Thursday 31 October 2013

Meet Amy - Your Local Bookstore Manager

When the topic arose about 'what books are popular with teenagers' I had no idea where to start. Despite Goodreads and Amazon being widely available I headed to the local bookstore that my best friend manages. 
Amy has won several writing competitions, is the YA team member of the the Book Club team on 4ZZZ Radio, does regular interviews of Australian authors and is passionate about getting people reading.

Amy (pictured left) Original Image


These were some of her recommendations: 
The 'Divergent' series by Veronica Roth is extremely popular at the moment (future dystopia), as is Cassandra Clare's 'Mortal Instrument' books and is about the children of angels and their adventures. It's targeted towards the lower end of YA. 
Lauren Kate, who wrote the 'Fallen' books (angels and forbidden/fated love) also has a new one out called 'Teardrop'. While I haven't read it, I've heard is pretty good.  
Naturally the Hunger Games is still huge with the new movie coming out in less than a month. 

I interviewed a new Australian YA author called Melissa Keil about her book, 'Life in Outer Space', which is a very sweet contemporary geek-meets-girl story set in a Melbourne high school. - guy friendships are a big thing in this one, main character's parents get divorced, lots of movie/pop culture references and is relatable to people in or just out of high school.  
It's a good one for those who love YA books but are over the supernatural themes.

For slightly older teens, and something a bit more serious, there is a new Australian novel called 
The Accident' by Kate Hendrick (another Australian debut author). It's about three young people whose lives are all touched and changed by a car crash. All of them have complex family/internal lives - it's very true and in many places moving and could be a good wake-up call for many young people.  


For straight fantasy, I love Garth Nix's 'Old Kingdom' series: main character is seventeen, there's necromacy and adventure, little dash of romance, and a talking cat (in a world where World War I era clashes with a realm of magic)

Amy is just one of the many human resources that are available to the general public. Librarians, teachers, publishers and retailers are people who work in this area on a daily basis and are eager to help. 

I love it when people come up to me and ask me things! If you didn't want a personal touch you would have bought your books online. Bookstores survive on human questioning and interaction. 

Wednesday 23 October 2013

Book Review - Uglies

Uglies is a YA novel by Scott Westerfeld and is the first in a paranormal trilogy. Set in the future, society has changed and now young people go under an operation to become “beautiful” and leave Uglyville to go and go live in Prettylive. The protagonist is Tally and she longs to join her friends who have already undergone the operation, and from her perspective Prettyville is a teenage utopia full of dreams and no responsibilities. Yet when Tally meets Shaw, a rebel girl who has no desire to be pretty, Tally is faced with some serious ethical dilemmas as she decides if she is going to turn this girl over for not following the system or follow Shaw to the Smokies (the remnants of our world) and discover that Prettyville isn’t all that perfect.    
The novel is easy to read, the characters are believable and the audience does not have to make great leaps in order to be able to understand the science fiction concepts within this book. It also poses some great questions for young readers, particularly girls (who stereotypically are more image conscious then their male counterparts). For example, who get’s the right to decide what is considered attractive? What is it like to be labelled as ugly?  What are the societal ramifications of such as body-obsessed world?
As much as I would like to say it’s purely science fiction, I think many readers will see loose parallels to our current hyper-consumerism and tabloid culture which idolises beautiful people and sees plastic surgery as acceptable.

Scott Westerfeld has created a fascinating concept and readers will not lose interest in this fast paced book – you will want to read the sequel!

Book Review - Tuesdays with Morrie

Tuesday’s with Morrie tells the familiar story of a young man who became very busy with his life after finishing university and falls out of touch with the one man who had a profound influence on his life - his sociology professor, Morrie. After seeing a story about how Morrie is terminally ill, Mitch returns to visit him and Morrie imparts some word’s of wisdom about the meaning of life and some of it’s very challenges including money, love, family, forgiveness, regret and dying.
Mitch Albom has a great writing style; he is able to paint beautiful and emotional scenes with vivid characters. The book has a very personal vibe to it; it’s told in first person, and as a reader I felt I was able to make a connection with the characters, especially Morrie. I balled my eyes out when he died at the end of the book.

This is a book that struck a cord with me when I first read it back in 2008, I was in my final year of high school and I had a grandparent who was very sick – some of the situations in this book were hitting very close to home (the scene where Morrie was losing control of his body was very scary for me) and although my grandfather has recovered, this book helped me understand that everyday is a precious gift and that we should never take our health or our loved ones for granted.

