Audience Studies (3P18) Blog Post #3

From fans with Beiber Fever to the Twilight Saga Fan debate of team Edward or team Jacob, fandom has become a global ritual. 

Sullivan (2013) explains how rituals are “significant tool[s] for understanding the meaning behind every-day human behaviors in different cultural contexts around the world” (p. 178), therefore understanding rituals is key to understanding the culture surround fandom. While fandom is a global phenomenon, one might say that my lack of commitment to fan culture and lack of fan knowledge across a multitude of entertainment fields (e.g. sports, actors, films, etc.) might make me the worst fan around. This was always the case for me, until I was introduced to 6LACK.

6LACK, formerly known as Ricardo Valdez Valentine, is an R&B trap alternative, hip-hop and rap artist. When 6LACK released his first album FREE 6LACK in 2016, my boyfriend Asad discovered it, introduced me to the album and I became an immediate fan. The only reason I was able to become an immediate fan without ever seeing or meeting the artist was due to digitalization, which “refers to the standards by which media images and sounds are recorded and transmitted” (Sullivan, 2013, p. 216) or in layman terms, the digital language of ones and zeros. As time passed and I fell more in love with 6LACK’s music, as the artist was able to draw me in more and more through various media platforms; releasing music videos on YouTube, posting life, tour and music updates on his Instagram profile, and releasing tour date information early for his loyal followers on the music application Spotify. 

Due to this convergence of 6LACK’s media platforms, or the “process that allows media content to be displayed on any number of different devices” (p. 216) I was able to grow in my fandom and found my true introduction to 6LACK.

On August 29, 2018 I received an email from Spotify recommending current artists who had concerts coming up that were near me. Spotify was able to send me this email because I provide them with free labor by informing their company of who I like to listen to and by providing my contact and location information for free, simply by being active on their application (Sullivan, p. 232, 2013). Thanks to this active free labor, Spotify sent me this email stating that because I listen to and follow 6LACK on Spotify, I was eligible to purchase his upcoming concert tickets with early admission! After freaking out and calling Asad to let him know the 6LACK was performing in Toronto on November 18, 2018, I realized that if we paid a greater fee we would be able to meet our favorite music artist. 6LACK was selling tickets for the world tour of his new album East Atlanta Love Letter that would not be released until September 14, 2018. 

Before even hearing the new album, I bought the tickets for Asad’s birthday gift, as I knew from being a loyal fan that these tickets would sell out quickly and the show was not an experience to let pass by. The count down began and the next thing we knew, Asad and I were on our way to Toronto to meet our celebrity idol. While driving to Toronto all that we listened to was 6LACK’s music to get amped up for the concert. Once we reached Rebel nightclub, where 6LACK was performing, we waited in an exclusive VIP line of about 150 other dedicated fans that were anxious and excited to meet 6LACK. The social aspect of fandom, where “media fans band together in either informal or more formally structured groups (such as fan clubs) to their mutual interests with others” (Sullivan, 2013, p. 195) made it feel like I was apart of a special group of fans that were as excited (if not more excited) as me to meet 6LACK. They had also been counting down for this special day. Each person was handed a 6LACK-branded bag of merchandise including a poster personally autographed by 6LACK and a stuffed animal black bear wearing a 6LACK shirt. Many fans create collections from merchandise and memorabilia like this that they collected over time, but this was just the beginning of my newfound collection (Sullivan, 2013, p. 208). 

After waiting for an hour, the line began to move and all we could talk about was what we would say to our favorite artist when we met him. What do you say to someone that you idolize when you have two minutes to meet him or her, and they have no idea who you are? We contemplated this until it was our turn to step up and meet him. It wasn’t until I came around the wall that 6LACK stood behind that I realized… I was a super fan. Sullivan (2013) explains how the term “fan” is short for “fanatic,” describing a person who is “deeply engaged in their favorite media texts” (p.192-193). In contrast, a super fan can be described as an eccentric version of a fan that may go to extremes to support the person or media texts they are fanatic about, but these extremes may vary. While I was not going to the extreme of getting 6LACK tattooed onto my body or changing my appearance to look like the artist, I would consider myself a super fan because I was on a mission to meet 6LACK, and when I did I almost cried. 

