She had been contributing regularly to an Internet discussion group about soap operas, and like Henry Jenkins, she believes that being part of the community gains her access and insights that academics looking in from an outside detached perspective would not have.

The book focuses on one discussion group (rec.arts.tv.soaps or r.a.t.s.) and specifically on one soap (All of My Children or AMC) and explores issues of media reception and the sociality of fandom. It is in many ways a personal account as the author clearly considers herself as being in some way part of that community, and her first-person perspectives are often used in the book. She asserts that ‘rather than judging from the outside, we need to listen closely to what members of new media communities have to say to one another and to those who ask. Only then will we understand their diversity and the opportunities and challenges they offer.’

The main question that this book strives to answer is how audience members use mass media to structure and articulate their social relationships and make the world ‘intellectually meaningful, aesthetically pleasing, and emotionally compelling’ (quoting Jensen & Pauly, 1997:163)

Finally, the author also emphasizes the fact that fan communities should not be considered a homogeneous whole, asserting that: ‘as we come to live in an ever-expanding array of specialized communities, the issue of how those communities interweave is crucial to understanding culture.’

1- Sociality in Fandom

‘Whetmore and Kielwasser (1983) argue that postviewing and previewing interaction are as important to fans as is the actual viewing of the soap. Because of the value of this talk, they argue, the soap opera audience becomes interconnected.’Their enjoyment of the text is greatly enhanced by their discussion of it within the confines of a highly knowledgeable and sympathetic environment.

The sociality is obviously a crucial aspect of the viewing according to the author as she asserts that ‘looking at this group as an audience community leads to the understanding that when an audience becomes collaborative, it changes what it means to be a fan. The pool of relevant information is expanded, the range of interpretations on offer is broadened, genre expertise is refined and cultivated, and the opportunity to discuss the private worlds of feelings and relationships with others is enhanced.’ She quotes Blumenthal (1997, p. 105) in order to reinforce this point: ‘Soap operas offer people the chance to create relationships in which they can explore emotional reality together.’

Also according to Blumenthal, soap operas produce a space ‘from which we can stand outside and analyse others’ connections with each other without becoming implicated in the consequences’ (quoting Blumenthal, 1997, p. 105). This enjoyment of experiencing different scenarios is also applicable to videogames, where players can experience emotions and enact actions that they are unable or unwilling to in reality. The sense of freedom and release from the restraints of everyday life is part of the reason why these media products inspire such loyalty in their fans.

2- Marginalized Audiences and Fan Phobia

Baym points to the ‘stereotype of soap opera viewers, and fans more generally, as mentally and socially deficient’. The author argues that fan communities are aware of this marginalized status and perception of fandom in general as an unworthy practice. This awareness of the outside world perception of fans in itself denies the stereotype of the recluse fan buried in a fantasy world and oblivious to reality. Like in videogames, there is a pervasive sense that soap fans are too close to the object of their fandom and have therefore lost the ability to separate it from reality. She argues that ‘the image of the fan who revels in low-taste culture rather than displaying appropriate shame can thus be seen not as a reflection of the fan but as a ‘projection of anxieties about the violation of dominant cultural hierarchies’. This is also applicable to videogame fans, who are seen as being overly engaged in a childish and trivial pursuit. Jenkins concurs by stating that ‘Whether viewed as a religious fanatic, a psychopathic killer, a neurotic fantasist, or a lust-crazed groupie, the fan remains a ‘fanatic’ or false worshipper, whose interests are fundamentally alien to the realm of ‘normal’ cultural experience and whose mentality is dangerously out of touch with reality’ (Jenkins, 1992: p. 15). The use of the term ‘addiction’ is often used to describe fan activity and loyalty, implying a media text that is empty and mindless while simultaneously retaining the power to take over the weak and inferior minds of those foolish enough to let themselves by trapped by it.

3 – ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ Identity Through Fandom

In order to have a strong and developed sense of ‘self’ within fan communities, fans tend to build themselves as being in opposition to other groups, notably the producers of the texts. ‘Jenkins (1992, p.86) describes fandom as ‘an institution of theory and criticism, a semi structured space where competing interpretations and evaluations of common texts are proposed, debated, and negotiated and where readers speculate about the nature of the mass media and their own relationship to (them)’. In fandom, Jenkins finds that fans appropriate the texts, engaging them in all the ways one would expect from previous analyses of media texts but also using the shows as the raw material for their own creative impulses.’

Fans in this study express the feeling of being part of a group of people who have exclusive insight of what the correct interpretation mode of their chosen object of fandom is. For Soap Opera fans (as for videogame fans in similar environments) the existence of such fan-exclusive areas gives them ‘possibility of expressing one’s emotional responses to the show to a sympathetic audience.’ This means that knowledge and practices central to a fan’s life, which are likely to be derided in the outside world are valued and engaged with within the fan community. Knowledge of the text in this case constitutes not only valuable cultural capital that enables the fan to gain status within the community, but also ensures that a tighter sense of community is built. Actively constructing a social environment in which taking soaps seriously is considered appropriate rather than a waste of time, individuals have the opportunity demonstrate genre competence, creativity, and expertise to others gaining social status and pleasure from the affirmation that posts receive.’

It is also interesting to note that the pleasure gained from the social interaction surrounding a media text remains constant irrespective of whether the media text is pleasing or displeasing to the fan. Videogame fans get as much pleasure in complaining about the inferiority of new releases compared to previous versions and discussing shortcomings in the games as they do sharing their excitement at a product they really enjoyed. The evidence in this book suggests that the same applies to Soap Opera fans: ‘sharing frustration and anger about the show’s shortcomings with sympathetic others lessens those negative feelings.

4 – Creativity in Fandom

Finally, fans transform their criticisms into opportunities to let their own creativity shine. When the show fails to perform for them, they perform for one another. Jenkins (1992, p.23) argues that this combination of criticism and creativity is common in fan cultures:

‘The fans’ response typically involves not simply fascination or adoration but also frustration and antagonism, and it is the combination of the two responses which motivates their active engagement with the media. Because popular narratives often fail to satisfy, fans must struggle with them…because the texts continue to fascinate, fans cannot dismiss them…but rather must try to find ways to salvage them for their interests.’ (1992, p.23).

‘with critical humour, r.a.t.s. participants assert their mastery over a text they do not own and find collaborative ways in which to sustain their involvement. Participants are able to distance themselves from the soap by laughing at it, but at the same time, the laughter encourages them to stay attached to the drama.’

‘By using the show’s flaws as material with which to entertain each other, the community becomes amusing enough to hold the participants’ attention through the show’s lows. The humour offered by the discussion might even be the only reason why fans remain engaged during periods when the soap is particularly bad.’ The community therefore constructs its identity through ongoing communicative practices where sharing displeasure towards a media text can be just as rewarding as sharing pleasure.

5 – Hierarchy in Fan Groups

Baym argues that group values make some forms of cultural capital more valuable than others and, hence, lend those with such capital greater status.’(p. 159). She argues that some heavy posters develop unique and recognisable styles and play particularly influential roles in creating the group’s social environment, becoming ‘particularly responsible for personalizing an otherwise anonymous environment and for setting the tone of the group.’

The author argues that ‘Online identities are built out of, and in response to, a group of other voices and a value system that makes some types of voices more appealing than others.’  While online identities are potentially very flexible, in order to gain acceptance and status within such a group one must bear in mind the social constraints practiced within it. ‘There is a delicate balance between individuality and the needs of the group in which individual identities are created, and both sides of this tension deserve equal consideration.’  By continually validating and honouring some identities over others these fan groups reinforce group values.