Summary Of Race In Online Fantasy Fandom: Whiteness On Westeros

Young, Helen. " Race in online fantasy fandom: whiteness on Westeros.org." Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies 28.5 (2014): 737-747. Web. 10 Mar. 2016. Helen Young’s article examines racial identities in popular cultural fan practices by using Westeros.org, a fan website devoted to the novels of George R.R. Martin and the related franchise, HBO's Game of Thrones, as a case study. The article focuses on racism perpetuated by audiences who consume popular fantasy, considering their activities as important as the authors who create imagined worlds. Through an analysis of fan discussions of race and racism on the fan site, Young explores the intersections between fantasy fan identity and whiteness. In a virtual space like Westeros.org,

Hence, whiteness becomes purely performative. The author outlines several ways in which symbolic whiteness is proscribed, especially through ‘correct’ modes and methods of engagement with the object of fandom. A common method is the policing of acceptable readings, where oppositional identities are often suppressed. Being a good fan is directly linked to accepting the text's Eurocentricity, not questing the text or the author’s authority. Another method used by fans is minimization, in which race is dismissed as an important factor due to Westeros’ fictional setting. Fans who raise questions of race on forums are often cautious, understanding that their ways of reading the text are not ‘correct’ according to the majority of the fan community and anticipate negative responses. Dismissive, and even angry responses, often crafted along the lines of “This is fiction, you’re taking it too seriously”, downplays the importance of racial representation and their individual responses to the whiteness of Westeros. Lastly, similar to minimization, fans use the Monochrome Middle Ages argument, an ides that Europe in the Middle Ages was purely white, to defend

The Kickstarter, initiated by showrunner Rob Thomas, aimed to raise two million dollars towards production costs and generated almost six million from almost 90, 000 supporters. Hills argues that the Kickstarter was successful due to the use of affective economics, which “mobilizes a concept of emotional engagement between consumers and branded goods in order to position itself as beyond mere ‘commodification’”. To do so, Thomas symbolically positions himself closer to fandom interests rather than an industry insider by maintaining a personal relationship to fan forums and websites. Fans auto-commodify their fan experiences because affective commodities provide affective rewards: sentiment, memory, and identity. Though the possibility of exploiting fan engagement is most definitely present, Hills argues that affective economics offers ways for both producers and fans to benefit from contemporary emotional capitalism. The VM Kickstarter can be understood as a series of multiple transformations between use value and exchange value, where both fans and producers display agency by decommoditizing and voluntarily recommoditizing the culture that matters to them. Participants in the Kickstarter can gain social capital and profit in non-material ways. For example, crowdfunding fans that wish to poach from original texts, such as through the act of