“Fandom activities”. “Kreativ” of the masses in the era of total creativity

Abstract

This article examines one of the modern community models, fandoms. They are constructed not only on the basis of common interests of their participants, but also by virtue of the participants’ desire (readiness) for their active expression through various types of joint practices. Although such associations have existed for a long time (primarily among fans of various forms and genres of mass culture, as well as sports fans), in today’s digital world, they have transformеd in a radically new form – the digital fandoms, the specificity of which has become the subject of analysis in the article. Since the most active, “passionary” participation in such communities is taken by the younger generation, which incorporates new technologies into their daily life faster than the others, this phenomenon is significant enough for the entire spectrum of researches concerning the problems of youth lifestyle, their value orientations, leisure activities, identity, and self-expression. Based on examples from domestic sports-oriented digital fandoms some of these issues are discussed in the article in the context of so-called “fandom creativity” (fan art) regarding its constructive and destructive aspects.