Fans with a lot at stake

Abstract

In what ways do programmes like Buffy the Vampire Slayer resonate with the (female) adolescent experience even in social contexts far from its geographic origin? This article places the enthusiastic reception of such American programmes within the context of the everyday lives of many of its Australian adolescent (female) fans. Drawing upon an ethnographic study in Adelaide, South Australia, the USA and Britain, together with material from online chat pages and World Wide Web sites, the research presented here investigates the nature of spectatorship and fandom in terms of the significant global nature of play and mimetic excess. Serious play, together with the symbolic vehicles of humour, music and mimetic excess, is a manifestation of the quest for very stable identities in a world that often appears shifting and ephemeral.