Coming around the corner to see that my favorite artist was directly in front of me made me so excited and nervous at the same time that I had the emotional response of tears in my eyes and speechlessness. It was such a quick physical experience in that I hugged 6LACK, took a picture with him, took a picture with him and Asad, and left, but at the same time it all seemed to go in slow motion. I created a new assessment and gained an even greater appreciation for my idol. He was shorter and quieter than I had expected, kinder than I realized, and I now had a personal experience with him, which enabled me to connect everything I had heard and seen online with the live real person who stood in front of me.

Once our meet and greet had come to an end, we walked into the Rebel and bee lined it to the merchandise table before the other audience members were to be let in. We were invited to engage in the participatory culture that 6LACK created by purchasing his clothing and CDs at the merchandise table. Purchasing merchandise to wear in our daily lives allowed us to participate in the circulation of 6LACK’s new album, but he also enabled us to participate through social media. With his assistant in the background of the stage taking snap chat videos, we were able to use new technologies to participate in and then reticulate his media content. There were a few artists who opened up for 6LACK, but as each artist left the stage, the audience as a whole knew that 6LACK would be entering the stage soon. I'm positive everyone knew because there seemed to be less and less space to move around as more and more people moved towards the front of the stage where we were standing. I will provide some more context, because Sullivan (2013) explains how, “our media experiences occur during specific times and in particular physical spaces, and these contexts can play a powerful role in shaping our understandings of media content” (p.162). 

The context for us was that we were surrounded by a large amount of people that we did not know, it was late at night and we were in Toronto. We were invading the intimate space of those around us, and they were invading ours, so it was time to make friends. Having met our new neighbors that also loved 6LACK (obviously), it made our excitement and anticipation grew even more while we waited for 6LACK. The context changed a bit from being a sardine to been apart of an amazing experience, surrounded by mutual fans.

            One of our neighbors told us about her YouTube channel supporting 6LACK. She used this media platform to create her own videos dancing to 6LACK’s music. She also had an Instagram page with linked to her YouTube channel, so that we could follow her and know when she would be posting next. 

This is a form of transmedia production as it is the “coordinated use of multiple media platforms (or technologies) to craft a narrative... unlike traditional story telling in a single media like television, film or books, transmedia narratives open up the possibility for audience participation and dialogue with the media producers” (Sullivan, 2013, p. 241). She seemed so unique and proud of her ability to connect with her favorite artist in her own way, and I thought that was amazing. Maybe this girl was a bigger super-fan than I, but we were all super-fans when 6LACK entered the stage.

            To say that the crowed went wild would be an understatement. From song to song, everyone sang their hearts out and so did our idolized artist. Many of his songs are about relationships, and in one of his songs, “Ex Calling,” 6LACK writes about his ex-girlfriend who keeps calling him and wont leave him alone, but he wants nothing to do with her. As soon as this song started to play, 6LACK reach out to the audience on a personal level and requested that anyone who had been hurt by and ex in the past raise their middle finger into the air. 

While this might seem inappropriate, it was an interesting moment for the audience to show patronage. Navar-Gil (2018) argues that patronage is when “the support of a fan audience boosts the artistic and authorial credibility of a creator… [while] symbolic patronage provides one measured example of a way in which audiences now have a greater ability to influence production and industry decision making” (p. 222-223). This is an instance of patronage in that we as an audience were able to join in and connect with what 6LACK was saying, supporting him and his work and generating credibility for him. 

When the concert came to a close, the crowd started to scream, “Encore! Encore! Encore!” and there he was again, 6LACK on stage, singing his first ever-released single, PRBLMS. This was a monumental moment as 6LACK had released this single two years prior, to the exact day if this concert. Asad and I walked out of Rebel in awe, with our goodie bags of merchandise and huge smiles on our faces. What an incredible audience experience, and we got to be apart of it. It was worth the cost, worth the wait and worth the time to see our idolized artist. I walked out of that concert a changed fan, a super-fan, and I do my best to sway more people 6LACK’s way.  

