Week 6: Case Study in Prosumption

Course: Fan Labor 101

Activity

It’s pretty well known that the media franchise, Fifty Shades of Grey began as fanficiton of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight saga. Read the articles below about how fandom influenced E. L. James and how fans responded to the commercial success of her “original” novel/movie franchise.

“In the beginning, there was fan fiction: from the four gospels to Fifty Shades” by Ewan Morrison

“Fifty Shades of Grey and the Ethics of Fannish Prosumption” by Sunny Moriane

“Fifty shades of exploitation: Fan labor and Fifty Shades of Grey” by Bethan Jones

Discuss

What are the relationships between Fifty Shades of Grey, Master of the Universe, and Twilight? Is one of E. L. James’s works more fanfiction than the other?

Is anything ever truly original? How do we distinguish between what is “fanfiction” and what is “inspired by another work”?

What are the ethics of fanfiction? Do you think there are cases where it is okay to monetize fanworks? How do fanworks challenge the distinction between producer and consumer?

This week is the last week of this course, but the conversation can always continue! Continue the conversation with #FanLabor on Tumblr, Twitter and YouTube.