the sarne way. So we follow him into the store, and 1 don? know what to do and he is standing there with this woman and they are talking and [boyfriend], bless him, I would never have said anything because 1 was just too far gone by that point. [boyfriend] goes up to Denis and says, "Excuse me, Mr. Leary." And he kind of looks at him like, yeah? And Sean goes, "1 am a reaily big fan." Denis Leary's whole face changed like he was kind of just looking at him and then he smiled. And he was like, "Oh! Really? Well, nice to meet you." Shook his hand. Shook my hand. And we introduced ourselves and he started being funny right away. Neither of us could think of anything intelligent to Say wnatsoever. But, at this point, everything was kind of foggy and far away, for me.. .And actually after 1 met him. That's when it started to fade a little bit. I still am a fan of his but not like before. 1 mean, 1 was going on the Internet. 1 was looking for back issues of magazines ..A think, how much better can it get? What else is going to happen? Short of me becorning friends with him, there's not. 1 think it's like anything, as soon as you talk to somebody, when you meet them, they become more a real person. It was just like, you have a cake, and you make the cake and you ice the cake and that was the icing. And once you ice the cake, you can't do anything else to it, thatTsit. It's done. So, it was kind of like that,

The football fan, who has meet many famous people as a result of his work, was particulariy swept away when he met his father's idol, Gordie Howe.

There's just stardust on some people from the eyes of a child as you are growing up. Image what it was Iike for me to meet Gordie Howe when my dad was in awe of him. 1 mean it was just awesome. Dad's generation, Gordie Howe was the guy. But my dad was negative about everything so it wasn't just, "Wow, 1 honour my dad and look who my dad honours." It wasn't really on that level. It was, "Who is this Gordie Howe guy that this bitter sourpuss was impressed by him?" Dad - dl growing up - I still don't know who his team was, he hated everybody. Equally. He really hated the Hnbs and everybody else he just hated equally.. .I was in rny adult life.. .Immediately in my head flashed, he was just the epitorne to me of a viral, man's man kind of thing. And yet was still righteous. He was (sings) 'da, da, da da daaaaa'. Gordie Howe! But there he is, a guy that my dad was a little giddy about and 1 was in awe!! When 1 shook his hand, his hand was so big. 1 am a visual person, I pictured immediately this photograph from a book when he was probably 35 years old and he's got his shirt off and he is sitting in a, he's on like a Mariin fishing boat kind of thing. And he's in a great big chair and his shoulders and arms are just ail ripped up and muscled and he is just smiling and he's pulling in this big giant fish. 1 remernber as boys, there were, like four of us in my neighbourhood, we were just getting ready to go out and play road hockey and I said, "You gotta see this book! 1 bot the Gordie Howe book." And 1flipped it open and we al1 went, "Ohhhhhh!!! Like man, no wonder nobody goes near him on the ice. Look at hm!" Then here he was, here was this guy. Some people are just bigger than life. And yet, when I have gotten to know anybody of any stature, they are just the sarne as anybody else.

The one fan who has been able to spend enough time with her favourite stars to consider them friends, the Yes participant, confirms that the sheen of celebrity status ultimately gives way to the realities of a day to day relationship.

When you go for years idolizing people and thinking that they are kind of gods in your world, which 1 think we both did for many years, and then you start to know them on a personal level - 1 was saying 1 was so starstruck at first and that went on for a lot of years, but after a while - you do start to see them as human beings and, you do, (laughs) you do see the negative sides and well as the positive sides. And it's easy to get to the point where you can be quite jaded about some of these personaiities too. And in the case of Yes, we have known fans who have gotten so close, and then ended up getting singed somehow and walking away from the music after that because it is almost, it is almost like they got too close.. .We have corne close to that a few times with some aspects of the band. For the most part, because we have always sort of seen them on a more occasional basis, it's aiways been just a really nice thing 1 think.

In spite of the reality of celebrities being "just Iike the rest of us" an openness to, or perhaps a desire for, magic in the star interaction remains. The Grciteful Dend fan describes a fleeting, and exhilarating star-sighting of lead singer, Jerry Garcia.

And we just so happened to be in the vicifiity where he was coming out to head to out to his car after the show and he had a very big, huge aura and a big connection with both my wife and 1. Which was about as close as the door to here (about 8 feet). It was a good moment, 1 can remember that.(smiles). ..He had a big energy that just waved off of him. Maybe a lot of that is projection because, you know, you kind of fa11 in love with the music and then with the man. But he redly was a powerful guy. He's kinda like, in al1 the clips and shows and things that 1 have seen, you ever hear of Maharishi? The guy who started Transcendentd Meditation? If you ever hear him talk, he giggles, laughs a lot. And so does Dali Lama, by the way. He's always laughing and giggiing. The sarne thing with Garcia. Hejust giggled and laughed a lot.

S.A(4)d(iii) Baudrillard's iast laugh: Fans who prefer techno10,oy.

The title of this subsection, which explores fans who prefer technologically- mediated experiences to the opportunity for in-person ones, refers to the work of Jean Baudfillard (1994). In bis development of "hyperreality.. .the generation by models of a real without an origin or realityW(p.2), he figuratively details a house of infinitely interplaying mirrors wherein that which is reproduced reproduces itself from something that is already a reproduction. It cm be argued that although al1 of the participants appreciate stars who actuaily do exist (some stars, such as the cartoon character, Bart Simpson, do not), without Meadian face-to-face interaction, their relationships are hyperreal. Even for those participants who have met, or at least seen, their favourite stars in-person, their primary social interaction with stars is with a mediated image of select aspects of the real person. Ln acknowledgment of Baudrillard's contribution and in an effort to develop a symbolic interactionist concept that can account for the dynarnic surrounding a technologically-mediated interaction, the terrn "simulacra interaction" (as opposed to social interaction) may be applied. This term is distinct from Horton and Wohl's (1956) "parasocial interaction," (1.D). Parasocial interaction is described as "imaginary social relationships" with mediated personalities wherein fans are perceived to be relating to technologically-mediated stars in the sarne way they would face-to-face friends. None of the participants in this study imagine that they are literally having a social relationship with favourite stars. It is also distinct from subsequent research (Rubin and Perse, 1987) showing that "parasocial interactions are now argued to stem from affective interpersonal involvement with the media persondity" (Leets, de Becker, & Giles, 1995). That is still an unrefined description relative to the collected data.

Syrnbolic interactionism is distinct in that, while data from mass media fans in this study corroborate Rubin and Perse's (1987) research, the findings further refine their work, in showing that these participants seek very specific affective experiences toward the purposehl or tacit realization of aspects of self-deveiopment. These experiences are located by fans in facets of individuai media personalities but aiso in teams, groups, casts, programs, genres, and entire media. Fans take elements of that to which they are drawn (e.g., a star's demeanor such as the Keith Richard's fan and his appreciation of Richard's "rugged individualism;" or a sports' defining characteristics such as the tradition and ritual) and lay claim to them. Those elements are uniquely internalized and become part of an intra-personal relationship within the fan which, in turn, contributes to their setf- development. The effect of distance between star and fan, while lirniting in sorne aspects, is liberating in others. A filtered relationship is, by definition, a simplified version of a face to face relationship. Via technology, taste, touch and smell me negated. Also, the nature of technology is such that audio or visual focus is also confined. This narrowing of focus may allow the fan to more easily identify and select the desirable elements of the object of their fanship. In this scenario, the original is not as important as the fact that the idea generated by the original exists in some form - original or reproduced - thereby sparking affective experïence, and assuaging desire. Ironically, while Baudrillard disparages the loss of the original, simulacra interaction represents the birth of an original intrapersonal relationship. The fan has created her/his own tailor-made relationship with the star. A star may be known to millions of fans but the way in which each of those fans knows that star is through their unique life experiences.

While eighteen of the participants express an interest in having face-to-face experiences with favourite stars (4.B(4)), four of those eighteen, express a preference for a technologicaily-mediated relationship stating they feel they can better enjoy the star or stars' talents in this way. (Of note, the work of stars in film and television, by definition, must be experienced through technology.) In dl, six participants -three sports and three television fans - prefer a technologically-mediated relationship with favourite stars. For al1 three sports fans, the added layering of cornmentary and technological achievements (Le., closeups and replays) enhance their fan experience. The football fan explains:

In rny twenties, 1 wanted to be young and screaming, 1 wanted to be heard. 1 remember being at garnes and yelling down at the guys who were in the good seats because they weren't being noisy enough - "Let us down ttiere!" - instead of being up in the boonies and stuff. And as I've gotten older, if it's a really big game and 1 am really interested in it, 1 wanna watch it on TV. Because 1 don't want to miss a play and when you are at a football game and there's somebody talking to you and you are distracted,..for the purity of the event, 1want to see every play. 1 want to hear the commentary. 1 want to get involved in the whole three hour experience.. .I wanna watch the replays. 1 wanna see if the guy was in- bounds or not. It's, it's kinda different that way. 1 mean if 1 am going to go see the three tenors, I'd rather hear them at the Orpheum and take it al1 in, rather than watching it on TV. But with a sporting event, 1 cmput it on the big speakers. 1 can have friends here, if 1 want. It's kind of odd that way isn't it? 1 will still yell and screarn and get completely emotionally involved in it.

Emotional involvement is also cited by the golf fan as a factor in his technologically- mediated relationship with golf players and their experience of a tournament. To that end, watching the event unfold in "real time" is an important aspect of viewing enjoyment.

Well, if we go to the example of fast-forwarding through the comrnerciais and stuff, your emotions don? get the chance to build. It's goes too quick and you don't get the feel for it. 1 guess it's the anticipation. The longer you are waiting for something, the more it builds and builds and builds.. .Sume networks cover golf better than others. 1 don't like watching golf on ABC as much as 1 do on CBS. CBS captures the emotion of the game more where they let that unfold naturally. Like ABC wants to keep action going al1 the time, they think you're going to get bored and that so it's Iike: they hit that shot, show this one, talk to him and go over here, now back over here and it's very disjointed. Whereas CBS will let it al1 unfold and if there's nothing happening, there's nothing happening. They niight do some analysis of what's coming up like, "His shot's gotta go here. He's in the rough. He's got a bad lie."

The tennis fan also appreciates how specific types of cornmentating add to her enjoyment of a tournament. In some ways, her relationship with sport is not only with the tennis players and their farnilies but with the cornmentators as well.

1 was thinking it would be great to see the US Open, but 1 don? even need to go there. 1 cmwatch it on television. And 1 think 1 want the commentating. 1 don? have to be there. But, it think it is the atmosphere. It's alrnost like the commentators love it as much as 1 do so it's almost like they are with me.

Among the three television participants (al1 soap opera fans), the reasons for a preference for a technologically-mediated relationship as opposed to the opportunity for an in-person interaction (i.e., in addition to watching the actors perform their soap opera roles on television) are located in their desire for escape and relaxation. Meeting the stars detracts from the ability to suspend disbelief. The more these fans know about the actors, the more the "real" world encroaches upon fictitious realms, thereby undermining the desired effect of the prograrns. One of the The Young mzd the Restless fans States: "1 have no interest in making it real. 1 want it to stay in the TV. 1 want it to stay like fairyland." While an in-person relationship is of no interest, the other The Young und the Restless fan notes that a cunosity factor regarding seeing soap actors "in the flesh" does exist.

1 mean, you just don? want to get involved with them. You don? want to have any kind of relationship with them, even interact for that matter.. .but my sister was at the PNE and Josh Morrow, the fellow who plays Nicolas was there with his band. So she hung around wanting to see him. And 1 asked, "What was it like?" And she said, "They are just so good looking. The perfect soap opera hunk." She said, "Most people just wanted to have a look and they left." Nobody stayed to listen to them, Well, the young girls did. She said, "But there were lots of wornen rny age. I could hem thern saying, '1 just want to have a look and we711 leave."' Just to see him.

The Seinfeld fan adds another perspective on the juxtaposition between in-person versus technologically-mediated relationships. Ideally, he has always preferred the opportunity for "face-to-face meetings in the fiesh ... Somehow 1want to actually be a part of it." However, because he has anived at a mature stage in his life (perhaps, in part, because the possibility of meeting his favourite stars is unlikely) he has repositioned his attitude, determining that through technologically-mediated interaction, he is enjoying the best of what favourite stars have to offer. To this end, the Seinfeld fan feels he is no longer interested in the prospect of an in-person relationship.

1 don't think now. 1 am too self-sustaining. 1 think it would have been an incredible thrill twenty years ago to have met Bob Dylan. 1think fifteen, twenty years ago it would have been a great thrill to have met Woody Allen. But, you know, the longer you live and the more developed you are and self-sustaining, the more prepared you are to accept that chances are, they are not going to be human embodied revelations. Woody Allen is not going to be any funnier in person than 1 am 'cause his genius lies elsewhere. And Jerry Seinfeld might not be particularly funny. He may be, but he might not be. He may be unctuous and bureaucratic and autocratic and businesslike and so on. He may have nothing to do with that persona. So, 1 think after a while you don't take chances.

Like the Seirtfeid participant, the Woody Allen fan is in her rnid-fifties. Her job requires that she meet celebrities, some of whom she is a fan, on a regular basis. She too has long ago corne to understand the marketing inherent in technologically-mediated stars and the resultant types of relationships mass media fans can expect which, while useful for self- development, may or may not be true to reality.

I am always looking to see if they are real and if they are good people and al1 that kind of stuff. Because I know they are going to flash their beautiful srnile and put their best foot forward when they are on television but I am always interested to see what is on the other side. Whether 1 cm actually perceive some kind of nasty, some kind of nastiness that is in them. Quite often, as a press person, they put on the srnile for you too. But 1 am always fascinated to see if 1 can figure out who they are.

5.A(5) Mead Melange:- Summarv

Data related to the secondary research question: "How is the fan's sense of self affected by his or her relationship with favourite stars?" reveal a variety of direct and indirect relationships that affect self-development. Specific exarnples of the varieties of "fan to (aspects of) self7relationships which contribute to self-development are as follows: fantasy role-playing, roie-taking and the version of taking the role of other identified in this study. They reveal Gestalt-like intra-personal relationships wherein the "me" entertains new roles. The exploration of these new roles provide "I" insights which ultimately extend the parameters of "me." For example, participants describe: learning how to motivate and make individual sacrifices for the greater good of the team; keeping their resolve in the face of adversity; embarking on the trajectory of admired stars' careers whereupon the juxtaposition of "i" insights with "me" knowledge ultimately guide participants to fulfilling careers; forgiving themselves, as a result of new perspectives, for past behaviour; rethinking self-perceptions of attractiveness; learning to laugh at themselves; and pushing persona1 boundaries of creativity and athletic ability. In these cases, participants appropriate an aspect of a favourite star (or stars) and embark upon an intra-personai dialogue, consciously or subconsciously incorporating and taking "me" ownership of information to support themselves in realizing a desired new ski11 such as song-writing or speaking in public. The "fan to technologically-mediated star(s)" relationship is different from the face-to-face interaction discussed by Mead. However, data reveal it functions, for al1 but the hockey pool participant, as a deepl y rewarding and meaning-making type of social interaction. Opportunities to this end may be facilitated through technology wherein participants can repeatedly watch or listen to favourite stars at self-selected times when they are most receptive to processing role information. In technologically-rnediated relationships, a number of applications of symbolic interactionist concepts are apparent. Fantasy role-playing and role-taking (often enabled and honed through the use of videotape) are described by participants as a way to use stars' performances for their own process of seif-developrnent. In terms of elements of rnind (non-verbal and verbal language and shared syrnbols), technology may provide initial andor repeated subsequent exposure to the language andor symbols establishing or reinforcing meaning.

With regard to varieties of "1-me" expression through technologicdly-mediated fanship, three dynamics ernerge. First, a limited number of participants use the Internet to explore "1-me" through creative expression. Second, the "1-me" as time-line is referenced and revisited with still and video images as a way to Iocate the self at different times in a participant's Iife. Third, maxirnizing the "me" versus maxirnizing the "1" - a conscious manipulation of stability versus surprise - is heavily controlled through the use of videotaping (or lack thereof).

Regarding the post-Meadian concepts of inner structures of meaning and of dreams, the data suggest a technologically-mediated relationship is of little consequence. Experiencing emotions in-person versus technologically appears to be of secondary importance relative to the opportunity to simply express emotions. For two of the sports fans, attending a live event enhances emotionality. In other cases, taped events add a dimension of calm and pleasure to the viewing experience. However, descriptions from some participants about emotions are not couched in terms of face-to-face versiis technologically-filtered social process; the experiences are interpreted as direct and intense. While the male tejevision fan generally seeks the opportunity for laughter, the three femaie television fans seek ways to pacify, control or diffuse feelings. Further, the three female fans' relationship with emotion is opposite to the sports fans (four males and one female) who describe the desire to experience intense feelings. These data raise complex questions relating to gender, emotion, and choice of mass medium. A further consideration in interpreting these findings is that al1 three wornen are soap opera fans, a specific television genre that constitutes a. sub-category of television fanship and may possibly lend itself to fans who seek specific types of escapism.

