{"title":"#RIPJKRowling: A tale of a fandom, Twitter and a haunting author who refuses to die","authors":"Hannah Ravell","doi":"10.1177/2046147X231180501","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"With Roland Barthes’ 1968 essay ‘Death of the Author’ as its touchstone, this article reflects critically on the hashtag #ripjkrowling that trended on Twitter in September 2020. Through a thematic content analysis of the top 100 tweets from this hashtag, it will examine celebrity author J.K. Rowling’s reputation amongst fans and wider audiences. Rowling’s history of disseminating transphobic rhetoric online as well as the news her 2020 book contains transphobic messaging will be considered. When Barthes called for the ‘death’ of the author, he highlighted the importance of understanding texts as independent from authorial intention and biography. As this case illuminates, when fans cannot reconcile Rowling’s values with those of her creation they pronounce her ‘dead’. Exemplified through this hashtag, in this post-Barthesian world of celebrity authorship, the author is being revived only to be killed off again. This paper seeks to examine why Potterheads, in response to Rowling’s controversies pertaining to LGBTQIA+ issues, are pronouncing her ‘dead’. From there, this article explores a broader public relations inquiry into what this means for public relations practice when media products and brands belong to the fans, especially politically and socially active ones like Potterheads. Mainstream participatory culture logics on Twitter such as hashtag and fan activism will be reflected on to understand their role in how modern fans separate art from their artists, and implications for Rowling’s authorship, Harry Potter readership and public relations.","PeriodicalId":44609,"journal":{"name":"Public Relations Inquiry","volume":"12 1","pages":"239 - 270"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2023-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Public Relations Inquiry","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2046147X231180501","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"COMMUNICATION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
With Roland Barthes’ 1968 essay ‘Death of the Author’ as its touchstone, this article reflects critically on the hashtag #ripjkrowling that trended on Twitter in September 2020. Through a thematic content analysis of the top 100 tweets from this hashtag, it will examine celebrity author J.K. Rowling’s reputation amongst fans and wider audiences. Rowling’s history of disseminating transphobic rhetoric online as well as the news her 2020 book contains transphobic messaging will be considered. When Barthes called for the ‘death’ of the author, he highlighted the importance of understanding texts as independent from authorial intention and biography. As this case illuminates, when fans cannot reconcile Rowling’s values with those of her creation they pronounce her ‘dead’. Exemplified through this hashtag, in this post-Barthesian world of celebrity authorship, the author is being revived only to be killed off again. This paper seeks to examine why Potterheads, in response to Rowling’s controversies pertaining to LGBTQIA+ issues, are pronouncing her ‘dead’. From there, this article explores a broader public relations inquiry into what this means for public relations practice when media products and brands belong to the fans, especially politically and socially active ones like Potterheads. Mainstream participatory culture logics on Twitter such as hashtag and fan activism will be reflected on to understand their role in how modern fans separate art from their artists, and implications for Rowling’s authorship, Harry Potter readership and public relations.
期刊介绍：
Public Relations Inquiry is an international, peer-reviewed journal for conceptual, reflexive and critical discussion on public relations, supporting debates on new ways of thinking about public relations in social, cultural and political contexts, in order to improve understanding of its work and effects beyond the purely organisational realm. We interpret public relations in a broad sense, recognising the influence of public relations practices on the many forms of contemporary strategic, promotional communication initiated by organisations, institutions and individuals. The practice of public relations arises at points of societal and organisational change and transformation, affecting many aspects of political, economic, social and cultural life. Reflecting this, we aim to mobilize research that speaks to a scholars in diverse fields and welcome submissions from any area that speak to the purpose of the journal, including (but not only) public relations, organizational communication, media and journalism studies, cultural studies, anthropology, political communication, sociology, organizational studies, development communication, migration studies, visual communication, management and marketing, digital media and data studies. We actively seek contributions that can extend the range of perspectives used to understand public relations, its role in societal change and continuity, and its impact on cultural and political life. We particularly welcome multi-disciplinary debate about the communication practices that shape major human concerns, including: globalisation, politics, and public relations in international communication migration, refugees, displaced populations terrorism, public diplomacy public and corporate governance diversity and cultural impacts of PR the natural and built environments Communication, space and place The development and practices of major industries such as health, food, sport, tourism, technology.
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