Useful Links for Young People

Goodreads

This is a good site which allows readers to rate and review their favourite books and make recommendations. With over 50,000 titles in various age groups and genres, it's a great way to find new books to read and share them with friends and colleagues. The site also tells readers where they can get the book in print.

 http://www.goodreads.com/genres/young-adult

Sparknotes

This was one website that saved the lives of many of my high school friends. This site has study guides for many of the major English texts for grades 11 and 12; including the famous No Fear Shakespeare section which helps students break down the language and themes within the plays. Be warned, there are a few non-academic pages on the site, however what's life without a little fun.

http://www.sparknotes.com/

Infographics

If there is one thing I have learnt about trying to impart knowledge to young people is that if you want something to stick, you have to make it interesting, relatable and/or memorable or simply present it in a way that they don't realise they're learning. Infographics are a great way to impart knowledge for visual learners and is a great study tool. This app is a program where teachers and students can create their own infographics. You do have to make an account however you can also sign in and share through Facebook and Twitter.

https://infogr.am/app/#/home

Survey Monkey

Need to write up a survey for class? No idea where to start? No problem! This site gives you step by step process of how to write and generate a survey on a topic of your choice. There are a bank of sample questions or you can create your own; the program allows for multiple choice, yes or no along with an open or essay styled response format. If you sign in with Facebook, you are able to circulate the survey through social media. Better yet, Survey Monkey has the tools to be able to collate response data along with graph and analyse the trends.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/


Book Review - The Hunger Games


The Hunger Games is a popular Young Adult novel written by Susanne Collins and the first in a trilogy. Set in the post-apocalyptic future, the United States has fallen and is replaced by the nation of Paneem. After a bloody civil war ended the winners, The Capitol –decided that every year a competition called The Hunger Games; where a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18 will be selected at a ceremony called ‘The Reaping’ to become tributes for each of the 12 districts and will be put in an arena to fight to the death until a lone victor remains. It is held to remind the Districts of the war that they lost and how they are at the mercy of the Capitol.
The story’s protagonist is 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, the sole provider for her family, which lives in the poorest area of the poorest district, otherwise known as The Seam of District 12. Forced by poverty and desperation, she illegally hunts game outside the district boundaries to feed her family. After her 12-year-old sister is reaped for The Games, Katniss volunteers to take her place and is seen by some to have a chance of winning.
Katniss’ personal opinions allow the reader to be drawn into seeing the opulence and wastage undertaken by the ignorant Capitol citizens and how the televised Games are seen as entertainment.  She is shaped by a prep team to win the hearts of Capitol citizens and encourage them to sponsor her, is given an image and a backstory of being star crossed lovers with the male tribute from her district as the audience is told that this will give her the best chance of surviving the Hunger Games. 
While there is a ‘love triangle’ in the novel, this is not the main focus of the book as the key themes are to fight for what is right and facing your fears to overcome obstacles and to beat the odds. 
The Hunger Games shines a light on some of the issues – class (how poorer kids put their name in multiple times to get more food), conscription (as those who volunteer are very rare), media control (attendance to watch the Games in public places in mandatory in the districts) and dictatorship (the President holds all the power and is not accountable to anyone) these are considered to be heavy topics within society that is rarely given to young people to analyse.
Also many parallels are able to be drawn to the real world – while most of the world goes hungry the small minority known as the West wastes millions of dollars in food every year and North Korea does not allow it’s citizens or leave the country or see anything other than state approved propaganda.

It’s a relatively easy read and the characters are realistic and relatable in many respects. Susanne Collins paints a vivid world that is easy to travel through with Katniss.

Sunday 13 October 2013

Week 13 - The Progression of Television

Televisions had only just come out when my dad was a kid; the whole family sat around together and watched some ‘family friendly’ programs and they bonded through this shared experience. Back in those days, people only had one television and it was watched infrequently (i.e. just for the evening news and maybe a family show on Saturday night). Fast forward 50 years and we are being saturated by the ‘idiot box’. I remember a line from Disney’s The Kid where the protagonist’s eight year old self pays him a visit – when he put’s his younger self in front of the TV to ditch him for a while the kid says “holy smokes… you have 99 channels and there’s nothing on!” My father’s generation would have been put off by that and would have read a book or (god forbid) have gone outside to interact with others. Now we’ll watch whatever is on television – regardless of whether or not it’s any good or if we like it. Why? Because it’s something to do when we’re bored, it’s a mindless activity where we don’t have to think or work hard.
Bruce Willis and Spencer Breslin in The Kid (2000)