Also related to the technologically-mediated nature of most mass media fans' relationship with favourite stars, data reveal a phenomenon expenenced by the participants akin to looking through the large end of a telescope. Al1 the participants are aware that, in the eyes of the stars, they are not viewed as an individual entity so much as one ce11 in a large, arnorphous body. Other findings identified in this chapter include: a technologically-mediated version of taking the role of the other wherein aspects of a desired behaviour are reflected upon intra-personally. Fantasy role-playing is used by fans for the purposes of entertainment, education, and inspiration - it functions as practice for reai life situations and it can help in healing psychological traumas. And role-taking is used for the purposes of seif-empowerment to effect change, selectively (Le., only specific elements of a star's behaviour are emulated), as a fom of justification for a fan's behaviour and, as a forrn of tacit reinforcement for characteristics the fan may be seeking to enhance in his or her own personality.

The concept of "1-me" as applied to the data reveals the following: participants do not separate their fan "1-me" from their societal sense of "1-me:" the opportunity for movement inherent in the dynamic of "1-me" is variously used for creative expression, as a time-line locating the self relative to various fan experiences, and as a way to control "me" and "1" experiences; and fan loyalty andor fan shame are utilized as defining "me" characteristics by some fans. The application of the concept of mind to the data reveals meaning-making through verbal and non-verbal language and the collecting of shared syrnbols suggesting these practices contribute to a further strengthening of the concept of self as fan.

Analysis of these data in terms of postmodern additions to symbolic interaction theory lead to the following observations: the unique phenomenon constituting the relationship between fan and star cm comprise a mythology representing a substantid depth of meaning-making for the fan; participants' dreams reveal stars employed as reassuring symbols or desirable people; focussing on stars and their performance can function as a discovery and/or release and/or repression mechanism for sornetirnes otherwise inaccessible affective expression.

In addition to the above surnrnary of results, four patterns relating to participants' relationship to their fanship are revealed in the data analysis. First, fans who gravitate to a certain type of rnass media may be seeking to address certain types of affective issues in their lives: al! three of the soap opera television fans describe using their fanship, in part, for healing purposes; three of the film fans process some emotional issues via guilt; four of the sports fans seek the thrill of being surprised through viewing a sports event. Second, the personalities of the participants themselves, regardless of the media in which their fanship occurs, is a factor in the fan experience. While three of the sports fans state that they would not even bother to watch an event if they inadvertently discovered the outcome in advance of viewing it on videotape, another sports fan, a TV fan, two music fans and two film fans al1 volunteer that repeated viewing of, or listening to, select events, shows, music or movies bring enjoyment, comfort and "1" experiences as a result of familiarity with the materiai. Third, fan behaviour clusters together. A music fan who collects shared symbols also appreciates non-verbal language - both mind concepts. A sports fan who dreams also utilizes her fanship to experience emotions - both postmodern concepts. Another sports fan who uses "1-me" as a time-line also seeks to maxirnize the "1" and partially defînes himself by virtue of his fan loyalty - al1 "1-me" concepts. Fourth, while data from some participants emerges repeatedly in certain sub-sections, other participants are notably absent. Although the concepts of self, the generalized other, and relationships in symbolic interaction theory are ultimately regarded as inextricable in their contribution to the process of self - data from some participants make limited appearances in this chapter, suggesting that, for some fans, the very nature of fanship is more strongly tied to reference groups or to relationships, as discussed in Chapter Six, than to self.

Almost al1 of the data are interpretable through the application of syrnboIic interactionist concepts to the study of mass media fans and their relationship with stars. Symbolic interactionism, with its emphasis on the ever-changing nature of relationships, offers a strong perspective by which to attempt to understand the varieties of relationship subjectively expenenced by fans as they contribute to the process of self. The only data in danger of being lost as a result of the use of Meadian andor postmodern symbolic interactionist concepts might not even be considered data by some. Specifically, 1 am referring to subjective impressions 1 expenenced during the interviews (e.g, 1 often felt a "presence" in the rcom when a fan discussed a favourite star). However, even using Ellis' (1991) suggestion that the researcher pay closer attention to feelings during data collection, there are too many challenges inherent in my "sensing" something during an interview to be able to incorporate that type of ephemeral information under the principles of symbolic interaction.

5.B : A fan for Al1 Seasons: Are Fans' Life Decisions Guided bv the Presence of Celebrities in their Lives?

This section is considerably shorter than the previous one. Although almost three- quarters of the participants responded to topics relating to this area, few elaborated on this aspect of their fanship. This may be because the affects of fanship on some participants are so imbricated in their personalities that they are unable to identify fanship factors in life decisions. The second of the two secondary research questions relating to self: "Are fans' life decisions guided by the presence of celebrities in their lives?" explores how a fan's values and life decisions may be affected by their fanship. 5.B(l) 1 Fancv that: Value and Life Decisions Influenced bv Fanship

Fourteen of the twenty participaqts descnbe becorning embroiled in life decisions, the genesis or the outcome of which has been affected by their fanship. Four sports fans, three music fans, two television fans, and ail five film fans feel that their values andor life direction (career and/or farnily) have been substantially informed by their fan experiences.

5.B( 1)a Fanciful: Career and farnilv.

Seven of the participants feel that their career selection has been partially or fully determiried as a result of their fanship. Al1 five of the film participants are, in disparate ways, invoived in the movie industry. The Keith Richards fan and the football fan work in careers that are directly related to their fanship. In severai cases, participants describe their fanship as providing a starting point for a career path that ultimately resulted in their current work (e-g.,an aspiring songwriter became a radio promotions manager; an aspiring rnovie actor becme a film industry journaiist). For others, such as the hockey fan, there is no connection between choice of career and fanship; however, values learned through his fanship have influenced him both professionally and personally.

1 don't know if 1 take al1 my values from that because you get 'em from al1 sorts of things as you grow up but, of course, some of them, definitely some of them: the work ethic.. . [and] growing up, you'd start reading al1 these biographies on athletes and sornetimes you'd read them on athletes that were a little bit older, retired, and the common theme was, you know: "If you had to do it again, what would you do differently?" And a lot of them Say: "Well, if 1 had to do anything differently, I'd appreciate what I had when 1 had it and I'd also spend more time with my farnily." And now 1 have incorporated that into my life too.

Like the hockey fan, the Yes fan feels both her work attitude and her famiiy situation have been affected by her fanship. She describes the development of work skills leanied as a resuit of fanship (e.p., wrïting, designing magazine layouts and doing interviews) as being "very helpful" and ultimately being a "big confidence booster." More importantly to her, she views her fanship as the sole reason for the existence of her family.

If it weren't for them [Yes], I wouldn't have met [husband's name]. 1 wouldn't have the children that 1have. Sorne of my closest, closest friends in the world 1 wouldn't know if it weren't for thern. And it has just shaped my life in such a profound way.

5.B(l)b True blue: Mords and ethics.

From a symbolic interactionist perspective, issues of "morality" involve conflicting interests. Self growth occurs when a sacrifice is made of what Mead (1934) describes as the "narrow self '. When one becomes a "larger self ', a person evolves individually and collectively as part of a group. A sacrifice toward that which is considered "right" can only be deterrnined by taking the interests of al1 into account. Six fans (two from television, one from film, one from music, and two from sports) feel that their rnorals and ethics were solidified by their fanship. Al1 six feel that their choice of star was in response to values that were alresdy in place. Fanship corroborates and confirms pre-existing values, as described by the Yes fan.

1 think my vaiues that 1 had before falling into the whole Yes thing were partly what made me choose a band like that.. -1chose a band that was so positive and so concerned about quality. That band just lead me on to other positive things in my own life unrelated to the band at this point but still, they were part of the road that lead me to those things.

Similarly, the tennis fan observes that she partially chose that sport in response to how she had been raised. Her notion of the genteel culture surrounding tennis appeals to her ethics and to those of her brother's, with whom she often watches tennis. I'd have to Say. 1 don't know which cornes first. 1 was definitely brought ug with, my mother told me: "If you don't have anything nice to Say, don't Say anything at all.". ..And 1 think my brother likes the properness of it. He loves British soccer because at the end of the game the players applaud the fans.. .It's like: "Look, everybody should iike tennis because, see, look at how polite they are! Look at the sportsmanship!". ..My acupunturist said: "Some things define you and sorne things you just witness." This defines me.. .it reconfirms who 1 am.

The golf fan also found he gravitated to golf as a way to reinforce what he was taught by his father in terms of moral and ethical conduct: "He taught us al1 the sports ethics we were playing: you don't cheat in golf. When you are piaying a team sport, like hockey, you are out there for the team, not for yourself." The golf fan appreciates it when athletes behave ethically and he emulates that behaviour in his own life.

Golf is a game of etiquette. You just don? cheat in golf. You are your own referee, your own policeman. You don? kick the ball. It's a bad lie, it's a bad lie. Or, if you've played the wrong ball by rnistake and you discover that: "Guys, 1 am sorry, I didn't know, but I am going to have to give myself a two stroke penalty here." Totally innocent play, but you self-police yourself. Same in life. 1 do the right things because that is what you are supposed to do.

The Woody Allen fan also learned. about values as a child from her father. The values were instilled by her family prior to her discovery of Elvis but they were enhanced by her appreciation of that star; an appreciation which, not incidentally, she shared as a young girl with her father: "1 came from quite a moral family but, people like Elvis - he was a very moral and ethical person - he really cared about other people. He was really kind to other people.. .I was always inspired by Elvis' kindness."

Moral and ethical reflection can be prompted in a variety of ways. Studying a star's persona1 behaviour is one way to engender an intra- or inter-personal thought process about life values. Another way is through studying fictitious personalities. At least two soap fans describe changing their attitudes as a result of fictional soap characters acting out provocative plot Iines. The Another Wcrid fan reworked her stance on abortion after viewing a cornplex moral dilemrna unfold: "People can, off the cuff Say, "I'rn pro choice" or Tmpro life." You can Say it, but if you really think about it, it's an awful choice. It7san awful thing." One of the BeYoung and the Restless fans was aiso affected by a plot line invoiving pregnancy. At the time, she was a woman in her early twenties. The unfolding plot line provided a backdrop for discussion with her sister with whom she watches the program.

Yeah. 1 remember when one of the young girls got pregnant on the show and we talked about that. Tt was horrible. To get yourself in that situation: you'd either be pregnant or have an abortion or keep or give up and adopt the baby. And, for us, corning from a very strict household - of course, you don? have sex before maniage anyway. It was just so scary to think that could happen and you just vowed it would never happen to you.. -1just thought 1 am NEVER getting in that situation.

Real-life stars in difficult situations also offer instruction for fans. The same golf fan who embraces golf etiquette and hockey team-mentality is very disdainful of a certain golf star and several hockey stars who do not, in his estimation, demonstrate admirable values.

He is an embarrassrnent. He is kinda making a mock of the sport. He's bot a bad attitude. 1 don't like athietes that are whiny. Ail these, especially, hockey players: "1 am not getting paid enough money, 1 am holding out." Well, I'm sorry. You're letting 18 other guys on your team down. And 1 know it's a business for you, but still, it's a tearn. "You have been brought up to play as a team. You're gettin' paid good money no matter what, so stop your whining!"

While the golf fan does not separate his contempt for a star's unacceptable behaviour from their professional abilities, the Clint Eastwood fan, does. As cited (S.A(l)c(ii)), he deeply appreciates Eastwood's professional behaviour while larnenting and choosing to distance hirnself from Eastwood's personal rnordity regarding marriage: "That kind of, it doesn't change my appreciation of hirn as an actor, producer, director, but as a man, 1 kind of thought: 'Hrnmm, you know, that's not that nice a guy."' On the other hand, morality and ethics are sirnply not a factor for the hockey pool fan. Like the golf fan, he sees exarnples of poor sportsmanship but to hm, these athletes are far from his world. Therefore the "whiners" and even those stars making positive contributions are of only passing concem.

A guy like Pave1 Bure is an incredible whiner, and, it7sdoesn't really rnatter. And you look at a guy like Trevor Linden, who spends an incredible amount of time in children's hospices and gives fully and cornpletely of hirnself; that person, 1'11 have a lot of respect for. My universe is so far from them. They are millionaires. They have lots of tirne. 1 don't relate to them a whole lot. 1 see them, and 1'11 admire a guy like a Trevor Linden who does do al1 that stuff. And probably Iike him more, but would 1 draft him over someone eIse for my tearn? No. It's a business ded on that level.

S.B(l)c Starlight: Using fanship in search of clarity.

Some fans use their fanship not so much for direct revelation, guidance or reinforcement but more as a backdrop against which they can ponder challenging and cornplicated issues. Two participants, the Grateful Dead fan and the Stanley Kubrick fan describe usiiig their fanship to seek clarity. When the Grntefid Dead fan is faced with a decision-making situation, he likes to Iisten to the band's music.

Often it's about work: thinking about a project 1 am working on; thinking about a situation 1 happen to be dealing with, you know, a person using dnigs. Often 1 will get some nice flashes of direction. I get some sense of clarity: "Oh yeah. This would be a good approach to take.". ..That is very meditative. This is part of my monastic training. When you are really meditating. When you are moving into contemplation, you are really not just activeiy processing thoughts but you are trying to empty that. You are trying to be still. You are Qing to just exist. It's in that moment that other systenis start to corne to life.. .This music reaily allows it.

This same fan also uses his fanship as a tool to encourage the people with whom he works to achicve clarity regarding their own mord and ethical bearings in relation to illegal drugs. A drug counsellor, he views the irony of his love of a band closely associated with drug culture as a springboard to incite discussion: "1 kind of delight in having opportunities to tzlk about my values and beliefs about dmgs and further people to develop a more thoughtful and sophisticated view of drugs.

On a different trajectory, the Stanley Kubrick fan views Kubrick and his work as offering a trans-generational, archetypal looking glass into a particular aspect of human nature. This fan appears to be entertaining an ongoing intra-persona1 dialogue about moral and amoral behaviour in his ancestors and humankind at large.

Here was a filrnrnaker who sort of confirmed something for me that 1 believed in very strongly that there was always this darker side of hurnan nature ... His films seem to have a way of showing that.. -1am very curious about the essence of evil. 1 am of German descent. 1 am thinking of the holocaust. And I think, 1 strongly believe that a lot of people of German descent have a bit of guilt involved in what has happened but 1 don't think that the holocaust is an isolated incident.. .I am very curious about what motivates people.

S.B(2) Star Power: Summarv

Seven participants feel their careers have been affected by their fanship. Five are film fans, although 1 cannot account for why this would be the case. None of the film fans feel their family life has been affected as a result of their fanship. The hockey fan feels that both his professional and his persona1 life have been guided by life lessons learned through his fan experiences. The Yes fan feels that while her career has been indirectly affected by her fanship, her family life has been substantially and directly influenced. With regard to values and life decisions as affected by fanship, the data suggest these issues are corroborated by, rather than originate with, fanship. Some participants use their fanship to discover new ideas which are then appiied to expand thoughts on established values. However, most look to fanship as a way to reinforce preexisting, family-instilled values. Fanship is also employed by some as a backdrop against which to contemplate unrelated issues. Familiarity with favorite stars7 material allows for the achievement of a kind of meditative state within which free-roarning thought can be entertained and explored.

5.C Fanning the Self: Summary

A substantial portion of the data cm be exarnined utilizing both Meadian and post-Meadian interpretations of symbolic interaction theory. However, not al1 the data can be readily analyzed through current understandings of the theory. In particular, the concept of "taking the role of the other" does not seem applicable to the phenomenon studied here. The largely technologically-mediated nature of the fankelebrity relationship, the generally evolved personalities of and attitudes held by most adult fans, and the large number of fans per star represent a type of social interaction that calls for a new sub-category of "taking the role of the other" wherein a subtler or vicarious intra- personal dynamic can be acknowledged. Further refinement in the theory rnight also be developed to enable accounting for intuitive moments unfolding in the relationship between interviewee and interviewer.

