1. The Fault in Our Stars:
Fandom Project
Allison Williams
November 21st, 2014
COMM 326
2. Overview of Presentation
• Background of both the book and the movie
• Demographics targeted
• Language or Jargon of the Fandom
• A Fandom within a Fandom?
• Fan Artwork
• Fandom Communication
3. “My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom
into constellations”
• The Fault in Our Stars is the sixth novel
from author, John Green.
• The novel follows the love story of two
cancer stricken teenagers: Hazel Grace
Lancaster and Augustus Waters
• Framing and the “master narrative”
• During its first few months of publication
it spent its time on the best sellers list of
the New York Times, Wall Street Today,
and US today.
• Time Magazine’s #1 Fiction book of 2012
4. “I fell in love the way you fall asleep,
slowly and then all at once.”
• The film adaption was released on June
6th, 2014 from 21st Century Fox
• The Fault in Our Stars two main leads are
Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort
• During the first weekend of its release,
TFIOS opened to huge sales of over 48.2
million dollars (Deadline.com)
• The film’s release edged of Tom Cruise’s
summer release, Edge of Tomorrow
(Deadline.com)
5. “It would be a privilege to have my heart
broken by you.”
• Forbes Magazine highlights that TFIOS appeals directly to women
• Disrupts normal Hollywood Rules
• Hollywood Reporter stats:
• Opened to an audience of 82% women
• Nearly 80% of the audience were women under the age of 25
• Twilight was ranked at 55%
• The film received this kind of exposure due to the success of the book
• Rested on the top of the bestsellers list for 130 weeks, 13 at number one
• Of those who saw the film, half of them had read the book
• Minimal Effects Theory
6. “Maybe okay will be our always.”
• Okay? Okay.
• Some infinities are bigger than
other infinities.
• It’s a metaphor
• That’s the thing about pain, it
demands to be felt.
• Fandom Name?
• Little Infinities Galaxy
• Fans name?
• Side Effects
• #FaultFanatics
7. “Hazel Grace, tell me I have not reached
the end of the book!”
• An interview with John Green
revealed TFIOS is a fandom
within a fandom
• An Imperial Affliction
• Hazel and Gus’ obsession
• Origins of the TFIOS
• “It's also about what it means to
be infatuated with a work of
literature, a feeling with which
the members of the audience at
the screening were clearly
familiar.”
8. “I want to leave a mark.”
• Continuum of a Fan
• Fandom Artwork
• Prosumers
• Personal accounts of the film’s
star Ansel Elgort and author
John Green highlight fan’s
artwork
• Fanfiction
• Etsy
• Replications of Okay? Okay. are
EVERYWHERE
10. “It’s a metaphor.”
• Active Audiences
• Film’s Instagram account
• Little Infinities Bracelets
• Facebook
• Tumblr
• Youtube
• Most viewed or liked Youtube
Trailer to date
• #TFIOS
• 3.8 million Twitter mentions
• 2.5 million Twitter followers
11. “Some tourists think Amsterdam is a city
of sin, but in truth it is a city of freedom.”
• The famous bench from one of
the most note scenes in the film
went missing in July 2014
• Officials can’t be sure if it was
locals tired of the hustle and
bustle
• But most likely it was the result
of overzealous superfans
• Returned to its home on the
Amsterdam street a few days
later
• Gus takes a trip back to
Amsterdam
13. References
• Busch, A. (2014, June 8). BOX OFFICE: 'The Fault In Our Stars' Slides Hard Saturday But Still
Phenom $48M ; 'Edge Of Tomorrow' Won't Break $30M And Bows At No. 3. Retrieved November
17, 2014, from http://deadline.com/2014/06/box-office-the-fault-in-our-stars-astronomical-opening-
knocks-tom-cruise-off-edge-of-tomorrow-741800/
• McClintock, P. (2014, June 8). How 'Fault in Our Stars' Mobilized Teens to Topple Tom Cruise
(Analysis) - Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 17, 2014, from
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-fault-stars-mobilized-teens-710123
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - Penguin Books USA. (2012). Retrieved November 18, 2014,
from http://www.penguin.com/book/the-fault-in-our-stars-by-john-green/9780525478812
• Strecker, E. (2014, July 1). The ‘Fault in Our Stars’ bench in Amsterdam is missing | EW.com.
Retrieved November 18, 2014, from http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/07/01/the-fault-in-our-stars-bench-
in-amsterdam-is-missing/
• Zuckerman, E. (2014, May 6). 'The Fault in Our Stars' Author John Green on Fandom and His
Favorite YA Romances. Retrieved November 18, 2014, from
http://www.thewire.com/entertainment/2014/05/the-fault-in-our-stars-author-john-green/
361732/