Now I don’t mind watching mindless trash on television every once in a while, and although the TV can be educational (The Discovery Channel in small doses can raise your IQ and overall general knowledge) but from my observations, the next generation is one that has been babysat by the TV. Sure, it keeps kids quiet in the short term when parents or other significant adults are busy (how many of us remember watching movies in primary school while the teacher marked our tests?) but the consequences of being inundated with a mass media content that children are unable to handle has it's ramifications. I’ve seen prep kids recite the TV guide (along with parroting adult content they don't understand - but that's a different debate); I’ve watched a three-year-old sit and stare mesmerised at a blank screen for thirty minutes (I was amazed she sat still for that long) and I’ve seen plenty of tantrums from school aged kids who have failed to make it home in time for their favourite TV shows.
Experts in the UK back up these observations. According to research, young children who spend more than the recommended time in front of the TV (and other screens such as Ipads and Laptops) are more likely to face a wide range of problems in later life. These include social anxiety, obesity, deficiencies in Vitamins A and D, shorter than average attention spans and sleeping problems. In some extreme cases, the brains scans of children who exposed to excessive screen time have found the technological radiation has had a similar effect to those usually found in adults with alcohol abuse. Health professionals in the UK recommend that children under 3 should have no more than 30 minutes of screen time a day, 4-8 should be limited to 90 minutes and that older children and teens (9-17 year olds) should suffice with a 3 hour limit.
A friend who works in a bookshop has noticed that there are books dedicated to helping parents ween their kids off television. Tips include having a “TV Reduction Plan” with steps including rewarding outside play and removing all forms of technology from their bedrooms.

This issue hasn’t happened overnight or in a vacuum; but what changed from my father’s generation? Was it that it became more accessible and integrated into our routines over time? Was it the wide range of content that was offered to young people on TV and with the downfall of radio that drew people in by the thousands? My guess was that it’s a combination of a hyper-consumer culture that waits for no one, in conjunction with a sliding slope of declining lifestyle choices that’s compounded the problem.
These days watching television doesn't even have to involve owning a television! you can re-watch last night's show in your own time on the device of your choice; download a show from an overseas TV channel for free - there are even websites and social media forums which encourage viewers to network online while they are watching television! Being spoilt for choice, no wonder the next generation is being inundated with content.

Featured Image
The Kid, n.d. image viewed 10.10.13 <http://photos.lucywho.com/the-kid-photo-gallery-c14493631.html>

Monday 7 October 2013

Week 12 - Popular Culture Romanticising Crime

A while back my sister’s boyfriend came over to our house and brought over his external hard-drive, which was full of his favourite TV shows. I noticed a distinct pattern as I scrolled through the titles – Dexter, Breaking Bad, Underbelly, The Wire and Boardwalk Empire were just a few that caught my eye. What do all these shows have in common? Yes, most of the shows mentioned have been critically acclaimed for excellent acting, deep and diverse characters, not to mention thrilling storylines. However, the more important point is that all of these “stories” were told from the criminals’ point of view. The audience is led on a journey with the protagonist (a serial killer, a drug dealer or crime boss) as they go about their business – breaking the law for personal gain. The police are shown as less intelligent or another obstacle (their primary concern is how to stay ahead of other bad guys). Now before I get any further some of you will be reading this and going “ease up Tiger, it’s just television; a scripted fantasy. Let him watch the idiot box in his down-time, I’m sure he’s seen worse on the news.” I will admit crime is shown on our screens every night at 6pm and what happened to these people certainly isn't fantasy. It's a very harsh reality that a passive news audience rarely consider.


 Take the drama Dexter, which has aired it’s final episode in late September – now Dexter is scientist for the police and is also a serial killer who kills murder’s and other psychos in his spare time. Dexter’s creator Jeff Lindsay, who in a 2011 interview said that he was concerned about people getting the wrong idea about his protagonist. "Some believe that Dexter cares about justice. Dexter doesn't care about justice, he cares about killing… he’s dangerous.” Yet the comments on the online transcript of the interview tend to ignore the message with one poster saying he idolised the protagonist, saying that he had a code and only killed other serial killers. “because he has a code that makes us feel better about him [doesn’t change things]. He’s not nice.” This is where I put a red alert - if he was a character on any other crime show on commercial television he would have been arrested and jailed within 45 minutes; or possibly spread out to a double episode if producers wanted to heighten the drama. But real life doesn’t have a set of producers; they don’t get to decide how the story ends. What about Dexter’s wife and son? What about the wives and sons of people he killed? What about their story? Dexter is not in the boat alone. Breaking Bad follows a terminally ill chemistry teacher Walt and his partner Jesse as they enter the world of making crystal meth. I will give it to the cast and crew, they do their best to keep it accurate, with former criminals saying unpalatable events from the show, such as dissolving bodies in acid, are common place with international drug cartels; which in comparison make the Mafia look like Catholic schoolboys. Closer to home the first season of Underbelly was banned in Victoria as they didn’t want the potential jury pool to be influenced by storytellers. Carl Williams, his associates and the rest of Melbourne’s crime families become instant celebrities and secret underworld meetings and their politics and methods became public knowledge. The public couldn’t get enough of them and it was all the talk around the water cooler the next day. Yet, these were not some fictional characters dreamt up out of the blue – these real events, these were cold-blooded killers who cause havoc on our streets without any thought of who might get caught in the crossfire. But why do we even have this issue in the first place? Why is our society so enthralled with stories of criminals and their exploits? Is it because we want an outlet from our normal, mainstream life and this looks dangerous and exciting? Is it something about a bad boy turning us on? Is it a sign that our culture is being psychologically fractured and morally degraded by crime and violence and we are looking for meaning in fiction? Or is it as simple as the fact that we came from a penal colony where something in our subconscious tells us to root for the bad guy? My sister’s boyfriend goes one step further – it’s a place where we can channel our anger (after all who hasn’t had a bad day and wanted to kill someone?) and other primal emotions. It reminds us that life’s not fair with having to hit us over the head with it. In some weird way there are parts of the characters we empathise with because they are flawed individuals who contend with the human experience and make decisions every episode. Other than that, it provides great television and a break from the mindless wave of reality television.

