Musicking, Discourse, and Identity in Participatory Media Fandom
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City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2-2018 Musicking, Discourse, and Identity in Participatory Media Fandom Aya Esther Hayashi The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2548 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] MUSICKING, DISCOURSE, AND IDENTITY IN PARTICIPATORY MEDIA FANDOM by AYA ESTHER HAYASHI A dissertation submitted to the Graduate faculty in Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, the City University of New York 2018 © 2017 AYA ESTHER HAYASHI All rights reserved ii Musicking, Discourse, and Identity in Participatory Media Fandom by Aya Esther Hayashi This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Music in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Date Anne Stone Chair of Examining Committee Date Norman Carey Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Emily Wilbourne Elizabeth L. Wollman Sally Childs-Helton THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT Musicking, Discourse, and Identity in Participatory Media Fandom by Aya Esther Hayashi Advisor: Emily Wilbourne In this dissertation, I study three forms of music-making within media fandom and their respective communities: filk, roughly, the folk music of the science fiction and fantasy fandom; wizard rock, a punk/DIY movement inspired by J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels; and the YouTube musicals of Team StarKid and AVbyte. I consider their individual histories and the popular music movements and genres that influenced their respective developments. Even though the practices of these three communities are very different, their participants use similar, if identical, discourses when discussing what they do and why they do it, including but not limited to: openness, acceptance, the equality of all participants (and by extension, the lack of hierarchy), and the celebration of amateurism. The rhetoric itself is found throughout media fandom, in creative and non-creative sectors. However, unlike other creative communities in fandom that, today, exist primarily online, the rhetoric in these musical communities is attached to performance and social practices, as well as in-person and online interactions. In addition to providing the first academic histories for these communities, I analyze the ways in which participants’ behaviors align with and contradict the rhetoric. This demonstrates that the rhetoric’s purpose is not merely descriptive, but more often, imaginative and teleological. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing a dissertation is a lonely process. I could not have survived it without the many people listed here. To Emily, thank you for taking on this project last year. Your encouragement, critique, and conversation made it possible for me to complete this project. To Liz, thank you for all your support over these last years. You have been a model mentor, and I hope that I can serve others in a similar fashion in the future. To Anne, thank you for taking a risk several years ago on this project and me. Your encouragement and advice concerning my writing and career has been invaluable. To Sally, it has been an honor and privilege to work with you these last three years. I owe so much to the people who allowed me to interview them for this project: Stephanie Anderson, Melissa Anelli, Joe DeGeorge, Michelle Dockrey, Tony Fabris, Adam Dubberly, Lauren Fairweather, Andrew Fox, A.J. Holmes, Nick Lang, Matt Maggiacomo, Kaley McMahon, Bradley Mehlenbacher, Brian Ross, Joe Moses, Tessa Netting, Antonius Nazareth, Vijay Nazareth, Scott Vaughan, Kirsten Vaughan, and the Wrock Snob. It was a privilege to speak to you all about what you do. Not all of you are mentioned by name, but the conversations we had were integral in the completion of this project. I also want to thank the many filkers in the Greater New York area who helped me when this project was in its infancy. You know who you are. To my friends and colleagues here in New York and abroad: My faithful work friends— Jake, Tonia, Eugenia, and Jenn—thanks for spending time with this extrovert and letting me work side-by-side with you; my beautiful community group and fellow G’13ers for your prayers, encouragement, and support; my former roommate Suellen, whose conversations have shaped me as a scholar so much more than she knows; my delightful doorman Ray who always cheered v me up and plied me with chocolate and popsicles; and all of you who liked, loved, and tolerated my seemingly incessant #HoodedBy30 posts on social media. A special shout out must go to Tonisha Alexander, the stupendous APO of the Graduate Center Music Department: know that none of us would function without all the work you do. Thank you for that chat in July 2016. You know the one. Second Corinthians 4:8-10 has been close to my heart ever since. A million thanks to Elisabeth Kauffman for her careful proofreading of the final document. Last, but not least, to my family: Dad, thank you for all of your support. I know my switch to music worried you, but thank you for embracing it. You are the angel investor for all three doctorates earned by the Hayashi women. Emi, you were the first person I called when I was happy or sad, and your conversation never failed to make me think straighter and cheer me up. You are my favorite person, and I love you so much (+1 always). Mom, I can’t tell you how happy I am to be the THIRD female Dr. Hayashi in our family. You did it before us, and Emi and I are who we are because of the example you set. I know you dedicated your dissertation to me before I was born, so this one is for you. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................ iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................................... v INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 1 STATE OF RESEARCH ................................................................................................................................ 2 APPROACH .............................................................................................................................................. 10 DEFINITIONS ........................................................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER OUTLINE ................................................................................................................................. 21 CHAPTER ONE: “DOING FOLK?” ..................................................................................................... 24 A HISTORY OF FILK ................................................................................................................................ 27 FILKERS TODAY ...................................................................................................................................... 37 THE FILK CIRCLE .................................................................................................................................... 38 “HAVE WE FILKERS BECOME TOO CLOSED OF A CIRCLE?” .................................................................. 42 THE UTOPIC IMPULSE ............................................................................................................................. 47 CHAPTER TWO: “SOMETHING MORE THAN ESCAPISM” ....................................................... 51 J.K. ROWLING’S HARRY POTTER SERIES, ITS FANDOM, AND THE RISE OF CONVERGENCE CULTURE .... 55 THE HISTORY OF WIZARD ROCK ............................................................................................................ 61 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCENE ........................................................................................................ 70 THE PRACTICES AND DISCOURSES OF WIZARD ROCK ........................................................................... 79 REAL VS. IDEAL: TENSIONS IN THE WIZARD ROCK COMMUNITY .......................................................... 89 THE DECLINE OF WIZARD ROCK .......................................................................................................... 100 THE PURPOSE OF THE RHETORIC AND HINTS OF A SECOND WAVE...................................................... 102 CHAPTER THREE: “YOUTUBE! MUSICALS! YOUTUBESICALS!” ......................................... 109 YOUTUBE AND PARTICIPATORY (FAN) CULTURE ................................................................................ 111 TEAM STARKID..................................................................................................................................... 117 TWISTED ................................................................................................................................................ 121 AVBYTE ................................................................................................................................................ 126 “BRONIES – THE MUSICAL” .................................................................................................................