Image Sources:

Image 1: https://www.google.ca/search?q=bieber+fans+gif&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjlmMO2jPjeAhXLtlMKHSfKBi4Q_AUIDigB&biw=1225&bih=702#imgrc=HnRLocy6vAckaM:

Image 2: https://www.google.ca/search?q=6lack&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjImtvrjPjeAhXNwFMKHd_mCjcQ_AUIDigB&biw=1225&bih=702&dpr=2#imgrc=jbFiSvCFJhk4ZM:

Image 3: Personal

Image 4: Personal

Image 5: https://www.google.ca/search?biw=1225&bih=702&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=GhL_W8jyE4jbzgK5zYWABA&q=6lack+east+atlanta+love+letter+gif&oq=6lack+east+atlanta+love+letter+gif&gs_l=img.3...199883.202318..202462...0.0..0.77.654.9......1....1..gws-wiz-img.......0j0i10j0i24.dZyjSlpNDGA#imgrc=uE2JfoLGIlOQpM:

Image 6: https://www.google.ca/search?biw=1225&bih=702&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=5RL_W7SNL8HnzgKJtqiIAw&q=fan+girls+gif&oq=fan+girls+gif&gs_l=img.3..0.91089.93861..93991...1.0..0.80.1020.14......1....1..gws-wiz-img.......0i67j0i10j0i5i30j0i5i10i30j0i10i30j0i8i30j0i8i10i30.LBLJBp7QEcY#imgrc=vWT7yDw1gkD52M:

Image 7: Personal

Image 8: Personal 

Image 9: https://www.google.ca/search?biw=1225&bih=702&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=PxX_W830J4KyzwLSmLyYAw&q=crowded+club+gif&oq=crowded+club+gif&gs_l=img.3...4973.7784..7945...0.0..0.78.364.5......1....1..gws-wiz-img.......0i7i30j0i8i7i30.UPxIOSvdG6M#imgrc=m52W6CPxOOsXbM:

Image 10: https://www.google.ca/search?q=transmedia&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjD-5HTkPjeAhUGzVMKHfTeC04Q_AUIDygC&biw=1225&bih=702

Image 11:https://www.google.ca/search?biw=1225&bih=702&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=0BX_W5rVG4GbzwLnlpS4Aw&q=ex+calling+6lack&oq=ex+calling+6lack&gs_l=img.3..0j0i8i30j0i24l8.48833.71867..71987...0.0..0.87.1151.15......1....1..gws-wiz-img.......0i10j0i5i30j0i30.OofRw0zFHIo#imgrc=X6tbCQvjMig8aM:

Image 12: https://www.google.ca/search?biw=1225&bih=702&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=Yxb_W4WdNIW3zwKYq67gBA&q=gif+2+people+amazed&oq=gif+2+people+amazed&gs_l=img.3...10982.15373..15949...0.0..0.82.668.9......1....1..gws-wiz-img.fhwWjTm59x8#imgrc=iHRNRK3HEVB4pM:

Audience Studies (3P18) Blog Post #2

            A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to fly to Chicago and see the Theatre production, Hamilton. I first heard about the show three years ago from some theatre friends, and started listening to some of the soundtrack here and there, but had no idea when I would be able to see the live show. 

Upon telling my theatrical parents about this new show, they began listening to the soundtrack as well and ended up seeing the show about a year ago now, while they were traveling in the United States. With a raving review and the descriptive beliefs or, “the result of direct observation by the individual” (Sullivan, 2013, p. 121), from both of my reliable sources, I had enough validity and verification that the show was as incredible as my friends had told me previously (Sullivan, 2013, p. 90). Therefore, when I heard that my parents were going to be in Chicago for a business trip and that they were flying me out to visit them and see Hamilton together, for lack of better terms, I freaked out. 

A week before I was to depart for Chicago, my mom emailed me and said I should listen to the soundtrack for the show at least three times prior to seeing the show so that I would be able to follow the quick story line (as the whole musical is rapped). My expectations were high, which Sullivan (2013) would explain in light of the expectancy-value theory, “that individuals approach new situations and information with a built in set of beliefs and expectations, in that these expectations in turn shape motivations in these new situations” (121). With these high expectations, I was highly motivated to get myself to Chicago and see this production I had heard so much about. With my headphones in, the Hamilton soundtrack playing and my seat reclined, I was on my way to Chicago. Though I landed on a Friday, we listened to the soundtrack a few times in the car while driving around, fully prepared for the show that awaited us on Sunday.

            Waiting in a line that stretched down the sidewalk and around the corner of the building, my anticipation for Hamilton was a ten out of ten. We walked towards the grand city-theatre entrance, being drawn in by the sign, “Hamilton” in bright lights in front of us. 

