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Far-Right Fictions: The Far Right and the Politics of Films, Series and Videogames, Vol. 32 - 2025, No. 3
If it Ain’t Woke, Don’t Fix It: The Revanchism of Bad Object (Anti)-fans
This article contributes to the understanding of fan dynamics and far-right politics by offering a theoretical framework to explain the transformation of fans into anti-fans/reactionaries. Through analysing the fan backlash against True Detective: Night Country and Rick and Morty after the original male creators were “replaced,” this article demonstrates how interaction with a bad object triggers fans to embrace revanchist nostalgia. These fans-turned-anti-fans seek to punish those involved in the supposed destruction of their beloved series while attempting to rebuild what it was before. By considering how these fans argue the series are only worthy of their fandom if they are written and produced by men, this article theorises that far-right fan activity illustrates how revanchist nostalgia unites anti-fans and transforms once-loyal viewers into vicious defenders of an imagined past if a series embraces diverse perspectives and/or distances themselves from their previous hypermasculine norms. This article underscores the ways in which (anti-)fan culture, audiovisual media consumption, and far-right ideologies intersect, revealing how reactionary fan responses are not merely focused on the content of the media but are rooted in maintaining ideological dominance and resisting progressive change.
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