Fandom Blog

Friends

      "Friends" is a hit TV show that started in 1994. It rapidly became a very famous show that gained a lot of viewers and continued to stream for 10 seasons. The show is the story of 6 friends that go through different phases and struggles in their lives. The show has the title of the most watched show, which demonstrated that it has a large fan base (Wenn, 2009). Since it had a large audience, different types of fandoms slowly started to occur to show their love and affections for the show and all of the characters. 

Fanfiction 

     One of the ways that people can participate in the fandom is through fanfiction. Fanfiction can be alternate endings or storylines that are written based off of a preexisting story but it includes their own interpretation. There are many different stories that take the characters in the show and create different relationships or breakups. Many of the stories create a more depth backstories of the main characters and how they ended up where they are now. There are many different takes on the ending of the series as well and what they would all be doing now. One example of an alternative ending that a fan made up was that one of the characters woke up and dreamed the whole series which I think would be really interesting to read more about. 

Fan Art

There are also many different edits and artwork that have created based on the show and several inside jokes that are presented throughout the duration in the show. Several websites present handcrafted artwork that are in many styles that are available to buy and use to spread the love and admiration for the show. There are different styles that fans use to recreate pictures of the cast such as animations, black and white, art inspired by types of video games, and caricatures (Stephanie Harper 2020).  The picture down below is an example of fan art that has been created from the show. The art created captures the personalities of the different characters and how they interact with one another. 




Merchandise
The characters in the show have a very specific style based on their personalities. So a way to participate in the fandom is to buy specific clothing that is dedicated to their style. For example, my friend and I bought matching sweatshirts that two of the main characters wore together in the show. People hand make clothing with different pictures of the cast and scenes that are fan favorites. The cast also is selling merchandise to help raise money for different charities. So by participating you can also help support good causes. 



Tourist locations
There are many tourist spots that friends fans can go to. The one major one is in New York, and it is called  the friends experience. This has kind of a museum set up where people can go through and look at iconic scenes from the show and they are able to take pictures. It also has original props and costumes from the show. In the show they go to the coffee shop called Central Perk every episode. In the friends experience they have a real one where you can go in and buy coffee and sit on the set. The picture below is a recreation of one of the sets. There are also many places that tourists go to because of the show. The most common tourist spots that fans go to are the apartments  and the workplace buildings of the characters. 





Importance:
Friends has been very impactful not only to me but to a whole group of people. Through the several seasons it teaches us many valuable lessons and how important the people who around us are. With the different types of fandoms related to this show, each one is used to demonstrate the impact that this show has had on us and how appreciative we are. The one thing that has stuck out to me the most with this assignment is that the age of the fans of this show is all over the place. My mom is the one that introduced me to this show, and I will always remember us watching the whole 10 seasons together. Since the show came out a while ago, so many generations have been able to enjoy the personalities of the characters and the stories that they tell us. 

Sources: 

Allen, Rachel, et al. “6 Places in New York City Every ‘Friends’ Fan Needs to Visit.” The Odyssey Online, 5 Aug. 2020, https://www.theodysseyonline.com/6-places-york-city-friends-fan-visit.

Friends Fanfiction Archive | Fanfiction. https://www.fanfiction.net/tv/Friends.

Harper, Stephanie, and Stephanie Harper (864 Articles Published) . “Friends: 15 Fan Art Pics We're Obsessed With.” TheThings, 28 Apr. 2020, https://www.thethings.com/friends-fan-art-pics-obsessed/.

Home - F.R.I.E.N.D.S Merchandise (friendsmerchandise.com)

“‘Friends’ Debuts.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Nov. 2009, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/friends-debuts.

“Friends Is the Most Watched TV Show.” IMDb, IMDb.com, https://www.imdb.com/news/ni1260948/.
















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