ABSTRACT
Fans and audiences have tended to be viewed as an end-point, or even by-product, of processes of production and of secondary concern to the text itself. It was frequently assumed that by considering processes of production and the nature of cultural texts, it was possible to understand the audiences of these. Audiences, and more specifically individual audience members, bring their own 'baggage' with them when engaging with a text, and moreover, this text will be encountered in different ways depending on the particular social situation in which this is located. Cultural texts have always played a role in many individuals' lives, as a source of conversation, recall, individual and collective memories and as constituent of individual's identities. For many fans their access and position within a fan culture is likely to be defined by their interactions and social performances with others, and their ability to fit with the existing norms of that group.