What do these data contribute in answering the pnmary tbesis question: "Viewed through the framework of symbolic interactionism, what is the nature of mass media fans' subjective experiences of their mediated relationships with selected stars and related fans as it affects their evolution of self?" Data indicate that the evolution of self is affected by fanship. Virtually dlof the participants saw fanship as a contributing factor to their sense of self, some more than others. Although the self constitutes a process of perpetual change, Kando (1977) notes that al1 people develop, through socialization, a sense of permanence and identity that leads to "tendencies toward given behavior" (p. 9) and that the most characteristic behavioral tendencies can be viewed as personality. The participants in this study exhibit a variety of tendencies toward fanship that suggest fanship cm function as a major element in the development of self. The process of self is, by definition, something that occurs within a social context with reference groups - the topic of the following chapter. Kando States, "man's uniqueness lies in his capacity for consciousness, and consciousness can only emerge from social interaction. The word 'self means al1 of this, and every time we refer to man as a self we will know that we mean al1 of these things" (p. 8). To that end, some of the data presented in Chapter Five resurface in Chapter Six in a different context. Self and reference groups are irrevocably entwined, sewing to underscore the symbiotic nature of mind, self and society. 6. By Association: How is a Fan's Sense of Self Affected by Reference Groups?

Given the interdependent relationship between society and self, the results in this chapter are intertwined with results reported in the last chapter. Chapter Five is concerned with the individual, while Chapter Six examines the individual within reference groups. Specifically, it addresses the secondary research question: "How is a fan's sense of self affected by reference groups?" Much is new material; some is reintroduced data as they relate more specifically to group aspects of symbolic interactionism. Of note, two distinctly different types of reference groups are present in the data: fan to star reference groups wherein the group (be it a fan and a star or several fans and a star or stars) is oriented toward the star; and fan to fan reference groups, wherein the star is employed as a vehicle for significant forms of social interaction and rneaning-making among like- rninded fans. Data are presented in three topic areas: reference groups, the orientational other, and nested identities.

6.1 Together at Last: Reference Grouvs

In order to constitute a self, rnembership in a community, no matter what the size, is an immutable requirement (Mead, 1934). The realization of selfhood requires taking each other into account. This occurs through Mead's concept of the "generalized other" wherein an individual is able to take on myriad attitudes of others towards her or hirnself, crystdlizing those attitudes into a single perspective. This is one way in which the cornmunity exercises control over the conduct of individual members. The generalized other can be explored in a more exacting way through the concept of reference groups. Reference groups account for the existence of finer nuances of the generalized other. According to Hyman (1942), while people guide themselves based on the perspectives they adopt from those with whom they interact, it is possible for a person to have many reference groups and, in turn, to have many perspectives of the self. For example, fans may belong to several reference groups and view their work, leisure, and/or family member selves in concert with, or independent of, their fanship. 6.1(A) A Place to Cal1 Home: The Desire for a Reference Group with which to Share Fan

Mead (1934) notes that perspective is selective and is lqely dependent upon that which is anticipated and that which is taken for granted. To this end, al1 of the participants exhibit a refined knowledge and appreciation of special fan moments. Five participants in particular - two sports and two music fans, and one television fan - specifically describe the desire to share those moments with other fans. The football fan elaborates:

The unifying ex~erienceof a whole stadium of people al1 there for the sarne reason, ail looking down into the rniddle. There's just something about that that just ran deeply in me.. .When it happens that way - one of those rare plays where it al1 comes together like that, that's when 1 do wish 1 was sharing it with somebody: "Oh! See! Oh! Look at that!!!" (laughing) And, you know, you high five. Yeah, 1 get a tme rush off it. There's an adrenaline msh. Your heart starts pounding and your palms are sweaty.

The football fan not only wants to share the sports moment; he also wants to share a depth of appreciation with Iike-minded people. He States: "It's like anything else. The more vou know about it, the more you tend to enjoy it. And, it's the sarne thing as far as football fans go." Sharing an understanding of a play with other "elites" enhances this fan's pleasure. The same is true of the Yes participant who, upon becoming a fan, found herself craving knowledgeable companionship to complement her fan experience.

For me, there was kind of a frustration when 1 first discovered the band because most of my friends at the time were other high school girls who were into whatever the Top Forty of the day was. And to be getting the kind of emotional highs that you got from this band, you were just busting to talk to people about it and share that experience. So it wasn't until a few years later that 1 kind of fell into a more male musical crowd and found a few other people who really liked the band. And then it was just a wondemil, wonderfûl thing because there is such a depth to the kind of [music], there is such a richness there. It is like anything that is really, really beautiful in life, you want to share that experience. And you want to share it with somebody who has the eyes or the ears to just know how great it is. .4nd that's why, when you meet other Yes fans, if they are real, sort of enthusiastic Yes fans, there is a sort of unspoken bond there because it's somebody else who knows the magic and somebody else who can appreciate it.

Implicit in the desire to be with other like-rninded fans is an understanding of the behaviour expected of those in the reference group - no matter how large and loose that group may be. The tennis fan extols and is proud of the marked quietude of fellow WNnbledo~tfans. Even though she is at home watching on television as opposed to being a fan in the stands, she feels strongly about the display of appropriate behaviour:

It reconfirms who 1 am.. .it lets me reconfirrn that there's people like this. Look at al1 those people who are watching and being absolutely quiet. And I like that and I sort of feel we are al1 the - the cornmentators will Say: "Boy, only at Winzbledon, you cm hear a pin drop right now when someone is going to serve."

The Xeitn: Warrior Princess fan describes the "neiique tte" of secret Intemet societies (6.3(a)). And the Bruce Cockburn fan talks of the comfort he feels in assurning the possession of a specific type of rnordity shared by fellow Cockbum fans.

Al1 the people that 1 know that are big fans, 1 like them (laughs). 1 just like them. 1 like the feeling 1 get frorn them.. .A good friend of mine, he likes Bruce Cockbum.. .I know what he is like morally because he believes in the sarne things 1 believe in because he likes these songs and the messages behind them. So, if he likes that, 1 know there's a lot of stuff 1 don't have io guess about him. By and large, participants introduce information about expected "typicai" fan behaviour in passing while making other points. Assumptions prevalent throughout the data suggest the presence of fairly strong and tacitly recognized reference group-determined and maintained standards by of behaviour by which fans appear to operate.

6.1(B) 1 Wanna Hold Your Hand: Fanship and Friendship

Six participants - three music and three sports fans - feel fanship offers opportunities to find new, or to enhance pre-existing, friendships. It is noteworthy that, of the four fan categories, music and sports are both strongly represented while none of the film or television participants descrihe experiences relating to this topic. This finding may be as a result of the increased opportunities for face-to-face social interaction through live performances in sports and music. Ln live performances, interrnissions and delays prior to and during the event offer the potentiai for developing and nurturing friendships. Moreover, live performances may bestow a sense of reference group status arnong audience members: they are al1 witnessing a performance that, by definition, cannot be replicated. This special status may contribute to a sense of comrnon ground upon which to base the genesis or development of a friendship. Although film fans also attend "live" events en masse, the performance aspect of thz event is replicable. Short of a technical problem, the film presentation itself will not vary from screening to screening. The "live" aspect exists only in that an assortment of people have converged for a specific showing. Moreover, film intermissions and other situations that lend themselves to socializing, are infrequent. Opportunity for television viewers to interact socially in venues such as bars or school lounges are available; however viewing in these types of locations is described by one participant only.

Fanship as a vehicle for friendship occurs in at least two ways. First, fanship can deepen existing friendships. The Keith Richards fan finds discussing Richards with friends offers him a vehicle for social interaction: "It's a way of sharing. It's part of our love and friendship for each other. ..because we are both huge fans.. .it [the friendship] was enhanced and solidified." Similarly, the golf fan explains that he has not made new friends through his love of sports as rnuch as he has used mutud fanship to enliven existing fnendships. The increased pleasure is a result of being able to have an on-going comrnon topic for discussion and what he describes as "a fun rivalry" arnong friends who are CO-workers.The hockey pool participant utilizes fanship as both a way to enhance friendships he has enjoyed "since Kindergarten" and as an entree to meeting new friends: "Some of the people in the hockey pool were in the other [baseball] pool, so 1 thought I'd try it.. .and there's a whoie bunch of different people in this pool. So you meet new people and that's nice." The hockey pool fan is not alone in his use of fanship as a means by which to meet others. While, for him, meetings occur at planned "pool" events, the Grateful Dead fan identifies concert events as ideal opportunities for meeting new friends.

Some people 1 met at concerts and some people 1 met through people that I knew, just 'cause we were going [to concerts] together. Last night [at a local concert] 1 met a guy. He gave me his address. He's in Eugene, 1 am going to see him next time 1 am there.. .I got his number: "Corne see me." So, you constantly meet new people and you constantly get your life enriched.

Sirnilarly, the hockey fan observes that many of his fnendships were instigated at live events. He has also made friends through playing on amateur hockey teams. He estimates that "99.9 percent" of his male friends are sports-related. In many cases, these friendships have evolved over the years from an opportunity to converse knowledgeably about sports to a chance to discuss personal issues. This phenornenon has developed to the point that some of his friendships have become more significant in his life than the sports fanship that originally sparked the interaction - a situation experienced by other participants as well (6.2(C)).

Sports has been an ice breaker. I can recall so many incidences in my life where there's been something at a sporting events that connects you and for whatever reason you start talking and then a friendship develops.. .A hockey tearn 1 am on, back when we were in our mid twenties, we'd go play sports and then we'd talk about the NHL, or baseball or whatever. And then, maybe a quarter of the tirne, you'd taik about girlfriends. Now, a few of my friends still play and it's twenty- five percent sports and the rest might be ...about our kids, But isn't that what being a human being is al1 about? E you don't evolve, what are you doing?. ..[Sports is] still important to me and it's still a big part of my life but it's. you know, other things take precedence now.

The Yes fan also has made friends at live events. However, she adopted a more active approach to seeking fan friendships.

I had this longing to meet other people who really understood this music because 1 knew very few here at the time. So - 1 think it was about '77 - 1 put an add in Melody Maker. Do you know the British music magazine? Just a really short little kind of sassy ad that said: "World's number one Yes fan wants to meet number two. Please wnte me at blah blah blah." And so 1 got about sixty replies to that little ad and there were about thirty people 1 was writing to for awhile and then from there 1 just sort of narrowed it down to the ones 1 had a lot in common with. But the person who really stood out in the whole thing was my friend, [says her narne]. And her letters - she was very articulate and very humourous, just totally on the same track about the band that I was and appreciated a lot of the same things. So we just started writing to each other really fast and furious because we both really enjoyed each other7sletters. And then we started phoning once in a while and then finally she came out here in '79, by the bus, and we just totally hit it off.

6.1(C) Burning Up the Wires: Techno10,oicallv-mediated Fanship and Friendship

The development of friendships through online reference groups is not pursued by many of the fans in this study. This situation may be related to the average age of the participants, which is about fony. Had 1 interviewed a younger group, 1 might have encountered larger numbers of fans who spent a substantial portion of tirne online. Two TV fans and a music fan use the Intemet for fanship and fiendship purposes. The following three examples itlustrate how fans use the computer with regard to reference groups.

The most avid Internet user among the sarnple is the Xena: Warrior Princess fan who discovered the Internet Xerzaverse by way of a friend's recomrnendation. She describes having explored three types of online reference groups:

There's purely off-topic stuff that's got to do with stuff that is happening in people's personal lives.. .The second kind of post is on-topic, to do with the show. And there you can get some really fascinating discussions going on. And the third kind of stuff that goes on is just playfulness.. .. they do what's called "fluff." It7s like role-playing.. .You take a persona and you create a situation for yourself. One of the lists 1 am on has an imaginary location and people on the list will Say: "Ah, walking in the front door of the such and such and whoever you are, so and so meets such and such" and it7sthis imaginary conversation.. .So you are getting three different things.. .What it has done is it has developed a very strong sense of comrnunity without its being a homogenous community.

In spite of the technologically-mediated nature of the interaction, the strength of the online "comrnunity" is demonstrable. The Xena participant elaborates:

A couple of weeks ago, someone on one of the lists died very unexpectedly and her partner carne on and announced it and the list was very upset - well, both of the lists [comprised of about 60 and 800 people respectively) that she was on.. . people were upset, surprisingly upset and they had never met this woman. And even people who hadn7tcorresponded with her privately were upset.. .she was a part of the community and she was gone.

Moreover, as a result of the friendships the Xena fan has developed through cyberspace reference groups, she is interested in taking her Internet relationships a step further. 1 would like to go to a convention, and I probably will next year. But, to be quite honest, 1 wouldn't be going to see the stars nearly as much as 1 would be going because 1 am curious about some of the people on the list and 1 would like to meet them. And there are a few people that 1 correspond with regularly and we have gotten to be friends and 1 have never met them and 1 would like to meet them-

Like the Xena: Wurrior Princess fan, the Bryan Adams fan appreciates access to an online reference group. However, he does not particularly care to meet fellow online fans. Further, he describes a scenario that is focussed almost exclusively on discussion about Bryan Adams.

You can talk freely, essentially, about Bryan Adams; and that7ssomething you can7tdo with some other people: best friends of yours who might not understand your admiration of the person, just the way you feel about the person.. .Even with the Bryan Adams friends I don9 really know any that are "friends." I don't socialize with them. A few of them have aspects of their Iives that we share. Like, there's one in Boston who I know pretty well - strictly through E-mail. He likes hockey and he likes other musicians 1 like and we have just sort of developed that but most other people 1 know, it's pretty basic.. -1sort of have a circle of fans that 1 know and they are on the same level as me so we can say: "Oh did you hear that he played this Song last night? And he hasn't played that Song in like ten years!" Simple stuff.

Differently again, one of the The Young and the Restless fans does not make friends online. In fact, she has an expressed a desire not to meet any of the soap fans in online reference groups. However, she is interested in simply knowing that other people like herself do view soap operas: people who "could" be her friends. To this end, she seeks assurance from a place of anonyrnity that like-minded "normal" people dwell in the soap-watching fandom. She is not prepared to identify herself through posting: "It is neat to see that there are other normal people there and they are into it too. 1 have never posted and 1 have never E-mailed anybody. 1am a lurker."

6. I (D) Know what 1 Mean? Connecting through the use of Verbal and Non-verbal Lan,oua,oe

Fan reference groups can also function as distinct cultures. Shibutani (1955) recognizes the phenornena of special interests, meanings and symbols, al1 of which contribute to further distinguishing or separating group members frorn outsiders. Accordingly, people establish themselves as experts to maintain and enhance their status. Four participants - two film fans, one music and one sports fan - describe special (verbal and non-verbal) shared symbols in their experience of fanship. The Denis Leary fan offers an example of how she developed a cornmand of some of Leary's material. She uses this material within her reference group of other Denis Leary fans for hn.

It's not like we get together and just talk about Denis Leary. It's just sort of an added bonus. It's Iike finding out that you like the sarne obscure musician or that you have the sarne favourite poet or author. It's not like the basis for a relationship but it's certainly, like, sometimes 1'11 quote him:

"You know what 1 wanna do? 1 wanna get a 1967 Cadillnc Eldorado convertible. Hot pink, with whale skin hubcaps and al1 leather cow interior and big brown baby seal eyes for headlights. Yeah, I wanna drive around in that baby at 1 15 miles per hour getting one mile per gallon eating quarter pounder cheese burgers from McDorzald's in the old-fashioned non-biodegradable Styrofonrn containers. And when 1 am done sucking down those grease-bail burgers 1 am going to wipe my mouth with the Americao flag and 1 am going to toss the Styrofoam container right out the side and there ain't a God darnn thing anybody can do about it. And you know why? Because we got the bombs, that's why." And it just goes on and on. It's like really fûnny, right? He's rnaking fun. That's what 1 mean about Denis. A lot of people didn't get.. . that he was rnocking that American attitude.

The fact that some people did not "get" Denis Leary's intent, helps to delineate a border around those who do "get" Leary.

Distinct cultures can also be created to enhance bonding within families. The Clint Eastwood fan rnischievously shares shorthand versions of lines from Eastwood movies with his teenage sons - lines which could easily be misconstrued by an outsider as irresponsible parenting whereas they are, in fact, endearing ways for farnily members to feel close to on another.

It comes out when you are talking with the kids and stuff. You pick up lines frorn movies, his big lines: "Make my day." There's one the kids like which is the Sudderz Impacr, the two punks in the elevator and they get off and he is really annoyed and he says something dong the lines of, you know: "You pys are like pieces of shit and you know what you cm do with it? You can either step on it or you can wait till it dries up in the wind and blows away." And then he picks one of the kids up. That one little scene is funny 'cause um, my eldest gets a kick out of that. We will see something and we will Say, "You know what? You know what you can do with that piece of shit?' He'll laugh right away.

