I'm a Fan of That!

In our season four finale, we ask the question: what's up with genre? Well, actually more to the point, we ask: what we can learn about the fandoms we love and ourselves when we look at the world through genre?

Topics include: nostalgia genres, how Batman is a war memorial, why definitions are tricky, and what it is about early 2000s TV that captures us so.

Some Links

Stjn Reijnders - Places of Imagination

The Knitting vlogger Holly was chatting about

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Today, both Vivian and 'Olly are a bit tired and have been apart for some time, so we're just going to have a friend catch up chat and want you to come and join us. It's slowly crawling toward autumn here in the UK, so we're both feeling a little nostalgic and cosy, so today is all about cosy games, nostalgic reads and music, and just trying to enjoy life.

Topics We Mentioned

Daisy Granade

Wind in the Willows

The Magician's Nephew - Greta Gerwig's images

Little Witch...

We're talking about a big topic in pop culture these days: paraosciality. And yes, Vivian will be talking about her work into Swifties and Taylor Swift a bit, but mostly we chat about what it actually means to be parasocial, and even if such a thing actually does exist?

Vivian's Research Material

Individual celebration of pop music icons: A study of music fans relationships with their object of fandom and associated practices

Check out Vivian's survey for Swifties

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Warning: This episode contains two people trying their best to have a nuanced conversation about something complicated, personal, and sensative.

That's right, we're chatting about trigger warnings today, those pesky lists of things that a social media post, a blog post, a video essay, or something else online have at the beginning. The point was to try and keep people who may have trauma induced responses to certain contant from having a physical and emotional reaction. But is that actually whats happening now? Does "trigger" even mean this anymore? And what do the academics have to...

It's another fandom of Vivian's that she's bringing to the table. Our lovely pop anthropologist grew up watching the goofy pseudo-kinda-police-procedural Psych on the USA network (or at least that's where it was in the US). And this week, she made 'Olly watch an episode. Turns out, they liked it so much, they watched two!

Topics include: police procedurals, the difference in TV from the 2000s, nostalgia not always necessarily tied to your own shows, and how wonderful small fandoms are.

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We're finally tackling the big important fandom practice and question: the collector. Is the collector a fan? Are fans just naturally collectors? Today, 'Olly and Vivian answer some questions we have on the nature of collecting.

Topics include: what makes a collector, different types of collecting, the monetisation of collecting, what we each collect, and, of course, Swifties.

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Fan...

Vivian and 'Olly are coming to you from the middle of the second (or is it third?) UK heatwave of the year, but we're able to put that to the side to talk about Real Life Shipping. That's right! The idea and practice of actively shipping, writing, drawing, and speculating, on two real human people's relationship status.

Topics include: The Summer I Turned Pretty, Dan and Phil, Sherlock, and Taylor Swift and the Gaylors.

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It's a Vivian episode, which means she's taking us away from the traditional nerdy and to the other kind of nerds. And today, it's to the Houewives fans. We need to center this conversation on a particular episode, and so Vivian had 'Olly watch the season finale of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City season 4.

Topics include: the anthropology of reality television, the connection between Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Housewives, the gendered performance of these women, how campiness works, and how reality television is not reality while being reality.

...

We've been dancing around the topic for ages, and its now time to give it its full due. That's right, we're finally dedicating a full episode to the Rian Johnson film franchise that is Knives Out. Though don't know if that series title will stick, as he's said he doesn't like it. So maybe its best to say we're focusing on Benoit Blanc. This one comes with a bonus drinking game! Take a drink every time Vivian mentions her video essays!

Topics include: the structure of the whodunnit, the difference between detective fiction and crime fiction...

VIvian and Olly decide to get a little nostalgic today by talking about an sitcom from our adolescents that we both watched far after we were children. That's right, it's the classic Zooey Deschanel New Girl.

Topics include: Manic Pixie Dream Girls? Whether Schmidt is problematic. The difference between plot and story. Why are sitcoms so dang appealing? Balancing the light with the dark. And the complicated nature of binge watching.