Featured Image: cc licensed flickr photo by Tom Francis (NC  SA) http://www.flickr.com/photos/pentadact/1485863236/

Thursday 26 September 2013

Week 11 - What's Popular?

When I first heard about this piece I thought "fantastic, this'll be great!". Then I sat down to do it. It was a lot harder than I thought because I had to keep asking myself what is popular. I think a dictionary definition would go something along the lines of what is liked by a large number of people. But that answer gives me more questions then answers. Which people? How many people do I need to like something before it's considered popular? 5,50,500,5000? Young people are not a homogenous group; this was quite evident when talking to my cousins' in last week's interview (See Week 10 post for more details).  
So I'm going to do this activity in two parts - the first I will show you a board I have created showing what popular culture is stereotypically popular with young people.



The second part is I am going to show you my personal Pinterest profile. Why? Because I am an example of how diverse young people are. I don't fit into any one particular category. I wear many different hats depending on my mood. Sometimes I like mainstream stuff and other times I want to run to the fringe and stay there. It is a combination of my past, what has influenced me and what I aspire to be. My profile is a representation of the funny, quirky, inquisitive, fangirling sides of me. You will never find anyone else who has exactly the same tastes as me. I currently have about 3400 pins on 38 boards that make up who I am and what I think is popular. Enjoy

Going Down with the “Ship” – A Look at Teenage Participatory Culture by Investigating ‘Shipping’ in Tumblr Fandoms

The way that young people interact with popular culture has changed with the Internet and the introduction of social media. When I first experienced Tumblr, my first thought was that there were other people out there who were just like me. Being a young person and a member of a fandom, I constantly have sought out people who share the same pop culture “obsessions” as myself. The online world became the perfect outlet, as my family and friends were simply not interested.  By engaging in fandoms through social media, on platforms such as Tumblr, young people feel a sense of group identity and camaraderie with likeminded people. This essay will use Jenkins theory of participatory culture to show how this is engagement is demonstrated through the act of “shipping” characters from their favourite franchises. To establish an understanding an ethnographic sweep of two popular Tumblr fandoms (communities): the Hunger Games and Harry Potter (Potter), has been conducted and will be used to provide case studies to demonstrate the three most common types of shipping.  (The full details of this sweep can be found in the Ethnographic Appendix).  Finally I will look at how fandoms are assisting young people to become contributing members of society by establishing strong communication skills and enforcing strong boundaries to follow.

