Fan Phenomena: Supernatural

Lynn Zubernis, Katherine Larsen, Lynn Zubernis, Katherine Larsen

• Publisher: Intellect Books
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9781783202034
• eBook ISBN: 9781783203284
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Film & Video

Supernatural premiered on September 14, 2005, on what was then called the WB Network. Creator Eric Kripke was inspired by Jack Kerouac's On The Road, putting his heroes, brothers Sam and Dean Winchester, in a big black '67 Impala and sending them in search of the urban legends that fascinated him. The series attracted a passionate fan base from the start and was described as a 'cultural attractor' that tapped into the zeitgeist of the moment, reflecting global fears of terrorism with its themes of fighting unseen evil. The chemistry between the lead actors, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, contributed to the show's initial success, and Supernatural found its niche when it combined demon-hunting adventures with a powerful relationship drama that explored the intense, complicated bond between the brothers. Supernatural is as much a story of familial ties, love and loyalty as it is of 'saving people, hunting things.'

Fan Phenomena: Supernatural explores the ongoing fascination and passion for a show that developed a relationship with fans through eight seasons and continues to have an impact on fan culture to the present day. Essays here explore the rich dynamic that has developed between fans and producers, actors, writers, directors, the show creator and show-runners through online interactions on Twitter and Facebook, face-to-face exchanges at conventions and representations of fandom within the show's meta-episodes. Contributors also explore gender and sexuality in the show and in fan art; the visual dynamics, cinematography and symbolism in the episodes as well as the fan videos they inspire; and the culture of influence, learning and teaching in the series.

 

Fan Appreciation no.1

Ash48: The Vidder

Interview by Lynn Zubernis

Supernatural has inspired a rich variety of technically impressive fan videos, from humorous ‘crack’ vids to emotional reflections of canon to ‘alternate universe (AU)’ vids that tell stories canon has never explored. One of the most prolific and well-known vidders, Sarah House, known within fandom as Ash48, discusses the reasons she’s passionate about Supernatural, and the story behind some of her most popular vids.

Lynn Zubernis (LZ): What is it about Supernatural that makes you want to create fan videos about the show?

Ash48: That’s THE question. What exactly is it about SPN that makes it so compelling? How can a show, that can be flawed at times, create such an intense passion with so many people? I ask myself that many times. Supernatural is still the only show I feel passionate about and connected to in a way that inspires me to vid (or write meta, make picspams, etc.). I love and enjoy many other shows but they don’t really inspire me to want to search through hours and hours of footage and extract what I need to make a fanvid.

In a nutshell, the appeal and passion comes down to the characters of Sam and Dean. I have always enjoyed bromance (a big fan of Starsky & Hutch [William Frederick Blinn, ABC, 1975-1979], Simon and Simon [Philip DeGuere, CBS, 1981-1989] and The Professionals [Brian Clemens, ITV, 1977-1983]) so a show featuring brothers working together was something that would appeal to me. It also helps that it’s a genre show. I particularly enjoy thrillers, horror, mystery and science fiction so I knew the style of the show would also be something I would like. It doesn’t hurt that they are extremely good looking and have amazing on-screen chemistry. They have a powerful and fluctuating dynamic that is fascinating and wonderful to watch. The myth arc (especially the first five years), is intriguing enough to keep me hooked. Even now, as they work through a variety of different seasonal arcs, I am emotionally invested because I have history with the show and I have found a place (fandom) that I love and don’t want to give up any time soon.

LZ: What are some of the songs that you’ve been inspired to vid because of their relevance to SPN?

Ash48: When I heard Johnny Cash’s ‘Hurt’ (2002) I immediately pictured Dean’s story and the idea of Dean and the deal. It’s probably one of my favourite vids – in terms of a song relating to a character’s arc AND it telling the story I wanted to for Dean. It was actually the last verse that really cemented the song for me:

Figure 1: ‘Hurt’

If I could start again

A million miles away

I would keep myself

I would find a way

I am completely fascinated by Dean’s decision to sell his soul to bring Sam back. At the end of the vid I wanted to pose the question: if Dean knew the pain and torment he and Sam were going to suffer in the future, would he still make the deal? I am also fascinated by Dean’s inner turmoil – this song really spoke to me about that. At the time I made that vid, Dean was drinking a lot and, as I saw it, self-harming. Even though the song was about drug use, I extended it to cover drinking, so it fit Dean.

Dolly Parton’s ‘9 to 5’ (1980) is particularly weird choice to vid because it doesn’t really have the SPN feel about it at all – but I felt the lyrics were perfect for the Winchesters.

Workin’ 9 to 5

What a way to make a livin’

Barely gettin’ by

It’s all takin’

And no givin’

They just use your mind

And you never get the credit

It’s enough to drive you

Crazy if you let it

I always see them as working hard and not being rewarded (outside of their own satisfaction of saving people) and the notion of connecting the mundane and normal ‘9 to 5’ job with the job they do rather tickled me. I picked the song and knew I wanted to vid it before I had the idea of using the episode ‘It’s a Terrible Life’ (Season 4, Episode 17). Once I figured out how to use that episode to structure the vid, I was confident I could make it work.

