What is the role of “camp” in Mercer and Sarson’s account of Drag Race fandom, and in what ways does it become whitewashed or changed as the camp sensibility appears in media aimed at mainstream audiences? How does Chatman describe the role of “anti-fans” in Scandal’s online fan communities, and what is their relationship to “respectability politics?” How would you characterize the similarities and differences between these two author’s accounts of the reactions, readings, and repurposing undertaken by viewers of Scandal and RuPaul’s Drag Race? What connections can you draw between fandom as pathology as discussed by Jenson, and the “virality” of memes? And finally, selecting either the episode of Scandal or RuPaul’s Drag Race assigned this week, choose a scene or motif to analyze in connection with any of the ideas you discuss in your response (try to choose a moment not heavily discussed in either reading).
and also write the peer review for me.
Camp describes an extravagant, glamorous, subversive aesthetic that emphasizes irony. Therefore, camp constructs the persona of drag queens as they embody camp. As camp became more mainstream, the style became toned down and only embodied the glamorous, ignoring the side of camp that is subversive. This is seen in the 2019 Met Gala whose theme was camp. Drag queens embody this theme, but only RuPaul and two other queens were invited, showing already by their invitations that they didn’t want it to be too extravagant and extra. Both of the queen’s outfits also reflected Hollywood cinema, making it clear that camp has been assimilated into mainstream culture and made appropriate for a wide audience.
While fans are enthralled by the character of Olivia, Scandal’s anti-fans counter that and express how Olivia’s actions portray black women in a bad light. Respectability politics is the responsibility of people in the black community to monitor their behavior, so they don’t enforce racial stereotypes. Anti-fans believe that the fans of Scandal breach the aim of respectability politics by being fans of Olivia and harming the black community by endorsing her. In that way, anti-fans are trying to police the fans by using respectability politics.
The account on the fans of RPDR mostly focuses on how queens become popular through memes that fans make and spread online. Drag queen’s online presence is basically made through the fan’s efforts of taking clips and remaking them into funny images, and that’s how they show their love for the show. Chatman’s account of Scandal fans also presents how they show their appreciation and construct an online presence for the show, but instead of making memes, Chatman talks about how the fans tweet about moments of the episode and contribute to the fandom that way. What is not found in Mercer and Sarson’s account is the role of anti-fans where Chatman talks about their role countering the fans and bringing into discussion representation of black women.
When seen as a pathology, fans are seen as out of control and are associated with violence and abnormal behavior. One type of pathological fan is being part of the hysterical crowd and this is often associated with the mob and showing animalistic behavior. Although not that extreme, meme-making is also a way to show excitement and appreciation for something and to make memes viral requires mass support like the crowd depicted in the pathological fan thus, while online, it’s still like a united mass that shows their support and makes memes viral.
Memes contribute to drag queen’s popularity by making a big online presence, so, to be successful, queens have to be memeable and try to be iconic with things they do on the show. As seen in the episode, their introduction provides a perfect opportunity to do that. Drag queens would come out with a lavish entrance, glamorous appearance, and then an appealing catchphrase that they hope will make an impression with the viewers and end up being a meme.
