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Nirvanna the Band the Show the Essay: Exclusivity and Cultural Capital in Online Cult Fandom CLARE O'BRIEN

According to sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, “a work of art has meaning and interest only for someone who possesses the cultural competence, that is, the code, into which it is encoded” (387). Tis is true of small cult fanbases, like that of Nirvanna the Band the Show, which attract a niche and loyal audience. Te Nirvanna the Band fandom, which fan Andrea West calls “small but fierce,” effectively demonstrates the concepts of cultural capital as outlined by Bourdieu and expanded upon by Jeffrey Sconce, Mark Jancovich, and John Fiske. Nirvanna the Band the Show is a Canadian web and television series created by and starring Matt Johnson and Jay

49 McCarrol, who play exaggerated versions of themselves. Te show follows Matt and Jay as they try to book a show at the Rivoli in downtown Toronto. Te web series, Nirvanna the Band the Show, ran from 2007 until 2009, and the TV series of the same name (but with an added ‘n’ for legal reasons) was aired and distributed by Viceland in 2017 (Robertson, “Nirvanna is Back”). Te show is now available for streaming on CBC Gem in Canada. Te Facebook group devoted to the series—aptly named “nirvanna the band the show the group”—currently has 2,608 members, while the Reddit thread has 1,973 and the Discord server has just 244. Ethnographic research for this paper was conducted through survey questions posted in the Facebook group and Discord server (yielding forty-three responses), as well as through correspondence with Jay McCarrol through Instagram’s direct message feature. Unless otherwise stated, all fan quotations referenced in this paper were retrieved from Clare O’Brien’s post in the Facebook group entitled “Fan spectatorship questions”. When Bourdieu speaks of cultural capital, he is referring to a person’s training into the “appreciation of ‘proper’ taste” (Mathijs and Mendik 386). According to Bourdieu, artistic consumption is “an act of deciphering, decoding, which presupposes practical or explicit mastery of a cipher or code” (387), meaning that art has meaning only if one has the knowledge and competence to make sense of it. In the case of Nirvanna the Band, many of the jokes in the series are based on intertextual and pop-cultural references. Matt Johnson explains that the show’s main characters “are perpetually stuck in the 90s, in terms of their cultural references…specifically North American culture” (TIFF 0:50-1:00). Tus, in order to appreciate the show’s comedy, viewers also have to be familiar with the specific cultural touchstones of that geographical and temporal period. Fan Darcy Weir loves that “every episode has like 10 different homages that are fun to pick up on” and Nicholas Powidajko says it is exciting to recognize “humor and references from a time similar to me growing up.” Fans revealed that their

50 favourite episodes often contained references to childhood media they remembered fondly. For example, Kristi McGee’s favourite episode, “Te Bean”, contains allusions to Home Alone, while “Te Book” ( Jackson Diehl’s favourite episode) has a reference to the TV show Art Attack (Long, “What’s your favorite NTBTS episode?”). Nirvanna the Band is particularly enjoyable for those with the necessary cultural capital to pick up on the pop culture references. Similarly, the show’s geographical specificity presupposes that viewers will have a high level of familiarity with Toronto landmarks and institutions. Te characters visit iconic Toronto locations, including Honest Ed’s, Kensington Market, and Scotiabank Arena. Some fans cited the show’s geographical specificity as one of the reasons why the show resonates with them so profoundly. Kristi McGee says that it is “the first show I have ever watched where I could recognize all of the locations” because they were places “I had been to before.” Powidajko, from Mississauga, said that “it’s cool to see things I recognize,” like the “Hug [Me] Tree” on Queen West. Fans from the Greater Toronto Area praise Nirvanna the Band for representing their city in a positive way on-screen. Kate Robertson writes that “seeing your own city, a city that’s not very good at touting or preserving its own rich history, being celebrated on television just feels damn good” (NOW, “NTB puts Toronto front and centre”). Likewise, @screenplayjams on Discord says that it was not until he started watching the web series that “suddenly all these Toronto locations…felt like sacred ground” despite having visited them many times before. Growing up in or around Toronto allows these fans to feel more pride for their city as well as gain a deeper appreciation for the series. Since much of the show’s comedy relies on prior knowledge of 1990s pop culture and Toronto geography, those who do not understand the references lose out on some of the enjoyment of the series. Bourdieu explains that “the ‘naïve’ spectator cannot attain a specific grasp of works of art which only have meaning—or value—in relation to the specific history of an

