LoVe and Money: Fan Patronage and Participation in the Veronica Mars Movie

• In Event: Theorizing, Soliciting, and Commodifying Fan Participation

Abstract

The Veronica Mars movie Kickstarter campaign created a fascinating new context for exploring how relationships between fans and producers may or may not shape content. Using in-depth interviews of Veronica Mars Kickstarter backers, this study explores the expectations of influence that Veronica Mars backers brought to the campaign experience and the ways in which the campaign met and failed those expectations. My informants’ disappointments in the final film text were mitigated by existing normative beliefs about authorship and the appropriate role of fans. These normative beliefs were reinforced by producers’ communication style during the campaign. I argue that the social dynamics created by this crowdfunding campaign are not contingent on financial contributions, and that the results of the campaign provide insights into larger questions about what fans really want from their relationships with official texts, producers, and productions, suggesting that some fans desire an engagement role that resembles traditional patronage.

Author

• Annemarie Navar-Gill, University of Michigan