Melanie E S Kohnen
Biographic Data
| ID | 4932242 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Melanie E S Kohnen |
| GIVEN NAMES | Melanie E S |
| FAMILY NAME | Kohnen |
| SIGNATURE | KOHNEN M E S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Lewis & Clark College |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6533-3445 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 6 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 10 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
From Comic-Con to Amazon
San Diego Comic-Con is North America's premiere fan convention and a key site for mediating between media industries and fandom. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced Comic-Con to abruptly move its programming onto an array of digital platforms in an apparent "platformization" of the con. Informed by research on fan conventions, media industries, and the platformization of cultural production, this analysis of the online convention argues that Co…
The experience economy during Covid-19
I examine how industry and fans reassessed the value of TV promotion in the form of activations—branded pop-up in-person experiences that promise immersion into storyworlds—as they transformed into online events during Comic-Con@Home in 2020 and 2021. I highlight the industry's expansion of first-party data collection from and tracking of fans in virtual activations
Transcultural fan studies in practice
At the end of 2018, a group of fan scholars led by Lori Morimoto journeyed to Japan for a fan studies field trip. The purpose was multifaceted: to speak at a symposium on transcultural popular culture; to bring together fans and fandom studies from both sides of the Pacific; and to augment their classrooms with practical experience. Eight participants share their experiences and reflect on what it means to be a transcultural fan scholar at the da…
Distributing Whiteness
This essay examines the formal and informal distribution of Australian dramedy Please Like Me via the now-defunct American digital cable channel Pivot and via fan communities on Tumblr. I argue that structural whiteness operates as an invisible engine at the heart of Please Like Me’s distribution. My analysis unpacks how an unexamined narrative of white privilege forms the backbone of Please Like Me’s diegesis, fandom’s investment in circulating …
The experience economy of TV promotion at San Diego Comic-Con
This article analyzes the promotional function of pop-up branded entertainment experiences during San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). I argue that these activations are part of the experience economy, in which affect-driven branded experiences in physical spaces and their mediation on social media become central elements of consumption. Through an analysis of several case studies, I reveal how three trends – the media industry’s recognition of fans’ impo…
Time, space, strategy
My essay examines the blogging culture surrounding San Diego Comic-Con. Con-bloggers share desirable strategies for navigating the convention, including access to tickets, hotel rooms, and panels. I argue that con-blogging’s focus on wait times, the convention space, and communal experiences among fans functions as an adjacent yet external “extra” to the industry’s promotional discourse. The popularity of con-blogging demonstrates that fans’ inte…
Tumblr Pedagogies
This chapter surveys fandom practices on Tumblr that celebrate, critique, and transform contemporary film and television. It argues that fandom on Tumblr is a pedagogical space: through fannish practices, fans educate one another about identity formation, diversity, media representations, digital technology, and the media industry. These fandom conversations often echo the same concerns or topics that come up in media studies classes. The integra…
Fannish affect, “quality” fandom, and transmedia storytelling campaigns
This chapter examines officially produced transmedia campaigns for television (TV) series and blockbuster franchises, and the way these campaigns address and invite fans to participate. The campaign reached out to fans, invited new viewers, and most of all, and aimed to convince HBO subscribers that a fantasy series fit into the channel&s;s "quality TV" brand. The chapter argues that masculinized affect is thus embraced as "quality fandom" that i…
Cultural Diversity as Brand Management in Cable Television
This article explores the strategic use of cultural diversity as brand management tool in cable television via the case study of The Fosters, a prime-time soap on ABC Family. Specifically, I examine three interrelated facets of The Fosters and its industrial context, namely the program's representation of meaningful cultural diversity, how this meaningful diversity functions as a strategy for ABC Family's brand of "A New Kind of Family," and how …
‘The power of geek’
San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) has become one of the most important venues for direct interaction between the entertainment industry and audiences. Every July, the four-day convention offers the comic
Cultural Diversity as Brand Management in Cable Television
This article explores the strategic use of cultural diversity as brand management tool in cable television via the case study of The Fosters, a prime-time soap on ABC Family. Specifically, I examine three interrelated facets of The Fosters and its industrial context, namely the program's representation of meaningful cultural diversity, how this meaningful diversity functions as a strategy for ABC Family's brand of "A New Kind of Family," and how …
From Comic-Con to Amazon
