I recently watched  We Live In Time, and as I watched, I realized I knew very little about the film. I was made aware of its existence through the par

The (Super)fan Economy - by Monia Ali - Fandom Exile

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2024-11-27 02:00:02

I recently watched We Live In Time, and as I watched, I realized I knew very little about the film. I was made aware of its existence through the paratexts surrounding it, primarily the promotional circuit that Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh were on. One of the most persistent touchpoints was Garfield’s allegedly sizzling Chicken Shop Date with Amelia Dimoldenberg. I didn’t watch it myself, but I saw all the discourse around it. The appearance spurred on intense public analysis, recounting their previous encounters on the red carpet and speculation about their potential as romantic partners.

That the film wasn’t front and centre isn’t an indictment of it or its ability to stand alone as a cultural product. It’s just an illustration of the way cureent promotional cycles serve more as entry points for the audience to get invested in the storytellers. The resulting appearances and products are by default paratexts, surrounding the core product. But they also become their own texts in this climate, spinning off and pulling in audiences. Sometimes, they overshadow the product they are meant to support.

For existing superfans, these paratextual events are punctuations in the story that they follow. The investment into a romantic relationship blossoming on screen is a jackpot when it comes to engaging audiences and galvanizing existing superfans. 1 This is why so-called PRomances are such a longstanding tradition, and romantic leads often are rumoured to be dating. Funnily enough, during filming, Garfield’s chemistry with Pugh was also being used to amp up publicity for the project.

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