As well, individuals can indicate group association through appearance (Stone, 1970). One way to assert group membership and to reinforce cioseness is through costumes. As described (5.A(3)a), the Stanley Kubrick fan solidifies bonds with his friend, a fellow fan, by dressing up on Halloween as "Alex and his Droogs" - characters from Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. For the tennis fan, simply engaging in technologically-mediated observation of ritualized non-verbal behavior is enough to constitute a sense of special connectedness. While watching tennis on television, this fan feels a member of a distinct culture - underscored by her use of the word "we" - in the following cornments regarding both audience and player etiqliette.

1 love Wimbledon. It lets me reconfirm that there's people like this. Look at al1 those people who are watching and being absolutely quiet. And 1 like that and 1 son of feel we are al1 the, the commentators will Say, "Boy, only at Wimbledon, you can hear a pin drop right now when someone is going to serve." It reconfirms the parts of me that are self-righteous 1 think. 1 think it's the only sport where the two players corne on together and they have to wait together and walk off together. 1 mean, can you get more civilized than that? 1 think about other sports where the team is getting the heck off the ice while the other one is, you know, happy that they won, there is nothing, there is no sportsmanship. And the other thing that 1 just love, Boris Becker was playing some young guy who didn't really know al1 the protocol and he waits for Becker and they are kind of walking off and Becker stops him and reminds him, you have to bow to the Royal box, so they kind of do and Becker was kind of patting him on the back, you know, waydago. And 1 thought: "Oh look, the changing of the guard," you know? Here's Becker teaching the young guy, who is going to be an up and corner. 1 like that.

6.1 (E) 1 DareYa: Counterhegemony

Special verbal and nonverbal language employed among like-minded fans can support or enhance the desire to appear distinct from mainstream society. Shibutani (1955) notes that reference groups can be enlisted as a way to compare or contrast, especiaily in forming self-evaluation. Fans of counterhegemonic stars who rile portions of society may experience their rninority status as heightened and special. Three participants - one film, one music, and one television fan - describe the experience of savouring the appearance and/or experience of being different. The Keith Richards fan, especially in the early days of the Rolling Stones, revelled in the stigma attacbed to Richards and his band. First off you are thinking: "You guys don't get it, and that's another way that separates me." The Beatles were great but it was al1 very fresh and pop whereas the Stones were a little tougher, a little edgier, a Iittle more down, a little more raucous, more blues-based, a little more dangerous, a little more male. The young girls al1 flocked toward The Beatles. They weren't as dangerous. Whereas the Stones scared the daylights out of parents.. .In retrospect it was a conscious decision. I guess it was easier to be a Beatles fan because it was al1 encompassing. It was harder to be a Stones fan. It's harder because sorne kids, or sorne people, wouldn't relate to it. And that's part of it too: how you see yourself as an

individual. The Stones represented more individualism - if being a fan of a pop band you cm find individualism.

Given the counterhegemonic implications of liking the Stones, this participant found an ironic twist later when Keith Richards' image was juxtaposed with evidence suggesting he was, in actuality, the epitome of mainstream society.

You can see him in a blues club at five in the morning with a bottle of Jack in his hand, leaning against an apple cart - that's not a stretch. But, dates on the European leg of the last tour were cancelled because Keith fell off a stool in his library (says this dripping with irony) at home whilst reaching for a book on a top shelf and hurt his ribs. Not out in the desert racing a Porsche like James Dean. Not being busted in some crack house like Scott Weyland froin Stone Temple Pilots. No, Keith was reaching for a book and fell down and hurt his ribs. And when you see a picture, this is a Connecticut mansion with a wood-paneled library with chintz-covered sofas and stuff like this and there's Keith with his skuli ring and his weird hair reachin' for a book - and 1 think it was on a Renaissance master or something, or Impressionistic paintings.

The Denis Leary participant also appreciates what she believes to be the p

As a comedian, he is not womed about offending people. At one point in his book, he is writing about racism. And he writes: "Hey, my hatred is not based on colour, or creed, or religion, it's based on performance." He says, "I have a white Irish cousin who looks exactly like me, and he's an asshole." That's the whole thing. 1 think, in the society we live in political correctness has gone kinda too far. Everybody is walking on eggshelis al1 the time. And, you know, it's okay to not like somebody, right? It's totally fine to not like somebody. As long as you are not liking them for valid reasons and not just because they are gay, or because they are black or because they make more money than you do; that's not a good enough reason. But if they are a jerk.. .! 1 think my bullshit detector is as developed as it is, is because, (pause) there was something abolit hearing Denis Leary talk and Say whatever it was he was thinking and al1 these people were like, "Yeah!" and agreeing with him. And I said, "1 am not the only one who thinks it," was kind of what 1 got out of that. Do you know what 1 rnean? This guy is saying what we assume might be an unpopular opinion - like when he talks about how much he loves smoking. Smoking is bad for you. We al1 know that and there's been a huge antismoking craze for about twenty years now. So he comes dong and he is like, "You know, 1 like smoking and I am not ever quitting." And he is a grown man.. .He said that and everybody in the entire audience burst into applause. I think a lot of people are fed up with being told what is the right thing to say or do or think.

The Denis Leary fan and the Keith Richards fan utilize their favourite stars' counterhegernonic status and, in turn, their own counterhegemonic status in different ways. The Leary fan appears to employ her fanship as a way to corroborate her sense of herself regarding being unwilling to put up with "bullshit." The Richards fan appears to enjoy, as a result of his fanship, the association of his being - like Richards - a "rugged individualist." Both fans point out that although their fanship appears counterhegemonic, it is not. The Leary fan observes that if people were more willing to express their true thoughts, Leary's opinions would not stand out as different from the norm. The Richards fan notes that Richards' counterhegemonic stage persona belies this star's mainstream sensibilities.

Arnongst the participants, a third fan, the Xena: Warrior Princess fan, is arguably the best positioned to claim counterhegemonic fanship status. As a lesbian, she could choose to view her fanship as a reaction against mainstream entertainment portrayals of heterosexual relationships. Instead, she regards her fanship as part of "a community of 'like' rather than.. .against anything." However, she points out that the online fan fiction community generally tends to adopt a counterhegemonic approach in their creative use of Xena material - which can sometimes be substantialIy transfomed from its original presentation. She offers: "the audience.. .is, in that sense, taking some of the power away from the original creators."

Counterhegemonic reference groups rnay offer a heightened sense of meaning since fans of stars perceived to be on the outskirts of societal acceptance are prepared to be ridiculed, or at least looked upon with askance, for their preferences. They have to fight for their opinions, which may give those opinions more value. Moreover, with fewer like-minded fans dong the way, those friendly fans whom one does encounter become that much more rneaningful, thereb y strengthening bonds within those types of reference groups.

6.1 (F) You're a Fan?! ! Negative Reference Groups

As with "Fan Sharne as it relates to '1-me"' (5.A(2)e), not al1 aspects of being a fan support a positive self-image. Negative reference groups are frienddfarnily who are not fans and are critical of the fanship. Negative reference groups reinforce some fans' disgust at being fans in spite of themselves. The following findings may aiso be viewed from the perspective of Goffman's (1963) stigmatized self, a state arrived at by virtue of physical deformation, blemishes of character, or the "tribal stigmas" of race, nation, and religion. The stigmatized self is viewed by "nomals" as "not quite human." Fans who are repeatedly exposed to people to whom fanship is not socially acceptable, may find themselves conflicted. The "uncontarninated aspects of [their] social identityW(Lemert and Branarnan, 1997, p. 75) may negatively judge the fan aspect of the self and rnay result in a fan who to views him or herself as stigmatized. Two film fans and one television fan express a negative awareness of their fanship. The Woody Allen participant describes her fanship as "sick." She is embarrassed that she is a fan and she recognizes that her friends help to sustain that perception.

1 don't have a lot of friends who are involved in the entertainment industry. Most of my friends are more grounded than that and are doing serious things with their lives.. .I mean they are al1 fascinated with it [film] for a little bit, but not, um - most of them Say: "1 never watch TV. 1 go to movies but 1 don't know who any of those people are". ..most of my friends think it's fluffy. And 1 suppose 1 do too.

In spite of the Woody Allen participant's shame regarding her fanship, she has not changed her behaviour; nor does she hide her behaviour from judgmental friends. While in New York, she still makes a point of visiting locations frequented by Allen in the hopes of seeing him. In contrast, the Clint Eastwood fan has changed his behavior. He tells of a turning point at a high school party in which he came to understand that being a "movie freak was sornething he should be careful about revealing.

And 1 just started verbal diarrhea about al1 these last movies 1 had just seen. 1 kept meticulous records. Every time 1 went, I wrote down the title, the director, al1 the people that were in it, a rating. And 1 started just talking about it with these guys. 1 remember seeing the faces of some of these guys. I was yakking for a while and it seemed to be a long time and they were kind of going (makes a funny, bored face), "Yeah, well.. ." And 1 remember that moment, it was in my friend's house, (laughs) it was kind of an embarrassing recollection. And after that 1 did tone it down about talking about being so caught up in the movies. 1had to keep in rnind that there are only a few friends who are real movies buffs that 1 can do that with. And if 1 am in a room with other guys who aren't into movies, you know, don't do that.

Shame aiso leads to speculation on change in future behaviour with potential future reference groups as well. As documented (S.A(Z)e), one of the The Young and the Restless soap opera fans - a teacher - is mortified about the prospect of having her fanship discovered. She is concerned that the revelation of her soap opera fanship at her school would make fellow teachers feel supenor and would diminish her credibility among parents. This concem exists regarding the potential for related challenges in her next personal relationship.

1 have sometimes thought that, when this mythical relationship cornes dong in my iife, how long would it be before I told him? How long would 1 hide it? Or, if 1 had very strong feelings for him and I sensed that he would be very disapproving, would that be a deterrent and would 1 quit watching? If children came into my life, if he had children - and if she had died - let's Say there was two school age kids and a dad. 1 know absolutely that would, that would kill it. 1 would not be someone that my stepchildren saw watching a soap every day of my life. 1 have thought about it, but 1 guess it would depend on the man. If 1 had rny druthers, it would be someone who watched hockey; then 1 would not have a single hesitation to keep on watching.

This participant chooses to cope with the shame she feels over her fanship by controlling to whom she reveals it - to the point that she has even planned for future eventualities. By taking steps to avoid being stigmatized for her soap opera fanship, she can ensure a continuation of the pleasure, the creation of a sanctuary in her day, the opportunity to de-stress, and the other benefits she experiences from her fanship. 6.2 The Next Best Thing: The Orientational Other

Kuhn (1964) regards the other as playing an "incontestably crucial role" in interaction. He states that "the self is indeed only an eddy of the general communicative current" (p. 7). As a result, while Kuhn applauds the concept of the reference group, given the importance he ascribes to the other, he feels the terrn had been "considerably underexamined" (p.6). Kuhn states "the idea of the reference group is that it is a special kind of other, one with which a person feels psychologically identified as opposed to one with which he is merely socially associated (p. 12). However, he held that this undifferentiated approach lay vulnerable to the possibility of clustering superficial others with ones upon whom the self is based and also to the confusion of "multiple reference groups, sometimes conflicting, sometimes mutually reinforcingV(p.13). Kuhn's exploration of the concept of reference group leads hirn to argue that "it is important to consider and to explore how far reference categories are coextensive with significant others.. .they may not even be of the sarne order" (p. 20). To this end, he created the concept of the "orientational other." He states the orientational other has four defining characteristics:

1). ..the others to whom the individual is most fully, broadly and basically comrnitted, emotionally and psychologicdly; 2). .. who have provided him with his general vocabulary, including his most basic and crucial concepts and categories; 3).. . who have provided and continue to provide him with his

categories of self and other and with the meaningful roles :O which such assignments refer; 4) .. .with whom his self-conception is basically sustained andor changed (p. 18).

For Kuhn, the reference-group concept resides "at the opposite end of the scale of significance from the study of the reference group"(p. 19). Kuhn views reference groups as social categories where one has spent "abstract time" as opposed to the orientational other, which provides historical and current insight into "the processes by which the self is formed and sustained." Relative to this study, the orientational other rnay be a star(s) andor a group of like-rninded fans or non-fans that constitute a foundational perspective for a participant. If the orientational others are primary caregivers, they may be reflected upon utilizing dl four of Kuhn's (1964) defining charactenstics. Otherwise the third and fourth, or only the fourth, characteristic may be germane. Fourteen of the twenty participants (five sports, four television, three music, and two film fans; with a proponionally even gender split) describe experiencing one or more of four versions of the orientational other's presence in their lives.

6.2(A) I Yam What 1 Yam: Fan Orientational Others as a Defining Vehicle for Social Interaction

Five participants - two sports and three music fans - employ their fanship as a fundamental factor in the way they define, sustain andor change themselves via interaction with themselves and others. Key to his sense of self, the football participant regards himself as a sports fan. Sports is a primary vehicle for social interaction, providing reinforcernent for his self-concept:

1 rnoved around a lot and 1 was always making new friends and one common denorninator was sports. And you would connect at school. For instance, grade ten, there's a brand new kid in our school. And by that age, people are kind of cliquey and stuff. 1 never paid much attention to him. Third day of school, he wore a Bobby Orr Bruins jersey. And right away, 1 connected with hirn: "Hey, Bobby Orr! Great attitude!" We becarne great friends, still in touch - and that was the cornmon denorninator. 1 think there's a trust. It rnight take me ten years to really get to know what you are like, as a father, as a son, what you are like at work. But we have this common ground to discuss and 1can get close to you on that level. Similarly, the Grateful Dead fan explains that being a Deadhead is integral to his sense of self. To this end, before Gratefd Dead leader Jerry Garcia died, the band's concert schedule defined his social, recreational, and persond life.

My identity, part of my identity in life, is 1 am this guy who loves the Dend. And there's so many younger people attending shows. And the younger ones would Say: (in a high voice) "Well, how many shows have you seen?" 1 can't even tell you. It has certainly given me comrnunity. Most of my vacations for the last 26 years have been in connection with: "1 am going to go see some shows in California. 1 am going to go see some shows in Oregon." So we'd go, as a group, and we'd vacation for a week and see three or four shows in that week. That was very big in my life and it's one of the things that was the hardest with the band being gone. You don't have those opportunities to get togetner. You have to make them. It's not Iike the tour is coming and you can just buy your tickets. You have to actually seek out opportunities to be with your friends, close friends. And those realIy are some of my close friends.

Along the same lines, the Yes participant feels a deep debt of gratitude to her favourite musicians. She discovered orientational others - that is, people with whom her self- conception has been basically sustained adorchanged - in fellow Yes fans, who have subsequently shaped her life over the past two and one-half decades.

When they were here in Vancouver last year. They were playing Close ro the Edge and it sounded great. And at that particular show we must have had a couple of dozen of Our friends from here in Vancouver going back to the hey days of the band. These were al1 people who just loved thern back then and out of town people, al1 at this show. And 1was listening to this show and it just sounded as good as it did back then in the late '70s and just thinking, "1 owe so much of my life to these people." If it weren't for them. 1 wouldn't have met (names her husband). 1 wouldn't have the children that 1 have. Some of my closest, closest friends in the world 1 wouldn't know if it weren7tfor them and it has just shaped my life in such a profound way.

The Bruce Cockbum fan uses his fanship as a key factor in selecting friends - friends who, in their sarneness, function as orientational others who sustain his sense of self.

1 think rnost people that 1 have talked to that really like Bruce Cockburn are on pretty close to the same intellectual level that 1 am on because they are interested in a lot of things that 1 am because they think morally the same way 1 do. A good friend of mine, he likes Bruce Cockburn and he is smart, and sharp and funny and witty and 1 find him very interesting because dl the other crap is out of the way. I know what he is like morally because he believes in the same things I believe in because he likes these songs and the messages behind them. So, if he likes that, 1 know there's a lot of stuff 1 don7thave to guess about him. ..I know the kind of person that he is because him and 1 grew up on Bruce Cockburn. And al1 the people that 1 know that are big fans, 1 like them (laughs). 1 just like them. 1 like the feeling 1 get from them.

To a lesser extent, the tennis fan has adopted a comparable rationale. She feels she is able to accurately assess people based on their appreciation of tennis, which reaffirms her sense of self as the sarne kind of person she assumes they are.

If someone says to me: "1 like tennis," that has a whole bunch of ranifications that corne with that. 1 meet someone who likes tennis, 1 sort of feel like - and 1 have been wrong a few times - but it's like: "That type of person!" So, 1 think it's a little bit defining.. .I think if somebody plays tennis, they are independent. 6.2(B) When in Rome: Creating One's Own Fan Reference Group with Orientational Others

One-half of the participants - three sports fans, three television fans, two film fans and two music fans; five male and five fernale - set out to create fan reference groups through orientational others comprised of friends and family. As discussed previously (6.1(A)) without someone with whom to share one's experiences, being a fan can be a lonely experience. Unlike the previous sub-section (6.1(A)) - which examines fans' desires to simply share the nuances of fan experiences by socially interacting with other like-minded fans - this sub-section specifically explores fans' desires to create reference groups from pre-existing orientational others. If a fan is able to develop fans from pre-existing orientational others, these others provide the fan with a depth of companionship and social interaction which, dong with their pre-existing roster of topics, incorporates mutual fanship as well. Fanship becomes an additional tool by which to deeply substantiate or change one's sense of self. To begin, the Seiizfeld participant describes efforts to create new fans from among farnily members and close friends in order to reinforce his sense of self as a cultural pioneer.

