4 times fans were as influential in 2023 as the things they loved

Fandom could be one thing folks take part in throughout their spare time, perhaps in the privateness of on-line communities or conference halls, but it surely undoubtedly has an influence on the wider world. In the previous few years, the sorts of methods deployed by politicians and people main social actions have more and more began to appear to be these used in fandom. This is especially true of techniques pioneered inside the digital and bodily fan areas in order to extend visibility and influence. All the whereas, fandom itself is continuous to vary and evolve.

Powered by ardour, fans make things occur. Sometimes these accomplishments are solely essential inside every particular person fandom — producing a zine, making a personality or celeb development, beginning a brand new meme. But different times they attain additional than anticipated, outdoors fan areas, and make things actually transfer.

Taking a have a look at the accomplishments of fandom communities this yr is an efficient strategy to get a hen’s-eye view of what precisely fandom is, at a time when extra folks interact in fandom than ever. In 2023, fans confirmed up and made their voices heard. They launched tasks, saved exhibits, supported strikes, and even rescued historic figures from obscurity. Here are only a few of fandom’s most spectacular accomplishments from this yr.

Fans on strike

When the Writers Guild of America introduced that its members can be occurring strike in May of this yr, fans took the information in stride. Of course, it was disappointing to listen to that manufacturing on many fan-favorite exhibits, like Stranger Things, can be pausing because of the strike motion. But it was extra essential that fans supported the actions of the WGA, and later SAG-AFTRA, which were vital for writers and actors to earn protections and honest wages in their trade.

Though some troll posts led folks to consider that fans were towards the strike, that couldn’t have been extra unfaithful. It was exactly the reverse: Fans labored arduous to unfold details about how greatest to help the hanging writers and actors. Independent, fan-run blogs like sagwgastrikeupdates and fans4wga persistently communicated the newest information on the strikes and answered questions on how greatest to keep away from crossing the picket line with fan exercise.

And whereas some fans were unhappy that exhibits that got here out throughout the strike, like fan favorites Good Omens and Our Flag Means Death, by no means bought conventional actor- and writer-centric press excursions that fans might obsess over alongside the new episodes, fans put their emotions apart in help of equity. OFMD fans showed up in person to picket lines and were rewarded, when the strike ended, with a deluge of behind-the-scenes content material that stars like Vico Ortiz and Leslie Jones shared on TikTok.

A plaque for Hester Leggatt

West End comedy musical Operation Mincemeat has fostered a fandom of Mincefluencers ever since its off-West End days at Riverside Studios. It’s an oddball present, which, very similar to the Broadway hit Six, was written and developed by an organization of Fringe Festival stalwarts. And like Six it was additionally impressed by actual historical past. Like the Colin Firth movie of the similar identify (which it in any other case shares no reference to) Operation Mincemeat was impressed by actual occasions throughout World War II, when a bunch of MI5 operatives efficiently diverted the Nazis by planting false data on a corpse.

The musical’s fundamental characters are primarily based on actual historic figures, together with Hester Leggatt, a secretary at MI5. She contributed to the wartime operation by serving to create the false identification of the corpse, writing love letters to “Bill Martin” that were planted on the physique. In the musical this work is immortalized in the tearjerker music “Dear Bill.” In the music “Useful,” Hester thinks that as an alternative of a statue she would possibly prefer to be acknowledged by “just a small plaque / Something tasteful and small.”

Unlike the male protagonists of the story, about whom biographical particulars abound, little was recognized about the actual Hester Leggatt — simply sufficient to create her character in the musical. But fans went a lot, a lot additional, digging up biographical data at the National Archives and London’s Imperial War Museum in order to light up particulars of Leggatt’s life. Fans discovered census data, examination outcomes, and handwriting samples that matched the actual letter to “Bill.”

Finally, their analysis culminated in a letter from MI5 confirming Legatt’s employment, which had been categorized data up till then. A plaque honoring Leggatt is ready to be unveiled outdoors the Fortune Theater, the place Operation Mincemeat is enjoying, on Dec. 11. Hester Leggatt is lastly getting the recognition she lengthy deserved, because of fans’ arduous work uncovering her story.

Save the sapphic present

Fan campaigns aren’t new, however their persistence yr after yr is an indication not solely of fans’ capacity to self-organize and persevere, however the continued divergence of studios, networks, and streaming platform priorities from the wishes of passionate fan communities. In 2023, the exhibits that fans rallied behind included animated present Star Trek: Prodigy and the CW’s Supernatural prequel The Winchesters. But the most notable fan campaigns have been behind the canceled exhibits A League of Their Own and Warrior Nun.

Passionate fans hungry for queer illustration have helped rescue exhibits like Sense8; fans have additionally banded collectively to marketing campaign for The 100 to vary sure plotlines. A League of Their Own was renewed solely to be un-renewed by Amazon in August of this yr, and fans instantly began organizing, seeing that it was price the effort to push again towards this cavalier therapy. Fan campaigners behind accounts like @ALOTOHomeRun have stored the present trending, hoping for a second season that may proceed to discover the queer and Black characters that made the present a robust adaptation of the authentic 1992 movie. They have stored the present trending on X (previously Twitter), and in return the showrunners have promised that they’re nonetheless looking for a method ahead for the present.

Fans’ spectacular present of help for Warrior Nun started late final yr, when Netflix confirmed the beloved drama about an ass-kicking nun (performed by Alba Baptista) wouldn’t return for a 3rd season. After making a Discord server referred to as Sapphics in Pain, the fans started to arrange — and didn’t cease. Well into 2023, they were spending hours of volunteer labor on professional-level analytics analysis papers and strategic evaluation, aiming to show conclusively to community stakeholders that their beloved present was effectively price selecting up for a brand new season. Their arduous work was rewarded when govt producer Dean English introduced the collection would return as a trilogy of function movies — although, due to the lack of involvement of the authentic collection’ writers, it’s a cautious victory for the hardworking fans.

Swifties united

Photo: Daniel Knighton/Getty Images

Thanks to the kickoff of the ubiquitous Eras Tour, and the regular (re)releases of Taylor’s Version albums, Swifties consolidated their energy and emerged as an unshakeable and unstoppable bloc in 2023. Swifties are behind traits like buying and selling friendship bracelets and carrying glittery boots, however there’s extra to it than aesthetics — the big group of Taylor Swift’s die-hard fans have additionally used their affect to try to create seen change and transfer the needle on points which might be essential to them.

In early November, Swifties in Argentina spoke out towards the right-wing political candidate Javier Milei, forming a bunch referred to as “Swifties Against Freedom Advances” to try to persuade different fans to not vote for him. However, in the finish it wasn’t sufficient to maneuver the needle, and he ended up successful.

Other Swifty fan efforts in South America are ongoing. A fan, Ana Clara Benevides Machado, died at one among Swift’s Brazilian exhibits throughout an excessive warmth wave. Fan outcry after this occasion was widespread, however American-language media was sluggish to report on the incident past Swift’s preliminary assertion about the tragedy. Fans rose to the event in order to translate Brazilian information tales concerning the timeline of occasions and venue points, and even raised cash for the household of the fan who handed. This culminated in Swift paying for the household to return from their rural residence to see her live performance, the place they posed for an image together with her carrying shirts with Ana’s face on them.