Abstract
This article explores how being an action-adventure fan resonates with articulations of national identity, attitudes toward other nations, and fear of global terrorism in the United States, Denmark, and Egypt. Action-adventure film relies on global Hollywood production, yet the reception of this genre works quite differently in the cultural contexts of communities and affinities of fans. Being an action-adventure fan appears to bear a close relationship with a tendency to exhibit fear of global terrorism and to conceptualize Americans as heroes, particularly among U.S. audiences. Danish and U.S. fans seem more likely to want to cast Egyptian characters as villains than their non-fan counterparts, whereas Egyptian fans prefer Danish characters to be villains. Limited characterizations in this genre inspire and reinforce the imagined scenarios of fans in which American heroes are justified in crucifying foreign villains.