51 artistic tradition” (389). For example, those who are unfamiliar with Toronto institutions would miss out on the joke in the web series that Matt and Jay are so focused on getting a gig at the Rivoli that they turn down the opportunity to play at the historic, more prestigious El Mocambo. However, fans do not necessarily have to identify all of the references in the series in order to be entertained by it. In fact, more than half of my survey respondents were neither from the Greater Toronto Area nor had they ever visited the city. Fans are from places all around the world, including the United States, Australia, Russia, Italy, and the United Kingdom. While recognizing the filming locations may elevate the amount of satisfaction derived from the show, viewers from elsewhere are not excluded from the fandom. Cultural historian Jeffrey Sconce builds upon Bourdieu’s ideas by applying them to cult cinema audiences. According to Sconce, the paracinematic community “often adopts the conventions of ‘legitimate’ cinematic discourse in discussing its own cinema” (108). Fans “frequently [use] official cultural criteria such as ‘complexity’ or ‘subtlety’ to argue that their preferred texts [are] as ‘good’ as the canonized ones and constantly [evoke] legitimate culture…as points of comparison’” (Fiske, qtd. in Sconce 108). Indeed, fans favourably compare Nirvanna the Band to television shows that have achieved more mainstream, commercial success. Chlostah Hill says that the show’s humour “reminds me of flight of the conchords in a way,” while novababy suggests that “it’s comparable to zach stone is gonna be famous” (comment on Polygon, “Nirvanna Interview”). Jesse Hamel laments that “the worst & best thing about NTB is there’s really nothing like it… some of mega64 kind of scratches the itch but not fully” (Long, “What’s your favorite episode?”). In these instances, fans use the criteria of official culture to help them legitimize their discourse about the show, often arguing that Nirvanna the Band is superior to its more financially successful counterparts. Beyond comparing the show to more canonical texts that share similar characteristics, fans use academic knowledge—often related to filmmaking and film theory—in their discourse about

52 why they appreciate the show to the extent they do. Nirvanna the Band fans fall into the category that Mathijs and Mendik call “avid or smart audiences,” meaning that they “combine in-depth factual and theoretical knowledge about films with an informed understanding of narrative and stylistic sophistication,” reveling in “the number of references, interpretations and connections their knowledge allows them to make” (6). Calling to mind Cinema Studies jargon, FundamentalistNail on YouTube stated that “the reference to the 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles move in ‘Te Blindside’ was…perhaps the greatest intertextual reference I’ve ever come across” (Polygon, “Nirvanna Interview”). Similarly, Chandler Levack expressed that his favourite episode, “Te Buffet”, “is such great storytelling, a wonderful Dinner with Andre homage, has a devastating reveal and a perfect bittersweet cinematic ending.” Katie Kelley, a film school graduate, particularly appreciates “the production value and the guerilla style,” and Mert Karaca notes that the show is “tight in production, writing, timing.” Commenting on the show from a legal perspective, Dizzy Diz says that he appreciates “all the risks involved and the way they continue to push their limits (filming on the subway tracks, in the museum etc).” A knowledge of filmmaking practices, theory, and copyright law allows viewers to more deeply appreciate the effort that was put into the show and heighten their personal enjoyment of it. Seeking out underrated auteurs is another of Sconce’s key indicators of paracinematic fandom. Tese cinephiles “continue to search for unrecognized talent and long forgotten masterpieces, producing a pantheon that celebrates a certain stylistic unity and/or validates the diverse artistic visions of unheralded ‘auteurs’” (Sconce 109). In the case of Nirvanna the Band, which McCarrol admits “went sort of unnoticed by the mainstream” (“Re: Essay”), fans vehemently argue that the talent in the show is undervalued. In the Facebook group, Louis Gardner says, “I wish more people liked it!” and Katie Kelley hopes the creators will someday “get the limelight they deserve.” For many fans, their love for Nirvanna the Band has prompted

