Making European Cult Cinema - Fan Enterprise in an Alternative Economy

A new book exploring fan enterprise in European cult cinema is set to be released this coming winter.

Written by Oliver Carter, a Senior Lecturer within Birmingham School of Media and Research Degrees Coordinator for Media and Cultural Studies, 'Making European Cult Cinema: Fan Enterprise in an Alternative Economy' examines the ways and methods in which fans of cult films produce and distribute artefacts and commodities relating to the movies they love.

Built around interviews and ethnographic observations, including Oliver's own fan enterprise, the book creates a theoretical framework from cultural studies and political economy to introduce the concept of an ‘alternative economy’ as a way to understand fan production.

The book interprets an object of fandom as a production of meaning, physical artefacts and commodities, understanding fandom as both cultural and economic production. Carter describes these fans as 'creative' workers, using digital technologies to produce artefacts that are exchanged as gifts. Through these artefacts and commodities, fans are culturally and economically making European cult cinema.

The book is scheduled for release in winter 2017 through Amsterdam University Press.