Political Fandom In The 2016 Presidential Election

The career description for a political scientist is one who deals with systems of governance and who analyzes political thoughts, behaviors, and activities. So imagine the shock that rippled throughout the field when the vast majority had been wrong about the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. All of the polls failed them, all of their studying failed them; almost no one had predicted that outcome. For the rest of their careers, political scientists will be trying to answer the million-dollar question of “what happened?” in the 2016 presidential election.

Now, what did really happen is a complex answer. There is no singular reason to describe voting patterns. Political scientists have since tried to explain the outcome of the election

The idea of fandom has carried over to politics, as there are now political fandoms (Pairkh). Political fandom, instead of being only cultural, is also ideological. Individuals have taken their love and energy, and instead of applying it to pop culture, have applied it to politics (sandvoss). They meet each of the five previously described levels of fandom. They have multiple modes of reception, such as news outlets, political pundits, and direct access to their favorite politicians via social media. They create shared meanings in terms that they use to express their ideas (“fake news”, “left-wing”, and “right-wing”). Individuals will shape their lives around their party or ideology. They choose charities and causes to participate in based off their party, creating a base for activism. Activism in politics also includes political rallies, canvassing, and addressing members of Congress to pass legislation. Political cartoons, memes, blogs, and videos are some of the art forms produced by political fans. Groups of the same ideology and party function as a community, with local Facebook pages organizing groups to get together for meetings and social functions, while social media organizes these groups on a national level. Therefore, as strange as it may seem, political fandoms are indeed

The stories that people consume influence how they see the world. The more engaged they are in the story, the more influence that story has over the reader. This is because as the readers emerge themselves in the text, they are relaxed. They are more likely to internalize the lessons of the narrative and mimic the qualities of the characters they like; they are also not necessarily expecting political content, so they are not as defensive and are able to absorb the ideas presented to them (Gierzynski). The Harry Potter series is one that has been read by millions, meaning that it has an influence on millions of