53 them to seek out other projects the co-creators have worked on outside the series, most notably Johnson’s directorial work for Te Dirties and Operation Avalanche and McCarrol’s indie band, Brave Shores. Nicholas Powidajko says that one of his favourite pastimes is “watching Matt’s passion for filmmaking through interviews and Jay’s music talent.” Just as Sconce outlines, fans of Nirvanna the Band view the show’s creators as unrecognized auteurs. Film scholar Mark Jancovich argues that inaccessibility is an attractor for cult film audiences. In his discussion of rave culture, he notes that fanzine publications “act as gatekeepers that manage the difficult balance between inclusion and exclusion on which the scene depends” ( Jancovich 162). While these publications “act to disseminate information in order to produce a sense of community, they are also concerned not to disseminate it too widely” ( Jancovich 161). Te Nirvanna the Band online fandom operates in a similar way. In order to gain admittance into the Facebook group, prospective members must correctly answer a trivia question based on an episode in the TV series. Even more exclusive, fans can only access the private Discord server if they have been personally invited by another member who sends them a link to it; it is not publicized on either of the larger Facebook or Reddit groups. In his exploration of the Video Nasties fandom, Jancovich explains that “the inaccessibility of these films is even something that the magazines actually promote as one of the pleasures of the scene” (161). Tis is indeed the case for Nirvanna the Band, where distribution issues—while frustrating for fans—have become a source of bonding. Fans exchange pirated episodes and special features that they have found, share memes that express their frustration, and suggest alternative content that fans can watch in the meantime. Fans enjoy working together to find and disseminate Nirvanna the Band material that is not widely accessible, like the web series episodes. Like most cult fandoms, the Nirvanna the Band online community values inaccessibility and exclusivity. Jancovich also claims that “subcultural ideologies are

54 fundamental to fan cultures because without them fans cannot create the sense of distinction which separates themselves as ‘fans’” from mainstream audiences” (150). As is the case for most cult communities, fans of Nirvanna the Band see themselves in opposition to mainstream culture and wish to maintain their distance from consumers of mainstream media. Katie Kelley admits that she is “a little possessive of the show, like it’s this treasure I found almost a decade ago that I don’t want to share.” Some fans are even skeptical of the legitimacy of other members in the fandom. Dizzy Diz shares that “I think I understand [why] NTBTS is genius and funny way way more than most ‘fans’…I understand it on a deeper level than most” because most fans “only find things funny (and not understand WHY they are funny or understand the deeper levels of humor).” Fans of Nirvanna the Band often see their taste in media as distinct from mainstream audiences, a distinction which helps them maintain their subcultural identity. Jancovich also notes that “inaccessibility is maintained throughout the scene not only through the selection of materials… but also through their virtual unobtainability” (161). While Nirvanna the Band the Show is not banned material (like the Video Nasties), it is difficult for fans to physically obtain the episodes due to issues of distribution and geographical location. While the show is freely available for streaming in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom (on CBC Gem, SBS On Demand, and Channel 4 On Demand, respectively), and the first two seasons of the Viceland series can be purchased on YouTube and iTunes in some regions, the show is unavailable on all platforms in most other countries. To get around this barrier, fans seek out the show through alternative means, usually torrented episodes given to them by fellow fans or found on Google Drive links posted in fan groups. For fans who wish to watch the web series, which was found on the now-defunct nirvanathebandtheshow.com, the only option is to find fans who have either downloaded the episodes themselves (prior to the website’s shutdown) or buy an out-of- print DVD copy from someone willing to part with theirs. Alex