1 have encouraged a few people and 1 took Seinfeld tapes over to Ireland. Nobody had seen Seinfeld. It turned out that BBC Two had, in fact, aired Seinfeld at an inconvenient time. 1 took over seventeen episodes. Got them converted, and you could divide people into those who instantly clicked with Seinfeld and those who could not see that this was remotely funny, and people who found Seiizfeld and Company really repellent: loafers, cynics, people about whom they should not care at dl.

What motivated you to take the tapes over and share them with people?

That's the act of fanship. That's the generosity of fans, wanting to share. It's almost as if, if you are enthusiastic about something - when 1 was 19,I discovered, very early on, Bob Dylan, before he becme well known. It's a kind of, you want to share, it's almost as if your enthusiasm is not completed until you have shared it. It's a kind of consumrnation of the enthusiasm. It's that plus, 1 think this is of lesser concern for me, these are acquired tastes. You acquire the taste and you want to share, you want a kind of endorsement perhaps from other people.. -1think there is a special pleasure in a pioneering enthusiasm. The fact that 1 discovered Bob Dylan absolutely alone and for myself, gave Dylan then and thereafter, it gave him a special importance because 1 had been there at the beginning and 1 was pioneering. 1 said to you earlier that 1 came to Seinfeld kind of late. So maybe in order to kind of recapture that kind of pioneenng enthusiasm, you then have to seek converts among people who haven't seen any Seinfeld at dl. That's probably what 1 was doing in Ireland, trying to convert people. 1 suppose we are working with an extended metaphor of pioneering the landscape. And you always have to remind people: "Oh yeah 1 discovered so and so very early."

The Seinfeld fan observes that he uses his fanship to reassure himself of possessing certain qualities he appreciates in himself - in this case, that of being a "cultural pioneer." Introducing orientational others to new cultural material creates a situation wherein, if he is able to make them fans, they may recognize and praise him for "pioneering the iandscape" thereby substantiating his desired vision of himself.

Recognition for being a pioneer may have been a contributing impetus for the Denis Leary fan but she is more interested in sharing Leary because he corroborates and clearly articulates how she feels inside. Sharing Leary with orientational others is a way to express, and find recognition and acceptance for, the person she feels herself to be.

I'd watch the video and think: "Oh my god this is so funny." And I'd take it to friends' houses and make them watch it too. 1 made my mom watch it. 1 got al1 these people hooked on Denis Leary. It's like: "Spread the word!" 1 felt like a lot of my friends felt the same way 1 did about stuff. When 1 heard his stuff, it meant so much to me. 1 felt if they listen to him, they'll feel the sarne way 1 do.. .It was a really weird bond. To this day, 1 have fiiends who will cal1 me if he is on some talk show and they'll go: "Hey, Denis is on channel 3 1." Denis, like, first name basis (laughs) !

While the Denis Leary fan enjoined her fnends to partake in Leary fanship, she also encouraged her mother to do so. Notably, as will be evident below, eight other participants also describe attempting to convert farnily members - citing mutual fanship as an opportunity for increased closeness - with varying success. For example, the Anorher World participant tried unsuccessfully to encourage her step-daughter to watch Another World as a way to broaden and deepen their scope of social interaction: "We have a very close relationship, but 1 guess 1 wanted that other bond as well: our fantasy life." Sirnilarly, seven other participants, some of whom had already experienced closeness with their parents or siblings as a result of a pre-existing shared fanship, repeatedly allude to the desire to create a multi-generationai appreciation of favourite stars or mass media. The football fan elaborates:

1 was one of those guys that watched with my farnily. My dad played football with the Bombers [Canadian Football League team based in Winnipeg]. During rny years of growing up as a fan, the Bombers were awesome. So al1 we heard about in those days was the stars. So 1 was turned right on to it when I was a really little kid. It was a real cornrnon denominator because my dad ended up having a different relationship with me than almost anyone else in the family. He ended up coaching my football team. And we would have neighbourhood football games in my backyard.. .[Now] 1 am waiting for the day that (names his son) catches a drift of the passion of it al1 because he just doesn't care. Whereas, when 1 was his age, I was al1 over it. I have just leamed to go, click. Maybe it would have been tougher if 1 was a father in my twenties when I was really, you know, delinous about it. 1 think it will happen, just not yet. [Recently] I just flicked on football, just to see if he'd stick with it for a couple if minutes, before 1 went to the cartoon channel. And he didn't complain. 1 said: "Whaddaya think kid? Want to watch a little football?'And he said: "Sure dad." And then under his breath he said: "If that's what you want." (Iaughs) And I try to explain to him: "Look at that guy! Look at everything that just happened there! That ,oi?y dove through the air! And had to catch the ball! And the guys landed on hirn and dog-piled!". ..I constantly tell him, I constantly tell him that you will find out so much about yourself and you will have so many thrills when you finally open your hem to sports, 'cause he could care less.

Like the footbail participant, the hockey fan nas unsuccessfully atternpted to encourage his son to becorne a fan of his favourite sport. However, in addition, a reverse scenario exists with regard to the hockey fan and his father. As a child, he enjoyed the special feeling of being the only hockey fan in the household. Now, he wishes that his father shared his passion for hockey as a way to develop a deeper emotional exchange between the two of them.

Oh just something to share with him, eh? 'Cause 1 cm relate it now to my own son. He's into hockey, but not really. For him, it's basebail. My wife and 1 cannot put a finger on why he is such a baseball fanatic. The Stanley Cup playoffs were just on. 1 couldn7tconvince him to watch the playoffs if there was a baseball garne on. There's something about that garne.

On the other hand, the Grateful Dead fan has had complete success in making fans of not only his wife but his children as well.

My wife.. .always thought the Grateful Dead was like a biker gang. Her preconceptions were so strong. She knew 1 wasn't some biker so she was probably curious. As soon as 1 played the first album for her, she was hooked. My children have grown up listening to the Dead in the car. We have hundreds of tapes.. .They love the music. They actually cm identify songs, some of them, by just the first few notes. They know the music quite well. The Yes fan, although wanting to welcome her children into the pre-existing fan orientational othedself dynamic shared by husband and herself, is not sure how her children will receive that band's music. She and her partner are waiting for the right moment to introduce the music tu their children.

Well, we don't play their music for them a lot just because it is something, I think they need to, I don't want to push them into it. 1 think they need to get their musical education up to that point and then be exposed to it so they are ready for it. We have a picture of Jon Anderson [the Iead singer] on the fridge holding [names her daughter] when she was just a bit older than Anna [my then four month old daughter], and we have pointed to it and told her: "You guys owe your existence to these guys" - which is absolutely tme. They wouldn't be here without them.

The multigenerationai creation and perpetuation of orientational others who become fans, even if it is successfuI, does not necessarily progress in a linear fashion. One of the 77ze Yourlg and the Restless participants and her sister are both soap opera fans. Their mother disapproved of watching soap operas aitogether, however both sisters were motivated to begin their fanship as a result of another close relative: their materna1 grandmother.

My grandmother was reaily into Another World. She just loved that show. So 1 sort of got into that one a littie bit but 1 didn't like it because it had too many older, sort of fuddy-duddy middle class-type people in it. She loved that part, 1 mean, the middle class part; for her, she could redly relate. But I wanted to see more glamour. So my sister, was watching Y and R. She had stumbled upon it. So we started watching it together and that's how it started.. .she and 1 were very different.. .So we had this Y and R as Our cornrnon meeting ground. And it was neat cause we could talk about it: who we liked. We dways liked the same thing. We always liked the sarne people in it. We had the same criticisms.. .She always phones me right before, like around 4:30: "Oh, when it's on, we'll tdk about it." Half of our conversation - we usuaily talk for a long time, maybe the whole hour, while it's on - hdf of it will be about Y and R and the other half wil be about my mom or sornething (laughing). .. We watch it together over the phone. That is kind of fun. And if she doesn't phone me during it, we'll talk about it that day. She goes: "Did you watch today?" She doesn't even ask what.

Ln this situation, each sister fûnctions as the other's orientationai other. Further, twenty- five yeûrs after the fan's grandmother had introduced the sisters to soap operas, the fan's daughter is taking an interest in soap operas as well.

Now my daughter is kinda getting into it. This is not good. I don't want her to get into it too much. But, in some ways, if something is going on in the show, it's like those bad talk shows. If your kids are going to watch them, you should watch it with them so you can Say: "Oh that person's really inappropriate," or whatever. So, in a way you can kind of point out to them what you think is appropnare and what isn't. So 1 don't realIy rnind her watching it too much. There's not a lot of sex in there so 1 am not too worried about that. And it is - we do it together. To see her getting into it, it's kind of cute.

Fanship as a teaching tool is also cited by the Clint Eastwood participant - whose two children are second-generation movie fans - as another benefit of having children who are also fans.

1 will Say, to my eldest for example: "Okay, it is time for you to see this movie," like Kubrick - a Kubrick movie. 1 am against war, so 1 don't want my boys to get into glorified war so there are movies.. .like, seven or eight really good movies that kind of bock the snot out of kids that are going to glorify war. Saving Private Ryan is a perfect movie to show kids; to sit down with kids when they are ready and Say: "This is what it is like; this how horrific it is." Full Metal Jacket is another one. The sniper scene, it is bumed into my memory as a horrific piece of movie making that, hopefully, would never make anyone want to go to war. So, there's life lessons in film.

From the children's perspective, being a movie fan like their father is an opportunity for closeness, to share something about which they know their father cares as a way to demonstrate love, appreciation and admiration. However, as is the case with the soap fan and her sister, multigenerationa. fanship may begin with one specific focus and evolve differently in subsequent generations. The Clint Eastwood participant's sons are not fans of Clint Eastwood. The elder son is a fan of film in general. The younger son is a fan of action hero, Jackie Chan. While the specific fanship differs, the younger son exhibits similar fanship practices to those of his father's, e.g, he engages in detailed and systematic study of favorite genres.

My youngest, when Austin Powers came out he was only five and half, six years old. Took him to see Austi~zPowers. 1 told him this was a spoof of James Bond movies. He said: "Oh, can 1 have the entire collection of James Bond movies?" And he started, after preschool: he came home and watched every James Bond movie, chronologically. And then he just started talking about them. He knows more about James Bond movies than 1 do.

Though the above cases do not provide insight into the socialization into fanship from the children's point of view, the Seinfeld participant does. He recounts childhood memones that suggest his upbringing may have predisposed him toward his preference for the television situation comedy.

My mother was a witty and funny and a frenetically busy woman. So, in a way, she could have walked into Seirzfeld quite easily. No, when 1 was around my mother I was in - 1 grew up in a farnily that actuaily constituted a sitcom. We were al1 busy and active and issuing put downs and one-up-man-ship and one liners. The tennis fan describes a particularly innovative and complex version of creating fans of orientationai others. In effect, she works antitheticaily compared to the exarnples above. Once she gravitates to a specific tennis star (currently she favours British player Tim Henrnan) she psychologically ensconces herself in a group of orientational others who are the farnily members of the tennis star. Through studying videotaped images of the farnily, she fantasy role-plays herself as one of the star's famiIy members. In this way, this fan has enlisted the star's family members as parasocial orientationai others upon whom she reflects what she imagines their experiences to be, e.g., that the family members are ecstatic when their farnily member star does well. By virtue of this imaged parasocial interaction, this fan feels reinforcement of an aspect of self she would like to experience in reality, Le., as a member of a supportive family. This fan has not been able to find the type of orientational others she craves in her own farnily to help reinforce the knd of self she wants to see herself as, so she has sought a replacement through her fanship.

1 have even written in rny journal at night that: "This is ridiculous. 1 am so happy." My curent favorite is Tim Henman. He's a British player. And, it's ridiculous. 1 am so happy for him and, it's got nothing to do with me and, 1 mean, it's like he7smy friend. It's like he's my personal friend. And 1 am so delighted for him. And 1 love seeing his mom and dad up in the [box], and his mother and father play. 1 think he's the only one playing at Wimbledon who is actually a club member, because 1 think his parents are members there. His grandmother was the first woman to serve overhand. His grandfather played in Wimbledon championships and matches. And, yeah, it's crazy. It's like 1 am part of the farnily. And 1just love - 1 have rewound and watched the parents7 reaction, you know, when he won a match or something. So that's got not a lot to do with the actual playing of the bail. 1 rnean, that's something else.. .I fantasize to the point of almost knowing how exactly those parents feel. Like imaging how those parents must feel. If anything, 1 think I'd fantasize about being in the farnily box. 1 think that's what I would fantasize about but not being the player. What do you like about Tim Henman's family?

The huge approval of the parents for him. 1 think that is sort of a fantasy of mine: to have more approval from my parents than 1ever did. Yeah. The pride they had in him. 1think in my family, it was the negativity that definitely hit every single person in the farnily. So wanting to be anywhere in that (Henman) family is a good thing because 1 assumed everybody would get hit with that good part of it.

6.2(C) Let's Get Phvsical: Fanship with Orientational Others in Relation to Intimacy

Fanship is used to both create and enhance intimacy and to control or distance the possibility of intimacy. Seven participants identify manifestations of one or the other dynamic. Four participants (one fan each from sports, music, film and television; three of them females) provide examples of how being a member of a fan reference group has significantly changed their social life. Within a fan reference group, opportunities for deeper relationships can transform like-minded fans into orientational others who may become romantic partners as well. For exarnple, the Xena: Warrior Princess participant met her current girlfriend through mutual membership in a fan online reference group.

We met on a mailing list, We were both on the mailing list and, as you do, you read people's posts so you have a sense of who they are. 1 can't remember, she posted something, 1 wrote back to her about it and we gradually jmt started corresponding. We corresponded for a number of months and just got to be really good friends. And then we met and it just clicked. ..And there are certainly any number of people that 1 am aware of in the same situation - who have made friends, and/or lovers through these lists.

Fanship was also the determining factor in the Yes fan's meeting of her most important onentational other: her husband. As a result of her passion for the band, she went to California on her own to see Yes in concert. At the show, a vest she was wearing, upon which she had embroidered a Yes syrnbol, sparked an invitation to join a group of other fans. Once seated, a conversation with her future husband ensued.

There was one who was obviously the biggest fan in the group. And we started chatting and we were comparing notes and also having a bit of a rivalry: "Oh, I've

got this rare bootieg. And I've got this, YOU know, hard to find thing." And we were trying to one up each other. And he said: "Well, 1 came a long way for this show." And 1 said: "Well 1 really came a long way for this show." And he said: "Well, 1 bet you can't out do this." He goes: 'Tm from Vancouver." And 1 said: "Well, 1 can match it. 1 am from Vancouver." So, out of 18,000 people in the coliseum there, 1meet this little group of guys from Vancouver who have driven down for the show because they too, had to see them on that tour. We exchanged phone numbers. He had a girlfriend at the time. When we got back to Vancouver, we talked a lot on the phone for a while. It was great because he was so into the same kind of music 1 was into, but one step further. He knew a lot more than 1 did. But aiso, the great thing was, he was totally used to going to other cities. At the drop of a hat he would go see the band. So it gave me a great opportunity to have someone else to go to shows with. And his girlfriend at the time was really big into disco. He could hardly get her to sit through a Yes show, she would complain al1 the way through it. So that took about two years. Then they finally split up and we were together after that and have been together ever since.

The Yes fan and her future husband's mutualIy deep commitment to the same music strongly contributed to the two being drawn together - the music has, in a way, functioned as an orientational other to both of them. Along with al1 the other components of falling in love with a partner, perhaps a transference of sorts, from the music to person, occurred. Each partner was able to sustain the other's self-conception, further engendering a mutual emotional and psychological comrnitrnent.

The following two exarnples describe people who already knew each one another through non-fan-related activities. For these participants, fanship provided some cornrnon ground to share as a way to become better acquainted; as is the case for the Denis Leq fan and her eventuai boyfriend.

When I met [says his nanie], 1 thought he was cute. And we were talking one day and 1 said: "You know, you End of look like Denis Leary." And he laughed, and he said: 'The only people that tell me that are black pys and I figured it was just like me telling a black guy he looks like Arsenio HaiI," 'cause he was Irish and stuff. He said: "1 really Iike him." 1 said: "Yeah, me too." And we started talking and stuff and then we went out for two years. We probably would have gone out anyway but it was a good (snaps fingers) way in there.

