Week Nine - Cult TV

What role does Hills (2004) suggest the fans play in the construction of cult TV?

Hills suggest that the role which fans play in the construction of cult TV is just one of the three definitions which also defines Cult TV. As suggested by Hills (2004, p.510), “cult status arises, ultimately, through an audiences passion for a TV show.” In this case, the fans, being the audience, are the ones who have constructed or come up with this whole concept called Cult TV. “Assuming that it is created by fans rather than media producers,” Hills (2004, p.510) shows how it is truly the fans influences and followings over a programme which deem weather it is worthy to be labelled Cult Television or not. Hills also questions the activities which fans of cult TV participate in in order to see who is labelling Cult TV. (How do fan activities produce cult status?”), Hills (2004, p.510).

The qualities of the fans which construct Cult TV were studied in order to see what kinds of people were influencing Cult television. According to Hills (2004, p.517), “fans of cult TV have played a part in generically re-organising TV programmes into the category of Cult.” Looking towards their characteristics, Hills notes that Cult TV watchers are generally more avid and higher in participatory. Also, influences from fans which determine Cult TV, involve things such as social gatherings and contributions to online fan-fic sites. “But [Cult TV] also allows temporal gaps in real life and narrative gaps in the fiction that support or provoke the creation of fan fiction.” And Hills also states that the benefit of Cult TV, unlike soaps, is that it allows fans to write fan fic as there is a big enough gap in the narrative. Cult TV is often based around “format-defining and endlessly deferred narrative question,” Hills (2004, p.518). With fan fic, there are endless possibilities for new and endless plots, another way in which fans can play a part in the construction of Cult TV via fan fiction forums.

So Hills (2004, p. 518), pretty much supports this idea stating that “fans arguably create cult status in a number of ways,” like mentioned above.

How is new media central to this?

New Media, such as blogs or online forums make it a lot easier for fans of Cult TV to distinguish their own ideas in relation to Cult TV. Like Hills (2004, p.519) says, the internet and new forms of media makes it “easier for fans to contact other like-minded devotees” and “the web increases the possibility of small-scale organised forums emerging around a wider variety of TV shows.”

It also allows for a wider audience and fan base as mentioned afore. “It has achieved this by opening up the boundaries of fandom allowing more people to participate in fan culture, and designating more television programmes… as worthy of fan activity.” Hills (2004, p. 519). With the help of the internet also, it can become more mainstream and a lot more people can come to appreciate and enjoy it.

So I guess with the likes of these ‘new medias’, it does become a lot easier to target a wider audience range due to the amount of people who use these new media forms on a day to day basis.

Reference List

Hills, M. (2004). Defining Cult TV; Texts, Inter-texts and Fan Audiences, The Television Studies Reader, in R. C. Allen & A. Hill. London and New York: Routledge.