VIvian's Episode on New Girl's Injured

Shows Referenced

New Girl

Brooklyn 99

Friends

We decided to kick of season four with an overview of the things 'Olly and Vivian have been enjoying and faning out over in the break. We also give you a little bit of a media watch/read/explore list of topics and case studies that may be coming up next.

Topics We Stan Right Now

Noah Kahan - The Great Divide

Paddington: the Musical

Project Hail Mary

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafón

The Silver Bone - A...

You may have seen the New York Times piece. Maybe you've seen people chatting about it online. And, knowing our audience, you don't know anything about it. Never fear, neither does 'Olly! So today, Vivian explains to 'Olly the ins and outs of the Summer House Scandal, walking you and them through the show, each of the characters in play for it, the fall out, and what it means more socially.

Some readings:

Check out Rachel Lindsey's podcast Morally Corrupt

Read the Out of Context's substack post about the scandal here.

Vivian and 'Olly are briefly outside of the Patreon bubble to talk about the Traitors! We chat about the differences between the US and the UK versions, how wonderful a campy gothic horror reality show is, the problem of unconscious bias, and why we love the traitors this year.

Some readings:

Hyphen - The Celebrity Traitors shows unspoken bias at work

The Independent - People of Colour keep leaving the Traitors early. We need to talk about why

Vogue - We need to talk about The Traitors and unconscious bias <...

It's the Christmas Special! And today's episode is all about... the Christmas Special! Yes, we know it's quite meta, but it's worth a chat. We talk about the media that defines this time of year, from episodes of American sitcoms, to A Christmas Story, to the Doctor Who Christmas Special. We chat about the differences between American and English culture (as of 11 years ago), and what specific type of nostalgia we reach for.

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...

The end of season three is probably the best time to finally confront an all important question: what actually is fandom? How do we define this strange thing? Is it even possible? We chat about the history of the word and idea, take a little side path down an explanation of cultural evolutionary anthropology, and end with a big 'ol question of whether we can actually ever get away from some of the problematic ideas we have.

Some stuff:

Vivian's Taylor Swift project

Holly briefly mentioned Vivian's pool analogy, so it's here...

Spooky Season has officially begun! We're celebrating by diving into one of Holly's personal favourite horror video games: Silent Hill. Today's topics include: what defines the horror genre, how horror video game narratives work, and a brief interlude about Vivian and Holly's nightterrors.

Some Extra Materials

Vivian's video games and myth article

Games Mentioned:

Silent Hill

Fatal Frame

PT

Resident Evil

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So, because we've lost some audio, I'm stepping in for today to give you lovely listeners a little idea I've had for quite some time. I've thought about doing little fun light-hearted lectures on a particular subject, so if you like them just let me know! I'll keep doing them!

Today's topic is an overview of Religion and Popular Culture. What do we mean when we say this? What's being covered under that umbrella? What are some of the interesting dynamics which can happen here?

Kotaku article about Bioshock

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Full cards on the table guys, we may have lost the audio of an episode. So, we decided to fill the space with a little fandom chat, just a little quick catch up on the things we're enjoying, studying, or thinking about recently. Topics include: Taylor Swift's new album, people mad that leftist bands are leftist, the Hunger Games, and reaction videos on YouTube.

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That's right, folks! We're finally spending some dedicated time to the ultimate anime film studio: Studio Ghibli. Topics include: the nature of evil in Ghibli films, the plot structure of Kishotenketsu, the Chthuluscene, and even some Moomins.

Note: we pronounce Ghibli with the hard G sound. Get over it.

Some Links

Video essay on the Chthuluscene

Video essay on No Face

Video essay on Kiki

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Inspired by our previous episode on genres, we decide to chat today about a thing that happens, particularly in fan spaces. Flanderization is the process of a character being distilled to the point of removing many deeper aspects of their character. Topics include: definition of the term and its history of Ned Flanders, Stardew Valley's flanderized characters, and how classic novels are subjected to this through replications.

Some Links

Goffman's work on identity

Fiona Sangster on YouTube

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...

