ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 begins by revisiting the ways in which fan practices and fan communities have typically been described as ‘gift economies’ within early fan studies, especially Jenkins, Bacon-Smith, Hellekson, and Jenkins, Ford, and Green. In the past decade or so, however, there has been a shift towards a more corporatised internet with the development of cloud computing. This chapter considers how fan-producer relationships have changed by focusing on the interactions between the mass media producers of Harry Potter and The X-Files and the fans who consume these products within the official Twitter feeds for both Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, @FantasticBeasts, and The X-Files @thexfiles. Ultimately, the chapter finds that not only do the source texts continue to reflect hegemonic ideals, but that Twitter has reified many of the classist, racist, and sexist issues that are often compounded in interactions between creative producers and fans in public spaces.
