Fandoms Research Paper

Since the first fandoms, many fanatics have joined together to create a unique and safe environment for themselves and their peers to escape to. Although to the outside world, fandoms seem chaotic and cultish, in reality, they create a community that encourages socializing, deeper thinking, mental health, and physical activity. Fandoms are groups made of people with the same passions or hobbies, that are brought together because of their shared passions of the media. Nowadays media fandoms focus on the utilization of and involvement with shows, comic books, and movies. People join fandoms to be more involved in their favorite shows and to create new friendships. Fandoms have evolved to where the people in them become a family. This family is a place that anyone can escape to so that they can relax and take a break from reality. These individuals who are emotionally infused with their favorite media by spending a great amount of time thinking about the stories, characters and meanings of the stories are called fans. The word fan was said to have stemmed as a shortened form of the word

Fan-art is artwork that was created unofficially by a fan of a show, movie, book or game. One popular kind of fan-art is simple drawings, paintings, and art created digitally. There are hundreds of millions of fan-art pieces on the internet. Almost every fan has created fan-art at least once in their life, even by accident. Though it might just be a doodle of Sailor Moon one did in class, it is still considered fan-art. Gifs are also usually included in fan discussions, be it a singular gif or a gif-set that deconstructs critical scenes, theorizing the meaning of the scene for the series in the future. Creating fan-art allows fans to share their dedication of a show and might even give them confidence due to other fans enjoying their art and encouraging them to continue creating more