Surrounded by an instrumental audience, or an audience that “would search for specific kinds of message content, often seeking out and selecting informational material in a purposive way, suggesting greater care and selectivity over media as well as increased involvement with the programming itself” (Sullivan, 2013, p. 117), we were able to look around and see that our fellow audience members were just as excited as us, talking about what they had heard and ratings and reviews they had looked up online. I do not believe that Neilson creates the ratings for theatre productions as he does for television (Buzzard, 2015), but I am sure there is another system for checking the ratings of theatre productions, as some of our surrounding audience members seemed to be educated about them. The informational beliefs that these audience members held were strong as they were, “formed by accepting information from outside sources” (Sullivan, 2013, p. 121) Once our tickets were scanned and we were through the security line we bee-lined to our “gates” to receive our programs and find our seats. 

After a quick family picture in front of the stage and a couple of exchanged words with the kind audience members next to me, I was ready for the performance to begin.

Once the performance began, my inferential beliefs, or “those beliefs based upon characteristics of objects or facts as opposed to being directly observed, but that are developed on the basis of logic, personal experiences, or stereotyping” (Sullivan, 2013, p. 121), lead me to believe that there would be dialogue within the Musicals, based on my previous experiences with musicals, but I was nicely surprised when the story was told was strictly through music. 

At the intermission we left our seats and went to the concessions to discuss the performance so far. My mom thought it was a seven out of ten compared to the last time they saw it when it was a ten out of ten, assuming that because it was a matinee that the original leads were resting for this performance. Her gratifications sought were not obtained for this performance thus far, but because this was the first time I was seeing the show, my gratifications sought were abundantly obtained (Sullivan, 2013, p. 120). Though we were viewing the same media, we had very different interpretations and perspectives on the show so far due to polyvalence (Granelli, 2016, p. 5058). Once we had finished chatting and drinking our Hamilton-branded drinks we headed back into the theatre for the second half of the production. Once the show was complete the audience stood in unison, applauding the incredible performers, creating an interpretive community. 

Sullivan (2013) explains this concept as “groups of viewers or readers [that] may begin to construct similar meanings based on mutual shared interests or demographic similarity, social pressures, or past experiences. In this case, viewers may form…. an interpretive community” (p. 155). Next thing I knew, I was rushing out of the theatre through the crowd to catch a cab and head towards the airport.

            The story of Alexander Hamilton was incredible. Though his name is sometimes forgotten as a founding father due to his scandal with a woman that was not his wife and the duel to his death, Hamilton played a huge role in American history. The producer of the show was able to take Hamilton’s story and portray it in a way that made youth and adults interested in his story. The dominant patriotic ideology of the United States is reproduced through this show in the culture industry, which is the “process of manufacturing dominant ideologies” (Sullivan, 2013, p. 138). Hamilton grew up in the Caribbean and went to America to make something of himself, striving for the “American dream,” and ended up working as George Washington’s right hand man and secretary in the war for independence from England. It was interesting to observe the intertextuality, or “the process of connecting our media experiences together” (Sullivan, 2013, p. 154), as Hamilton would rap different parts of the constitution within the show, and you would only understand this reference if you knew about these documents prior. Hamilton also wrote 55 of the essays that made up over half of the Federalist papers and was known for all of the writing he did. The producer was able to encode the history of Hamilton into this musical, allowing his audiences to decode these messages and leave with new understandings. 

Sullivan (2013) explains that the encoding process, “transforms experiences and ideas into meaningful discourse[s] within existing social, economic, and cultural contexts” (p. 141), and is followed by the decoding process where, “audiences then interpret these messages within their own contexts. Decoding is there for both the creative and the social practice” (p. 141). Reflecting on my incredible experience, I started to consider whether the show was as amazing as I thought it was, or if the circumstances around the production had an affect on my experience.

