Who are the people? Using fandom research to study populist supporters

Clara Juarez Miro

doi:10.1080/23808985.2021.1910062

Who are the people? Using fandom research to study populist supporters

Clara Juarez Miro

Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

This article suggests considering a social facet of populism, focusing on the supporters, to grasp how they use media to engage with the populist message and their understanding of it. The article proposes that a fan studies approach can be useful to examine how populist supporters’ identification with the imagined community of pure people can help them address specific social-psychological needs. A study applying this approach to the Spanish populist far-right provides evidence that a fan studies framework can help understand populist supporters’ community-building processes and benefits. Then, the article explains the implications for research on populism using this approach, offering a guide for future research. This work is relevant to multiple areas including political communication and cultural studies.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	59-74
Number of pages	16
Journal	Annals of the International Communication Association
Volume	45
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2021.1910062
State	Published - 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Thanks to Prof. Ben Toff for creating the space for me to develop these ideas during our independent study. I also wish to thank my advisor, Prof. Giovanna Dell?Orto, for encouraging me to study topics I am passionate about. I presented an early version of this work at the ICA conference and the Minnesota Journalism Center. I wish to thank everyone who provided me with feedback at these two venues. Among them, Prof. Christian Baden provided me with critical feedback that shaped this work. Finally, I want to thank the anonymous reviewers, whose suggestions greatly improved this article, and Dr. David Ewoldsen for his invaluable mentorship throughout this process.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 International Communication Association.

Keywords

fan studies
fandom
mass media
online media
political communication
Populism

Publisher link

10.1080/23808985.2021.1910062

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title = "Who are the people? Using fandom research to study populist supporters",

abstract = "This article suggests considering a social facet of populism, focusing on the supporters, to grasp how they use media to engage with the populist message and their understanding of it. The article proposes that a fan studies approach can be useful to examine how populist supporters{\textquoteright} identification with the imagined community of pure people can help them address specific social-psychological needs. A study applying this approach to the Spanish populist far-right provides evidence that a fan studies framework can help understand populist supporters{\textquoteright} community-building processes and benefits. Then, the article explains the implications for research on populism using this approach, offering a guide for future research. This work is relevant to multiple areas including political communication and cultural studies.",

keywords = "fan studies, fandom, mass media, online media, political communication, Populism",

author = "\{Juarez Miro\}, Clara",

note = "Funding Information: Thanks to Prof. Ben Toff for creating the space for me to develop these ideas during our independent study. I also wish to thank my advisor, Prof. Giovanna Dell?Orto, for encouraging me to study topics I am passionate about. I presented an early version of this work at the ICA conference and the Minnesota Journalism Center. I wish to thank everyone who provided me with feedback at these two venues. Among them, Prof. Christian Baden provided me with critical feedback that shaped this work. Finally, I want to thank the anonymous reviewers, whose suggestions greatly improved this article, and Dr. David Ewoldsen for his invaluable mentorship throughout this process. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 International Communication Association.",

year = "2021",

doi = "10.1080/23808985.2021.1910062",

language = "English (US)",

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AU - Juarez Miro, Clara

N1 - Funding Information: Thanks to Prof. Ben Toff for creating the space for me to develop these ideas during our independent study. I also wish to thank my advisor, Prof. Giovanna Dell?Orto, for encouraging me to study topics I am passionate about. I presented an early version of this work at the ICA conference and the Minnesota Journalism Center. I wish to thank everyone who provided me with feedback at these two venues. Among them, Prof. Christian Baden provided me with critical feedback that shaped this work. Finally, I want to thank the anonymous reviewers, whose suggestions greatly improved this article, and Dr. David Ewoldsen for his invaluable mentorship throughout this process. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 International Communication Association.

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - This article suggests considering a social facet of populism, focusing on the supporters, to grasp how they use media to engage with the populist message and their understanding of it. The article proposes that a fan studies approach can be useful to examine how populist supporters’ identification with the imagined community of pure people can help them address specific social-psychological needs. A study applying this approach to the Spanish populist far-right provides evidence that a fan studies framework can help understand populist supporters’ community-building processes and benefits. Then, the article explains the implications for research on populism using this approach, offering a guide for future research. This work is relevant to multiple areas including political communication and cultural studies.

AB - This article suggests considering a social facet of populism, focusing on the supporters, to grasp how they use media to engage with the populist message and their understanding of it. The article proposes that a fan studies approach can be useful to examine how populist supporters’ identification with the imagined community of pure people can help them address specific social-psychological needs. A study applying this approach to the Spanish populist far-right provides evidence that a fan studies framework can help understand populist supporters’ community-building processes and benefits. Then, the article explains the implications for research on populism using this approach, offering a guide for future research. This work is relevant to multiple areas including political communication and cultural studies.

KW - fan studies

KW - fandom

KW - mass media

KW - online media

KW - political communication

KW - Populism

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UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85104284825#tab=citedBy

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DO - 10.1080/23808985.2021.1910062

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85104284825

SN - 2380-8985

VL - 45

SP - 59

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JO - Annals of the International Communication Association

JF - Annals of the International Communication Association

IS - 1

ER -

Who are the people? Using fandom research to study populist supporters

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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