55 Periera, a fan in the Facebook group, bought a DVD copy of the web series for $200 after it was put up for auction by another fan. Te show’s “virtual unobtainability” functions not only as a way to keep the fandom small and exclusive, but to also give fans the pleasure of hunting for resources that will allow them to access the show. According to media scholar John Fiske, the “cultural system promotes and privileges certain cultural tastes and competences” which are “socially and institutionally legitimated” (446). Since pop culture is not legitimated through the education system, “the fan’s objects of fandom are, by definition, excluded from official cultural capital and its convertibility, via education and career opportunity, into economic capital” (Fiske 452). However, Nirvanna the Band deals in fan cultural capital, allowing viewers to make use of their knowledge of pop culture. When an interviewer asked Johnson about a reference to the King of Fighters video game in one of the TV episodes, Johnson responded that “when we put that stuff [niche references] in the show, specifically like the Iori laugh, we don’t think that anybody’s ever going to get that…Like, let’s put in references that literally nobody will ever understand” (Polygon, “Interview”). Viewers who do pick up on these references are rewarded with a boost of self-esteem and the feeling that the knowledge they possess is useful and meaningful. In a comment on this interview, Pet Shop says, “Not trying to be hipster but as soon as he did the Iori laugh scene I got it. I was freaking out that somebody would even reference that…character.” While familiarity with what is often considered “low-brow” culture would not be beneficial in most other circumstances, Nirvanna the Band rewards viewers who possess niche fan cultural knowledge with a deeper enjoyment of the show. Although fan cultural capital does not directly translate into economic capital, it does have other benefits. According to Fiske, it is through fan communities that fans are offered “ways of filling cultural lack and [provided] the social prestige and self- esteem that go with cultural capital” (Fiske 447). One example

56 is how fans have built friendships through their shared interest. Fans occasionally organize in-person meet-ups so they can discuss the show with people they befriended online (Morris, “Toronto fan meet-up”). Many fans of Nirvanna the Band cite the community surrounding the show as one of the best parts of being a fan. User @you little scamp! on Discord says that the fandom is “pretty close-knit,” while Noah King loves how “it’s so supportive and if you wanna find any piece of footage from any era of the show they got you covered.” Even upon first watching the show, viewers begin to feel as though they are part of a community of likeminded people. McCarrol speculates that one of the reasons why his web series has found such a devoted audience is because it “was full of inside jokes pretty much just for us and maybe a few friends,” which “can be exciting for someone who happens upon it, or is told by a friend, like they’re being let in on it” (“Re: Essay”). Building social relationships and feeling connected to a larger community can make up for the lack of economic capital associated with fandom. Fans of Nirvanna the Band most often “reproduce equivalents of the formal institutions of official culture” through textual productivity (Fiske 447). Fiske argues that “fans produce and circulate among themselves texts which are often crafted with production values as high as any in the official culture,” the only differences being that they are not producing these texts for money or with the intention that they will become mass- marketed (450). A group of super-fans in the Discord server are in the process of recreating the show’s pilot shot-for-shot using their preferred medium—whether it be stop-motion, computer animation, or live-action—in a project they have called “Te Retold.” Robert Curran, a fan in the Facebook group, states that the show “makes me want to be creative,” and illustrator April Rae says that she has “drawn boatloads of fanart for it” which she shares on her Instagram page. Beyond visual art, fans produce myriad other texts that demonstrate their admiration for the show artistically. Ilya Uyusov, a native Russian speaker, has made subtitles for the TV show to make it easier for people in his

