The longer one typically spends on the internet, the more likely they are to hear or read the claim “media literacy is dead,” a questionable idea that thousands of articles have covered in the past. Maybe this is true; maybe media literacy, i.e., being able to critically analyze media, has long been dead, or maybe it is dying. But why exactly do we believe that? Is it because every time someone posts a bad (opinion!) take about a piece of media, someone else is so quick to comment that media literacy dead? Or are we really facing the rise of anti-intellectualism right before our very eyes? 

But why bring up fandoms? Because to some, media literacy and fandoms may not seem to be as linked together as they actually are. This ever-continuing burial of media literacy may not be directly linked to the death of fandom culture, but it still happens to be a big part of it. See, when people are unwilling or unable to critically analyze media, part of its charm tends to be lost. Fandom spaces, however, gleefully analyze and expand the charm of the hidden messages in media. This could be as simple as figuring out the underlying meaning in a scene or giving a character a “headcanon.” With the dying breath of media literacy, this has begun to disappear. Suddenly, people are becoming sticklers for the source material. They reject hypotheticals with excuses like “it isn’t part of the source material” or “if that was remotely true, the author would have made it canon.” This sentiment is especially prevalent online with very, very, loud supporters following it and sparking debates of all sorts on public forums for all to see. 

Let’s turn to the online fandoms that house these forums. When the pandemic kept everyone inside, people quickly became enamored with fandom spaces. Since they provided a space to talk about a piece that they enjoyed, why wouldn’t they want to join? In a time of solitude, it is only natural for people to want some form of human communication, and what better way to bond than in a fandom? 

The issue was never people joining, however. Fandom culture is typically welcoming of all sorts of people, no matter how “in to” the media you may be. The issue was the lack of etiquette. When you enter a space that has already existed before you, you cannot go in expecting others to change just because you don’t like what they’re doing. That was the issue that many were running into with hundreds if not thousands of people flooding into fandoms. These new people, while maybe good intentioned, caused more issues because they simply did not understand, or even care to learn, fandom etiquette during their time. 

With fandoms spreading to more social media sites like Instagram and Tik Tok, rather than sticking to smaller sites like Tumblr or Archive of Our Own, more people are drawn to them, including those that don’t understand a lot about fandoms. This is especially true when it comes to shipping culture. Shipping, i.e., the romantic pairing of two characters, is a very large part of a lot of fandoms. There are no requirements when it comes to shipping; you don’t have to ship the same characters together and you don’t have to ship anyone together, but it is a loud part that exists within the fandom. Shipping can appear as fanfiction, edits, fan art, fan comics, etc., and with social media these become very widespread. Non-fandom members struggle to see the harmlessness of shipping, claiming that they’re annoyed by seeing it, that not everything/everyone needs to be romantic, or simply that it doesn’t make sense because the author never implied something was there. They are entitled to this opinion and can choose not to interact with the media if they don’t want to, so the non-fandom members aren’t the ones that killed the fandom. Instead, it was the ones with that mindset that joined fandoms and expected everyone else to change.  

One could spend pages and pages diving deeper and deeper into the exact cause of the death of fandom culture. The push to shame people for what they consume only adds a nail in the coffin that breeds anti-intellectualism. A person does not have to partake of or like everything about a fandom; that is well within their right. But it doesn’t mean that they can shame or bully others into not doing these things either, especially if they are a newer member. But it’s important to acknowledge that fandom culture is not fully dead, not yet at least. The online presence of fandoms has increased community among enjoyers of media; one can think of it as a very large book club. But it also has begun to dismantle integral parts, such as shipping culture and analysis, that make it up. 

While it may seem strange to equate fandoms with intellectualism, having a full understanding of media is the backbone of the creative works that come out of fandoms. The rise of anti-intellectualism in the modern age does more than just harm fandom culture. When most people learn how to analyze media, they typically begin with a creative work rather than a non-fiction one. And if someone cannot analyze a creative work, how can we ever expect them to analyze real life issues?