One of the interesting chapters I used to in my essay was by Rebecca Williams entitled "'Wandering off into soap land': Fandom, genre and 'shipping' The West Wing."
In a nutshell, "shipping" is where a fan/person sees (or imagines seeing) a romantic relationship between two (and in some cases more) fictional characters. The relationshippers, known more commonly as "shippers" emotionally invest in these characters which are in some way linked to their identity as a fan.
By looking at shipping within the unusual selection of "The West Wing" is an interesting spin on previous studies by Jenkins and Fiske. Jenkins has previously looked at the notion of fans "poaching" material from their favourite film and TV texts in order to create their own material (aka fan fiction) while Fiske has previously looked at shipping in teenage fandoms such as Buffy. What makes The West Wing an interesting choice is that this show is considered by some writers as a high level drama with complex political themes, where romantic relationships between the characters are considered by most of the audience as "melodramatic" and that the "feminised" practice of shipping tarnishes the series (p271). Thankfully, this is where Williams steps up to bat for for the shippers. She acknowledges that , "shippers" are predominantly female but that they only make up a small percentage of fan dialogue posted on fan sites and forums. Executives and producers are able to gauge the reaction (positive or negative) from the fan-base by the decisions they make on the show: the "shippers" campaigning to see characters get together are just one section of this broader community. She also notes that television executives are usually reluctant to ship character combinations because of the likelihood that it could shorten the life of the show (or fall victim to the "Moonlighting Curse") instead offering fans teasers, giving them enough to be satisfied in the short term while maintaining the themes of the show.
One question that I wanted to ask is why do people ship characters in the first place? What do the "shippers" get out of it? From personal experience I can say that I honestly don't know, one minute I was a casual fan then I became absolutely hooked and needed to get my hands on every single episode. Once again, Williams backs us up. "These fans are not deluded, nor do they believe that the on-screen romance is 'real', but rather they identify with the emotions and developments they see on the screen... similar to that person's inability to why he or she is in love with another in real life" (278-279). People who become long term "shippers" tend to draw on personal experiences to be able to help construct the viewer's narrative of the relationship. They might see something of themselves in a character or remind them of a situation they've been in before or see similar behaviours in people around them. Either way, it impacts identity as they view with the show on a deeper level to the unattached audience.
RANDOM NOTE: The West Wing is the only TV Drama to win an Emmy for every year that it was on television. Overall the show picked up a total of 27 Emmys during its run from 99-06.
In a nutshell, "shipping" is where a fan/person sees (or imagines seeing) a romantic relationship between two (and in some cases more) fictional characters. The relationshippers, known more commonly as "shippers" emotionally invest in these characters which are in some way linked to their identity as a fan.
By looking at shipping within the unusual selection of "The West Wing" is an interesting spin on previous studies by Jenkins and Fiske. Jenkins has previously looked at the notion of fans "poaching" material from their favourite film and TV texts in order to create their own material (aka fan fiction) while Fiske has previously looked at shipping in teenage fandoms such as Buffy. What makes The West Wing an interesting choice is that this show is considered by some writers as a high level drama with complex political themes, where romantic relationships between the characters are considered by most of the audience as "melodramatic" and that the "feminised" practice of shipping tarnishes the series (p271). Thankfully, this is where Williams steps up to bat for for the shippers. She acknowledges that , "shippers" are predominantly female but that they only make up a small percentage of fan dialogue posted on fan sites and forums. Executives and producers are able to gauge the reaction (positive or negative) from the fan-base by the decisions they make on the show: the "shippers" campaigning to see characters get together are just one section of this broader community. She also notes that television executives are usually reluctant to ship character combinations because of the likelihood that it could shorten the life of the show (or fall victim to the "Moonlighting Curse") instead offering fans teasers, giving them enough to be satisfied in the short term while maintaining the themes of the show.
One question that I wanted to ask is why do people ship characters in the first place? What do the "shippers" get out of it? From personal experience I can say that I honestly don't know, one minute I was a casual fan then I became absolutely hooked and needed to get my hands on every single episode. Once again, Williams backs us up. "These fans are not deluded, nor do they believe that the on-screen romance is 'real', but rather they identify with the emotions and developments they see on the screen... similar to that person's inability to why he or she is in love with another in real life" (278-279). People who become long term "shippers" tend to draw on personal experiences to be able to help construct the viewer's narrative of the relationship. They might see something of themselves in a character or remind them of a situation they've been in before or see similar behaviours in people around them. Either way, it impacts identity as they view with the show on a deeper level to the unattached audience.
RANDOM NOTE: The West Wing is the only TV Drama to win an Emmy for every year that it was on television. Overall the show picked up a total of 27 Emmys during its run from 99-06.
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
This is great overview of understanding what 'shipping' is. I can tell you really enjoyed doing your assessment piece, it also very good Harri! I like how you had a learning objective in mind for yourself (inform/teach your family), I often find when I have a real life interest in something it proves more advantageous to writing. Cheers, Anita :)
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