Theme Park Fandom
Title
Theme Park Fandom
Subtitle
Spatial Transmedia, Materiality and Participatory Cultures
Price
€ 124,00 excl. VAT
ISBN
9789462982574
Format
Hardback
Number of pages
260
Language
English
Publication date
Dimensions
15.6 x 23.4 cm
Also available as
eBook PDF - € 123,99
Table of Contents
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Acknowledgements

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Chapter 2 - Understanding the Contemporary Theme Park: Theming, Immersion & Fandom

Chapter 3 - Fandom, Brandom & Plandom: Haptic Fandom, Anticipatory Labour & Digital Knowledge

Chapter 4 - Extending the Haunted Mansion: Spatial Poaching, Participatory Narratives & Retrospective Transmedia

Chapter 5 - Of Mice and Minions: Hierarchy, 'Ani-embodiment' & 'Metonymic Celebrity' in the Theme Park Character Encounter

Chapter 6 - Turkey Legs, Dole Whip and Duff: Consumables, Diegetic Paratexts, & 'Cult-Culinary' Objects

Chapter 7 - Embodied Transmedia & Paratextual-Spatio Play: Consuming, Collecting & Costuming Theme Park Merchandise

Chapter 8 - Replacing & Remembering Rides: Ontological Security, Authenticity & Online Memorialisation

Chapter 9 - Conclusion: Ways Forward for Theme Park & Fan Studies

Index

Rebecca Williams

Theme Park Fandom

Spatial Transmedia, Materiality and Participatory Cultures

Theme Park Fandom argues that serious study of theme parks and their adult fans has much to tell us about contemporary transmediality and convergence, themed and immersive spaces, and audience relationships with places of meaning. Considering the duopoly of Disney and Universal in Orlando, the book explores a range of theme park experiences including planning trips, meeting characters, eating and drinking, engaging in practices such as cosplay and re-enactment, and memorializing lost attractions. Highlighting key themes such as immersion, materiality, cultural distinctions, and self-identity, the book argues that theme parks are a crucial site for the exploration of transmediality and the development of paratexts. Proposing the key concepts of spatial transmedia and haptic fandom, the book offers analysis of the intersections between fandom, media texts, and merchandise, as well as fans’ own affective and physical responses to visiting the parks.
Author

Rebecca Williams

Rebecca Williams is Senior Lecturer in Communication, Culture and Media Studies at the University of South Wales. She is the author of Post-Object Fandom (Bloomsbury, 2015) and editor of Torchwood Declassified (I.B. Tauris, 2013) and Everybody Hurts (University of Iowa Press, 2018). Her work has been published in journals such as Celebrity Studies, European Journal of Cultural Studies, Continuum, Participations, Popular Communication, and Cinema Journal.