The golf fan also found his fanship functioned as a vehicle to create a closer connection with the woman he eventually mm-ied.

We met playing baseball for a Rec baseball team. We went out for dinner and the topic of whadaya do comes up and she says: "Oh, 1 work at the Vancouver Golf Club.'' (he makes a self-satisfied face) "Well, well, well!" Everybody teases me that's the only reason 1 married her. She worked at the club but she never golfed and was not a fan of golf but in the process of ail this going on, her managers had said to her it would be very beneficial if she knew how to golf. So she's gotten into that and she found out that she really Iikes it. She is addicted to the game. We watch it on TV al1 the time and 1 am explaining to her the nuances of the game and how it al1 works and she is nght there with me, which makes my life easier. 1 don't have to work around that. 1 am so lucky that rny wife likes sports. It's a huge thing that we share together. It is a major part of our relationship.

While fanship cm serve as a driving force in the discovery of a fan's intimate orientational other(s), data reveal that fanship is also used by fans who are unable to express intense emotions directly. Accordingly, fanship is used as both a bridge to orientational others, and as a shield from too much intimacy with those same others. Three participants describe this dynamic in some of their relationships with orientational others - 1 cm only speculate why al1 three are sports fans. It may be that the dramatic and spontaneous opportunities for emotional expression afforded by sporting events provide a socially acceptable means by which to vent affect that may otherwise remain held within. People who have a propensity to handle the release and expression of their emotions in this way may find it difficult to express emotion otherwise. In addition to rerouting intra- personal affective experiences through sports, they may prefer to deflect the exchange of interpersonal emotionai expression through the same vehicle.

The lirnited affective expression appears to apply to specific types of orientational others. Patterns of discussions with members of a fan's family of origin and longtirne friends may be quite ingrained whereas social interaction with newer friends and romantic partners is reported as more emotionally free-ranging. The golf fan describes open conversations with his wife; however, he describes an extremely controlled climate regarding conversations with his brother, an orientational other who he also loves.

We have nothing else in cornrnon but sports. That's al1 we talk about. When we get together at my rnom's and that, that's al1 we talk about. We don't talk about careers. We don't talk about his wife, my wife, farnily things, persona1 issues. Our perscnal issues are the Canucks or: "Did you see the golf today?" Those are our personal issues: "Oh, 1 had a great two iron.". ..That's what we share. He has no idea what I do. How much 1 make. What is going on in my persona1 life. You know, whether rny wife and 1 had a fight. None of that goes on. Same with his wife. 1 have no idea.. .It's always been that way and it always will be that way. It gets very awkward between the two of us when we run out of sports to talk about, when we have exhausted the topics. And we will exhaust a topic! (Iaughs). ..Sure there's stuff I could help him out with but he doesn't ask and I don't offer and that's just the way it is.

The hockey pool fan describes a sirnilar dynarnic arnong his hockey pool friends, many of wliom he has known since kindergarten. Discussing hockey is a way to fraternize with people about whom he cares deeply and yet maintain an emotionally-safe distance. It saves us from having to talk about the weather. It gives us something to taik about, you can always talk hockey.. .We don? talk about intimate issues. We' re men. Intimate things are: "How ya doing? So anyway.. ." We don? want to sit around and talk about our feelings [His tone of voice and the look in his eye show that he is half-joking] - only at our secret male meeting, but 1can't tdk about that.. .Ifs safe and it gives you a common ground. Remember when you were in school? Al1 the friends you had, you had that commonalty. When you left school, a lot of those friends, you left, because you had nothing in comon anymore and this gives you a way of having something in common. Even if they are not in the hockey pool, you can always start a conversation with: "See how those Canucks play? Oh, they played like crap. Can you believe they did, this and this and this?" It's a cornmon thing that gives you something to grab onto.. .you always have something to, a point of reference and you can go out from there onto other things but you always have that, and it7ssafe.

The tennis participant's preference for viewing tennis on her own helps her to maintain control over the expression of emotional intimacy in front of potentially judgmental familial orientational others. Of note, although her mother is not a tennis fan, her brother is. She explains that her brother is the only one of her family with whom she will watch tennis because he "understands." However, her relationship with her brother is comparable to that of the golf fan's relationship with his brother, they express their love of one another through a mutual love of tennis. Other issues, related to work or romantic relationships are reserved for orientational other friends, not family.

6.3 Never Judke a Book bv its Cover: Nested Identities

Also relevant to the concept of reference groups is Feldman's (1979) "nested identities," Le., multiple identity patterns within one sphere of life. Although multiple identities are often unrelated, there can be identities nested within identities, comparable to the concentric rings created when a drop of rain hits the water. Feldman offers the exarnple of being "a college professor in generd, a college professor at my university, a sociologist, a member of the sociology department at my university, or as part of an identifiable clique of sociologists within rny department" (p. 401). Nested identities are situational (e-g., at a convention versus in a department meeting), they are generally evoked as shared identities (Le., the importance of being in a srnalier group does not occur until one is in a Iarger unit). Although al1 identities are potentially nested, not al1 are nested, Le., the more one devotes her or himself to an activity or a role the finer the gradations becorne. The following are three types of nested identities described by participants.

6.3(A) The Cone of Silence: Techn~lo,oicallv-mediatedSecret Societies

The Xena: Warrior Princess fan describes her association with a series of increasingly exclusive Xena fan Internet coteries. A friend told her about Xena fan fiction on the Lnternet. She borrowed a computer and becarne entranced. As the Xena participant made her way into the online Xenaverse, an Lnternet acquaintance volunteered to sign her ont0 a private mailing list. She subsequently joined two more private lists and abandoned public lists altogether. Then she was introduced to an even more guarded cyber club: the secret list, a coveted inner sanctum, protected by a sophisticated labyrinth of "netiquette" rules.

There are the public ones that are, more or less, advenised and there are links telling you how to get on them. There are the private ones that you don't get on until you know they are there because they are not advertised and then there are secret lists, which nobody is supposed to know about but, of course, (Iaughing) sometimes people do.

Are you on any secret lists?

Yeah, 1 can't Say anything about it but.. am,a private list is simply: somebody starts it and invites people to be on it. If 1 go to you and Say: "Oh, there's this list that you might be interested in," there's no big deal about it. Whereas, a secret list, you might be invited to be on it, but you would be checked out first. It would be by invitation only. A private list, 1 could write to Say 1 would like to be subscnbed to this.

This participant's nested identities start with being a Xena: Warrior Princess fan and progress to being: a Xena Internet fan, a Xena private list fan, and a Xertn secret list fan - al1 of which cm be attributed to one sphere of her life: her Xena fanship.

6.3(B) Love the One You are With: Fans as Stars

Three participants (the Xena: Wnrrior Princess fan, the hockey pool fan, and the Robert Redford fan) provide insight into the phenomenon of fans who themseIves become stars among a population of like-minded fans. The Xma fan describes how this can occur both online and at fan conventions.

There are famous people within the fan world. There are famous fans, which creates a very odd and interesting dynamic in itself. Somebody was talking about that recently and 1 thought: "What do you do when the stars aren't accessible? You create your own stars you can contact, you can talk to them.. .Missy Good writes fan fiction. Huge following. She writes really good touchy-feelie kind of love stones that make you feel real good. They push al1 your soft fuzzy buttons and she does it extraordinarily well. They are romance novels.. .She's a star. She has a mailing list of her own. They have T-shirts! 1 saw someone in a T-shirt! (laughs) 1 mean she has basically got her own fan club. There are other people who have their own fan clubs who are writers, although nobody Chas a fan club] to the extent that she does. You go to a convention, you can't talk to Lucy Lawless or Renee O'Connor, other than, maybe, for two minutes in an autograph line. You can go up and talk to Missy Good. And the stars are becoming less and less accessible. It used to be that you rnight throw a party at one of the conventions and maybe one of the producers or one of the writers would corne to the party. But because it has gotten so much bigger and security is more of a concem, these people are a lot less accessible. So what do you do? You create your own stars, YOUcreate access to "the stars."

These famous Xenn fans have nzsted identites within the community of like-rninded fans from which they emerge: they are fans who are stars to other fans; fans themselves; and, rnost likely, at their places of employment, they are known in very different ways.

The hockey pool fan, by virtue of the nature of his fanship, offers another perspective on the nested identity of fans who rise to star status from a mass of anonymous fans. In the case of this participant and the fellow fans with whorn he is competing, through a combination of skiII and luck, he strives to establish himself as the winner, and as the star, of his own hockey pool.

The friendships that 1 have, ir has changed them, somewhat; brought a whole new element into it: a competitive element.. .Suddenly you are trying to screw them on a deal, be gentiemanly about it, but it's like business. Instead of just going out for a drink and talking, you know, socializing you have this other element.

The hockey pool establishes a competitive environment that creates a mindset of fan against fan: many will Iose, only one will win. By definition, the winner has distinguished her or himself as different from the others. This participant is a hockey fan, who is a hockey pool player, who aspires to being the hockey pool winner.

A fan against fan mentality can also emerge through friendly cornpetition regarding fan expertise about favorite stars. The Robert Redford fan reveals he likes having his knowledge of that star recognized and appreciated.

1 hang around with a lot of film people. They know a lot about movies. When we do get together, we talk about trivial facts.. .So for me to be able to pull out of my hat this knowledge 1 have about Redford.. .it makes me feel like I can contnbute to this group. It brings me joy to know that 1 have than kind of knowledge. I mean, it's not going to buy me anything (laughs), but it's fun!

6.3(C) Join Us, Won't You? TV Characters as a Reference Group

Another form of nested identity emerges through sorne fans' relationship with various TV characters. Unlike the notion of fantasy role-playing explored earlier (5.A(l)b), wherein fans adopt various roles comparable to the stars whom they admire, these fans enjoy the temporary illusion of being transported to a place where they can be in a fictitious reference group with favourite characters. These fans are: people who are fans of a show; fans of specific characters; and, on occasion - are specific characters in specific situations. On that basis, fleetingly, they cm imagine themselves as friends of these fictitious characters. Two television participants - one, a male situation comedy fan; the other, a femaie soap opera fan - describe this dynamic as part of their fan experience. The Seinfeld fan explains:

It was a form of socializing. And 1 would have a nightly nostalgia - if you can have a nostalgia for sornething you have never experienced - a kind of nostalgia for Manhattan: New York frenetic activity and witticism and so on. So there was that element of the surrogate. They were surrogate friends actually, now that 1 think about it. Now, that sense of surrogation was disturbed for me when the parents came in because some how it became an ordinary sitcom then. And I always thought that the mercury went down whenever Jerry's or George's parents were there. And I know they were al1 good, veteran actors, but while they weren't there, it was just Seirzfeld and Company; then there was that illusion of surrogate fnends.

The Anotizer- Wûrld fan describes a similar experience of "surrogate friends," which culminated recently when the show was canceiled. She had ever only cared about the characters, so when an actor who played a favourite character spoke out in a derogatory way about fans' efforts to Save the program, the fan came face-to-face with the dichotomy between her intra-personal relationship with the character (Le., her nested identity as a fan of a fictitious personality) and her interpersonal relationship with the actor who played that character (i.e., the reality of a real person exhibiting charactetistics that clashed with the fictional reference group with whom she had aligned herself).

Linda Dano, she plays Felicia Gallant, and she's one of my favorite characters but, she made statements about the show, like basically, she told [those ofJ us who were trying to Save the show to "get a life." And it REALLY annoyed me. 1 was really surprised at how angry it made me; that the actor said something the character would never Say. It was almost kind of scary. 1 was thinking: "Corne on! Let's not blur the two, she is only an actress. She is not your character that you really like.. .The character would have very much appreciated what we were doing. She would have been on the bandwagon right there with us. ..It's intimate between me and the characters.

6.A(4) Group Think: Sumrnan,

The secondary research question, "How is a fan's sense of self affected by any relevant reference groups?" has rendered the following results. Data suggest that reference groups, the orientational other, and nested identities are an integral aspect of the fan expenence and the developn~entof self. Fans are influenced by, andor employ the opportunity for, social interaction and group dynamics in a variety of ways. Although al1 of the participants describe regular social interaction with other fans, three specificaliy sought a reference group with which to share their fan experiences, to share knowledge and to have the possession of that knowledge appreciated. Further, those functioning within a fan reference group describe appreciating and abiding by generally unspoken rules of conduct. Fanship is viewed as an opportunity for developing or enhancing friendships, especially among music and sports fans. This may result from a greater number of opportunities for en masse social interaction for these participants, compared to those available to film and television participants. Only three of the twenty participants use the Intemet as a potential source of friends; of those three, only one has developed meaningful relationships akin to those found in face-to-face interaction. Four participants use verbal and non-verbal symbols in their fan practices, especially as a way to recognize and delineate the unique aspects of membership in their fan reference group. Three participants express pleasure in being associated with a counterhegemonic fanship. Three participants feel that the shame they experience at being fans is reinforced by disdainful reference groups of non-fans.

Data regarding the onentationat others reveal four categories. One-quarter of the participants employ fan reference groups as a foundational perspective on the self. One- half of the participants sought to create fan reference groups from arnong pre-existing orientational others for the purposes of companionship, reinforcement or reinvention of aspects of themselves. Eight of the ten participants who describe this practice attempted to enjoin farnily members. Four of the participants describe the experience of reference group friends evolving into romantic partners. Three participants (al1 sports fans) describe using fanship as a way to cope with a deârth of the expression of emotional intimacy with select orientational others. Family or not, fans are careful with whom they develop and share their fanship. They need to know that they will not be judged or scorned or, if this does occur, that they have a special group of like-minded people with whom they cm retreat. Further, for those who use fanship as the defining measure of self, relationships within reference groups are even more important because that much more of their core self is at stake. A fan at this level who attempts to develop a new friend is, for al1 intents and purposes, saying: "Accept this form of fanship and you accept me too."

Data germane to nested identity reveal three versions of the concept: a) the existence of technologically-mediated secret societies; b) fans themsetves becoming stars within a reference group of like-minded fans; and c) fans iocating nested identities in fictional situations. For two of the television fans, favourite TV characters constitute a reference group within which they view themselves as having a part.

Thus far, data relating to self (Chapter Five) and to reference groups (Chapter Six) reveal strong individual and group social interaction. As Mead (1934) has observed, the growth of the individuai and of society occurs in a symbiotic relationship - both requiring the other to continue. A similar dynamic appears to occur in fandom. As the Seinfeld fan observes, it may be that the fan self and fan society thrive in reaction to one another.

From rny earliest days when either 1 was an enthusiast about sornething or somebody else was a enthusiast and told me about sornething, there was always an air of propnetorship on the part of the person telling you this: "Oh, you should listen to so and so, he is a great musician" and "You should watch that show", and so on - as though they are imparting a kind of property, generously to you. So what 1 am saying is, there's a contrary impulse in fanship, 1 think; which is the idea that somehow you own Seinfeld and Company. And that you are willing to share this enthusiasm, the merit, the genius of Seinfeld, as a kind of property. Maybe fanship is split between community and the enthusiasrn of a kind of possessive individualism.

These data extend and complement findings in Chapter Five that reveal that the development of self is affected by fanship. In doing so, they augment results garnered to address the primary research question: "Viewed through the frarnework of symbolic interactionism, how do mass media fans' subjective experiences of their relationships witb stars and other fans affect their self-deveiopment?" However the data in this chapter have been analyzed using concepts developed or refined by post-Meadian theonsts - Hyman's (1942) reference groups, Kuhn's (1964) orientational other, and (Feldman's (1979) nested identities. The data reveal multiple forms of al1 three concepts. 7. The View from the Looking Glass: A Discussion of Findings

7.1 Weil, Whadava Know ! Statement of Findings

Before 1 surnrnarize key findings, 1 want to bnng this study full circle and briefly discuss my reaction to the results in Iight of the genesis of this research: my childhood experience of watching my parents observe and learn from famous people, especially on television. Has this study helped me to gain insight into their behaviour? It has. At the outset of this thesis, 1 asked three questions about their relationships with stars: Why were certain celebrities so important to them? What was it about specific stars that attracted the imaginations of my parents? What was the nature of their relationship with these people? The research has provided answers to those questions. 1 have corne to understand that, whether or not a technologically-mediated relationship with a star is ever experienced through a face-to-face relationship, fan-star interaction provides an effective and consciously or subconsciously precise way for the fan to discover, explore, cultivate and/or protect aspects of self. Additionally, fan-fan interaction is a meaningful site for self-actualization. Based on this study, 1 have corne to believe my parents used celebrities as a way to target and expedite the development of dormant or under-evolved pre- existing aspects of self (i-e., my father was already fascinated by politics when he discovered Pierre Trudeau; my mother was already fascinated by giamour when she discovered Elizabeth Taylor). To this end, 1 increasingly view normative mass media fanship as a healthy, intelligent response to the desire to explore and realize the self. This study suggests that the mass media fan expenence has been overlooked as a valuable form of social interaction. Fanship contributes to self-development through providing powerful sites for pleasure, inspiration, and meaning-making. If, according to Grossberg (1992), we are a11 a fan of sornething, then these findings may help us better understand each other and ourselves.

