OTW Guest Post: Rebecca Black & Jonathan Alexander
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | OTW Guest Post: Rebecca Black & Jonathan Alexander |
| Interviewer: | Claudia Rebaza |
| Interviewee: | Rebecca Black & Jonathan Alexander |
| Date(s): | April 18, 2019 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | |
| External Links: | OTW Guest Post: Rebecca Black & Jonathan Alexander; Wayback; archive link |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
OTW Guest Post: Rebecca Black & Jonathan Alexander is a 2019 interview done as part of a series. See OTW Guest Post.
Some Topics Discussed
- fan media as a way for people to “talk back” to the larger culture industries
- young adult literature
- acafandom
- fandom, fanworks, diversity, exploration
Some Excerpts
Your recent article focused on neurodiversity representation in fandom and fanworks. What led you to study this particular group?
JA: Both Rebecca and I love YA and we were really interested in what folks were doing with Harry Potter fanfiction, since the Harry Potter universe is very attractive to fanfiction authors. I’ve long been interested in how different groups, especially marginalized folks such as LGBT young people, see themselves (or don’t always see themselves) represented in popular narratives, and how they then use fan media as a way to “write themselves into” the story lines of some of their favorite stories. Rebecca and I realized that there was relatively little scholarship about autism and fan media, even though there is an emerging scholarship about disability and fan media. So we saw an opportunity to contribute to the conversation about autism and neurodiversity in particular.
RB: My response is very similar to Jonathan’s. I initially focused on the different kinds of learning that takes place in fan communities -— which, incidentally, is a lot -— but I also became very interested in the ways that fan creations can bring new perspectives and new ways of looking at things into the world. I had a high school student approach me about doing a more psychology-based study focused on fanfiction and autism. I don’t do that sort of research, but Jonathan and I were able to work with him to come up with a study that had a central focus on how fanfiction featuring neurodiverse characters might offer new ways for people to think about and understand neurological differences.
What fandom things have inspired you the most?
JA: Seeing young people talk seriously in their writing and in their fan media about issues that are important to them —- from sexuality and race to disability and even politics -— is inspiring. I’m encouraged that so many young people, from so many different walks of life and such divergent backgrounds, are finding ways to engage critically with important topics.
RB: I have been inspired by the ways that fandom provides a community for young people who see themselves as existing on the margins of many spaces, such as school or even at home. I’ve come across many fanfiction writers who use their stories to introduce issues and topics that they are struggling with in their lives. Fandom gives them a safe way to talk about these issues, and provides a way for them to get feedback and support from a community of people they feel connected to through their shared passion for a particular canon.