Playing with Fandom

Th is article addresses fandom from the perspective of LEGO Fans. Building on datafrom a large study of the LEGO Ideas platform, we investigate fandom as materialnarratives of play, nostalgia, and intertextuality. LEGO Ideas is a platform thatallows users to submit ideas for future LEGO products, and based on the supportof other users in the form of votes and comments on issues such as suggested priceand target market, LEGO decides whether or not to produce a suggested product.As such, LEGO Ideas is an online community for fans of LEGO, but a surprisingnumber of projects employ other fan narratives such as Star Wars, Marvel, GilmoreGirls, Beatles, and Doctor Who to name a few. When analysing the number ofprojects submitted to the platform, as many as 69% build on popular texts, brandsand celebrities. Further, two thirds of the approved projects build on popular textsand celebrities with established fan cultures.In this article we argue that fandom becomes a way to create bridges betweena variety of users and corporate interests. Although all the active participants onLEGO Ideas self-identify as AFOLS (adult fans of LEGO), they do not necessarilyagree about what constitutes an interesting LEGO Ideas project. One way to reachout and draw attention to a project, however, seems to be by employing fandomin general as leverage; that is, materialising fans’ narratives in LEGO is a drivingforce – not just for social interaction among the users – but also in getting their ideas considered for production by LEGO. Th us, when AFOLs bridge the apparentgap between toys and (often) adult fan cultures, they facilitate multiple ways ofengaging with both, in ways that underline the play and intertextuality of popularculture