 I sat in a full theatre with over 1,500 people surrounding me, ranging from children and grandparents to groups of middle-aged women, families, and couples ranging from teenagers to old married couples. Sullivan (2013) explains these various determinants as demographics and psychographics. Demographics are, “specific subgroups that are of particular interest, based upon certain basic social features of these audiences such as age, income, gender, geographic location and race” (Sullivan, 2013, p. 95-96) while psychographics, “refer to the general association of personality or psychological traits with groups of consumers in an effort to create even finer distinctions among them” (p. 98). Sitting in a theatre in Chicago, I was surrounded by such a diverse audience and wondered about their experiences. I had flown in from Canada to see this show for the first time, but others had seen the show multiple times before and others were simply walking down the street to see the show. I wondered if this start to my trip might have heightened my expectations and overall review of the show, and also wondered about my interpretation versus others. The musical was polysemic or, “capable of being interpreted in distinctly different ways by different viewers because audiences approach texts with a plethora of experiences and cultural knowledge of signs” (Sullivan, 2013, p. 141), therefore although we all shared the same experience, we may have different interpretations of the show itself. 

Looking past this specific showing of Hamilton, I over heard the couple sitting on the other side of me say that the stage was set up exactly how it was when they saw the show in New York. I thought this was interesting, as different individuals might interpret the same show differently, but the producer of the content wants to keep the story and structure around it consistent from location to location so that people can take what they want from it. Overall, I would recommend Hamilton to anyone and had an amazing audience experience.

Image 1: https://www.google.ca/search?biw=1346&bih=640&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=hObYW5aFBKiOggfcuIWYBA&q=airplane+route++from+toronto+to+chicago&oq=airplane+route++from+toronto+to+chicago&gs_l=img.3...12675.14241.0.14714.7.7.0.0.0.0.78.503.7.7.0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.0.0....0.T9nN5KUob-I#imgrc=Je2zsidc0HRgdM:

Image 2: https://www.google.ca/search?biw=1346&bih=689&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=1PzaW7u8Ocy0ggfr8YDIDg&q=hamilton+soundtrack&oq=hamilton+soundtrack&gs_l=img.3..0i67k1j0l6j0i30k1j0i5i30k1j0i8i30k1.1818.1818.0.2110.1.1.0.0.0.0.86.86.1.1.0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.1.85....0.RcSaRBVYOAI#imgrc=eZtuyKJgVpjiqM:

Image 3: https://www.google.ca/search?biw=1346&bih=640&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=1N7YW6rGAquyggfkqpRA&q=cibc+theatre+chicago+hamilton&oq=CIBC+theatre+chicago+h&gs_l=img.1.0.0i30k1j0i24k1l2.1545821.1546279.0.1547413.2.2.0.0.0.0.144.215.1j1.2.0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.2.214...0.0.xPOgPs2Xm9A#imgrc=0OlwGwwv1Nd5CM:

Image 4: Personal Picture

Image 5: https://www.google.ca/search?q=hamilton+gif&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiqmO_ipq_eAhVyk-AKHcUtAXYQ_AUIDigB&biw=1346&bih=640#imgrc=NqXDLyZmzgcc6M:

Image 6: https://www.google.ca/search?biw=1346&bih=689&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=euvYW4S5JqeyggeI2b-ABQ&q=akon+concert+gif&oq=akon+concert+gif&gs_l=img.3...294338.300228.0.300927.6.6.0.0.0.0.87.436.6.6.0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.2.165...0j0i7i30k1j0i7i5i30k1j0i8i7i30k1.0.6FKhb9sh02o#imgdii=wWAYK057Vh_ALM:&imgrc=LVSHAzRo0flOxM:

Image 7: https://www.google.ca/search?tbm=isch&q=hamilton+gif&chips=q:hamilton+gif,g_1:schuyler+sisters:Df3aDJcz1Kk%3D&usg=AI4_-kSyGrYF8uqdLZrtew_18KbuJRDJUw&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjx_POKp6_eAhVIm-AKHST8DAUQ4lYIKSgB&biw=1346&bih=640&dpr=2#imgrc=GW1EucDI-m1mcM:

Image 8: https://www.google.ca/search?biw=1346&bih=640&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=4OTYW6v0Fcee_QaYppPoBg&q=cibc+theatre+chicago+hamilton+caST&oq=cibc+theatre+chicago+hamilton+caST&gs_l=img.3...157943.158976.0.159914.5.5.0.0.0.0.181.490.3j2.5.0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.1.180...0i30k1.0.krzXypI5ZCk#imgrc=XUDaTR54d6Pv1M:

Image 9: Personal Picture