What foliows is a summary of key findings that address the primary research question: "Viewed through the framework of symbolic interactionism, what is the nature of mass media fans' subjective experiences of their relationships with select stars and Iike-minded fans as it affects their evolution of self?" in addition, the foilowing six secondary research questions are addressed: 1) "What are the varieties of relationships experienced by fans with celebrities?" 2) "Do core patterns exist in al1 mass media fans' experience of their chosen celebrities?" 3) "Are fans' life decisions guided by the presence of celebrities in their lives?" 4) "How is the fan's sense of self affected by favourite celebrities?" 5) "How is the fan's sense of self affected by reference groups?" and 6) "1s there some manner of religious expression present in fans' experiences of celebrities?"

The findings are divided into six categories: 1) those that correspond with Meadian (1934) symbolic interactionist concepts; 2) those that corroborate post-Meadian theory; 3) those that extend or challenge theory; 4) those that corroborate or conflict with previous parasocial and fan research; 5) those that relate to other theories described in Chapter One; and 6) implications for syrnbolic interaction theory. The thesis ends with a discussion of implications for future research.

7.1 (A) He's Right,- Bv George: Summarv of Findinhs that Support Mead's Theory

While syrnbolic interactionism has not previously been used in the study of mass media fans, almost al1 of the data are interpretable through the theory. With its emphasis on the ever-changing nature of relationships and on self as process, symbolic interactionism proves a useful approach to understand the relationship and self- development of fans. The mass media fan experience supports Mead's (1934) central principle that individuais develop a self through relationships with others. Data suggest that relationships, tech~~ologically-mediatedor direct, with favourite stars andor with other fans, are integral to the fan experience. With regard to the central characteristics of the fan-star relationship, five possibilities emerge: 1) fan integration of elements of favourite stars' personas; 2) escapism; 3) a quest for the achievement of specific emotional States; 4) the promise of tradition and sameness; and 5) fanship as a way to leam more about specific interests. The central characteristics of the fan-fan relationship encompass: 1) the desire to share expenences; 2) the desire for friendship; and 3j the desire to have one's fanship aspect of self acknowledged.

Data show that fan relationships Vary. From a Meadian perspective, data may be understood through the generalized other (Le., mass media fans cm be regarded as "abstract social classes or subgroups" (Mead, 1934, p. 157)). A variety of direct and isdirect relationships with the star(s) and/or other like-rninded fans affecting the process of the mass media fan's self-development emerge. Four patterns relating to participants' relationships to their fanship are revealed in the data. First, some fans use their fanship to experience desired emotions. Second, pre-existing personality characteristics can be served and enhanced through the fan experience. Third, fan behavior clusters together, (Le., fans who collect shared symbols aiso appreciate non-verbal language - both mind concepts). Founh, while data from some participants emerge repeatedly in certain sub- sections, other participants are notable in their absence; for some fans, the very nature of fanship is more strongly tied to reference groups or to relationships than to self.

Almost al1 of the participants view their fanship as helping to define their sense of who they are, some more than others. Of note, while values and life decisions are affected by fanship, data suggest they are corroborated by, rather than originate in, fanship. Fanship is also used by some persons as a kind of familiar backdrop against which to contemplate issues unrelated to fan activities (e.g., a favourite piece of music may act as a "safe place" within which to explore a new idea). This practice suggests that fanship can be a significant elernent in the development of self beyond the borders of fandom. Moreover, while fanship as a group experience constitutes a site for self-development, it also functions as an opportunity to nurture distinctive aspects of self. Fanship can be used as a way to stand out from other members of one's cornrnunity. For example, the Yes fan - who CO-createdand published a successful fanzine about the band - is, as a result, viewed by other fans as speciai. These findings support Mead's (1934) assertion that the self develops within society concurrent with development as an individual distinct from other members of society. Findings that support specific symbolic interactionism concepts as they relate to self and fanship, fantasy role-playing and role-taking show an intra-personal interaction wherein the "me" entertains different roles which are appropriated aspects of favourite stars. The exploration of these roles provides "1" insights that ultimately extend the parameters of "me," (e.g, leaming about motivation or sacrifice). Participants do not separate their fan "1-me" from their social sense of "1-me." To this end, self-growth through fanship perrneates other aspects of self. Similady, elements of Mead's (1934) concept of rnind (Le., fan verbal and non-verbal language and the collecting of shared symbols) contribute to understanding the process of self-development in fandom by heiping to identify the significance of various subjective expenences (e.g., the Grateful Dead fan's description of the meaningfulness of seeing a Grateful Dead sticker on the bumper of a stranger's vehicle).

The symbolic interaction concepts of reference groups, the orientational other, and nested identities are useful for understanding the fan experience and the development of self. Each one enables increasing refinement of the mass media fan's subjective experience. Reference groups offer a way to interpret how fans enact the following: further define their fanship; develop friendships; share fan expenences; share fan-specific knowledge; and, experience an appreciation of the possession of that knowledge. The concept of orientational other helps to understand the fan practice of employing fan reference groups as a foundational view of the self. It sheds light on fans' attempts to create feliow fans from among pre-existing orientationai others - many of whom are family members. Reference group friends sometimes evolve into orientational others through the development of intimacy. Regarding intimacy, fanship is sometimes used by fans to distance themselves from emotional interaction with pre-existing orientational others. In addition, the concept of nested identities helps to reveal the multiple layers of relationstiip that some fans experience. These identities, like rippIes in a pool, demonstrate the potentially complex uses of fanship.

The data suggest that meaning-making for fans is located in the shared interpretation and understanding of performances or artistic creations by favourite stars andhother fans. Meadian theory shows how meaning-making can occur. For exarnple, using the concept of "1-me," the Keith Richards fan's experience of hearing an old Rolling Stones Song - such as Can 't get no Satisfaction - cm be understood as a confluence of the more than thirty years of memones he has amassed in relation to that piece of music (located in his "me") and his listening to and experiencing the Song in the moment (located in his "I").

7.1(B) Whatever You Dssire: Summarv of Findins that Support Post-Meadian Theory

Through post-Meadian theory, relationship data may be understood more specifically than through Mead's (1934) generalized other. For some fans, interaction may be limited to small reference groups, such a technologically-mediated relationship with favountt: stars and face-to-face andor phone conversations with one or two other fans. For others, those relationships may be augmented by several other types of fan- related interactions involving an orientational other andor nested identity relationships, such as those with farnily members, friends, CO-workers,anaor Internet users.

Data also suggest that the fan-star relationship represents a site of deep meaning- making. Using Denzin's (1988) approach, the inclusion of the linguistic function of desire - expressed through metaphor (condensation) and metonymy (displacement) - is "rooted in the interactional world of others" (p. 75). Desire is a signpost to inner structures of fan experience. Core patterns of fan behaviour suggest that conscious and even sub-conscious motivation as a result of desire is an integral component of self- development through fanship practices. Fan-star and fan-fan relationships cm contribute to self-development through: inspiration to atternpt new endeavors; affecting career choices; infiuencing friendships; and, dreams as symbols of reassurance and desire. Additionally, as a result of Franks' (1987) recognition of emotional health as a crucial underpinning for well-being, the dimension of emotionality is used to better understand fanship. Diffenng uses of emotions relative to fanship practices are apparent, e-g., the desire to specifically experience and release ernotion versus the desire to avoid it. Of note, experiencing desire and other emotions in-person versus a technologically-mediated relationship appears to be of secondary importance for most fans relative to the opporiunity to simply express affect.

7.1(C) Mediated Mead: Summary of Findings that Extend Theory

While the Meadian and post-Meadian versions of symbolic interactionist theory focus on face-to-face relationships, the theory has been used in this study, for the first time, as a means by which to understand technologically-mediated interaction as well. Technology plays a major role in the mass media fan-star relationship. The participants discovered, and continue, their relationship with favourite stars aimost exclusively through technologically-mediated means. A number of symbolic interactionist concepts can be located in technologically-mediated aspects of fans' relationships with stars. Varieties of "1-me" expression are facilitated through technology (e-g., creative expression through the Intemet; video images employed as time-lines to locate the state of self at different times; videotapes enlisted to manipulate feelings of stability versus feelings of surprise). Fantasy role-playing, roie-taking, and a technologically-mediated version of taking the role of the other - wherein the "me" gains insight through exploring different roles that are appropriated aspects of favourite stars - appear repeatedly in the data. Data show that concepts of mind (non-verbal, verbal language and shared symbols) are established or reinforced through technology, which lends itself to desired experiences that may be missed othewise (e.g., the tennis fan who uses her VCR to repeatedly view fleeting images of tennis players' family members). Also, the post- Meadian concept of "nested identity" appears in two technologically-based versions: mernbership in Intemet secret societies; and, fans imagining that they are members of groups of characters in fictional situations. Moreover, the extended theory concept of technologically-mediated interactions provides an opportunity to address how mass media fans engage in technologically-mediated meaning-making. The impact of a goal scored in a hockey garne, a soulful melody, a dramatic film moment, or a comedic quip in a television situation comedy are al1 contingent upon viewers making meaning of sophisticated, mediated experiences. This type of meaning-making appears to be used by fans for the purposes of entertainment, education, inspiration, practice for life situations, and healing psychological traumas.

This study of technologically-mediated interaction between fans and stars and fans and other fans extends Meadian and post-Meadian theory in the following ways. First, in spite of the once-removed, one-way dynarnic of a technologically-mediated interaction, fans experience a strong affective connection with stars and other fans that contributes to meaning-making in their worlds and, in turn, to self-development. Second, in spite of the identicai and - as in the case of any pre-recorded event - unchangeable nature of the star's side of the fan-star dyad, each fan personalizes that technologically- mediated interaction (increasingly over time) creating rneaning-making experiences unique to their self-development. Third, data suggest that Mead's concept of taking the role of the other has been hybridized by fans to function in a way comparable to the original version. However, in the latter version, by virtue of their sumrnation of the star's personality, fans assume their perspective as well as that of the star's in whose eyes their behaviour would -in a Meadian version of the dynamics of taking the role of the other - be reflected and assessed accordingly. In this way, fans engage in a Gestalt-like two-chair exercise wherein they assume both their role and that of the star's in order to gain insight into the star's experience. Fourth, technologically-mediated interaction can occur over a long-term basis such that fans experience a relationship with stars or other fans (e-g., Internet friends) that can be intensely meaningful and can profoundly affect fans' self- development (Le., in terms of choices regarding career, friends or partners, andor mords and ethics). Fifth, technologically-rnediated interaction affords new ways of experiencing Meadian (e.g., maximizing the "me" versus maximizing the "1") and post-Meadian (e-g., nested identity) concepts, the practices of which affect self-development through fans' conscious selections about the use of these technologically-assisted concepts. For example, one of the The Young and the Restless soap opera fans attempts to minimize any surprises on the prograrn as a way to maximize stability in that aspect of her life. She uses that sense of stability as a way to counteract inevitable surprises in the rest of her life. Ln conclusion, technologically-mediated relationships represent a new mode of interaction requiring special consideration as it relates to the development of syrnbolic interactionist theory and its use in research.

7.1(D) Fan-toms: Findings related to previous research

In this section, two types of research - relating to parasocial and fan literature - are revisited in light of the findings.

7.1 (D)a Para-mores: Parasocial research.

In conuast to Horton and Wohl's (1956) finding that viewers feel as though they know a celebrity in the same way that they know their close fnends, very few of the participants report feeling this way. Even long-time fans are cautious about presuming knowledge of a star beyond the star's public persona. This result may be due to increasingly sophisticated fans, or to a difference between types of participants in each study. Having acknowledged fans' caution regarding assumed intimacy, they are quick to state whether they would Iike to know the stars better. To this end, Rubin and McHugh's (1987) argument that "attraction," (rather than length of exposure) to a personality is a key factor in the likelihood of viewers developing into fans - with the exception of the hockey pool fan - is corroborated by this study. Rubin and McHugh also suggest that the arnount of exposure to parasocial interactions may not be of importance owing to the controlled, ritualized, and predictable nature of a mediated relationship. This finding is supported by the data here. As a result of differences in the format of mass media, different types of fans experience different amounts of exposure. The tennis fan, for example, views her favourite players on television far less frequently than the soap opera fans and yet the depth of fanship does not appear to be any less.

Rubin et al. (1985) speculate that "the rnotivating need for parasocial interaction may stem from an active bonding with a persona who is perceived as real and sirnilar, rather than the initially speculated deficiency motivation" (p. 175). The data here support this speculation. With the exception of the hockey pool fan - who seeks the thrill of cornpetition - and one soap opera fan - who seeks to fil1 boredom during an illness - participants repeatedly describe the fan experience as one of enchantment or curiosity rather than as a lack of some sort. Rubin et al. suggest that meaning-making for media consumers is located in the emotionality with which viewers construe and create meaning out of a media expenence, an assertion that is strongiy supported in this study.

Of the four works previously cited that examine technologically-mediated relationships, al1 are at least partially corroborated by the findings here. Both Baym's (1994) work exploring soap fan Usenet newsgroups (which finds that participants are able to create group coherence in this realm with neither places nor faces) and Boese's (1998) work on Xena: Wurrior Princess online culture (which reports that Xena fans create empowering experiences for thernselves in cyberspace) are substantiated in this study. Cavicchi's (1997) work on the fans of Bruce Springsteen (wherein fans' musical and non-musical experiences are connected, fans' activities and identification with Springsteen help to create a sense of self, and fans' storytelling encourages social relations) is corroborated in this research by the Gra~efulDend fan and the Yes fan. Lehman's (1994) work (which finds that Grateful Dead fans' sense of self appears to be related more to fellow fans than to the band members themselves) does not appear to be true for most of participants in this study except for the hockey pool fan and, to a lesser extent, the Xena: Warrior Princess fan.

7.1 (D)b More para-Ilels: Fan literature.

Novak's (1977) assertion that sports is a cohabitant with, if not a substitution for, conventional religion, is substantiated by three of the five sports participants. Novak's comment that "language gantes.. .do not satisfy parts of the hurnan spirit which football reaches" (p. xv-i) is very similar to the football fan's observations in reference to a well- executed play that "there are biblical references that don't do it justice." While the comrnents are more that twenty years apart, both infer that sports fanship offers transcendent experiences for some fans that are so deep as to defy language. The three music fans, while not acknowledging that music functions as a religion, rernain open to the possibility of the expression of religious sentiment through music. Al1 ailude to Martin's (1980) argument that music has moved into the space vacated by religion in a secuiarized world offering calming, healing, and spiritual harmony. The Grateful Dead fan, the Yes fan, 2nd the Bruce Cockburn fan describe this type of experience and liken it to a form of religion. Nevertheless, the majonty of fans interviewed do not view their fanship in religious terms.

With regard to Iiterature conceming fanship and pleasure, Harrington and Bielby (1995) report that 76% of soap viewers prefer to watch alone. They also find that soap fans enjoy: the farniliarity and comfort of the generic structure; gossiping without guilt because the characters are not real; speculating what a favorite character or star will do next; reassurance that no matter what is going on in one's own Iife, the star, or the star's character, is present; and the kitsch aspect of the genre. Al1 three soap participants, to a greater or lesser degree, describe these factors. Harrington and Bielby also find that control of the VCR is key to pleasure. This was cited by the Another World participant but does not appear to be a factor for the other two fans. Control of the VCR is also mentioned as important by the tennis fan. In addition, the tennis fan corroborates Harrington and Bielby's assertion that some fans fall in "limerence" (a kind of love) with the love they see on soap operas or, as in the case of the tennis fan, with the "love" she sees during matches. Like some soap fans, the tennis fan revisits taped episodes seeking evidence of the red-life relationships experienced by the players with other players and/or with their families. Other findings relating to the fanship and pleasure literature include those frorn the Bruce Cockburn fan, who has found pleasure in cultivating deep environmental and social comrnitments inspired by his appreciation of Cockburn. This example supports Dyer's (1986) perception of fans as trying to get closer to celebrities because stars offer ways of making sense of the experience of being a person in a particular mode of social and economic production. Leets, de Becker, & Giles' (1995) finding that viewers are not interested in identifying with, or emulating, celebrities so much as they are interested in seeking out "further information about celebrities' lives for vicarious pleasure" (p. 114)- is not substantiôted in these data. Ail of the fans in this study are interested in, and respond to, the celebrities' performances first and foremost.

