Abstract
This dissertation traces the relationship between the increasing ubiquity of social media and media fandom, examining online fandom practices between 2009 and 2023, paying particular attention to increased diversity within speculative media, the inappropriate gamification of certain fan practices, and the link between fandom and online extremism. Fan studies scholarship traditionally uplifts marginalized voices, particularly those fans who create and consume transformative works such as fanfiction, fanart, and fanvids, and the communities they create. However, many of the darker spaces of the Internet, such as parts of 4chan, 8chan, YouTube, and Reddit, also operate as fan spaces and must be studied as such. This dissertation examines the historically stigmatized fans that fan studies tends not to address, linking their omission within the field (and the larger cultural acceptance of media fandom) to the rise of these darker, radicalized online spaces. This dissertation studies online ephemera such as message board, blog, and social media posts in conjunction with literary analysis to establish the connection between media fan practices and published speculative media. Chapter 1 introduces and defines restorative fandom through an analysis of Ernest Cline’s 2011 novel, Ready Player One. Chapter 2 analyzes the importance of RaceFail '09, a months-long online imbroglio within science fiction and media fan spaces, to N. K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy, both structurally and within fan discourse. Chapter 3 studies an online fan community dedicated to the webcomic Lore Olympus in order to introduce the concept of trauma-informed fandom, in which participants gamify the language and practices of mental health and wellness culture. Chapter 4 studies restorative fandom taken to its darkest, most extreme conclusion, analyzing the /pol/ boards of 4chan and 8chan and mass shooter manifestos as examples of both participatory culture and transformative works.