Fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and passion with others who share a common interest. The subject of fan interest can be narrowly defined, focused on something like an individual celebrity, or more widely defined, encompassing entire hobbies, genres or fashions. Everything today has fans. Famous authors, directors, certain movies, tv shows, athletes etc. From my own exitance, some of the most loyal, die hard fans are fans of the Yankees, Red Sox, Star Trek, Star Wars, the Grateful Dead, Dallas Cowboys, and Alabama fans. Radical fans form from a strong love for the thing they are admiring. Fans for tv shows or movies often gather for conventions and they get together to celebrate their love for said group.

When it comes to weather or not media uses us or we use it, I think we use each other. Media uses humans to thrive and make money. They use advertisements on all the media nowadays, websites, social medias etc. Humans use media to fill a void of boredom or self oppression. People like to go to media platforms for entertainment as well. Media is so broad now that you can find anything you like somewhere to put a smile on your face a fulfill your fix. Media also now uses AI to draw you in and keep you there with more things they (AI) know you like.

Fandom coming from fanatic and and the first fans being baseball fans intrigued me. I have been a baseball fan ever since a was a young child. Felt a connect to when I read it. Also hard to believe those were the first “fans”. I am surprised it took that long to create that term for admiring something or someone. Fans are just like social groups in a way. It the being a part of something that connects them. They “fit in” together and feed off each other. When I am out and about and I see someone wearing a Yankees hat or a Grateful Dead shirt I feel a connect to that person. I was at the gas station the other day when I saw an older man wearing a mask with the dead skull on it and I had to say something to him about it. Especially at my age there aren’t that many fans of the dead but just to see someone who has the an equal appreciation for the same thing I do puts a smile on my face, and I am sure it was the same for that man so that is why I felt like I had to say something to him.

In the reading Fandom the writer talks about if a fan is qualified to produce media on a topic. I think if you are a super fan of one topic or genre then yes you are qualified. Say you love Star Wars, you have seen every movie and know all the ins and outs. You have dedicated a lot of time informing yourself about Star Wars, then yes you are qualified to produce media on such topic if you know enough. The author of that reading seemed like a smart-ass and wanted to exclude “non intellectual’s” from being able to produce something meant to inform. Anyone who is informed on a topic to the level that would make them an expert would be a reputable source of information.