Although studies of fan fiction are in their early
stages, as Karen Hellekson and Kristina Busse point out in the
introduction to The Fan Fiction
Studies Reader, fan fiction itself dates back millennia, or at least
several decades in the modern sense of the term, which is, of course, what
Hellekson and Busse are interested in.
Based on the texts selected for this reader, serious study of fan
fiction only dates back to the 1980s.
Hellekson and Busse note that the internet has caused
a massive increase, not only in fannish endeavours, but in the ability to
share fannish creations. While fiction published in a Star Trek
fanzine published in the early 70s might be seen by a couple of hundred
people, fan fiction in the twenty-first century can easily be seen by
thousands simply by posting it on-line. This increases the available
fan fiction for study and also causes the genre to grow and change at a
faster pace, providing an excellent source of material to
study.
In their introduction and selection, the editors have
cast a wide net, not limiting the study of fan fiction to one sub genre or
another. Not only is speculative fiction fan fiction, but fan
fiction based on the ever-popular Sherlock Holmes, television, and
film. The essays present not just a look at the fiction and the
process of writing and disseminating fan fiction, but also the reasons for
writing fan fiction, whether the traditional "Mary Sue" of
placing the author into their favorite world, or the fan's needs to
provide better stories when their favorite shows or authors have jumped
the shark or simply are writing fast enough (or any more).
The essays, which are grouped by theme: literature,
feminism, community, and creativity, are mostly academic in nature, which
means that they are often, but not uniformly, dry. Meant to be read
within the strictures of a survey course in popular culture or used as a
resource, reading the essays straight through can be a bit mind-numbing,
especially if the reader looks at the footnotes and bibliographies, which
provide excellent resources in their own right.
Interestingly, while there are, of course, plenty of
references to fan fiction throughout the essays, and a lengthy
bibliography given to the study of fanfiction, there is no bibliography of
fan fiction in its own right, separating the article of study from the
exploration itself. The authors are also examining fan fiction as a
completely legitimate form of literature, avoiding any essays which
discuss the legal aspects of fan fiction or the authors who have stated
their objection to having their creations appropriated by their fans.
The Fan Fiction
Studies Reader offers a variety of voices looking at the writing of
fan fiction and the cultural attachments, often in depth, but at the same
time, it is clear that these essays are only a starting point. They
offer the basis for understanding fan fiction and its authors while
pointing the direction for future studies of the phenomenon. These
essays offer a sense of the history of fan fiction, indicate its
importance form a cultural point of voice, and can even allow some of its
practitioners to better understand their own purposes.
