Geek, a convergent culture?

Authors and geek culture fans, a new relationship between producers and consumers?

In the current mass culture , some authors are first and foremost in fans ' gender ' ( science fiction, fantasy ... ) and on multiple media (film, TV , comics , video games ...) . This is related to the emergence of a movement of " multi- media " fans and avid ICT that its members call " geek culture." Some of these " authors - fans " as Sam Raimi and Quentin Tarantino are among the most powerful cultural industry . They create , affirming their membership in the community , a special relationship with these geeks, involving implicit in their creations and arise before being artists in simple fans who have succeeded.

This movement is perceived as a marketing posture for  fans or he creates a form of identification to face this success of individuals posing as resembling the basis of their public?

Geek : the stereotype generational cultural movement.

We must first clarify what is a Geek.

In the nineteenth century the United States a geek was a sort of freak , a subspecies of freak . Then in the 1970s , the term began to designate stereotypically computer enthusiasts , new technologies, but also (which has long been ignored in France ) imaginary worlds such as can be found in the genres science fiction, fantasy and fantastic. This also coincides with the rediscovery by American students of Tolkien's book Lord of the Rings will be the reference to the first role-playing games , with the emergence of video games, and with the huge success of the Star Wars trilogy . This convergence of almost simultaneous elements gives rise to the stereotypical geek, fan of multi- media type that uses his passion for fantasy worlds , all possible media without distinctions between old and new media .

It is a culture of such works which navigates between mass and sub- cultural aspects of a culture fans. But it is this recent generation of fans to see the emergence of new forms of cultural consumption that would be most able to apprehend it .

Geek culture is , in the words of American sociologist Henry Jenkins that of cultural convergence. This concept can be divided into two main parts .

The first is that the producers of works , cultural industries and the authors themselves facilitate the transition between media, creating works very referenced trans- textual , often considering their creation not only as a television , cinematographic , literary  but as a whole, a multi- media world .

 A typical example is the Matrix , which was not intended by its authors as a movie but as a work , a cross- media world , in which the video game brings many element to the story movies the comic book series , or the animated shorts released following .

The second part of the cultural convergence that is to understand , it takes a particular audience , attentive, meticulous, short of fans. In the context of cultural convergence , the general public may have access , as is the case for Matrix to all elements , but only the multi- media fan, geek, will bring together all elements extending his pleasure immersion in the universe and will stand out from the mass knowledge that enable it to detect more references than the average public.

Prior to culture , the geek is a stereotype , that is to say, a social representation about a group. It thus represents the stereotype of fan culture genre, science fiction, fantasy , at the convergence of new media, digital and virtual , knowing that it was born precisely according to Jenkins in the soil of fans of the genre.

Purpose and Methodology :

The object here is the relationship between authors and fans in the culture of contemporary genre. Indeed, for several years , many authors , belonging to the generation born in the 1970s and steeped in the culture of multi- media genre emerged. They clearly claim the geek culture, and create a strong bond between them and the fans because they play on their membership in the community before being authors .

Authors and fans transmedia intertextuality, works under the influence :

As a concrete example of " convergent " effort to get to the fan -author report. The film 300 is considered as the "new high monument geek alongside Conan the Barbarian and Lord of the Rings ."

The aesthetic of the film is inspired by the author of the video games. This work is apprehended with all its cultural baggage . The film work is so appreciated largely by its relationship with other media. Thus, unlike George Lucas or Tolkien, creators of the seminal works of geek culture, " Zack Snyder is a real geek and he assumes ." the author, in many interviews talks about his cultural references, the fan side and defines himself as geek. Another user on his blog adds: " Snyder is a fan of comics , video games and film genre , it feels and it's good! " .

These authors say in their speeches and their belonging to this cultural movement but they also claim their works often saturated transmedia intertextuality .

These authors have clearly stated this geek identity and no longer see themselves only as authors but as truly converged fans.

Fans authors and intertextuality they produce, manufacture of Community link in establishing the criteria for recognition and belonging. They spread their references , which become a must. Their works are sociabilisantes and establish codes of belonging.

These films seem to be a way to build the collective through a community member who has succeeded and is therefore legitimate to judge what is geek or what is not . In addition, these authors claim to be very attentive to the opinions of fans , Peter Jackson explains : "My only ambition is to honor the works in accordance with the fans ."

 Two elements are to be learned from this passage , first of all the fact that the director is not conceived as a creative but above all as a person who must honor the works . Here we find the convergent approach to culture , it is a fan that finally made only accompany the passage of the work from one medium to another, fading behind her. Second element , its primary goal is not to satisfy the public , but fans obviously fundamental nuance . We find this type of discourse in about Joss Whedon : " I ​​prefer to do a series for 100 fans who watch to 1000 without too much attention." The fans are priority , the rest of the public is secondary . Referring to fans and asserting itself as such, these authors removed the distinction between author and public.

The power of fans :

The influence of fans on new writers and producers is very present in the descriptions of the geek culture.

On first view , these authors do not care about the opinion of the fans, but are just fans . That is to say, they take into account their own opinion. "They do not make movies for the fans, they are fans of movies . there is no influence but merely a co -membership

For users , this is not the industry that goes to the fans , but fans of that influence from within. So if we follow this reasoning , the influence of fans on the production would not be in the fact that these authors seek at all costs to meet the fans, but just by the choice of major studios entrust their creation.

The second approach is that of a real influence, displayed, externalized . This time it's the real fans intervention that produces the feeling of power. The claim is prior to the mass distribution. Internet greatly facilitates this phenomenon since the slightest rumor circulating in blogs and forums blogs mailing lists is reinforced denied, commented.

The statement made before the general public can have access to the object, integrates made ​​geeks, this highly specialized in the production process public. And " Geek is very concerned about its culture and will do everything in its power to ensure that the art is consistent with what he expects ." It ensures the smooth running of cultural production , waiting for authors to abide by its guidelines . We pass by a power over the form of the creation itself .

 The first approach is to support the creative side to the industrial culture, the second is a distrust of both.

A good example is the movie Snakes On Plane released in 2006 . Originally, it is a project initiated by a wave writer on his blog. He says he wants to make a movie with snakes on a plane without even accurate history or title . Almost ridiculous simplicity of the idea, some fun fans who frequent the site , they spread the rumor of the project. Gradually many movie fans "Series B" seize and invent replicas as flat as the synopsis as "Fuck , there's fucking snakes in the fucking plane." They also create false posters, on which include the title " Snakes on a plane " and famous actors for their participation in numerous films "cults" So this emulation observing that the media often call " buzz " producers have just hired Samuel Jackson , kept the title " Snakes On Plane " which was not that originally envisaged , integrated replication mentioned above the film , added more gore scenes were inspired posters fans for their official poster . The film was to be a large public action film becomes a B horror series meets the codes of the genre , highly referenced and totally influenced by the fans of the genre.

Affirm a geek power, can build a community link. Indeed, if the geeks have a real influence, they influence decisions , this implies that they form a sufficiently large and homogeneous group to become a form of lobby and this through the internet. Prove the reality of this social force , proves at the same time the existence of the group as such . If geeks were able to impose their action lines in a movie , so that they do exist as a social group in its own right . The influence of fans on the industry appears as a means to establish , build the contours of this culture and this community

Conclusion : Sustaining subculture :

It seems interesting at this stage to use the theories of Antoine Hennion on what he calls the underground.

He defines it as a medium, a social group to which the link is the artistic creation and whose main characteristic is that the public and the creators have very similar social traits . It thus seems that these authors and these fans try to extend the maximum effect in a kind of cultural , an underground that still has the characteristic of being accessible to all.