Participatory culture is about how people engage and participate with a popular medium or text that revolutionises how they interact both with likeminded people and the wider community (Jenkins, 2006). While participatory culture has existed since the 1930s, the introduction of social media has changed the way young people are interacting, with social media forums influencing the ways how many young people interact both in a virtual and in a physical setting.  Participatory culture shifts the focus from an individuals’ perspective to how a person sees their ideas through involvement with a larger group (Jenkins, 2009:6). As social media becomes increasingly embedded in our lives, it has opened up multiple platforms, increasing the opportunities for us to contribute to the dialog (DeSouza,2013:5).   
Jenkins notes that modern popular culture is being revolutionised. The traditional top-down model where producers get total control over content is shown is shifting because there is a strong grassroots movement of young people who are actively deciding to select what material to accept or reject; using it as a baseline in which to create their own material (Jenkins,2006; Herzong,2012: Article 1.3). This type of convergence gives them a sense of power which was previously unheard of and are slowly changing the rules, as they are becoming a generation that has an active involvement in the cultural economy as they become creators of content and give back to their communities (Jenkins,2009:10-12).
Johnson argues that popular culture is enhancing the cognitive development of young people as opposed to making them stupid (Johnson, 2005:12). He maintains that young people don’t want stuff dumbed down but are craving intellectual stimulation, going out and seeking more demanding material (Johnson, 2005:9). This can be demonstrated in the actions of Hunger Games fans. While the novels are pitched at a young adult audience, their content is considered “heavy” for this audience, with the subject matter including conscription, dictatorship and children fighting to the death for the entertainment of the elite(Canar,2009). Rather than shy away from serious topics the fans have embraced it - engaging in a dialogue that is well beyond their years, paralleling the scenarios in the books with situations involving countries abroad (See Ethnographic Appendix, Article 35).  By participating in these forums, young people are able to see parallels between the text and current events, acting as a catalyst for other young people to become aware of civic action.
Fiske explains that popular culture or “popular pleasures” arise from social connections formed by subordinated people (such as young people), and these movements are bottom-up and exist in some context to oppose the power structures that control them (2010:40). The engagement with these popular pleasures creates a social capital, the higher the level of involvement; the more capital one accumulates (Fiske,1992:33-34). Those with a high level of capital are considered to be closer to the ‘canon’ or official text; and often discriminate between themselves and those who don’t follow the canon closely. This can be demonstrated through various created works on Tumblr. In my past dealings with fandoms on this platform there is a substantial difference between what constitutes a “gaps and silences” work, which works within the canon boundaries and what is “non-canon” and ignores or changes vital elements of the universe. If canon is repeatedly disregarded, it can cause friction, leading to that creator being “un-followed” or ostracised.

Tumbr is one of the fastest growing social media forums in recent memory. There are several major features that make the Tumblr platform appealing to young people and allow them to demonstrate participatory culture (Jenkins, 2009). Firstly, users only need to provide a username and an age, allowing young people a sense of anonymity and freedom that other sites may not allow. Secondly, membership to Tumblr communities is not based on physical or personal characteristics. Unlike the young person who may be isolated at school because they are different, the Tumblr philosophy of acceptance based on the mutual love of a common interest, that makes users feel accepted and valued. Thirdly, The content does not have to be original - they can re-blog items that they like into their own account for others to follow (although from personal experience I have found that it is considered a faux pas not to acknowledge the original source). Finally, blogging on Tumblr is not limited to words, but can be expressed in almost any format – including pictures, gifs (a moving graphic file) and videos (DeSouza, 2013:10).  All these features make the space feel open and inclusive.  
Fandoms can be likened to a fraternity of elite viewers, which show a heighted dedication and active involvement to their pop culture pursuits (Hadas, 2013:330). These members sit above the regular audience who passively engage with the text. Similar to a fraternity, the fandom subculture could be considered a closed group as a priori knowledge of the subject matter is required to participate within the forum (Scodari and Felder,2000:240) and phrases such as “it’s not that important” or “it’s just a [book/movie/]television show” are seen as nothing short of blasphemous (Jenkins,1992:10). People are able to be involved in multiple fandoms at the same time through the representation of multi-fandom blogs and pages (See Ethnographic Appendix Articles 1,2,13,14, 22 and 32). As a collective they provide momentum to grow cultural capital within their online community, which can radiate out into the real world (Kirby-Diaz,2013:39). Shippers are one just one section of the wider fandom community.
Shipping is not a new phenomenon in the world of popular culture. “Shippers”, which is short for relationshippers, are people who emotionally invest in the relationships of a particular text. The term became popularised by one of the first examples in the X-Files with Scully/Mulder partnership in the early 1990s (Williams, 2011:271).  While it is not limited to a particular demographic, young women and teenagers are highly represented (Scodari and Felder, 2000:238). The ‘shipper’ behavior can be considered extreme and obsessive rather than appropriately passionate by outsiders unfamiliar with the subculture (Grossberg, 1992:64; Jenkins,1992:15).Even though the fan pairings will have no authority over the actual text, the act of shipping gives the fans a sense of power and purpose within their fandom. Jenkins notes that publishing work is no longer exclusive to the social elite and is no accessible to previously marginalized sections – such as teenagers (Williams,2011:279;Jenkins,2006).
There are three types of “ships” that are present within the fandom community. The first are canon ships, which are made up of character relationships that are present in the original text. The second is non-canon ships made up of character combinations that are not written in the text. Finally there are “slash” ships, which discuss romantic relationships between characters of the same sex.

