Patterns of Surprise

The “Aleatory Object” in Psychoanalytic Ethnography and Cyclical Fandom

Bibliographic Data

ID3755656
AuthorsMatt Hills (0000-0002-8778-6530, Cardiff University, corresponding author)
Year2005
Volume48
Issue7
Pages801-821
Publication date2005-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Behavioral Scientist (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7642 • E-ISSN: 1552-3381
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0002764204273169
OpenAlexW2069345031
LanguageEN
Citations received20
References cited24

This article studies one media fan's consumption patterns, arguing that media fandom has been restrictively defined in cultural studies to date as a matter of faithfulness to singular fan objects. Contra such definitions, the article addresses cyclical fandom, wherein the fan-consumer constantly moves from one fan object to another, experiencing intense affective relationships to a variety of texts. This case study employs psychoanalytic ethnography to analyze such a consumption pattern, where the "surprise" of new fandoms is repeatedly sought. Christopher Bollas's psychoanalytic concept of the "aleatory object" is used to interpret self-narratives of cyclical fandom

Aesthetics · Art · Consumption (sociology · Ethnography · Fandom · Linguistics · Literature · Media studies · Narrative · Object (grammar · Psychoanalysis · Psychoanalytic theory · Social science · Sociology · Surprise · Variety (cybernetics · Anthropology · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Communication · Computer Science · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Philosophy · Psychology

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