Traveling Back to 1999 to Learn About E-zines: Article Review

 This week, I wanted to look at literature that gave broader context for what the internet looked like before social media, so that I could get a better understanding of how fandom would have functioned at the time. I looked specifically for an article written in the 90s about online community, which would act as a reference for the language and attitudes regarding the activity of the time. I found this really helpful, since up until now I had been looking at fan websites without having context for the culture. (Many of the websites were created before I was born!)

“Strands in the Web: Community-Building Strategies in‘Online Fanzines” by Matthew J. Smith (1999) discusses the role of online fanzines, or ‘e-zines’ in fostering online community. Smith discusses the affordances of e-zines versus traditional printed zines, such as distribution to wider audiences, connection despite physical distance, avoiding gatekeeping, hyperlinks, interactivity and timeliness (pp. 88-89). Smith explains that e-zines are characterized by being self-published, updated periodically, intertextual, hypertextual, interactive and multimedia (pp. 87-90). E-zines are both catered towards the needs of the audience, and necessarily immersed in the culture of their topic (p. 90). These qualities allow for unique community-building potential, which is established in a few key ways (pp. 89-90) Using hyperlinks allows e-zine writers to reference other websites and fanworks, and users are invited to contribute through submitting fanworks, participating in polls, signing guestbooks, and overall contributing to the content of the site (pp. 93-95). E-zines often reference each other and give credit to other fan’s content, creating validation and authenticity that facilitate community connection (p. 94).  Smith notes that e-zines establish their credibility through their immersion in the culture, often by providing resources that are useful to the reader such as news and feature articles, databases, and graphics (pp. 90-93). The ability to update the websites frequently lends itself well to periodical content such as television shows or comic books, which are consistently releasing new content to be consumed and discussed by fans (p. 90). Fans continually return to e-zines when they offer current or transformative content that speaks to their interests (pp. 91-92). Overall, e-zines allow fans to feel they have an active role in the culture surrounding their topic, contributing through fanworks such as fanfiction and articles, or even campaigns that can sway real-life decisions surrounding the production of their chosen media (pp. 95-96). 

This article was even more helpful than I expected, because it gave me a lot of information about how people thought about fan websites during their peak popularity. Firstly, I hadn’t previously considered the label of ‘e-zine’ as opposed to fan website or fanpage. It seems that fanpage is a more recently used term, which usually refers to a social media profile. It is helpful to learn about the language used at the time in this way because it can lead to other sources. It also is a distinct characterization of the functions and behaviors of the websites, being updated frequently, interactive and very consciously curated like other magazines. The term shows the direct tie to traditional fanzines, which had been around in science fiction circles for decades prior to the internet. Cementing fan websites in this history gives a lot of information about their purpose and activity. I saw a lot of truth in the way that Smith described e-zines, from the sources I have been using such as E-Gor’s Chamber. Just as he described, E-Gor’s Chamber has a database, feature articles, news updates (primarily about a host’s death including their obituary), hyperlinks, a design that relates to the topic, collections of graphics and images borrowed from other sources that relate to the topic, and constant references to fan submissions, correspondence between E-Gor and horror hosts, and other helpful sources on the topic. It was great to find a source where the author lays out these characteristics and explains how they facilitate the creation of community. I also found it helpful that he tied the periodical comic book or TV show format to the websites. Since everything is so immediate now, I hadn’t considered that it would’ve been a new concept to communicate about new episodes or releases as they come out. Similarly, it was funny but beneficial to hear the way that hyperlinks were discussed. I would not have given a second thought to the use of hyperlinks, but Smith describes it as a very conscious choice that the fan author makes to program a hyperlink, which allow users to access a website with one click, as opposed to having to copy and paste the plain text link into their browser to access it (p. 94). He describes the inclusion of ‘pirated’ graphics as similarly novel. Again, including an image found online in a website is not something that I would think twice about, but Smith describes it as a big choice with big impacts (pp. 90, 93). I take for granted the saturation and accessibility of images available online today, whereas in 1999, it probably would’ve been more difficult to find images related to your favorite topics online making including images a selling point for your website. This also reminded me of an article I read which connected fan behaviors to development theory (Stever, 2010), wherein the author describes that infant ‘gazing behavior’ creates intimacy with caretakers, leading to adult ‘gazing behaviors’ that facilitate connection with loved ones in real life, or strengthen parasocial connection with celebrities and characters (pp. 3, 5). Psychologically, this desire to consume images of your favorite characters makes sense as a motivation to seek out fan content. Overall, it was very very helpful for me to take a step back from what I know about fan media today, and from the literature that analyzes it with modern technology in mind. Getting into the mindset of someone using the internet in 1999 gave me a lot more understanding of fan behaviors at the time, as well as the importance of e-zines. I can apply this to my analysis of the horror hosting community over time, since online activity and e-zines were such a huge part of its development.

Much of the feedback on my initial footage were things that I anticipated and agreed with, since I gave myself less than ideal conditions with lighting and audio. My classmates noted that my audio was far too quiet (likely because I used the camera’s microphone as the external one provided wasn’t working), the lighting was a little dark/unbalanced, and my subject was looking pretty directly at the camera rather than at a diagonal. I knew that the audio and lighting weren’t the best because I didn’t check out lights and used the camera mic, and I positioned the camera in a way that I couldn’t stand off screen to create a good sight line for my subject. (I don’t mean to make excuses for these issues, just noting I was just pretty immediately disappointed because I should've been able to fix them!) Additionally, they mentioned that the background was interesting and topical but a bit distracting, and my Elvira cutout scared them! I didn’t consider this when setting up my shot, but it’s good to have perspective on this since my focus wasn’t very shallow. They also gave me some great ideas to incorporate, like using multiple cameras including an artistic angle such as extreme closeup for variation, using creative lighting to create tone, racking focus from the background/props to the interview subject, and having the interview subject interact with the props or show them off. They also complimented my questions/interview style which I appreciated. I was focusing more on the technical side of the assignment and I came up with them on the spot based on my research, so I was glad they were somewhat effective. To answer Laura’s questions from the chat, I will have a mix of Zoom interviews (which I will develop a strategy on to ensure quality and compatible visual style) and in-person interviews (based on who is close to Philly, Raleigh or DC). For my in-person interviews, I think the strategy depends on the individual. If they are a collector or an active horror host who I could film in their natural habitat, I would love to film them prepping to film or showing off their collectibles. If it is a retired horror host who has a relatively normal house, I think it would work well to film them on a set which I can curate to the visual language of the documentary. For the few in-person interviews I would definitely like to do a two-camera setup, so I will have to experiment with that more leading up to filming. Based on my feedback, I will make sure to check out lav mics to ensure better audio quality, I will check out a light kit or use natural lighting to improve the lighting overall, make the focus shallower to avoid background distractions, check out a second camera, adjust where I am standing so that the subject can look at me and still appear to be looking at a diagonal off camera, and play with fun lighting and camera angles to add tone/texture/visual interest. 

References

Simple List of TV Horror Hosts (with Links). E-Gor’s Chamber of TV Horror Hosts. (n.d.). https://egorschamber.com/tvhorrorhosts/hostlist.html

Smith, M. J. (1999). Strands in the web: Community‐building strategies in online fanzines. The Journal of Popular Culture, 33(2), 87–99. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-3840.1999.3302_87.x 

Stever, G. S. (2010). Fan behavior and lifespan development theory: Explaining para-social and social attachment to celebrities. Journal of Adult Development, 18(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-010-9100-0