Picture a packed stadium of followers in excessive climate, all clad of their favourite jerseys, cheering and cursing at their favourite American soccer group or European soccer membership. Or a crush of screaming followers, singing and dancing in unison at a Taylor Swift or Okay-pop live performance. Or a sea of costumed “Star Wars” followers, lightsabers aloft, filling up film theaters on opening evening of a brand new film.
Plenty of individuals like to observe sports activities, attend concert events and go to the flicks. But what about these followers – the die-hard ones, if you’ll – whose dedication goes even additional? The followers whose each day lives are deeply intertwined with their pursuits?
Die-hard followers are likely to have an in depth, intricate data. They accumulate, show and cherish memorabilia. They flock to iconic “pilgrimage” locations: King’s Cross Train Station in London for “Harry Potter” followers, or Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, for Elvis devotees. Their pursuits encourage them, shaping how they behave and look at the world.
This stage of devotion appears to go nicely past leisure. Indeed, it could appear, nicely, virtually spiritual.
Since 2018, I’ve been finding out the realm of “comic-con culture”: fandoms constructed on comedian books, superheroes, science fiction, anime and manga, gaming and cosplay. Based on my surveys and follow-up interviews, I’ve discovered that many devoted followers describe one thing sacred about their experiences, one thing past leisure and escapism.
Defining ‘sacred’
What does “sacred” imply, precisely?
A well-liked start line is French sociologist Emile Durkheim and his 1912 treatise, “The Elementary Forms of Religious Life.” One of Durkheim’s most enduring legacies is how he outlined faith when it comes to beliefs and practices about “sacred things” that unify a group. The sacred, he defined, is one thing a gaggle units aside as highly effective, transcendent and holy, clearly distinguished from the mundane world of on a regular basis affairs.
This conception of faith consists of gods or the supernatural, however it’s not unique to them. Other beliefs and practices could be sacred, too. Durkheim’s insights have impressed many students, together with those that research fan habits.
In my very own work as a sociologist, I set up this idea of the sacred into seven particular dimensions. For instance, the sacred is highly effective: a potent power that garners respect, worry and awe. The sacred is transcendent: revered and dignified past on a regular basis affairs. And the sacred offers which means: a supply of important values and function.
Comic-con tradition
For a number of years, I’ve been distributing surveys at comedian conventions on the East Coast of the U.S. and conducting follow-up interviews. The questions collect quite a lot of knowledge, but additionally measure whether or not followers expertise their pursuits as sacred, and in what methods.
The outcomes are placing. While followers actually take pleasure in leisure and escape, their responses additionally spotlight a number of facets of how I outline “sacredness” – notably its capacity to instill ethical values, present artistic inspiration and reinforce communal bonds.
Many followers describe comic-con tradition as a supply of ideas – reminiscent of inclusivity, compassion and self-development – that information their habits.
Comics “have always focused on issues of justice, inequality, power dynamics, and the ethics around things like use of force, etc., all of which have affected my own feelings and beliefs about ethical behavior,” one respondent shared. Other followers highlighted quotes from “Spider-Man” – “with great power comes great responsibility” – and “Harry Potter”: “We must choose between what is right and what is easy.”
Another respondent spoke in regards to the Jedi: the traditional order of monklike warriors who channel forces of excellent to assist others and keep peace within the “Star Wars” universe. This universe “personifies how to go about treating the world around me and trying to do ‘the next right thing,’” the fan defined. “The Jedi, though not perfect, help me have a personal code in how I treat people. … If ‘Jedi’ were a real religion I’d probably be an active participant.”
Comic-con tradition sparks ardour and delight; it’s a wellspring of inspiration and creativity. The Japanese genres of anime and manga are “an art form of self-expression and it creates an [outlet] for individuals to express themselves freely,” one individual wrote. In specific, they talked about cosplay, which is brief for “costume play”: the trustworthy recreation of a favourite character from a sport, film or comedian, each in gown and mannerisms. Cosplayers are a mainstay of comedian conventions, as are cosplay contests.
Another remarked, “being a fan of tabletop RPGs [role-playing games] allows me to create collaborative stories with others. I consider this storytelling powerful and important.”
Comic-con tradition permits individuals to attach with like-minded people and forge significant relationships round these pursuits. It may also encourage a robust sense of fellowship.
Highlighting the facility of those connections, one respondent mentioned, “as an atheist, there’s not much I believe in. Being a fan has inspired me to believe in people, and that there is some purpose to my life.” Fandom teams “have given me decades-long friendships that span the globe,” one other mentioned.
Finally, comic-con tradition is a sanctuary; it offers house for followers to be themselves, helps them deal with private struggles, and evokes hope.
This was a distinguished theme. For instance, one attendee from Philadelphia divulged psychological well being points however defined how his involvement in board-game tournaments and the role-playing sport Dungeons & Dragons supplied a secure house from anxiousness: “I feel like when I’m doing these things, I can really be me. So, it’s more about letting myself be my true self and not feeling, or not caring, about the others around me that are judging me.”
Given these findings, I consider that social scientists want to think about in style tradition extra critically as a elementary function of society that folks could make sacred in several methods.
Michael Elliott is Professor of Sociology, Towson University, Maryland.
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