media ethnography - fan fiction

For this week's post I'm going to do a media ethnography study on Harry Potter fan fiction. My younger sister, who is now a freshman in college, was a big "fan" of HP fan fiction in high school, so I had the opportunity to ask her some questions about the practices of participants, as well as look at the sites, stories, and comments myself.

According to my sister, who for all the hours she spent reading fan fiction should be considered an expert, the best Harry Potter fan fiction site is the official Warner Bros site. Navigating to the message board and then the fan fiction site is sort of tricky, but here is a direct link. Incidentally, the "community" site hosts forums and message boards about everything from Harry Potter books to the movies to video games and trading cards, official "house common room" sites, as well as the fan fiction site.

There's no organization once you reach the fan site--each thread is a different story but they aren't organized according to subject, author, characters, etc., but only by most recent posting (and I believe that includes comments to the stories, which are added all the time). When I asked my sister how she chose which of the hundreds of fan fics to read, she said:

I would happen across a good one, that’s how it would start, and then I would stick with the author and follow what the author was reading and kind of go on a chain from that.

The site really is a community, and each poster establishes a profile and usually uploads a picture or graphic that appears along each of her posts. The first posting on a thread is usually the author's "rules", followed by the first installment of the story. The story I'll use as an example is one by ginnygirl18, and I chose to follow it because it had almost 4,000 replies and comments...a sure sign that it's good, according to my sister.

Hello everyone! And welcome to my brand new thread!

This is my second fic on these boards, so it's not the first time I've done this, but I'm still relatively new to the whole writing scene.

It's a Lily and James fic. It starts at the end of their seventh year, and follows them through the years after they graduate from Hogwarts. It's going to be quite different from my first fic, and I hope that you like it!

Rules (I know, booo, but there's only a couple)

1. Please, no swearing. There really is no need. And I don't want this deleted.

2. No advertising here. Unless you are a reader, and a regular bumper here, then I might just give you permission. I like to read other fics too, especially if the authors are taking the time to read mine. I like to return the favor.

3. Talk! It makes things much more interesting, and I like to get to know you a little bit. We had fun on my last thread, didn't we my lovelies?

That's it! Read away, and enjoy! I'll post after I get a couple of BUMPS!

Luv,

Amy

Lily and James fics are very popular because the authors have more freedom to expand the characters, use their imagination, and stray from J.K. Rowling's world. My sister said:

I preferred James and Lilly sotries, and it turned out that that’s mostly what people wrote about, because that’s what Rowling wrote about the least, so you can use the most imagination with them, you don’t have to be canon.

"Canon" means sticking to the facts, the real world of the Harry Potter books. Some fan fics are more canon than others, and some even invent new characters, which are called "original characters" or OC.

After ginnygirl18's post of her rules and the first installment of her story, the replies started streaming in. On these boards all replies are listed chronologically, and new installments of the story are just counted as another reply, so to read more of the story you have to tediously search through all sorts of comments and conversation. But to the true HP fan, it's worth it. Here are some examples of comments and replies on this thread:

jason_freddy:
Hi Amy!
How are you?
So new fic, eh?
Well I can't wait to start reading this!

- Jason

m.ikki.
I'M HEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRE!

It's okay, you can all relax, now. I made it. -squee-

AMY I'M SO EXCITED!


This is going to be absolutly THE. BEST.


Because I said so.


Wahoo! A post!

castine:
AMY!!!
So you're not here right now but hi!!
I loved the first post! So
BumpersZzZZzz!!
I am happy to have another thread to read :]
It was a good idea to post before you go because that first post seemed like it was setting up the actual story.
And then on sunday we get to read a much anticipated post!
However, I can't really help keep this bump'd because I shall be away too! On saturday I am going to the Youth Fair! :]
And hello to everyone else too! Its nice to know we'll all still have a place to chat.


Bumps!

Cas

titillandus88:
AMMYY!!!
Yes, the infamous orange font is BACK! muahahahaha! *ahem* right..

Well, I'm so glad you've started up again! *nods fervently* great start, this sounds so differnet from your last one, but still with all the old Amy goodness. YAY!

BUMMPPS!

(hello all you old lovlies + Jason...I'm Carly! *stick's out hand*.. we met breifly on Pippi's banner thread..
I think there's another new reader too, but i got too excited about posting and forgot who... sorry... anyway, i am looking forward to many a fun times and potatoes and such on this brand spankin' new thread! ^^

♥ Carly

I didn't copy them here, but posters often replied in conversation with each other, Amy often wrote back to each comment and new members to the thread, and an instant community seemed to form. I asked my sister about the relationships on the fan fiction sites, and she said:

On the boards for the stories people formed friendships and talked about their lives, in between posts of the story. I made a couple of friends, not like hardcore friends, but a girl names Sarah and another girl Remi.

Bumping, in case you're confused, is what what comments do to threads--they "bump" them up the "most recently posted" list, so that they're on the front page of the fan fic site. Fans can bump their favorite stories to get them best viewing space, so many comments I saw were simple one-word posts, or pictures or graphics.

--

The shared social agenda for the Harry Potter fan site seems two fold: for the authors of the post, it's to have an audience for their stories and to form a supportive and interactive community around their ideas and characters. For the readers and posters, it's to read more about their favorite fantasy world, and also interact with others who share their passion. But while the stories all had something to do with Harry Potter, even the non-canon ones that were allowed to deviate a bit, I found that the comments spent less time discussing the characters, plots, Harry Potter world in general, than the every-day lives of the commentators. It was much more about forming relationships than analyzing text. The fan sites provide a place for people to springboard off of a common interest but then develop their relationships onto many different planes.

The comments I posted earlier were from the very beginning of the thread, over a year ago, and here's a sample of what the group is talking about now, posted yesterday:

jamessiriuslover:
Hey guys!

Amykins, that last post was tre magnifique!

I loved it!

And - what the heck?! MIKKI?! Mikki was here?! For all of one minute! Omg! And I think its been two and a half years, Amykins. I think she's been gone for longer than one year. =(

So! We're talking about guys, are we? Well do I have the story for you!

This year has started and, well....I have a new crush.
And before the eyes roll and the sighs escape, let me tell you that it isnt a lovesick-puppy-dog thing. He's my really good friend, and its more of a friendship/attraction thing. I got my (first!) cell phone about a month and a half ago, and he and I have texted, like, every day since. Its a really sarcastic and joking kind of relationship, but its fun all the same. I've never knowingly flirted in my entire life, and yet my friends are telling me that I quite obviously do it all the time with him. And that he does it with me. The thing is, though, that he does that kind of thing with all his friends-that-are-girls. He's not a ****, though, at all.

And - and here's the plus - he's really good looking!

I know there is no chance of anything happening between us, because the kind of girls he normally likes, though they are all nice, are very different from me. The main difference being that they are all prettier than me. And before all you awesome VBFFs rush and say 'aww, you're pretty too, Lilly', let me assure you that I know I'm gorgeous. Lol. I'm just a different pretty than the raven haired, blue eyed beauties he usually likes.

But whatever.

We are friends more than anything. Thats what I'm always telling my friends. He is first and foremost my friend.

But congratulation Nette! I guess your out of the club, or soon will be anyway. Good for you! And happy-extremely-belated-birthday!

Bumps Amykins!

Lilly

Already there are responses to Lilly's post. She has a community, however abstract and virtual, that she knows supports her and is interested in her story, not only the romantic story of James and Lilly. I know from the hours I saw my sister spending on the computer, engrossed in the stories and with the comments, that there's something very real and important about these interactions, especially to those who participate in them.