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Start Date
23-6-2022 12:00 AM
End Date
23-6-2022 12:00 AM
Abstract
This paper examines the phenomenon of “#Shifttok” - named for a practice popularised predominantly by teenage girls on TikTok called “Shifting”. “Shifting” is undertaken by fans of popular objects like Harry Potter, and is a process they believe allows them to “shift realities” into the world of their preferred media object.
This phenomenon is analysed in the context of its status as intensive and communal fan labour. Where the practice of writing, distributing and reading fan fiction online has involved passive consumption by fans, Shifting negates this passivity and instead allows fans to live in and experience their favourite object. Additionally, fans actively cultivate a communal space around this practice, as evidenced by the popular usage of “#Shifttok” and the dissemination of instructional and confessional videos that aim to help other fans replicate “successful” instances of Shifting. Since Shifting was popularised in late 2020, its community has collectively normalised numerous extra processes including rigid daily routines, comprehensive “scripts”, and the creation and use of ambient sound to standardise the process. This analysis will draw on key studies of fandom by scholars such as Henry Jenkins (1992) and Constance Penley (1992), as well as theories around fan curation from Derek Kompare (2018).
The significance of #Shifttok lies not only in its extension of a tradition of extratextual fan fiction, but also in its reformulation of the passivity with which fans consume this material. Furthermore, the fan labour associated with this participation in #Shifttok speaks to a practice of unique community building.
“I just came back from 7 months at hogwarts...”: #Shifttok and contemporary fan labour
This paper examines the phenomenon of “#Shifttok” - named for a practice popularised predominantly by teenage girls on TikTok called “Shifting”. “Shifting” is undertaken by fans of popular objects like Harry Potter, and is a process they believe allows them to “shift realities” into the world of their preferred media object.
This phenomenon is analysed in the context of its status as intensive and communal fan labour. Where the practice of writing, distributing and reading fan fiction online has involved passive consumption by fans, Shifting negates this passivity and instead allows fans to live in and experience their favourite object. Additionally, fans actively cultivate a communal space around this practice, as evidenced by the popular usage of “#Shifttok” and the dissemination of instructional and confessional videos that aim to help other fans replicate “successful” instances of Shifting. Since Shifting was popularised in late 2020, its community has collectively normalised numerous extra processes including rigid daily routines, comprehensive “scripts”, and the creation and use of ambient sound to standardise the process. This analysis will draw on key studies of fandom by scholars such as Henry Jenkins (1992) and Constance Penley (1992), as well as theories around fan curation from Derek Kompare (2018).
The significance of #Shifttok lies not only in its extension of a tradition of extratextual fan fiction, but also in its reformulation of the passivity with which fans consume this material. Furthermore, the fan labour associated with this participation in #Shifttok speaks to a practice of unique community building.
Bio
Claire Whitley is a PhD candidate at Flinders University in South Australia. Her research is in gender and comedy in post-Bridesmaids Hollywood, and her broader research interests include contemporary 'unruly' femininity, gendered comedy, and the contemporary "female reboot".