Hankering for iconic moments: Transduction and representation in Skam fans’ anticipations about the remake Skam Austin

Abstract

The Norwegian web series Skam (2015‐17) has been remade several times, but the American version Skam Austin (2018‐19) has a particular standing as an adaptation because its first season was produced by the original showrunner. The article considers fans’ views of the choices made in the remake and the contextual shifts informing these choices, i.e. their views of the so-called cultural transduction. It argues that the fan discourse around Skam Austin thrives on discussing the transduction in itself, because long-standing fans dominate the discourse and because the show’s depictions of teenage life-worlds are expected to have high realistic ambitions. Comments from fans reveal that much of their enjoyment of Skam Austin resided in expectations about specific ‘remade moments’. Such moments typically express a spirit of social resistance and are, if successful, celebrated as iconic. In the politicized American media climate of the day, ‘remade moments’ that particularly engaged fans focused on representation issues concerning gender and race, such as intersectional identities and awareness about sexual harassment.