ABSTRACT
This chapter questions just how transgressive cult media and cult fandom really are, considering screen texts that walk the line, audience desires to cross the line, industry imperatives to toe the line, and academic research that seeks to measure the line dividing 'fanatics' from 'ordinary' audiences and mainstream hits from cult classics. Telotte identifies two types of cult films: nostalgic classics and midnight movies. Classics are conventionally successful films from a bygone era that draw a cult following over time. 'Midnight movies' attract a smaller and more homogenous audience with alternative viewing practices. While the themes and characteristics of cult media are fascinating in their own right, the way fans respond to texts is of central importance to understanding the cult phenomenonon. There are two main traditions of studying the reception of screen texts: audience studies and spectatorship theory. The first is typically used to study television, and the second predominates in film studies.