Today, Olly and Vivian take the plunge into the world of K-Pop! We chat about BlackPink, Vivian's personal favs, and theorise on what makes it so gosh darn fun. Topics include: stan political activity, the misogynistic view of the teenage girl, Vivian's like of watching cute girls dancing (in no way connected to that misogynistic view), and how K-Pop feels so different to other pop.

Some Links!

V&A - KPop Fandom

The Guardian - Trump "played" by K-pop fans

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Holly's...

This episode is all about the nature of crossing genres - romantasy, urban fantasy mysteries, satirical fantasies, romance monster movies. You name two genres, we love to see how they combine. But things can be more complicated then they appear. Really, Vivian and Holly just wanted to chat about all the things they love.

Some of the Media Mentioned

C.J Sansom

Stuart Turton

Shape of Water

Micky 17

Psalm of the Wild Built

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Today, Vivian and Holly are diving into a slightly uncomfortable fandom for them - true crime! Inspired by the very unmarked CDs of case files Vivian received for a maybe-project, we're diving into the world of true crime. Topics include: why we love crime, the fascination and allure of crime, why Vivian hates journalists, and how true crime fandom isn't really new... like at all.

Some Stuff to Check Out!

Gangster

Do Go On

Drunk Women Solving Crime

Ruth Penfold Mounce - a sociologist of...

Today, we're stepping into the world of Drag Con, the drag-based convention of Ru Paul's Drag Race. Ru Paul has brought drag to a mainstream stage, but what does that mean for us, for drag, and for the development of a drag fandom? Topics include: what is drag, the history of drag, the role of drag kings, and the way drag may actually not be as subversive as it seems.

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Today, we've got some breaking fandom Swiftie news, and Vivian comes with notes on all the drama.

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Fan Of That is now on Patreon!

Go support us over there!

Music for this episode was Nowhere Land by Kevin MacLead Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Logo by Moira Daykin, @mecha_moira on instagram

This episode comes from one of our Patrons. Thanks!

We're chatting about coffee fandom, coffee culture, and coffee shop culture today. And a splash of tea because its hard to talk about one without the other, especially for Vivian and 'Olly. Topics include: coffee shops vs diners in the United States, history of coffee in the UK vs the US, how food and drink show us our culture, and what a British tea ceremony looks like.

References

You're Dead to Me epsiode on the history of coffee

Vivian's Writing...

We're back for Season 3, and we're starting off with a topic voted on by our Patreons! Today, we're talking about representaiton in video games, primarily through our object of the day: South of Midnight, by Compulsion Games. We chat about some of the folklore behind it, the history of the colour haint blue, and 'Olly explains why representaiton matters so much.

VIvian's Southern Gothic References

Fiction writers: William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor

Music: the Dead South

Movies: O Brother Where Art Though? and Sinners

Video Games Referenced<...

This is a Patreon Unlock. Our Patreons at the Associate Producer level or above get access to bonus episodes during our season break. This episode was initially released to our Patreons on January 13.

Vivian has come back from Christmas break with a fun game for 'Olly to play. Well, fun for her. For 'Olly, it's a source of fandom-wracked identity questioning dread.

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Happy Holidays everyone! Fan of That is back this December with our yearly Christmas Special, and this time we're continuing from last year to discuss Spooky Christmas. But the emo and goth teenagers living deep inside both Olly and (less deep) Vivian means today we're discussing Nightmare Before Christmas. We chat about spooky Christmas, the lovely turn of coming of age narratives gone different, how we couldn't have had Evanescence without Tim Burton, and how nostalgic we all are for the good ol' emo days.

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Surprise! Another Bonus Episode! We just couldn't pass up the opportunity to chat about Dracula, the development of the vampire, and all other fun pop culture stuff with the Holmwood Foundation podcast!

Check out the Holmwood Foundation!

WEBSITE: https://www.theholmwoodfoundation.com/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/theholmwoodfoundation/

TUMBLR: https://www.tumblr.com/theholmwoodfoundation

TWITTER: https://x.com/TheHolmwoodFnd

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560610285247

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@theholmwoodfoundation

KICKSTARTER: www.kickstarter.com/projects/georgiacook...

