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Labours of Love: Affect, Fan Labour, and the Monetization of Fandom

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Labours of Love: Affect, Fan Labour, and the Monetization of Fandom Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 8-22-2014 12:00 AM Labours Of Love: Affect, Fan Labour, And The Monetization Of Fandom Jennifer Spence The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Susan Knabe The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Media Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Arts © Jennifer Spence 2014 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Film and Media Studies Commons Recommended Citation Spence, Jennifer, "Labours Of Love: Affect, Fan Labour, And The Monetization Of Fandom" (2014). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 2203. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/2203 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Labours Of Love: Affect, Fan Labour, And The Monetization Of Fandom (Thesis format: Monograph) by Jennifer Spence Graduate Program in Media Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Jennifer Spence 2014 Abstract Fans who launch campaigns to “save our show” or protest storytelling decisions typically see their efforts as standard fannish practices, but these “labours of love” must also be considered, as the name suggests, as labour. Using affect theory, I argue that fan activities and activism are motivated by affect, which in turn drives the affective, immaterial, and digital labour that makes up fandom. While fandom operates on a gift economy, the world of media production is fundamentally capitalist, and as fan labour becomes increasingly visible to producers, it also becomes increasingly susceptible to co-option and monetization. Through analyses of fan campaigns targeting As The World Turns (CBS, 1956–2010), Torchwood (BBC, 2006–2011), and Chuck (NBC, 2007–2012), this thesis explores the ways in which fan labour intersects with the dominant capitalist interests of mainstream media culture and considers how fans understand and position their own fannish practices and labour. Keywords Fan studies, fan activism, fan protest, fan campaigns, fan labour, affect theory, affective labour, authorship, fanon, immaterial labour, digital labour, serial fiction, As The World Turns , Torchwood , Chuck , gift economy ii Acknowledgments First and foremost, I need to thank Susan Knabe for believing in this project every step of the way and for steering me through the murky swamp of methodology. Her warmth, wit, and wisdom meant I actually looked forward to receiving feedback on my (many, many) drafts, and it has been a privilege and a pleasure to work with and learn from her. I also want to express my deepest gratitude to Tim Blackmore for his tireless support, assistance, and encouragement over the years. My time at Western would not have been the same without his camaraderie, guidance, and multicoloured emails. Thanks to the Tuesday night trivia team for their friendship and our many near- victories, and to every member of the best cohort I could ask for. Thank you to my family for their love, support, and belief that I could do this. (So yes mom, now I’ll go to bed.) Special shout-outs go to A.H. and T.K. for their unwavering faith in my abilities and reliable responses to my panicked late-night texts, and for humoring me when I spammed their Facebook walls with soap opera clips. And last but not least: thank you to whoever invented Peanut Butter M&Ms. I really couldn’t have done this without you. iii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iv List of Figures .................................................................................................................... vi 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Historical and Theoretical Contexts of Fan Activism as Labour ............................ 2 1.2.1 History of Protest Campaigns ..................................................................... 2 1.2.2 Fan Capital, Fan Labour, Affect Theory, Affective Labour, Immaterial/Digital Labour ........................................................................ 22 1.3 Methodology ......................................................................................................... 30 1.3.1 Positionality as aca-fan ............................................................................. 30 1.3.2 Methods..................................................................................................... 31 1.3.3 Data selection ............................................................................................ 32 1.3.4 Data collection .......................................................................................... 33 1.3.5 Ethics......................................................................................................... 34 2 Case Study: As The World Turns and “Nuke” ............................................................. 36 2.1 “Nuke” and the “Liplock Clock” .......................................................................... 36 2.2 Authorship............................................................................................................. 42 2.3 The “Nuke” Epilogue ............................................................................................ 47 3 Case Study: Torchwood and “Save Ianto Jones” ......................................................... 57 3.1 Fanon, co-option, and fanagement ........................................................................ 57 3.2 “Save Ianto Jones” ................................................................................................ 59 4 Fan Activism as Labour – “Save Our Show” .............................................................. 80 iv 4.1 A history of “save our show” campaigns .............................................................. 80 4.2 Affective/immaterial labour .................................................................................. 87 4.3 Case Study: Chuck and “Finale and a Footlong” .................................................. 96 5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 108 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 113 Curriculum Vitae ............................................................................................................ 137 v List of Figures Figure 1: Smith enjoying the fan letters .................................................................................... 7 Figure 2: The “Liplock Clock” as of March 2008 ................................................................. 38 Figure 3: September 2008 ATWT email newsletter promoting the October 1 Luke/Noah scene ........................................................................................................................................ 40 Figure 4: Slide 15 of “Six Scenes – Part 1” presentation ...................................................... 50 Figure 5: Original Derpy (left) and re-drawn Derpy (right) .................................................. 59 Figure 6: Ianto wielding a gun not seen on TV ...................................................................... 61 Figure 7: (left to right) Tosh and Tommy, Captain Jack and John Hart, Gwen and Rhys ..... 62 Figure 8: The Jack/Ianto promotional photos accused of being misleading and misrepresentative of their relationship in CoE ........................................................................ 62 Figure 9: “Ianto Lives!” .......................................................................................................... 71 Figure 10: Morgan bribes Big Mike with a Subway sandwich .............................................. 98 vi 1 1 Introduction 1.1 Introduction Fans are particularly dedicated to a fan object, and when they love something that much, they want more of it. Often, they are the ones who create that “more”. It is fans who participate on websites and message boards, who launch campaigns to “save our show” or protest aspects of the program, and who create derivative works such as fanfiction and fanart. While fans see these as typical fannish practices, these “labours of love” must also be considered, as the name suggests, as labour. And this immaterial, often digital, labour operates in the fannish model of a gift economy, where little or no profit is made from these fan products or efforts. But while fandom operates on a gift economy, the world of television and media production is fundamentally capitalist. As fan labour becomes increasingly
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