Canon ships emphasise the character relationships within the text. This can be shown through fans highlighting particular moments within the text that they loved or use the framework set out by the author to create an original work such through “gaps and silences”.  Within the Potter fandom this is shown through the “Ronmione” ship – a combination of Ron and Hermione. Entire pages are dedicated to the “greatest otp [one true pairing] ever” with fans declaring that the relationship is “perfect”. Boards are filled with fan-made art of the couple and gifs of their world (Kirby-Diaz,2013:41; See Ethnographic Article 5). Within the Hunger Games fandom, the Peetnis” ship – a combination of the two protagonists, Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen, is the dominant “canon ship”. Although outside influences such as mainstream media see this relationship as one aspect of a perceived love triangle, the fandom have chosen not to become tribal and have embraced the single character of Katniss; allowing her emotions to drive the force of the “relationship” rather than the shippers choosing for her by basing it on actions of either suitor (See Ethnographic Appendix Articles, 5 and 33). These ships support the authority and legitimacy of the original text, building upon the existing cultural capital within circulation. 

Non-canon ships are built upon the interpreted subtext shippers claim is in the text. This is shown in the Hunger Games through the “Gadge” ship – a combination of secondary characters Gale and Madge.  One Tumblr gif read “I ship Gale and Madge so hard it hurts. In my mind Madge survived the bombings and was somewhere in D[District]2 waiting for Gale. They got married and had babies…” (See Ethnographic Appendix – Article 4) The strongest piece of evidence to support this romance comes from Catching Fire when Madge supplies the expensive medicine to help Gales after he is publically whipped in the Main Square (Collins, 2009:140-141).  There are similar examples in the Potter fandom with the “Harmony” ship – the combination of Harry and Hermione. Although some shippers support this because she calms Harry down, believes in him and always watches his Quidditch matches; other fans have rejected this by arguing that these behaviours are similar to a sister rather than a lover (See Ethnographic Article 20). By reading between the lines and creating these alternate scenarios, they are actively participating and are assisting to shape their online community by broadening the cultural capital landscape (Jenkins,2006).

Slash ships are some of the most controversial yet engaging section of the fandom community. Slash ships throw out regular societal expectations of gender and allow characters to uncover traits allowing them to form erotic partnerships (Jenkins in Tosenberger, 2008:192-193).  Like other non-canonical relationships, they have been marginalised by mainstream fans who have accused them of distorting the characters. The Hunger Games fandom have embraced this with the “Peenick” ship – a combination of Peeta and Finnick (another male contestant in the Games), was sparked by a passage in Catching Fire where Katniss sees Finnick kissing Peeta” (He is actually performing CPR) (Collins,2009:337). Paralleling this is the “Drarry” ship – a combination of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. Rather than the characters being friends, it combines characters who are enemies with the text. While there is no evidence within the text to support this, shippers have recast the characters hatred as angst and sexual tension to create scenarios and alternate storylines for their own benefit. While homophobia is acknowledged it is usually downplayed (Tosenberger, 2008:194; See Ethnographic Appendix Article 22). The premise of young people being engaged in slash ships gives them the ability to experiment, explore their sexual orientations and express their opinions about homosexuality with other fans, within an environment they feel comfortable in, with boundaries they can control.

Critics of social media sites may take the stereotypical approach that young people who heavily engage in these fandom community sites will become anti-social and will be unable to function or contribute properly in the offline world (Jenkins,1992:10).  This is not the case. Tumblr fandoms are communities in themselves, and like offline social groups they have a set of norms, rules and expectations that their members abide by. Young people accept this code of conduct as they participate in these online forums (Curwood, 2013:421). The skills they learn within this space can mirror how these individuals can transfer this to the real world and become contributing members of society. By participating in fandoms they have made a conscious decision to become active contributors rather than passive viewers, and this passion, no matter how random it may seem to outsiders, will translate into other areas of their lives.  

There is a quote about Tumblr that has been circulating for the past couple of months that I think beautifully summaries this platform -“Tumblr isn’t just a blogging platform. It’s a place full of people who are just like you. Tumblr has taught you lessons, given you laughter and inspired you. It was always a place you could find comfort in, where you could vent your anger and share your sadness. Full of people who understand you and who are just as sane as you are.” (Ethnographic Appendix Article 37). To me, this illustrates the camaraderie between members of a community who may never meet. Harry Potter and the Hunger Games have been just two snapshots of a wider shipping subculture where young people are actively participating and connecting through this online community. It doesn’t matter what your ship is or whether it is mainstream or not, they have gained a positive group identity and sense of acceptance by sharing and voicing their passions.   


Reference List

Canar, A. (2009). The Hunger Games. Children’s Book and Play Review, 90(6). Retrieved from https://ojs.lib.byu.edu/spc/index.php/CBPR/article/download/18566/17299

Curwood, J.S, & Fink, L. (2013). The hunger games: Literature, literacy, and online affinity spaces. Language Arts,90(6), 417-427.  Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1399991078?accountid=13380.

