Framing Fan Fiction: Literary and Social Practices in Fan Fiction Communities by Kristina Busse (review)

From "subtext" and "tropes" to "performativity" and "identity," the word cloud on the cover of Kristina Busse's Framing Fan Fiction reminds the reader of the ever-widening scope of fan studies and promises a more comprehensive study of its multiple facets. The book is one of the newest additions in a series of works challenging traditional assumptions about fandom, and it represents a daring individual effort in contrast with the edited collections that dominate the field currently. As an acafan (an academic who is also a fan), Busse sets out to redefine existing scholarly approaches through a fusion of these different perspectives, which results in a revelatory, albeit limited, exploration of fan communities and fan fiction.

The book begins by teasing out the intricate dynamics between the research needs of a scholar and the ethical duties of a fan. Having been a member of multiple fandoms (het, slash, gen) for almost two decades allows Busse to depict their trajectory both in terms of technological development and social transformation, while balancing case details with general statements to avoid the potentially negative effects of divulging community secrets. Beyond ethical concerns, Busse draws attention to the difficulties in situating such a project at the intersection of literary studies, communication, media and film studies, anthropology, ethnography, psychology, and legal studies. By reviewing the origins and history of fan studies from Stanley Fish, Stuart Hall, and Michel de Certeau to Henry Jenkins, Jonathan Gray, and other contemporaries, Busse lays the foundations for her call for a better understanding of fannish practices, such as self-identification, communal/performative acts, and above all, interpretive processes based on authorial identities. Even if she claims a wider dismissal of intentional fallacy than is probably warranted, her attention to the fannish revival of authorial identity (fostered by interviews with authors and other marketing strategies) is a refreshing new approach in the Barthesian and Foucauldian line of thought. Moreover, Busse examines authorial ethos, paratextual frameworks, and community negotiations as a way to adapt Fish's interpretive communities to the reality of fan communities.

The rest of the book is divided into three sections dealing with individual behaviors, shared practices, and community conflicts, respectively. The three chapters in the first section draw on a wide variety of sources from feminist criticism to poststructuralist theory to support Busse's claims about individual fan behaviors within music and film fandoms. The similarities between the constructed identities of the fannish authors and the performed roles of the stars offer an opportunity to challenge the depiction of the fan as lacking agency, while gender-switching stories (including newer slash fiction) demonstrate the subversion of traditional gender constructions, even if most texts shy away from straightforward sociopolitical activism. Case studies focusing on Justin Timberlake, Stargate Atlantis, and Smallville fan fiction provide a glimpse into the authors' commentaries about observation and self-identification/participation, although most of these chapters focus on the texts rather than the comments.

The section on shared practices represents a logical continuation of the research; however, the reiteration of the Barthesian and Foucauldian framework as well as Fish's notion reminds the reader that seven out of the ten chapters of the book were published in different journals and edited books from 2006 to 2017, and only three chapters were written for this specific volume. Moreover, two chapters in the book were coauthored earlier with Alexis Lothian and Louisa Ellen Stein, respectively, but here the redundancy is offset by what is gained in approaches and views. Overall, the second section aims to shed light on the power dynamics between the director/author and the fandom as well as within fan communities. References to Star Wars, Harry Potter, X-Files, Buffy the Vampire, and more allow Busse to explain authorial blackmailing and feedback withholding in addition to wider issues such as censorship, corporate authority, and canonicity. Through a closer look at the ways in which adaptable tropes and developing...