JON LOTT

My creative thesis was a documentary of the Arcadia Men’s Basketball playoff push to the conference championship. The aim was to get an inside look on how the team would prepare for their playoff race for another conference championship. Some interviews with some of the key players for the team speak on goals, expectations, and strategies.

My thesis is aimed to show how fandom represents a large part of the participatory culture that Henry Jenkins describes as, “a participatory culture is one which embraces the values of diversity and democracy through every aspect of our interactions with each other-one which assumes that we are capable of making decisions, collectively and individually, and that we should have the capacity to express ourselves through a broad range of different forms and practices.” Fans construct their own culture, which is a big part of the participatory culture concept.  Sports Fans have the power to create their own cultures centered around their favorite sports teams and athletes. An example of this is the ‘Mamba Army’, social group that was created by fans that came together in support of NBA legend Kobe Bryant.