The Case Study of Sherlock Holmes (2009) - Scholarly Commons ...

Introduction
This study uses the state of fandom as an acute example of contemporary media‟s
influence on its viewer and the commercialisation of media products. The journey on
which a consumer becomes a fan stems from culture‟s longstanding relationship with
stories. Therefore, I begin my literature review with an examination into Gerbner‟s
(1999) theory of storytelling‟s three social functions and then expand on each, labelling
them as stories of illumination, information and instigation. Storytelling‟s essential
functions are capitalised by the media and industrialised to the point of wielding great
manipulative power over their audience. I therefore examine, from a cultural studies
perspective and in relation to audience research, the media‟s manipulation of its viewers
and how this affects a consumer‟s transition towards fandom. While investigating the
media‟s influence I was quickly confronted with the objectivist/relativist debate,
particularly Ruddock‟s (2001) summation of Bernstein‟s (as cited in Ruddock, 2001)
two opposing positions. As a result, I agree with Ruddock (2001) that well-researched
and methodologically sound studies can discover the truth about the media‟s effects.
Subsequently, I examined both Ruddock‟s positivist theory (2001) alongside Brewer‟s
naturalism (2000) and define my study‟s methodological position as a qualitative and
humanistic examination of fan cultivation. By taking a qualitative and humanistic
approach, I turn my investigation towards the academic definition of the audience; those
who respond, or attend, to a text (Ruddock, 2001) or those for whom the text was
designed (Jenkins, 1992). In examining the audience, Ruddock (2001) encourages
researchers to question their study‟s “three points of antagonism” (p. 6). Firstly, the
researcher should know why they have chosen to study the audience, secondly, the
methodology used should be practically applicable, and thirdly, the researcher must be
self-aware and reflexive towards any preconceived results or constructs that they may
have prematurely established (Ruddock, 2001). While considering how to fulfil each of
these requirements, I was prompted to narrow my field of vision and examine the
definition of fans and fandom.
Both Grossberg (as cited in Bailey, 2005) and Hills (2002), use the term “fan” to refer
to obsessed and fanatical consumers of a media product. Sandvoss (2005) and Caughey
(as cited in Hills, 2002), however, find such stigmatised definitions do not encompass
all that the term stands for in modern culture. I therefore expand upon their suggestions
and examine Jenkins‟s (1992) concept of media fandom. As a result, I adopt
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