Chapter 7 Quiz
Part A — Multiple Choice (1 point each)
1. The 2012 Hunger Games casting controversy — fan anger at the casting of a Black actress as Rue — illustrates: - A) Colorblind fandom responding to unexpected casting - B) The racial default, in which fans had unconsciously whitened a character described as dark-skinned in the text - C) The legitimate grievance that casting should reflect fan expectations - D) Evidence that The Hunger Games fanbase was unusually racist compared to other fandoms
2. Rukmini Pande's Squee from the Margins argues primarily that: - A) Fans of color should form separate fan communities rather than navigate white-dominant spaces - B) Fans of color face a structural double bind — simultaneous investment in and marginalization within predominantly white fan spaces - C) Whitewashing in fan art is the most significant problem in fandom race relations - D) The OTW is primarily responsible for anti-Black racism in fan fiction
3. "Racebending" in fan creative practice refers to: - A) Adopting a different racial identity when participating in online fan communities - B) Reimagining canonical characters as members of a different racial group, often reimagining white characters as characters of color - C) Writing fan fiction that portrays characters crossing racial boundaries in ways the source text forbids - D) The practice of lightening characters of color's skin tones in fan art
4. The phenomenon of Black fan communities' cultural innovations being credited to white fans once they go mainstream is described in the chapter as: - A) The subcultural capital transfer problem - B) The racial economy of internet virality - C) Representational burden - D) The colorblind default
5. The "first" problem in MCU representation analysis refers to: - A) The fact that the first MCU film featured an almost entirely white cast - B) The problem of first-generation immigrant fan communities feeling unrepresented - C) The way framing diversity as "firsts" implies one example is sufficient and places excessive representational burden on that character - D) The prioritization of first-run theatrical releases over streaming in diversity analysis
6. According to the chapter, K-pop's global fandom was built substantially through: - A) East Asian diaspora communities in major American cities - B) White Western fans discovering K-pop through music streaming algorithms - C) Black and Brown fans in the United States, Latin America, and Southeast Asia - D) Korean expatriate communities maintaining cultural connection through K-pop
7. "Colorblind narration" in fan fiction refers to: - A) Writing from the perspective of a blind character - B) Treating a character of color's race as irrelevant to their narrative experience in contexts where it would realistically be significant - C) The deliberate choice not to mention characters' races in order to allow diverse reader identification - D) A stylistic technique that reduces racial description in order to focus on action
8. The OTW (Organization for Transformative Works) has been criticized for: - A) Being too aggressive in enforcing anti-racist community standards on AO3 - B) Refusing to allow fan fiction about characters of color - C) Having governance historically dominated by white women, leading to slow engagement with racial equity in fan platform policy - D) Prioritizing racial diversity in fan fiction at the expense of content quality standards
9. Priya Anand's experience of being treated as "proxy for permission" at MCU conventions illustrates: - A) The representational burden placed on fans who share an identity with a represented character - B) The positive effects of MCU's diversity initiatives on fan community culture - C) The way con organizers seek out diverse fan perspectives - D) The problem of tokenism in academic fan scholarship
10. TheresaK's critique of how ARMY's anti-racism conversations are conducted suggests that: - A) Brazilian fans are less committed to racial justice than American fans - B) Anti-Blackness is not a significant problem in Brazilian fan communities - C) Racial analysis of transnational fan communities must be attentive to specific national racial formations, not only American racial logic - D) K-pop artists should not be held to any racial accountability standards outside their home country
Part B — Short Answer (5 points each)
11. Explain the three mechanisms through which the racial default is reproduced in fan culture. Give a specific example of each mechanism from any fandom context.
12. The chapter describes a "double bind" for fans of color in predominantly white fan spaces. Explain this double bind in your own words. What strategies have fans of color developed in response? Evaluate the effectiveness of at least one of these strategies.
13. What does IronHeartForever's account of the "I don't see color" response in fan art communities reveal about how the racial default operates? Why does the claim of not seeing color often function to reproduce rather than resolve racial inequity?
Part C — Essay (20 points)
14. Choose one of the following:
Option A: Write an essay analyzing the racial dynamics of a specific fan community you have knowledge of (this can be one of the running examples or another community). Your essay should: (a) identify the relevant racial default mechanisms operating in the community; (b) analyze the specific practices by which fans of color navigate this space, drawing on Pande's framework; (c) identify any counter-practices or community initiatives that address racial dynamics; and (d) evaluate what would need to change structurally (not just individually) for the community's racial dynamics to be more equitable.
Option B: The chapter argues that racial analysis of transnational fan communities must be "globally attentive and locally specific." Using the ARMY example (drawing on Mireille's and TheresaK's perspectives), write an essay that: (a) demonstrates what "globally attentive" means in this context — what anti-Blackness as a global phenomenon requires attention to; (b) demonstrates what "locally specific" means — how the racial dynamics of Filipino ARMY and Brazilian ARMY differ from each other and from American ARMY contexts; and (c) evaluates what methodological approach a researcher would need to adequately capture both dimensions simultaneously.
Answer Key — Part A
- B | 2. B | 3. B | 4. B | 5. C | 6. C | 7. B | 8. C | 9. A | 10. C