Figure 2: ‘No Bravery’

I sat on the song ‘No Bravery’ (James Blunt, 2006) for ages. It was a song that had the feel I was after but I was concerned about it being too melodramatic and too sentimental. After sitting on it for months, I bit the bullet and just did it. I’ve always wanted to highlight the plight of the victims in the show, so this song was the perfect vehicle for that. Supernatural often shows us children suffering and so these lyrics became a major inspiration for making this vid.

There are children standing here,

Arms outstretched into the sky,

But no one asks the question why,

He has been here.

Brothers lie in shallow graves.

Fathers lost without a trace.

A nation blind to their disgrace,

Since he’s been here.

I translated ‘he’ to be a personification of evil.

‘Where Do We Draw the Line’ is a vid I hold very close to me. Looking back it’s probably not as well edited as it could have been, but I remember working really closely with the song and mapping out each visual. I am constantly fascinated by the thin line the boys walk – in what they are prepared to do for each other. This song really spoke to me about how far they’d take it. I remember watching ‘All Hell Breaks Loose’ (Season 2, Episodes 21-22) and freaking out when Sam was about to hit Jake with the iron bar. It was a line I didn’t want Sam to cross. He didn’t, and for that he was killed. It’s a fabulous conflict. Similarly with Dean making the deal for Sam’s life and John making the deal for Dean’s. That was the central idea behind this vid.

Figure 3: ‘Behind Blue Eyes’

What does tomorrow want with me

What does it matter what I see

If I can’t choose my own design

Tell me where do we draw the line

‘Behind Blue Eyes’ (The Who, 1971) is another song I listened to over and over. In my mind it was the perfect Sam song because it talks about what goes on in Sam’s troubled mind. It not only reflects what he thinks of himself but what (I thought) fandom was thinking of him at the time.

No one knows what it’s like

To be the bad man

To be the sad man

And no one knows

What it’s like to be hated

To be fated to telling only lies

The comments I often get are: ‘but Sam doesn’t have blue eyes.’ It’s a sure sign that the viewer hasn’t understood what I was trying to do with the video. I did take a risk with the interpretation of ‘blue’ as sad rather than eye colour.

LZ: Your process in creating fanvids is in some ways similar to the process in creating fanfic, including the tension between wanting the fanwork to be well received and wanting to express something that’s personal.

Ash48: I imagine the thinking process is much the same. I always have my audience in mind when I make a vid. I think we can say ‘I am doing this for myself,’ but in reality we’re not. Sure, we enjoy that creative process and it gives us pleasure, but without an audience I think the experience is incomplete. If something fails we can say ‘it’s ok because I am doing it for myself’ but, personally, that argument stopped working for me early on. There’s no doubt I want a vid to be enjoyed, accepted and understood, so the questions I always ask myself relate directly to what the viewer will get out of it. That’s not to say that I only make vids for an audience. I want to enjoy the finished product as much as I want to enjoy the process. I ask myself ‘what do I want to say’ and ‘what do I want the audience to feel’ so I don’t lose focus.

LZ: One of the things you identify as a goal in vidding is telling a clear, complex story. How do you accomplish this?

Ash48: This is tricky because I feel I am yet to achieve a vid that ‘really achieved a coherent narrative, or told a particularly compelling story’. Structuring a clear narrative is difficult for me and it’s why I don’t do AU vids very often. My idea of narrative in a video is the journey it takes from the beginning to the end. If the vid starts with a character in a certain ‘place’ (frame of mind, situation, etc.) and ends with them in another ‘place’, then I consider the vid to have a narrative structure. With that in mind, the ones that I think came close would be ‘Hurt’ and ‘Wrong’. ‘Hurt’ had a distinctive ending (Dean reflecting on his decision to sell his soul) and therefore I think the vid had a narrative flow to get to that point (that was my aim anyway). ‘Wrong’ started by telling three separate character stories and ended with all three coming together to show how each of their stories (or individual battles) helped them fight together as Team Free Will.

The other style of narrative is when I specifically set out to tell a story. I have only ever attempted that twice – ‘Violence and Sex’ and ‘Winter-song’. ‘Violence and Sex’ was a massive challenge as I attempted to tell a distinct AU narrative (for the first time). The biggest difficulty was creating a moment at the end that showed Sam ‘taming’ Dean by fighting back and them then coming together without Dean having...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Teaching Through Supernatural: Using SPN in the College Classroom
• The Monstrous Male Body
• I See What You Did There: SPN and the Fourth Wall
• Post, Reblog, Follow, Tweet: Supernatural Fandom and Social Media
• Fan Appreciation no.1
• Family Don't End —With Blood: Building the Supernatural Family
• Supernatural: Making a Difference is the Meaning of Life
• Life Changing: Supernatural and the Power of Fandom
• Fan Appreciation no.2
• The Pro of Cons
• Contributor Details
• Image Credits