Abstract
It has been argued that fans make explicit what everyone else does implicitly. That is, fans interpret the world around them, communicate these meanings with others, and produce their own meanings based on those parts of the world that they like most. While all of us do this to various degrees, fans do so consciously, openly, and overtly. Also, fans actively appropriate the objects of culture in this process and rework them to further their interests in what has been referred to as a form of participatory culture. Fans do not merely consume culture; they creatively (re)produce culture, thus contributing directly to societal discourse. While some fan scholars have emphasized fan practices as a form of rebellion, others point out that this is a deeply affective process, even for anti-fans. For most, being a fan is ultimately a form of hedonic experience. Even though many fans devote a considerable amount of time, effort, and energy into their respective fandoms, it is usually a labor of love.