We know many of you are (eagerly we hope) awaiting the publication of our wild and crazy roadtrip through Supernatural fandom, Fangasm – and we hope to have news of its release soon. In the meantime, the first book we wrote on fandom and Supernatural is now for sale. Fandom At The Crossroads: Celebration, Shame and Fan/Producer Relationships is our academic take on the fandom we love. Given the fandom’s propensity for intellectually stimulating meta and “thinky thoughts” so deep they can make your brain hurt, we thought you’d like this one too!
We began this research because we wanted to challenge the “fan shame” that seems to permeate fandom, to celebrate the ways in which fandom brings us all together and validates who we are, and to celebrate the incredible Show we’d fallen hard for. We also wanted to explore the reciprocal relationship between fans and producers that’s closer than ever (Jimions, anyone?), so we talked to the creative side of Supernatural as well as the fans. We sat down with series creator Eric Kripke, showrunner Sera Gamble, and many of the talented cast and crew, most of whom are as passionate about the Show as we are. Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins, Jim Beaver, Matt Cohen, Richard Speight Jr, Chad Lindberg, Gabe Tigerman, Samantha Ferris, Samantha Smith, Malik Whitfield, Todd Stashwick, Kim Rhodes, Fred Lehne, Danneel Ackles, Steve Carlson, Jason Manns, and Brian Buckley all contributed their insights. (We also had some rather amusing and/or embarrassing moments during these oh-so-serious interviews, as you can well imagine if you read this blog regularly – all of which will be confessed in Fangasm. Don’t laugh at us too hard…)
So yes, Fandom At The Crossroads is academic, but since it’s written by the two of *us*, it also looks at fandom and at our beloved Show with a fannish perspective. We asked the sort of questions most researchers (or journalists) probably wouldn’t, and sometimes forgot our researcher hats and dared actors to do things they might not have otherwise. We were also periodically distracted from our “academic pursuits” by our inner, squeeing fangirls. (Hey, wouldn’t you if you were sitting in Jared’s trailer watching him undress as he answered your questions????) Since fandom – and SPN – are full of glorious visuals, we also illustrated the book with lots and lots of photos. Jared and Jensen demonstrated their sense of humor by posing for dozens of these, and we expressed our appreciation for their creativity by letting them come up with some of their own ideas for poses, while we laughed safely out of camera range.
We had an incredible time researching and writing this book, and hope you find the insights of Supernatural’s fans, cast and crew as fascinating as we did. If you read Fandom At The Crossroads, please add your thoughts to the research data in an email or a post here, so we can include your voice in our next book! If you’re studying fandom or popular culture, please recommend it to your university as a useful and current textbook.
Buy now on Amazon.com
Hardcover: Available now
Soft cover: Available: July 2012
More interviews from Nashcon coming up soon…..