57 country to enjoy the show without barriers. Andrea West started a Tumblr screenshot blog devoted to Nirvanna the Band and made a Google Map so that fans can go on pilgrimages to see all the Toronto shooting locations. Finally, @screenplayjams on Discord, a film school graduate, made his own web series inspired by Nirvanna the Band, which he says is “the ultimate expression of how much I love NTBTS.” In all of these cases, fans engage in textual productivity, with no expectations of monetary gain or notoriety, to show their devotion to the series. Jay McCarrol thinks “it’s very cool we have people that like our show as much as they do, and how those fans have found each other, and ultimately gave our show a ‘cult’ status.” Indeed, as the theories of Bourdieu, Sconce, Jancovich, and Fiske have illuminated, the Nirvanna the Band the Show fandom exhibits many of the typical characteristics of cult spectatorship, especially those pertaining to cultural capital and exclusivity. Although the fanbase is small, McCarrol stresses that “when someone is into our show, they are like, REALLY into it. Which is so nice, [because] we are too, and it feels good to share it.”

58 Works Cited

Bourdieu, Pierre. “Introduction to Distinction.” Mathijs and Mendik, pp. 386-391. Diz, Dizzy. “Re: Fan spectatorship questions.” Received by Clare O’Brien, 23 Nov. 2019. Fiske, John. “Te cultural economy of fandom.” Mathijs and Mendik, 445-455. Jancovich, Mark. “Cult fictions: Cult movies, subcultural capital and the production of cultural distinctions.” Mathijs and Mendik, 149-162. Long, Noble. “What’s your favorite NTBTS episode and why?” Facebook, 15 Nov. 2019, https://www.facebook.com/groups/ ntbts/permalink/10156480590908204/. Mathijs, Ernest, and Xavier Mendik, editors. Te Cult Film Reader. Open University Press, 2008. McCarrol, Jay. “Re: Fan Spectatorship Essay.” Received by Clare O’Brien, 27 Nov. 2019. Morris, David. “Any Toronto fans of nirvanna the band want to have a fan meet-up this weekend?” Facebook, 29 Nov. 2019, https://www.facebook.com/groups/ntbts/permalink/ 10156515570333204/. “Nirvanna the Band the Discord.” Discord, https://discordapp. com/channels/368717745002512387/368721929810739201. Accessed 26 Nov. 2019. “NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW.” CBC Gem, https:// gem.cbc.ca/season/nirvanna-the-band-the-show/season-1/ da25e9fb-f1d5-4ed3-b4c8-fa5a9a671cbd. Accessed 27 Nov. 2019. “Nirvanna the Band the Show Full Interview: Te Finale, Season Two and More.” YouTube, uploaded by Polygon, 4 Apr. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=YnrWSAfqTEk.

59 “nirvanna the band the show the group.” Facebook, 11 Dec. 2007, https://www.facebook.com/groups/ntbts/. Accessed 22 Nov. 2019. “NTBTSTWS.” Internet Archive, uploaded by nirvanathebandtheshow, 2 May 2019, https://archive.org/ details/NTBTSTWS/NTBTS+E01+the+beginning.m4v. O’Brien, Clare. “Fan spectatorship questions.” Facebook, 22 Nov. 2019, https://www.facebook.com/groups/ntbts/ permalink/10156499190038204/. “r/nirvannatheband.” Reddit, https://www.reddit.com/r/ nirvannatheband/. Accessed 29 Nov. 2019. Robertson, Kate. “Nirvanna the Band the Show is back – but this time it’s bigger and on proper TV.” NOW, 6 Jun. 2016, https://nowtoronto.com/movies/nirvanna-the-band-the- show-is-back-viceland-september-2016/. Robertson, Kate. “Nirvanna the Band the Show puts Toronto front and centre in hilarious new show for VICELAND.” NOW, 2 Feb. 2017, https://nowtoronto.com/movies/ nirvanna-the-band-the-show-viceland-matt-johnson-jay- mccarrol/. Sconce, Jeffrey. “‘Trashing’ the academy: Taste, excess and an emerging politics of cinematic style.” Mathijs and Mendik, pp. 100-118.

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