Project: Daydream is a new queer-weird adventure series that focuses on the lives of two agents working for the clandestine British Paranormal investigations organisation “Project: Daydream”. Together with the fresh-faced new recruit, 0620 (Georgia Mea) and the mysterious agent 4815 (A.V Nobelium), they work as partners tackling anomalies, artefacts and all manner of dangers lurking under the world's surface. But sometimes, it’s not just the monsters you need to be afraid of…

Starring:

48 - A.V. Nobelium / Athena Nobelium [SHE/HER] 

06 - Georgia Mae 

0220 - Moira Daykin [She/They/Xie] 

CID...

Surprise Bonus Episode!! Happy Halloween, and today Vivian and Holly catch up in costume to chat about Halloween traditions, the importance of being Spooky, and the reason why Halloween (maybe) got so huge recently.

If you want more episodes during our off season, go check us out on Patreon!

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Preorder Vivian's Book!

Fan Of That is now on Patreon!

Go...

Inspired by our own files going wrong, we decided to do an episode all on when fandom goes wrong. We focus a lot on the happy postive sides of fandom, but sometimes our subjects of interest go wrong and we have to grapple with what we do with what we're left with. Especially with all these items we have. We talk about She Who Must Not Be Named, touch (very lightly) on the allegations around Neil Gaiman, and also talk about Rooster Teeth, a previous fandom of Vivian's which had gone very very wrong.

Our Socials<...

It's our annual cosplay episode! This week, we have on another guest! This time, its Jay Justice, cosplayer, public speaker, game developer, and many other wonderful things. Jay, Holly and Vivian chat about cosplay, accessibility and the notion of accuracy. We talk about accuracy in costume, and the variations of what that may mean. We chat about body accessibility, financial accessibility, and the public interest and ownership over a cosplayer's costumes.

Check out

Jay Justice's Website

Jay Justice's Instagram

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Holly brings along a top hat to do a quick closet cosplay of the ultimate queer icon: the Babadook. This episode, we talk about how the Babadook became a queer icon, why discussions of feminism lead to discussions around queer identities, and how horror is such a good facilitator to carry social commentary. We also have many random trails along the way, including the tv show Hannibal, Shape of Water, and Frankenstein.

Our podcast's Babadook (aka Holly in a top hat)

Check out

Stryker article - My Words to Victor Frankenstein<...

Today we are announcing something we never thought we would. We're launching a Patreon!

Check it out: patreon.com/fanofthatpod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello and welcome to Taskmaster! Oh, I mean, Welcome to I'm a Fan of That! Holly and Vvian chat about the UK panel show Taskmaster. We talk about what we think makes the show so successful, including the size of set, the comraderie of the crew, and the incredible size of the host.

Check Out

Rapid City Library Tiktok

Taskmaster YouTube

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...

Today, Vivian has changed the plot to talk about Stardew Valley and cosy games in general. We talk about how to define the genre of cosy games, by looking at games that fit or don't fit the various aspects and definitions provided. We chat about how some games can be made cosy, how different Vivian and Holly's gaming habits are, and chat about the strange capitalistic nature of contemporary cosy games.

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Today's an extra lovely bonus episode! We were inspired to come and chat together on a hot summer day because it was just so important to discuss the news of Dashcon 2. We reminesce on what Dashcon was before, and all the trainwreck cons that have come after. But that's not all! The amazing worlds of fandom have also given us Taylor Swift vs Lestat, the vampire. That's right, Swifities are currently at war with fictional vampire Lestate from Interview with a Vampire.

Dashcon's Infamous Ballpit

Video Essays Holly Mentioned

DashCon...

Today, we're talking about Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and the claims some make about it being one of the first sci-fi novels. Holly chats about the history of science fiction stories, and the development of Frankenstein. Vivian explores the definition of science in contrast to magic and the problematic origins of this distinction. We also talk about other related things, like mythology, science fantasy, and how Vivian and Holly have no idea how wifi works.

Reading and Enjoyment List

Vivian's Blog Post on Science Fiction, Magic and Mythology

Religion and Conspiracy Theories: an...