San Diego Comic-Con is North America's premiere fan convention and a key site for mediating between media industries and fandom. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced Comic-Con to abruptly move its programming onto an array of digital platforms in an apparent "platformization" of the con. Informed by research on fan conventions, media industries, and the platformization of cultural production, this analysis of the online convention argues that Co…
The experience economy of TV promotion at San Diego Comic-Con
This article analyzes the promotional function of pop-up branded entertainment experiences during San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). I argue that these activations are part of the experience economy, in which affect-driven branded experiences in physical spaces and their mediation on social media become central elements of consumption. Through an analysis of several case studies, I reveal how three trends – the media industry’s recognition of fans’ impo…
‘The power of geek’
San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) has become one of the most important venues for direct interaction between the entertainment industry and audiences. Every July, the four-day convention offers the comic
Cultural Diversity as Brand Management in Cable Television
This article explores the strategic use of cultural diversity as brand management tool in cable television via the case study of The Fosters, a prime-time soap on ABC Family. Specifically, I examine three interrelated facets of The Fosters and its industrial context, namely the program's representation of meaningful cultural diversity, how this meaningful diversity functions as a strategy for ABC Family's brand of "A New Kind of Family," and how …
Fannish affect, “quality” fandom, and transmedia storytelling campaigns
This chapter examines officially produced transmedia campaigns for television (TV) series and blockbuster franchises, and the way these campaigns address and invite fans to participate. The campaign reached out to fans, invited new viewers, and most of all, and aimed to convince HBO subscribers that a fantasy series fit into the channel&s;s "quality TV" brand. The chapter argues that masculinized affect is thus embraced as "quality fandom" that i…
Tumblr Pedagogies
This chapter surveys fandom practices on Tumblr that celebrate, critique, and transform contemporary film and television. It argues that fandom on Tumblr is a pedagogical space: through fannish practices, fans educate one another about identity formation, diversity, media representations, digital technology, and the media industry. These fandom conversations often echo the same concerns or topics that come up in media studies classes. The integra…
Time, space, strategy
My essay examines the blogging culture surrounding San Diego Comic-Con. Con-bloggers share desirable strategies for navigating the convention, including access to tickets, hotel rooms, and panels. I argue that con-blogging’s focus on wait times, the convention space, and communal experiences among fans functions as an adjacent yet external “extra” to the industry’s promotional discourse. The popularity of con-blogging demonstrates that fans’ inte…
The experience economy of TV promotion at San Diego Comic-Con
This article analyzes the promotional function of pop-up branded entertainment experiences during San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). I argue that these activations are part of the experience economy, in which affect-driven branded experiences in physical spaces and their mediation on social media become central elements of consumption. Through an analysis of several case studies, I reveal how three trends – the media industry’s recognition of fans’ impo…
Transcultural fan studies in practice
At the end of 2018, a group of fan scholars led by Lori Morimoto journeyed to Japan for a fan studies field trip. The purpose was multifaceted: to speak at a symposium on transcultural popular culture; to bring together fans and fandom studies from both sides of the Pacific; and to augment their classrooms with practical experience. Eight participants share their experiences and reflect on what it means to be a transcultural fan scholar at the da…
Distributing Whiteness
This essay examines the formal and informal distribution of Australian dramedy Please Like Me via the now-defunct American digital cable channel Pivot and via fan communities on Tumblr. I argue that structural whiteness operates as an invisible engine at the heart of Please Like Me’s distribution. My analysis unpacks how an unexamined narrative of white privilege forms the backbone of Please Like Me’s diegesis, fandom’s investment in circulating …
The experience economy during Covid-19
I examine how industry and fans reassessed the value of TV promotion in the form of activations—branded pop-up in-person experiences that promise immersion into storyworlds—as they transformed into online events during Comic-Con@Home in 2020 and 2021. I highlight the industry's expansion of first-party data collection from and tracking of fans in virtual activations
From Comic-Con to Amazon
San Diego Comic-Con is North America's premiere fan convention and a key site for mediating between media industries and fandom. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced Comic-Con to abruptly move its programming onto an array of digital platforms in an apparent "platformization" of the con. Informed by research on fan conventions, media industries, and the platformization of cultural production, this analysis of the online convention argues that Co…
Sociology (10 works) · Media studies (9 works) · Art (7 works) · Digital Games and Media (7 works) · Fandom (7 works) · Advertising (6 works) · Business (6 works) · Comics (5 works) · Computer Science (5 works) · Media Studies and Communication (5 works)