Structural affects of soap opera fan correspondence, 1970s–80s
Paper correspondence between fans and creators/producers is a sort of historiographic challenge to the imagined shift from so-called analog to digital fandom. It opens the possibility of applying digital methodologies to archival objects as researchers continue to historicize fan practices, identiti...
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2019-09-01
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doaj-f20542609c67478e958348a28d2552e12021-07-02T07:08:32ZengOrganization for Transformative WorksTransformative Works and Cultures1941-22581941-22582019-09-0130https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2019.1735Structural affects of soap opera fan correspondence, 1970s–80sLeah Steuer0University of Wisconsin, Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United StatesPaper correspondence between fans and creators/producers is a sort of historiographic challenge to the imagined shift from so-called analog to digital fandom. It opens the possibility of applying digital methodologies to archival objects as researchers continue to historicize fan practices, identities, and cultures. Using the archival papers of soap opera showrunners Frank and Doris Hursley, and Bridget and Jerome Dobson as a case study for this structural-affective analysis, I draw data and metadata from approximately three hundred fan letters and responses. Trends of emotion across the letters figure prominently in an analysis of the affective strategies used by both fans and creators to create an intimately collaborative televisual experience. The letters contain layers of valuable metadata, including filing conventions, typography, and collage; these permit identification of negotiations of power over the televisual narrative, and they provide valuable insights into the affective textures of the soap fan's everyday life. Digital fan studies foregrounds the integration of fandom into one's online life, as well as the importance of social media in closing the gulf between fan and creator. This praxis expands on the value of analog tools—pen, paper, scissors, and typewriter—to the predigital television fan's virtual life. Material communication played and continues to play an important role in fomenting fannish identity, exercising industrial literacy, performing affective engagement, and navigating an enduring, affectionate tension between author and audience.https://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/1735/2209Broadcast historyFandom historyMedia archivesMedia industries1970s television1980s television |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Leah Steuer |
spellingShingle |
Leah Steuer Structural affects of soap opera fan correspondence, 1970s–80s Transformative Works and Cultures Broadcast history Fandom history Media archives Media industries 1970s television 1980s television |
author_facet |
Leah Steuer |
author_sort |
Leah Steuer |
title |
Structural affects of soap opera fan correspondence, 1970s–80s |
title_short |
Structural affects of soap opera fan correspondence, 1970s–80s |
title_full |
Structural affects of soap opera fan correspondence, 1970s–80s |
title_fullStr |
Structural affects of soap opera fan correspondence, 1970s–80s |
title_full_unstemmed |
Structural affects of soap opera fan correspondence, 1970s–80s |
title_sort |
structural affects of soap opera fan correspondence, 1970s–80s |
publisher |
Organization for Transformative Works |
series |
Transformative Works and Cultures |
issn |
1941-2258 1941-2258 |
publishDate |
2019-09-01 |
description |
Paper correspondence between fans and creators/producers is a sort of historiographic challenge to the imagined shift from so-called analog to digital fandom. It opens the possibility of applying digital methodologies to archival objects as researchers continue to historicize fan practices, identities, and cultures. Using the archival papers of soap opera showrunners Frank and Doris Hursley, and Bridget and Jerome Dobson as a case study for this structural-affective analysis, I draw data and metadata from approximately three hundred fan letters and responses. Trends of emotion across the letters figure prominently in an analysis of the affective strategies used by both fans and creators to create an intimately collaborative televisual experience. The letters contain layers of valuable metadata, including filing conventions, typography, and collage; these permit identification of negotiations of power over the televisual narrative, and they provide valuable insights into the affective textures of the soap fan's everyday life. Digital fan studies foregrounds the integration of fandom into one's online life, as well as the importance of social media in closing the gulf between fan and creator. This praxis expands on the value of analog tools—pen, paper, scissors, and typewriter—to the predigital television fan's virtual life. Material communication played and continues to play an important role in fomenting fannish identity, exercising industrial literacy, performing affective engagement, and navigating an enduring, affectionate tension between author and audience. |
topic |
Broadcast history Fandom history Media archives Media industries 1970s television 1980s television |
url |
https://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/1735/2209 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT leahsteuer structuralaffectsofsoapoperafancorrespondence1970s80s |
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1721336423676641280 |