Fiske's (1992) assertion that fan knowledge is a fom of currency (the amassrnent of which contributes to the development of self-esteem, ernpowennent, and a source of personal cache) in a "shadow cultural economy" is apparent in descriptions from several participants (e.g., the Robert Redford fan delights in being recognized as a Redford "expert;" the Denis Leary fan enjoy reciting Leary's line to fellow fans). It may be that there is a relationship between Rubin et al.'s (1985) findings that fans are drawn to stars because they perceive them to be real and similar, and fans' use of favourite stars' material to develop or enhance under-expressed aspects of their own personalities. For exarnple, the Denis Leary fan describes being inspired by that star to be more forthright in her dealings with people. Perhaps her performances of Leary's matenal for other fans function as rehearsals of desired behavioural changes which she can ultimately enact in other settings as well.

The phenornenon of fanship and social change, exemplified in Beatlemania serving as a forum for the rise of 1960s ferninism and some political movements (Ehrenreich, Hess, & Jaclîbs, 1992), appears in the data less dramatically. Ehrenreich et al. describe a group of people who changed life expectations in response to interpretations of what the Beatles, the band, represented to thern rather than in direct response to the music. Al1 of the participants describe responding more directly to favourite stars from a pre-existing orientation that fanship merely helped to accentuate (e-g., the Keith Richards fan feels empowered by Richards to pursue his desire to dress and behave counter to hegemonic noms; the Stanley Kubrick fan feels empowered by Kubrick's to pursue his desire to be unwavering in the expression of his creativity in the workplace).

Regarding literature on fanship "sickness" or "health9" Hineman's (1992) suggestion that fantasy can help to heal psychological trauma is corroborated by the three soap opera fans and, to a lesser extent, by other participants (e.g., the Xena: Warrior Pr-incess fan used the prograrn to revisit her thoughts on relationships after a failed romance; the teenaged Clint Eastwood fan attended a number of movies as a coping mechanism in the wake of his father's death). From another perspective, Aden's (1999) belief that fans seek "promised lands" (symbolic, shared culturai visions of ultimate fulfillment functioning as adult garnes of make-believe and instructive escapism) is apparent in a number of the participants (eg, the hockey fan's "promised land" of winning a Stanley Cup; the Woody Allen's "prornised land of being a movie star; the Seinfeld fan's "promised land" of spending time in Seinfeld's Manhattan; the Bryan Adams fan's "prornised land" of playing with the band).

7.1(E) Interesting Interactions: Findings Relative to Other Theories

Via an exploration of the data through the Frankfurt School, it is possible to understand participant descriptions as both evidence of the domination of a powerful cultural industry and technological rationality leading to the destruction of individual autonomy and authenticity, on the one hand, and as evidence of creative and unique expressions of fanship contributing to enhanced individuation, on the other hand. For example, the Bruce Cockburn fan, the Byran Adams fan, and the Grateful Dead fan are al1 musicians who play, and are influenced by, their favourite stars' music - which, one could argue, has impinged upon their ability to be authentic. However, albeit partially inspired by their favourite stars, these same fans also wnte and perform their own original music. How does one decide whether the fans' original music has succumbed to the aforementioned types of domination or if it demonstrates individual creative autonomy? 1s the soap opera fan who is empowered by her favoui-ite soap character to become an accomplished public speaker, an exarnple of mimesis and the zombification of the self or, an exarnple of someone who has used fanship as a foundation from which to develop her own, unique, voice? Adorno's (1991) position that mass culture, through the power of technology, has robbed people of their ability to develop, appears counterintuitive to the hockey fan who states that he has been inspired by the team spirit about which he leamed through watching hockey, and has also created his own way to encourage team spirit in his workplace. One could argue that technology and mass culture only provide the vehicle by which the hockey fan is able to study and uniquely transfigure the examples he discoven through sport. Contrarily, using Cockburn perspective, the hockey fan's embrace of team spint may be regarded as a "trance-like" response enacted in lieu of autonomy. Exploration of the data in relation to the Frankfurt School suggests that while technological rationality has the potential to absorb creativity and individuality, this outcorne is not a given and that a complex and continual individual and culturai dialectic occurs.

Levi-Strauss' (1963) structural anthropology may be employed to position the star, stars, or certain fans as "sorcerer" while fans rnight be viewed as "victirns" - substantiated by a group of socially interacting believers - creating a "coherence of the psychic universe, itself a projection of the social universe" (p. 182). Given that this thesis does not assume pathology, the viewing of fans as "victims," or somehow distanced from a reality that exists outside of fandom, is not explored. However, Levi-Stauss's prernise that social interaction occurs through magical thinking and magicai behaviour allows for an interpretation of stars or certain fans as "magicians" who provide a temporary transcendence to other experiences such as pleasure or other affective states, e.g, the Grnteful Dead fan's description of being "transported" by the music. In addition, Levi- Strauss's notion of repetition to overcome contradiction can be used to understand the experience of al1 three soap opera fans. They note some of the soap opera premises are "ridiculous" but the ritualistic repetition of technologically-mediated daily viewing allows them to overlook contradiction and suspend disbelief.

Theories relating to becoming the other offer a way to interpret the data through the concept of mimesis. Taussig's (1993) supposition of our modern day creation of a second nature (wherein the copy draws on elements of the original) can be located in various aspects of the data. Al1 of the participants describe some form of pleasure as a result of their focus on favourite stars. How these fans chose to manifest this pleasure varies. The hockey pool fan, for example, is not interested in what it feels like to be a hockey player; rather he seeks to experience the sensation of winning. In contrast, the Bruce Cockburn fan maintains that Cockbum almost exists inside of him, inspiring him when he is writing music. In this sense, he is imbuing himself with the character and power of Cockburn, dong the lines of Taussig's description of sympathetic magic. Additionally, Taussig's notion of "mimetically capacious" machines that may "pennit the freedom to live reality as really made-up" (p. 255) cm be used to illuminate the Seinfefd and Another World fans' experiences of locating themselves as fictitious characters.

Girard's (1978) concept of mimesis embodies a much darker perception of the phenomenon wherein "chosen" individuais, or scapegoats, function as a real life manifestation of the affective state of the collective. After these individuais have served their social purpose, or in order to serve their social purpose, they die - either literally or in terms of the dernise of their careers. Girard's work offers a way to approach metaphorical sacrifices of celebrities (or of fans) and their potential for creating unity. This phenomenon did not appear directly in the interview data. However, it can be argued that circumstances relating to the Cnnucks' losing streak, Woody Allen's moral dilernrna, and Keith Richards' drug problems have rendered these stars as scapegoats in that their controversiai careers have provided foci wherein those respective fan communities have both reviled, and unified around, their stars.

Becker's (1973) theory regarding the fear of death and transference mechanisrns (i-e., the Freudian desire to surrender to a superior power; the Rankian desire to become part of a greater whole) used to cope with the prospect of death appears to apply to some of the music and sports fans - many of whom repeatedly ailude to the live event experience of feeling at one with the crowd as a highlight of fanship. Becker's work on meaning-making lends itself to viewing fanship as a way to find meaning that cm be applied to one's own life. For example, ail of the film participants have "intimate" knowledge of their favourite stars, which they Say helps them to gain insight into their own lives. Also, Becker's work concerning the motivation to realize one's unique gifts and make a unique contribution to the world, is applicable in that many participants from each medium report self-development inspired through careful observation of adrnired star behaviour (eg, the golf fan's determination, based on studying favounte athletes, to rnaintain a positive attitude). Vygotsky's notion of what Wertsch (1985) labels the decontextualization of mediational means (which describes a phenornenon wherein the meaning of signs becomes less dependent on spatioternporal contexts) supports fans' abilities to experience a depth of meaning through technologicaily-mediated interaction. Film, DVDs, television, video, and CDS are al1 examples of technology that is heavily used by fans in order to experience favourite stars on their own terms, usually far removed from the time and place in which the original performance occurred. Regardless of the discontinuity between an original event and a fan's expenence of that event, fans report strong emotional responses. Vygotsky's underlying perspective of socioeconornic considerations does not appear in the data here.

7.1(F) Flarnin~the Flame: Im~licationsfor Symbolic Interaction Theory

The data, most of which relate to technologically-mediated interaction, has been explored using both Meadian and post-Meadian interpretations of symbolic interactionist theory. The success of this effort suggests that future studies of mass media fanship relationships - either face-to-face or technologically-mediated interactions - can be fruitfully exarnined using the theory. Its strengths are founded in well-developed concepts relating to the dynarnics of relationship and self as a continual process; weaknesses exist in that not al1 the data were readily analyzable through current understandings of symbolic interactionism.

As discussed (7.1(C)), the concept of "taking the role of the other" is not flexible enough to accommodate parasocial interactions. The largely technolopically-mediated nature of the fadcelebrity relationship; the generally evolved personalities of, and attitudes held by, most adult fans; and the highly-developed visceral and conscious visual langage skills (Stone, 1970) possessed by most adult fans suggest the need for a refinement of the concept of "taking the role of the other" of a magnitude comparable to that of Hyman's (1942) reference group, developed in response to deficiencies apparent in the concept of the generalized other. Data suggest this new interpretation of "taking the role of the other" should include an intra-personai component which might borrow elements from Gestalt therapy (eg., two-chair chair work wherein people identify and portray aspects within themselves or aspects of other people in their world in order to gain insight toward self-development).

Further, the data strongly support Denzin7s(1988) post-Meadian concept of desire and his argument that it plays a key role in the process of self-development. These findings suggest the need for further empirical study and theoretical consideration of how desire may be situated in symbolic interactionist theory. For example, the Seinfeld fan describes his desire and nostalgia for a Manhattan lifestyle that he has never experienced. A case study (involving an overview of the Zeitgeist in which he was raised, interviews with the fan, his farniIy members, longtirne friends, etc.) could uncover and help to develop means by which to better understand the nature of desire. Further, the post- Meadian consideration of emotionality is strongly shown in the data to be a key fan experience, suggesting the need for additional studies focussing on the role and implications of this dimension for self-development.

7.2 Fan-tasmagoria: Implications for Future Research

First, a replication of this study may be warranted in order to test the validity of the major findings. An expanded, more varied group of participants, (e-g., different ethnichacial groups, age ranges, and social classes) rnay add to, challenge, or confirm the results of this study. Also, different methods of exploring fanship rnay be useful. A questionnaire, for example, may offer a quantitative format by which to validate the findings. In addition, the study of mass media fanship through the other theories identified in this thesis, either separately or in combination, may provide additional understanding of the nature of mass media fanship. The theories identified in Chapter One share certain characteristics that may help to focus and address the question of fanship in conjunction with issues regarding self-development and the impact of relationship, technology, and society. Individually, each theory offers a unique perspective by which to understand fanship. For example, Vygotsky's genetic method explores both biological and social factors in considering the "process by which higher forrns [of thinking] are established" (1978, p. 64). Might there be such a thing as sociobiological fanship wherein fanship is used to sustain a way of being (eg, the health benefits of laughter through watching comedy) and then ignored once those needs have been fülfilled?

With regard to implications for future research relative to fanship and religious expression, 1 believe more research would prove fruitful. While Mead saw the unity of "I- me" as a religious moment, not many fans understand their feelings in this way. Although fans state that they are fans in part because of the sense of unity, pleasure, and satisfaction they expenence in fanship, the possibility of fanship as a new form of religious expression does not materialize strongly in the data. Only three participants - al1 of them sports fans - feet that they can interpret their fanship as a form of reiigious expression. Three music fans also express an openness to the possibility of interpreting their fanship through the perspective of religious expression. However, 1 am still of the opinion that a convergence of mass media fanship and various types of religious expression exists. Aden (1999) suggests that fandom can serve as a site for identity reinforcement and, in doing so, "our sacred selves congregate with similar selves to form a community of believers" (p. 63). Katriel and Philipsen (1990) also discuss the possibility of a confluence of meanings:

Just as religion takes as its theme man's separation from God, and solves it through ritual acts of obeisance to a deity, so the "communication" ritual takes as its theme the reality of human separation and solves it through acts of obeisance to the CO-constructionof selves in and through "communication" (Katriel & Philipsen, 1990, p. 9 1).

The challenge remains, however, to develop a means by which to access such data. As with Girard's (1978) assertion that the phenomenon of scapegoating is most potent at a socially sub-conscious level, so too may be the phenomenon of fanship as religious expression. Another finding tacitly contrasting with Mead's ( 1934) concept of the generalized other and, more specifically with Hyman's (1942) concept of reference groups, is that while al1 of the fans are involved in variously-sized (Le., two people and up) casual fan reference groups, none of the participants belong to formal fan clubs. This finding may have implications for the reference group concept and how one may defrne its parameters; it also warrants more research.

In addition, the prevalence of various manifestations of desire suggests the need for more research in this area. As described above, the data reveal myriad dimensions of desire that raise complex questions relating to the intersection of gender, affect, and choice of mass medium. Further research on fanship and desire through Denzin's (1988) symbolic interactionism, or other theorists such as Aden (1999) or Becker ( Z 973), may yield a depth and nchness of data regarding the nature and process of fanship and self- development in general. Finally, data corroborating Hinnerman's ( 1992j work on fantasy in fanship as a means to heal psychological trauma suggest the need for more study in this area as well. It may be that stars function as self-administered "remedies" for psychological healing and growth. Future research on the development of a deeper understanding of this aspect of fanship may contribute to the areas of individual psychology, sociology and cultural studies. Appendix A

Consent Forrn

Simon Fraser University

Informed Consent by Subiects to Participate in a Research Proiect

Date:

The University and those conducting this project subscnbe to the ethical conduct of research and to the protection at al1 times of the interests, cornfort, and safety of subjects. This forrn and the information it contains are given to you for your own protection and full understanding of the procedures, and benefits of this research project, that you have received an adequate opportunity to consider this information in the document, and that you voluntarily agree to participate in the project.

1 understand that 1 have been asked to participate in this research project entitled, "The Mediated Self: An Exploration of the Subjective Expeiiences of Mass Media Celebrity Fanship" because 1 am a fan of a mass media celebrity. 1 understand that this research is being conducted in order to develop a deeper, richer insight into the many experiences involved in being a fan. 1 understand 1 need to be 19 years or over in order to participate in this study.

I agree to participate in this research project, which is being conducted by Michelle Gibson for her doctoral thesis under the supervision of Dr. Jerry Zaslove, Senior Supervisor of the thesis comrnittee (604-29 1-4868), under the auspices Dr. Steve Hart, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies (604-29 1-4255). Drs. Zaslove or Hart may be contacted at the above phone numbers if you wish to speak to either of them.

1 understand that my involvernent will include participating in three interviews at a mutually agreed-upon time and location, each Iasting approximately Yi hour, 1 '/2 hours and !42 an hour, respectively. The first meeting is an exploratory one to determine if 1 am interested in participating in the study. The second meeting involves an in-depth conversation about my experiences of being a fan. The third meeting is a follow-up, probably over the phone, to allow to me to add any additional thoughts 1 niay have had after to the second meeting. 1 also understand that the second and third meetings will be audio-recorded in order to assist the researcher in accurately docurnenting rny conversation.

1understand that 1 may refuse to participate and that 1 am free to withdraw at any time. Al1 information will be kept strictly confidentid to the full extent perrnitted by law. Materiais will be held in a secure location and will be destroyed after the completion of the study. While findings may be used in future studies or publications, there will be no identification of me personally on any records. 1 understand 1can obtain a copy of the research results by requesting them from Michelle Gibson. I understand that 1 will receive no compensation (monetary or otherwise) and that my current participation does not obligate me to participate in future.

1 have read and understand the content of this consent form, a copy of which 1 have received, and agree to participate in this study.

Acknowiedgment: Please place appropriate number at the end of each statement:

1 2 3 5 Totally Disagree Neu tral Totally Agree

1. I consider myself to be a fan of ...... 2.1 taik with other fans about this star/group/show/team on a fairly regular basis. 3.1 make a point of videotaping shows, listening to radio, or buying magazines featuring this star/group/show/team. 4.1 socialize with other fans of this star/group/show/tearn. 5.1 purchase or trade products or memorabilia related to this starlgroup/show/tearn. 6.1 enjoy the entertainment that this star/group/show/team adds to my life. 7.1 enjoy the emotionai involvement with this star/group/show/team. 8.1 sometimes get motivated to start new activities, e.g., a fitness program, singing classes, a cliarity cause etc., because of this star/group/show/team.

Thank you for your participation! References

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