Unraveling discursive construction of Thai fandom : An analysis of Thai fans culture and identity in an online communication

Abstract

In this digital era, fandom has become a social and cultural phenomenon, especially in Thailand. This study aims to explore Thai fan culture and identities from different online platforms. The three topics of fan culture, namely fan production, fan community, and level of fandom and hierarchy were explored in detail using mixed methods of textual analysis and questionnaire. These three topics were also discussed together as essential parts of fans’ identity construction. Bucholtz and Hall’s sociocultural linguistics approach and semiotic analysis were used as analytical frameworks, looking at how fans used language to construct their identity in Thai context. The first research question reveals how fans use fan texts to express their affection and feel connected to their object of fandom. The second research question suggests themes of fan interaction within fan online communities. The third research question presents the characteristics of the five level of fandom, namely mere consumer, casual fan, big fan, true fan, and super fan. The fourth research question suggests that fan identity could be constructed mainly two ways. First is fans as a collective group, in which they shared some common fan engagements and special lexicons of fan talk with one another. Second is a fan as one’s own identity, suggesting that fan identity could bring about other identities and that it is transcultural. In addition, the dissertation proposes that a media fan, in Thai context, is mainly a person who feels emotionally connected or attached to particular media object(s). This positive connection ranges from a strong interest in the media object to deep attachment. It also discusses the close connection between fan discourse and online media discourse, how online fan community resembles an imagined community, and why the cause of active consumption is mostly due to the ‘affection’ factor and fans’ pleasure satisfaction more than a resistance to mainstream media or patriarchal society. Moreover, it discusses the transcultural aspects of fan identities and fans’ production of fan texts and conversations.