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A study on Autobiographical Documentary as Mediators of Fandom Performativity - Exploring Fan Practices in The Evaroad, People in Elancia, and Fanatic

  • Journal of Popular Narrative
  • 2025, 31(3), pp.181~211
  • DOI : 10.18856/jpn.2025.31.3.005
  • Publisher : The Association of Popular Narrative
  • Research Area : Interdisciplinary Studies > Interdisciplinary Research
  • Received : September 10, 2025
  • Accepted : October 20, 2025
  • Published : October 31, 2025

Baek, Tae-Hyun 1,  Joo, Ji-Young 2

1경희대학교 K-컬처·스토리콘텐츠연구소
2한성대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This paper examines how autobiographical documentaries reveal and mediate the performativity of fandom. Previous studies of fandom have focused on textual appropriation, collective practices, and participatory culture within digital platforms, while documentary studies have largely discussed the recording of public history and social movements. The phenomenon in which fan subjects narrativize their own emotions and experiences through the documentary form has received little critical attention. Addressing this gap, the study examines the autobiographical transformation of fandom to explore how subjectivity and ethical reflection emerge within performative practices. The Evaroad documents the director’s participation in an Evangelion Stamp Rally, capturing and narrativizing affective memories that shape the identity of a fan. The film illustrates fandom as a performative act that reorganizes affect into a shared structure of meaning within a community. People in Elancia records the responses of an online game community facing dissolution, revealing how fandom practices evolve into performative interventions capable of influence institutional change. Fanatic portrays a fan’s affection and ambivalence toward idols, foregrounding the reflective process of negotiating one’s identity as a fan. Together, these works show that fandom practice extends beyond personal confession toward an ethical dimension. Taken as a whole, the three films illuminate the dimensions of practice, performance, and reflection, showing that autobiographical documentaries function not only as devices for recording fandom but also as forms of cultural-political expression. This study thereby reframes autobiographical documentary as performative modes intersecting with fandom practices, establishing an interdisciplinary locus between documentary and fandom studies and contributing to a deeper understanding of personal narratives, collective memory, and the cultural significance of performativity.

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