Every month in OTW Signal, we take a look at stories that connect to the OTW’s mission and projects, including issues related to legal matters, technology, academia, fannish history and preservation issues of fandom, fan culture, and transformative works.

In the News

Why some people are devoted to particular aspects of popular culture is a fundamental query in fan studies research. One common and familiar answer is that fandoms are like religions. A recent article offers a different approach to understanding the emotional intensity of fan devotion, suggesting that while fans often describe their devotion in terms that sound religious, this comparison “has some lingering issues that hamper the field.” The authors contend that we can compare specific elements of fan experience (e.g., rituals, symbols, shared practices, and collective identity) to “sacred experiences” without needing to imply that fandoms are literal religions.

We believe it is more accurate to conceptualize fan devotion as part of a broader landscape of sacred activities that transcend the concept of religion.

Elliott and Mowers assert that their results provide powerful evidence that many fans experience their interests as sacred.

Their interests occupy a unique and special place in their lives: They derive purpose and inspiration from them, they learn important values from them, they involve something powerful and important, and they inspire them to believe in something larger than themselves.

To support this claim, the researchers analyzed information gathered from surveys, interviews, and fan experiences at Comic Cons and identified a new framework for determining what makes fan experiences sacred-like. They argue that by studying and measuring these “sacred dimensions,” especially in contexts like conventions where fan devotion takes on almost ritual-like patterns, scholars can reevaluate the religion metaphor, focusing instead on analytic models that consider the complexity of fan experience. Through this process, researchers can better understand fan devotion and how fandom is shaped by this collective identity. This analysis helps frame fandom as a cultural practice with emotional, symbolic, and communal depth.

Reports from fan conventions across the globe reinforce the idea that physical gatherings become collective spaces where fans create meaning through shared experiences. In one example, recent reporting on Bengaluru Comic Con highlights the convergence of more than 50,000 fans gathering to celebrate their shared love for fandom. A Times of India article describes fans coming together in a vibrant pop culture playground: cosplaying, celebrating shared passions, and building community through creative expression. “For many attendees, Comic Con was as much about community as it was about pop culture.” In another report, Shefali Johnson, CEO of Comic Con India, explains how the fans are what make Bengaluru Comic Con so special: “People here come to listen, learn, connect and experience.” A story in the Deccan Herald describes the con as “a living mosaic of fandom,” where participation is an act of joy:

For many, the message was simple: this space belongs to everyone, regardless of age, fandom, or experience.

Events like these allow fans from all over the world to connect and share their passions, creating new sacred experiences together and building a strong collective identity.

OTW Tips

Transformative Works and Cultures, a project of the OTW, is an international, peer-reviewed academic journal that seeks to promote scholarship on fanworks and practices. The journal is published at least twice each year and invites submissions of papers in all areas. For more information, visit the TWC website.

Did you know the OTW attends fan conventions? Our volunteers represent the OTW at cons around the world. The OTW’s Con Outreach team, a division of the Communications committee, coordinated attendance at 10 gatherings across three continents in 2025, meeting fans and sharing games, gifts, fic prompts, and of course, our popular rec board, where everyone is invited to take a fic rec and leave one of their own. Our volunteers love to talk about fandom, so come see us and say hello!

Would you like to see the OTW at your local fan convention event? Contact our Communications committee and let us know!

We want your suggestions for the next OTW Signal post! If you know of an essay, video, article, podcast, or news story you think we should know about, send us a link. We are looking for content in all languages! Submitting a link doesn’t guarantee that it will be included in an OTW post, and inclusion of a link doesn’t mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.