Skip to content
1981
Volume 7, Issue 3
  • ISSN: 2046-6692
  • E-ISSN: 2046-6706

Abstract

In this article, we propose an understanding of parasocial relationships, in which fans build an affective relationship with characters and television programmes, as fandom’s emotional interior. Rather than being structured by fan productivity and community, parasocial relationships exist in a private, intimate space as fans develop deep emotional bonds with characters. When a series concludes, fans must therefore reconcile the dissolution of these relationships in a personal way, a process called the parasocial break-up. However, the current media landscape fosters the sense that the fan object is never truly ‘over’, which tempers the negative emotions of the parasocial break-up. Interviews with fans of revealed that this process is paradoxical, as fans assert both the devastation of loss and the agency of denying that loss.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/jfs_00001_1
2019-09-01
2024-12-14
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Anon. ( 2009;), ‘ Season rankings. ’, ABC Medianet, 27 May, https://web.archive.org/web/20090531103511/http://www.abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=052709_07. Accessed 12 November 2017.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Cohen, Jonathan. ( 2003;), ‘ Parasocial breakups: Measuring individual differences in responses to the dissolution of parasocial relationships. ’, Mass Communication & Society, 6:2, pp. 191202.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Cohen, Jonathan. ( 2004;), ‘ Parasocial break-up from favorite television characters: The role of attachment styles and relationship intimacy. ’, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 21:2, pp. 187202.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Cohen, Jonathan, and Hershman-Shitrit, Michal. ( 2017;), ‘ Mediated relationships with TV characters: The effects of perceived and actual similarity in personality traits. ’, Scientific Study of Literature, 7:1, pp. 10928.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Cornell, Phil. ( 2013;), ‘ The Office fans savor Scranton farewell with John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer and even Steve Carell. ’, New York Daily News, 8 May, http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/office-fans-give-big-goodbye-favorite-desk-set-article-1.1337454. Accessed 12 November 2017.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Cresswell, John W.. ( 2007), Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Approaches, , 2nd ed.., Thousand Oaks, CA:: Sage;.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Entertainment Weekly Staff ( 2007;), ‘ The new classics: TV. ’, Entertainment Weekly, 18 June, http://ew.com/article/2007/06/18/new-classics-tv/. Accessed 12 November 2017.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Eyal, Keren, and Cohen, Jonathan. ( 2006;), ‘ When good Friends say goodbye: A parasocial breakup study. ’, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 50:3, pp. 50223.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Eyal, Keren, and Dailey, Rene M.. ( 2012;), ‘ Examining relational maintenance in parasocial relationships. ’, Mass Communication & Society, 15:5, pp. 75881.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Fiske, John. ( 1992;), ‘ The cultural economy of fandom. ’, in L. A. Lewis. (ed.), The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media, London:: Routledge;, pp. 3049.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Giles, David C.. ( 2002;), ‘ Parasocial interaction: A review of the literature and a model for future research. ’, Media Psychology, 4:3, pp. 279305.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Gray, Jonathan,, Sandvoss, Cornel, and Harrington, C. Lee. ( 2007;), ‘ Introduction: Why fan studies?. ’, in J. Gray,, C. Sandvoss, and C. L. Harrington. (eds), Fandom: Identities and Communities in a Mediated World, New York:: New York University Press;, pp. 118.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Grossberg, Lawrence. ( 1992;), ‘ Is there a fan in the house?: The affective sensibility of fandom. ’, in L. A. Lewis. (ed.), The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media, London:: Routledge;, pp. 5065.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Harrington, C. Lee. ( 2013;), ‘ The ars moriendi of US serial television: Towards a good textual death. ’, International Journal of Cultural Studies, 16:6, pp. 57995.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Hills, Matt. ( 2002), Fan Cultures, London:: Routledge;.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Hoffner, Cynthia, and Buchanan, Martha. ( 2005;), ‘ Young adults’ wishful identification with television characters: The role of perceived similarity and character attributes. ’, Media Psychology, 7:4, pp. 32551.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Horton, Donald, and Wohl, R. Richard. ( 1956;), ‘ Mass communication and para-social interaction: Observations on intimacy at a distance. ’, Psychiatry, 19, pp. 21529.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Jenkins, Henry. ( 1992), Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture, New York:: Routledge;.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Kim, Jinyun, and Song, Hayeon. ( 2016;), ‘ Celebrity’s self-disclosure on Twitter and parasocial relationships: A mediating role of social presence. ’, Computers in Human Behavior, 62:1, pp. 57077.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Kondolojy, Amanda. ( 2013;), ‘ Thursday final ratings: Hannibal, The Big Bang Theory, The Vampire Diaries, Grey’s Anatomy & Office retrospective adjusted up. ’, TVbytheNumbers, 17 May, http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/sdsdskdh279882992z1/thursday-final-ratings-hannibal-the-big-bang-theory-the-vampire-diaries-greys-anatomy-office-retrospective-adjusted-up/183116/. Accessed 12 November 2017.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Lather, Julie, and Moyer-Guse, Emily. ( 2011;), ‘ How do we react when our favorite characters are taken away? An examination of a temporary parasocial breakup. ’, Mass Communication and Society, 14:2, pp. 196215.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Perse, Elizabeth M., and Rubin, Rebecca B.. ( 1989;), ‘ Attribution in social and parasocial relationships. ’, Communication Research, 16:1, pp. 5978.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Rubin, Rebecca B., and McHugh, Michael P.. ( 1987;), ‘ Development of parasocial interaction relationships. ’, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 31:3, pp. 27992.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Sandvoss, Cornel. ( 2005), Fans: The Mirror of Consumption, Cambridge:: Polity;.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Warner, Kristen. ( 2015;), ‘ They gon’ think you loud regardless: Ratchetness, reality television, and Black womanhood. ’, Camera Obscura, 88:1, pp. 12953.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Williams, Rebecca. ( 2015), Post-Object Fandom: Television, Identity and Self-Narrative, London:: Bloomsbury;.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Holladay, Holly Willson, and Edgar, Amanda Nell. ( 2019;), ‘ “I’m never gonna stop watching it”: The paradox of parasocial break-ups in a post-object era. ’, Journal of Fandom Studies, 7:3, pp. 213227, doi: https://doi.org/10.1386/jfs_00001_1
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/jfs_00001_1
Loading
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error