Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: This article investigates the potential role and use of place in long-term fandom, via a case study of fans of The Prisoner and its main filming location of Portmeirion in North Wales. Much research on film tourism focuses on one-time encounters, but fans of The Prisoner have been visiting and revisiting Portmeirion regularly for over 50 years, potentially developing a different sort of relationship with it. Based on interviews with 16 long-term fans of The Prisoner and participatory observation on site, we develop the concept of the “fan homecoming,” a return visit to a familiar fandom-related place, and show how this relationship with place can shape long-term fandom. In facilitating repeated and ritualized practices, being able to regularly gather with other fans, and providing a “safe vault” for the fandom and its memories, place is shown to have an integral role.
Source: Popular Communication
Authors: Abby Waysdorf, Stijn Reijnders
Institution: Erasmus University Rotterdam
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Award: G5294411774
OpenAlex ID: W2892580392