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Star Trek Fan Community The Effect of Commercialisation and Direct Intervention by the Owners of Intellectual Copyright A Case Study: The Australian Star Trek Fan Community Susan Pamela Batho PhD Candidate University of Western Sydney Australia 2009 Resubmitted March 2009 © Susan Batho February 2007 Statement of Authentication The work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original except as acknowledged in the text. I hereby declare that I have not submitted this material, either in full or in part, for a degree at this or any other institution. …………………………………………… (Signature) ABSTRACT In the early 1990s, Australian Star Trek fandom appeared to be thriving, with large numbers of members in individual clubs, many publications being produced and conventions being held. The Star Trek phenomenon was also growing, with its profitability being an attractive selling point. In 1994, Viacom purchased Paramount Communications, and expanded the control over its rights by offering licences to the title of Official Star Trek Club for countries outside of the United States, as well licences for numerous commercially sold items At the time they were in negotiation with the Microsoft Corporation to establish an on-line community space for Star Trek to attract the expanding internet fan presence, and relaunching Simon & Schuster’s Pocket Books which was part of Paramount Communications, as its sole source of Star Trek fiction, and had organised to launch the Star Trek Omnipedia, a CD produced by Simon & Schuster Interactive. A new Star Trek series, Voyager, was about to appear, and marketing-wise, it was a good time to expand their presence commercially, launch the new website, and organise the fans through Official Star Trek Clubs, feeding them new merchandise, and the new website. The licence was offered in Australia, and three clubs vied for the right to purchase the licence. It was eventually bought by a business, Photon Productions, run by fans who had previously run one of the clubs. That club was wound down in favour of the business and the clubs competing for the title saw the fact that a business had bought the licence as being unfair to fans. Clubs across Australia received “Cease and Desist” letters from the licensing agent for Paramount Communications, Southern Star, and small clubs began to fold after receipt of the letter. Finally a meeting was called, between Paramount Communications and the major Star Trek fan clubs in Australia, and restrictions were placed upon the fans concerning their activities. The nature of fannish activities changed, and many clubs and publications closed down. This research looks at whether the meeting between Paramount Communications and the Star Trek fan clubs had a pivotal role in the changes to Australian Star Trek fandom, or whether there were other contributing factors involved. INTRODUCTION Preamble: I am a Star Trek fan: A Trekkie, a Trekker or a Trek fan. I have been since the age of 15 years when the show first aired in 1968 in Australia. From that age I became what Jenkins (1992) describes as a ‘textual poacher’, writing my stories, cherishing the characters and making them live outside the realm of the one-hour television episode. The show, my writing, and fandom have been a part of my life for 39 years, and have shaped my philosophies and my way of life. I am also a student and a teacher. In this I follow Hills (2002) description of fan-scholar and scholar-fan, looking for truth somewhere between “theory” and “experience”. In conducting this research, the fan had to utilise the networking that is much a part of fan life, but the scholar had to look at the results objectively, to see beyond any residual feelings that the fan felt. What Does It Mean to be A Fan? Many people have tackled the concept of fans and fandom, each with their own perspective on how this concept should be defined. Hills (2002) states that being a fan is self-evident: “Everybody knows what a ‘fan’ is. It’s somebody who is obsessed with a particular star, celebrity, film, TV programme, and band; somebody who can produce reams of information on their object of fandom, and can quote their favourite lines or lyrics, chapter and verse. Fans are often highly articulate. Fans interpret media texts in a variety of interesting and perhaps unexpected ways. And fans participate in communal activities – they are not ‘socially atomised’ or isolated viewers/readers.” (Hills, 2002, pp ix) This statement puts forward the idea that fans are active and social; and that fandom is a collective activity. Self-perception of participation is an integral part of being a fan. Abercrombie and Longhurst (1998) attempt to break the notion of “fan” into what Jones (2004) called their “Continuum…read as an audience career path.” “Fans are those people who become particularly attached to certain programs or stars within the context of a relatively heavy media use. “Cultists are more organised than fans. They meet each other and circulate specialised materials that constitute the modes of a network. “Enthusiasts are, in our terms… based predominately around activities rather than media or stars.” (1998, pages 138 – 139) This appears to subdivide fans into commitment and activity levels, but does not describe the ways fans participate communally except as to meet and circulate materials that have importance to them. Hills (2002) also sees the word “fan” as an act of being, of how one interprets, lives and enjoys one’s life: “I want to suggest that fandom is not simply a ‘thing’ that can be picked over analytically. It is also always performative; by which I mean that is it an identity which is (dis-)claimed, and which performs cultural work. Claiming the status of a ‘fan’ may, in certain contexts, provide a cultural space for types of knowledge and attachment.” (Hills, 2002,pxi) Thus, the term “fan” is not imposed but is self-given and gives the bearer “permission” to take part in culturally accepted practices pertaining to being ‘the fan’. For instance, when taking the step from just enjoying a musical artist, to becoming a fan of the same musical artist, the individual will understand that, in becoming a fan, they now can buy goods to indicate how much they enjoy the musical artist, collect souvenirs, join a fan club, or wait at stage doors to get n autograph or even just a glimpse of their favourite artist. They may not choose to do all these acts, or even any of them, however they can perform these acts as part of their fan identity. Jindra (1994) and Schilling (2000), on the other hand, see fans as being members of a social group based on a media product, having no real existence as a fan without the interaction of other fans. This poses the question: do fans think of themselves as fans even when not interacting with other fans? Do they have to be active within the realm of their interest, in this case, the Star Trek franchise, to be a fan? Jenkins (1992) and Bacon-Smith (1992) describe fans as active, participatory, and acting within a community that supports their creativity and their active participation. They also describe proactive consumers who will voice their concerns and their disapproval when confronted with a direction they do not want “their” show to go. Fans that believe they have rights to the products they create, and that are created for them in the form of shows and merchandising. Are these descriptions an accurate reflection on the state of fandom or a romanticised view of what it is to be part of a fan culture? As a fan, I could feel both agreement and disagreement with the images portrayed in their books, I believe fans are also vulnerable, inevitably having to understand this. They are not always invincible against those who legally own the shows. One example of this is the vampire show, Forever Knight1, which was a Canadian show. The last episodes were written to finalise the storyline before the cancellation of the show was announced. When fans began their protest, the props had already been dispersed, and the main characters killed of, they were not left with any power to resurrect the show. The lack of materials 1 He was brought across in 1228. Preyed on humans for their blood. Now he wants to be mortal again. To repay society for his sins. To emerge from his world of darkness. From his endless, forever night. Forever Knight chronicles the life and times of Detective Nick Knight (Geraint Wyn Davies), a 13th century vampire living in present-day Toronto, Canada. Tortured by the guilt of all the years of murders and other evil deeds he committed, he decides to become a homicide detective in an attempt to pay back society for his sins and to hopefully become mortal again. Aired from May 1992 to May 1996. http://www.tvrage.com/Forever_Knight/ Accessed February 1, 2009 created about the show did not feed the fans’ enthusiasm – in fact only three books novels were written and published in the Forever Knight universe2. A letter campaign to get more material was started by one of the authors, Susan Garrett: Date: Fri, 3 Apr 1998 _From: "Susan M. Garrett" <[email protected]> _Subject: PLEASE READ THIS -- IMPORTANT! Now that I have your attention-- We've gotten through to Sony Product Development. Would you like to know _why they summarily dismissed any idea of doing any more Forever Knight novels or merchandising? THEY DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS ON THE AIR. They didn't know that it was on the SciFi Channel or that they had a three year contract and were promoting it heavily with marathons.
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