DeSouza, M. (2013). A Case of the Red Pants Mondays: The Connection Between Fandom, Tumblr, and Consumption. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/tmd_major_papers/3/?utm_source=digitalcommons.uri.edu%2Ftmd_major_papers%2F3&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages

Fiske, J. (1992). The Cultural Economy of Fandom In Lewis , L.A. (Ed)  The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media, (pp. 30-49). New York: Routledge

Fiske, J. (2010). Productive pleasures. In Understanding popular culture. (pp. 40-55) New York: Routledge

Grossberg, L., (1992). The Affective Sensibility of Fandom. In Lewis , L.A. (Ed) The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media (pp. 50-65). New York: Routledge

Hadas, L. (2013). Resisting the romance: “Shipping” and the discourse of genre uniqueness in Doctor Who fandom. European Journal of Cultural Studies , 16 (3), 329–343. doi:10.1177/1367549413476011

Herzog, A. (2012). “But this is my story and this is how I wanted to write it”: Author's Notes as a Fannish Claim to Power in Fan Fiction Writing. Transformative Works and Cultures, 11. doi:10.3983/twc.2012.0406.

Jenkins, H. (1992) Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture. New York: Routledge

Jenkins, H. (2006, June 19) Welcome to Convergence Culture [Web log post] Retrieved from http://henryjenkins.org/2006/06/welcome_to_convergence_culture.html

Jenkins, H. (2009) Enabling Participation: Media Education for the 21st Century. In Jenkins, H. (Ed.) Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture. (pp. 5-14). Retrieved from  http://mitpress.mit.edu/sites/default/files/titles/free_download/9780262513623_Confronting_the_Challenges.pdf

Johnson, S. (2005). Introduction - 'The Sleeper Curve'. In Everything bad is good for you: how today’s popular culture is actually making us smarter, (pp.1 - 14). New York: Riverhead Books.

Kirby-Diaz, M.(2013) Ficcers and Shippers: A Love Story. In Stuller, J.K (Ed.) Fan Phenomena: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, (pp. 38-51). Chicago, IL: Intellect Books. 

Scodari, C., and Felder, J. (2003) Creating a Pocket Universe: "Shippers", Fan Fiction, and the X-Files Online, Communicaiton Studies, 51(3), 238-257. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/233197251?accountid=13380

Tosenberger, C. (2008). Homosexuality at the online Hogwarts: Harry Potter slash fanfiction. Children’s Literature, 36, 185–207. doi:10.1353/chl.0.0017

Williams, R. (2011). Wandering off into soap land’: Fandom, genre and “shipping” The West Wing’. Participations, 270–295. Retrieved from http://www.participations.org/Volume 8/Issue 1/PDF/williams.pdf

Ethnographic Appendix


Methodology

This ethnographic sweep of the site Tumblr was conducted between August 1 2013 and September 1 2013. To sample size taken during this time was 37 URL sites as this was seen as wide enough to cover the different aspects of both fandoms. To be able to judge whether a candidate was a member of a particular fandom 3 aspects were noted: was there a reference to either the text or the film actors in the URL? Did the site list the franchise as one of their fandoms in their “about me” section of their blog? And did the author identify himself or herself as a “shipper” of a particular franchise?  Sites that were not seen to successfully pass these criteria were not recorded. The time ranges or cycles of these fandoms should also be taken into account – while the Harry Potter fandom has a largere amount of content to build upon, there are no new official material in the pipeline. This is in opposition to the Hunger Games, which is set to have a spike in popularity leading up to the release of the second movie Catching Fire in November 2013. 

