As I was writing my report, I reflected back to the feedbacks from previous units. One specific detail of my assessment feedback from Unit 3 really stood out to me: I was encouraged to shift away from presenting a dichotomous stance on fan fiction, and considering the spectrum of opportunities in between.
I was pinpointing how people view fandom as something linear: either they were completely against creating fanfiction in general, or they were completely aligned with the sexual parts of fanfiction.
This was exactly what Steve said during Comic Con a month later. For some frustrating reason I didn’t completely understand what “the spectrum of opportunities in between” and “the stories in the middle” really meant, I simply had a vague idea that this was the area of fiction that encouraged, rather than suppress, people to tell more stories.
Currently my interventions still stuck to the 2 sides of the spectrum. I found it quite hard to measure what is the “stories in the middle”, apart from people’s subjective viewpoint of it.
Taking in the Holistic View means the role of my research in the wider fields/settings that it sits in. For example, my role is different in different settings. I’m a student at school, an artist and designer at work, a daughter at home, an Asian person in a multinational background.
So here is a list of anti-stakeholders of my project and reasons of why they might object my view.
Conservative Media Critics: Some people in media circles, especially those with more traditional or conservative views, might not be thrilled with fanfiction. Why? Because it often dives into themes that challenge societal norms, like LGBTQ+ relationships or exploring “villains” as more complex characters. For them, this might clash with their idea of what stories should look like, and they might think fanfiction shakes things up in ways they’re not comfortable with.
Commercial Competitors: Professional writers or creators making a living with original works might feel like fanfiction is unfair competition. After all, fanfic builds on worlds and characters that are already popular, skipping the hard work of creating something from scratch. And since most fanfic is free, it could pull attention away from paid, original stories, which they might see as a big downside.
Traditional Authors and Publishers: Some authors and publishers see fanfiction as stepping into their creative territory. They might think it dilutes their original work or takes away from its value. For them, fanfiction can feel like borrowing (or stealing) their hard work and turning it into something they don’t have control over. They might also look down on fanfic as less creative or meaningful than writing something totally original.
Intellectual Property Lawyers and Rights Holders: For lawyers and companies that own the rights to books, movies, or shows, fanfiction can seem like a legal minefield. It uses characters, plots, or settings without permission, which technically breaches copyright laws. If there’s money involved, even indirectly, it gets even messier—because those companies want to protect their profits and keep control of their creations.
I reflected back on the conversation I had with Steve Penfold(comic artist I met in Comic Con) about the Stories in the Middle. In his theory, fanfiction had a spectrum with sexual and pornographic plots used as fan service at one spectrum, and the original fiction(really splendid ones like Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings) on the right, which had characters that were strictly censored by copyright laws. Both ends have a strong and fixed group of audiences, but we are missing the stories in the middle. The stories that people have told and retold throughout history and slowly became what we call mythology.(I mean that is how mythology is created and formed).
After gaining feedback from the Newspaper intervention, I drew the conclusion that slash-fic can have deep character depth as any original work.
So, in this intervention, I aim to create a propaganda that brands fanfiction as telling alternate stories of the characters we love, rather than simply using original characters for sex.
This intervention has steps:
Step 1: Collect the stories in the middle from slash readers and slash writers;
Step 2: Measuring the stories: (Not quite sure measuring will make sense…)Brand the stories with character archetypes instead of tops and bottoms;
Step 3: Showcase the stories (in newspaper form?) and show it to literature professors, and media industries.
RQ: How can I change the negative perceptions around slash fiction and its communities?
ThoseNegative Perceptions:
-That it’s written by women for women…No it’s not.
-That it’s fetishizing gay relationships. Most people can separate fact from fiction.
-That it is unoriginal and infringes copyright. It is a legit form of participatory culture.
-How did you arrive at your question, and your research methodology/ies?
By doing interventions and interviews. Using the methodology narrative inquiry and evaluating on my own experience of reading and writing slash using the methodology autoethnography.
-Can you define your research methodologies, and their relationship to your question?
-Are you sufficiently aware of the context and existing state of understanding of your question within your field of inquiry?
I have a holistic view of it, but I need to investigate on how the….
-Have you given form to your question through the creation of suitable interventions and their subsequent iterations?
….Yes?
-Who has given professional feedback?
Leah Holmes, Henry Jenkins, Neil Gibson, Steve Penfold. The London LGBTQ centre.
-What other types of feedback have you received?
Critics. Original writers. People within the slash fandom.
-Have you incorporated the feedback you have received into the iterated model/s of your questions and interventions?
Not yet…doing that now.
-Have you researched in an ethical way?
Yes. No recordings of either visual or audio were recorded if the participant was uncomfortable with it.
-What has changed, as a result of your research?
My focal point. I agree a little bit with one of the critics where they said we should focus more on the stories in the middle.
-What next?
Archiving the stories in the middle and giving it a brand.
A PROJECT CHECKLIST TO USE AS WE APPROACH THE END OF UNIT FOUR and head for the outside world
Have I understood and deconstructed my own brief/question ?Yeah…
Do I understand the context /place of my work? Both as a “local” and as a “tourist”?Yeah, “local” as in autoethnographically, “tourist” as in holistically, as a researcher and connecting with researchers within the Transcultural Fandom.
Have I gained an understanding of the people in my stakeholder group? Their mindset, how they think and how they behave?Yes. But will need more EVIDENCE on that…
Have I identified opportunities for observation and field research? Have I recorded data / taken measurements / taken photos / sketched / observed / looked and felt?Yes, definitely. I have done action and primary research online and offline.
Have I engaged my user group or stakeholders in my project?Not quite ENGAGED……need to do that better. Currently still questioning my stakeholders rather than involving and engaging them.Idea: ChatGPT version of generating slash-fics that resonates a deeper building of the characters.
Have I incorporated desktop or secondary research? Yes…very challenging for me to juggle the logic of several key thinkers of the field.
Have sketching and brainstorming ideas and interventions helped me understand and answer my question?Not doing that enough,need to brainstorm a bit more.
Have I incorporated ‘principles’ into my work?Yes. No recordings of either visual or audio were recorded if the participant was uncomfortable with it.
Can I visualize and share my ideas?Currently having a very hard time doing that tbh…
Can I present my ideas and share my new knowledge?Currently having a very hard time doing that tbh…
Has prototyping informed my design process?Yeah, and iterating the prototypes.
Has testing informed the creative process (with users, allies and gatekeepers)?
Has feedback informed my creative process? Have I taken feedback onboard and developed my ideas…?
Have I built on my own cycle of iterative development?
Can I sell my idea? Can I talk about it to professionals?
