'I'm never gonna stop watching it': The paradox of parasocial break-ups in a post-object era. (1st September 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Holladay, Holly Willson; Edgar, Amanda Nell
• Is Part Of: Journal of fandom studies. Volume 7:Number 3(2019)
• Page Start: 213
• Page End: 227
• Publication Date: 2019-09-01
• Subjects: Fans (Persons) -- Periodicals; Subculture -- Periodicals; Popular culture -- Psychological aspects -- Periodicals; 306.1
• DOI: 10.1386/jfs_00001_1
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2046-6692

Abstract

In this article, we propose an understanding of parasocial relationships, in which fans build an affective relationship with characters and television programmes, as fandom's emotional interior. Rather than being structured by fan productivity and community, parasocial relationships exist in a private, intimate space as fans develop deep emotional bonds with characters. When a series concludes, fans must therefore reconcile the dissolution of these relationships in a personal way, a process called the parasocial break-up. However, the current media landscape fosters the sense that the fan object is never truly 'over', which tempers the negative emotions of the parasocial break-up. Interviews with fans of The Office revealed that this process is paradoxical, as fans assert both the devastation of loss and the agency of denying that loss.