Ethnographic Articles


Article 1 – Unknown Author (2012) District 9 ¾ [Tumblr Post] Retrieved from http://peetamellarkly.tumblr.com/post/30808219724
Article 2 – Unknown Author (2013, August 21) Forever and Always [Tumblr Post] Retrieved from http://finiteincantatem-x.tumblr.com/
Article 3 – Unknown Author (2013, January 8) Hunger Games  http://il0veseamushp.tumblr.com/tagged/Hunger+Games
Article 4 – Unknown Author (2012, December 31) Gadge Ship Confession [Tumblr Post] Retrieved from   http://fyeahhungergamesconfessions.tumblr.com/post/35613694275
Article 5 – Unknown Author (2013, August) Crazy Signs [Tumblr Post] Retrieved from http://jhutchplusjlaw.tumblr.com/post/60236740592
Article 6 – Unknown Author, (2012, December) Ship All the Hunger Games Ships [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from http://hungergamecrackships.tumblr.com
Article 7 – Unknown Author (2013, August) Hunger Games Shipping Confessions [Tumblr Blog] http://thgshippingconfessions.tumblr.com
Article 8 – Unknown Author (2013, September 1) she’s amazing, he’s charming [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from http://hutchersonandlawrence.tumblr.com
Article 9 –Abby (2012, August) Radiant as the Sun [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from  http://p-r-i-m-r-o-s-e.tumblr.com
Article 10 – Mark, (2013, June 4) Bread and Arrows [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from  http://peetasmagicaloven.tumblr.com
Article 11 – Ally, (2013, August 19) No one is a Victor By Chance [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from http://melodiesofamockingjay.tumblr.com
Article 12 – Sophie, (2013, August 20) Team Twelve Retrieved from http://cinnasownmockingjay.tumblr.com/tagged/thg 
Article 13 – Lily, (2013, September 1) Hunger Games [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from http://mynightmaresareaboutlosingyou.tumblr.com/tagged/f;the%20hunger%20games
Article 14 – Unknown Author, (August 10) I’ll carry your world [Tumblr blog] Retrieved from http://mockingdream.tumblr.com/tagged/thg
Article 15 – Unknown Author, (2013, August 6) hair red as a flame in the forest [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from http://hearthorne.tumblr.com/tagged/hunger+games
Article 16 – Anna, (2013, September 1) last year was child’s play [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from http://ennobaria.tumblr.com/tagged/the-hunger-games
Article 17 – Mike, (2013, February) Hunger Games [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from http://a-world-of-our-very-own.tumblr.com/tagged/thggif
Article 18 – Unknown Author, (2013, August 4) Tick Tock, [Tumblr Post] Retrieved from http://ticktockbreadboy.tumblr.com/post/57379988190
Article 19 – Unknown Author (2013) Hunger Games [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from http://warrioreverdeeen.tumblr.com/tagged/Hunger+Games 
Article 20 -  Mistylehoang (2010, October 27) Reasons We Ship Harry and Hermione [Tumblr Post] Retrieved from
Article 21 – Unknown Author (2012, September) Ron and Hermione Greatest OTP [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from http://fuckyeahronhermione.tumblr.com/
Article 22 – Daria (2013, August) Drarry [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from http://justlittleharry.tumblr.com/tagged/drarry
Article 23 – Unknown Author (2013, August 30) said Snape [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from http://severus-my-love.tumblr.com/
Article 24 – Selina (2012, December 5) Defying Gravity [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from  http://hurtscozitmatters.tumblr.com/tagged/Harry-Potter
Article 25 – Courtney and Tiffany (2013, September 1) Welcome to District 12 [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from http://welcome-to-district-12.tumblr.com/
Article 26 – Unknown Author (2013, August 21) Potterhead [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from http://im-a-just-a-potterhead.tumblr.com/
Article 27 – Unknown Author (2013, August 19) Harry Potter Geekdom [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from http://harrypottergeekdom.tumblr.com/tagged/harry-potter
Article 28 – Unknown Author (2013, August 18) Let Us Be Potterheads [Tumblr Post] Retrieved from http://dramionefelton.tumblr.com/post/58604000737/pugmuncher-freethehouseelves-fiiniick
Article 29 – Unknown Author (2013, August 30) I solemnly swear I’m up to no good [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from http://callmetonks.tumblr.com/
Article 30 – Unknown Author, (2013, August 30) Not All Who Wander are Lost [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from http://potterlings.tumblr.com/
Article 31 – Unknown Author, (2013, August) Harry Potter Hunger Game Crossovers [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from http://quaffle-chasers.tumblr.com/tagged/thg
Article 32 – Unknown Author (2013, July) Hunger Games [Tumblr Blog] Retrieved from http://let-thegamesbegin.tumblr.com/tagged/hunger+games
Article 33 – Unknown Author (2012, March 31) Team Katniss [Tumblr Post] Retrieved from http://flynnfury.tumblr.com/image/55941294009
Article 34 – Fabylo (2013, August 19) We’re All Mad Here [Tumblr Post] Retrieved from http://allofthisiswrong.tumblr.com/
Article 35 – Hunger Games Official Page (2013, May 10) Do you think there are any similarities between Panem and present day? [Facebook Thread] Retrieved from
Article 36 – Unknown Author, (2013 January 6) Hunger Games Ships [Message Board Thread] Retrieved from  http://thefandomnet.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=hungergames&action=display&thread=269
Article 37 – Elri (2013, August 23) Always is a promise for ever after [Tumblr Post] Retrieved from http://ninjaotta.tumblr.com/post/59123241717/this-is-life-i-live-genuine-discord-if-you

Extra Resources

Collins, S. (2009). Catching Fire. New York: Scholastic Publishing.