the Vanessa Gottlieb Defense Brigade

platform, intersectionality, and canonicity in a Pacific Rim fandom

john carter mcknightdepartment of sociology, lancaster universitywebinar via adobe connectmay 2013

http://obscenelybefuddled.tumblr.com/post/59678828674/so-i-reeeeeeeeally-wanted-to-draw-my-headcanon

part of an ongoing project membranes and borderlands: a new approach to creative communities on the visual internet

I Got Soul But I’m Not A Soldier – cooperative labor and working-class heroism in Pacific Rim fan productions

Spoiler Alert – online politicization and offline confrontation in a superhero fandom

“I Think Beauty Will Save The World:” from fandom to trolloviki in the spread of a global meme

methodological concernshistory of fandom/internet studies as text analysis, but -

shortage of analytical tools for short-form multimedia artifacts (reaction GIFs, podfic, memes)

tumblr. as enabling interplay of text/multimedia (contra blogging platforms, Pinterest, Instagram)

transmedia challenge of tracking events across multiple platforms

fans and producers – two metaphors

fandom within the membranefandom across the borderlands

the fan-producer membranefan studies: focus inside fandom

fan production of stuff or communityfans crossing the membrane to poach

media studies: began with broadcast model privileging producer agency

reception a major focus

the fan-producer borderlandsa new generation of fannish producersproblematic exchanges: Dr Who, Sherlock,

Supernaturalcelebratory exchanges: San Diego ComicContransmedia exchanges: charity work, JaegerCon

two questions re:ontology & ownership across the borderlands:

writer/fan co-creation to fill gaps in canon

ideology & community within the membrane:

reproduction of feminist fannish community and

contestation of meaning within it

case study: assemblagea cult moviea social media platform with affordances favoring discussion of visualsextensive and positive fan/creator interaction

a blank slate of a character

why Pacific Rim?

extensive creator/fan interaction

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8205/8193308453_7fa425eaba_z.jpg

inversion of Hollywood expectations

inversion of Hollywood expectations

inevitably, fandom would ship that

but there was a catch:

…one sentence.

so what? canon and fansquee, considered

is slash a privileged reading within fandom? what is canon? what does it mean? what is it made of?

(how) do canon and fanon interact?

canon and the borderlands

• “Vanessa was introduced to us via the Pacific Rim novelization and art book dossiers. In general, I consider novelizations to be a separate canon. Mainly because a novelization often has to be completed well before its movie is complete, so inconsistencies are a given….

• “Normally, I would completely ignore the Pacific Rim novelization, were it not for Travis’ repeated mentions of Vanessa on tumblr. So, it’s clear she is a character he’d very much like to

• see brought into the movie-verse canon.”• http://so-i-did-this-thing.tumblr.com/post/61040236913/the-one-in-which-i-address-vanessa-gottlieb

travis beacham and vanessa

http://notgreenpaint.tumblr.com/post/59382822956/frick-frick-frick-ive-been-writing-vanessa

burn gorman and the ship

http://originalkaijumittons.tumblr.com/post/63395270126/in-before-wank-okay-so-i-think-its-a-fairly

shipping wars commence!shipping wars commence!

• Dear people in the Pacific Rim fandom who actually love the idea of Vanessa Gottlieb being a model:

•  Why would a person like him be interested in a woman who “sells her body” for the fashion industry? A woman who accepts the fact that her personality and her opinions don’t matter at all in her job and that she’s completely objectified? Hermann wouldn’t be interested in someone like that. A person’s look is insignificant to him because his own look is.

• Again … why would a person like him be interested in a woman with whom he cannot talk about complex scientific facts and theories? It doesn’t matter how much interest she would show for his work, he wouldn’t be able to share anything specific with her. I don’t say that models are stupid, but only another expert would understand and respond in a way that is satisfying for him.

• posted 5 months ago with 136 notes  #♥ Vanessa Gottlieb #Hermann Gottlieb #Pacific Rim #I'm looking forward to your hate.

• http://mittgott.tumblr.com/post/63321428152/dear-people-in-the-pacific-rim-fandom-who-actually-love

http://spooky-ninja-cyborgs.tumblr.com/post/63346617842/dear-people-in-the-pacific-rim-fandom-who-actually-love

http://typhoidcandy.tumblr.com/post/67732897948/so-its-time-for-me-to-do-that-little-rant-thing

And I’m sorry if I’m sounding really bitchy right now, but I am so sick and tired of this shit. In every fandom I have to see this bullshit woman hatred. I’ve argued so many times for amazing female characters like Jane Foster, Shannon Rutherford, Tauriel, etc. And I will continue to argue for every damn female character (no matter how minor they are!) who gets degraded by misogynist assbags. I’m not being nice about it anymore (I don’t think I ever was, but you get my point).

http://handwritingofgod.tumblr.com/post/62177991560/the-fact-that-hermann-is-married-to-a-woman-does-not

http://stormingtheivory.tumblr.com/post/60039507144/dear-newt-hermann-shippers-angry-about-hermann-having-a

http://hannibal-chow-chow.tumblr.com/post/63375679927/so-this-is-likely-the-first-and-last-times-i-will

http://obscenelybefuddled.tumblr.com/post/59407061238/the-only-reason-i-want-a-pacific-rim-sequel

case study wrap: observations

the shipping war was fairly briefthe #vanessa gottlieb tag continues to see fan production

more of which is het than typical there’s a lot of poly and trans fanart of Newmanessa

hypothesis, (partially) falsified

Vanessa didn’t get erasedfansquee/slash reading interrogated in a robust discussion of identity and intersectionality

why?fandom is criticaltumblr. enables a robust community of (critical) practice

how?fandom is

co-producing, transmedia, across the borderlands

implicationsborderlands vs. membrane perspective

poaching/liberation/contestation model poor fit

where is the “ownership” or “IP”?Bakhtinian “dialogism” more apt

open questions and challengesmethodology: it’s harder to find anti-Vanessa material #tags

ethics: treating conversation as public b/c of platform affordances. Debatable.

female bisexuality may be under-represented in fan production – but not in fandom.

co-creation loop not closed: will fanon feed back into future Pacific Rim canon?

my core question remains unanswered:how does feminist acculturation take place?

wrong platform? wrong fandom?wrong method?

discussion welcome!

j.mcknight@lancaster.ac.uk

@john_carterjohncartermcknight.com