Smallville Fandom and the Spiral of Silence
All this talk about trolling got me to look up some things on Wikipedia and I stumbled upon this article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_of_silence). Granted everything I know about the theory of Spiral of Silence comes from Wikipedia (and we all know how accurate Wikipedia can be), but I felt it had a connection to what’s happening in Smallville fandom currently and probably has happened in the past.
Here are some excerpts from the article
The spiral of silence is a political science and mass communication theory propounded by the German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann. The theory asserts that a person is less likely to voice an opinion on a topic if one feels that one is in the minority for fear of reprisal or isolation from the majority.
The spiral of silence begins with fear of reprisal or isolation, and escalates from there.
It is as much a measure of protection as it is one of oppression. Since it only applies to moral issues, which tend to evoke passionate responses in even the most reserved individuals, it can be used to contain social unrest over highly controversial topics. Though it can aid in keeping civil order, attempts to employ it knowingly are essentially methods of manipulation and coercion.
So, how does this apply to Smallville fandom, especially since fandom isn’t a moral issue?
Smallville fandom isn’t a perfect fit with the theory, but there are things that are happening right now that I do think apply. I’m referring specifically to the pressure put on Chloisers and Chlarkers to keep their opinions to themselves.
There have been, for several years now, individuals who troll Chloisers’ journals, leaving insulting and threatening comments that have prompted most Chloisers (even the ones who haven’t been attacked) to lock their journals and filter their entries so that only the people they know who share their opinions can read them. Since less people are publicly voicing their opinions it makes it seem that less people have them.
In March of 2008 there were a lot of Chlarkers posting on Kryptonsite. I wouldn’t say it was an example of perfect harmony, but there were more varied opinions expressed on the forum then there are now. I noticed in May of last year a tone switch on the board. More and more posters began to express intolerance towards opinions that were not theirs, specifically the opinions of Chlarkers and Chloisers. Personal attacks were made in the Chlois thread calling Chloisers delusional. The Chlark thread was trolled on a nightly basis. This was all compounded when the owner of the forum went into the Chlois thread and implied Chlarkers were to blame for him being banned from another forum. This set the precedence that it was okay to view all Chlarkers as mean, awful people and that they deserved all the incivility thrown at them. A year later and most everyone I know who used to post on K-site has abandoned it, leaving the impression that there aren’t many Chlarkers or Chloisers anymore.
On FanForum.net the mods allow posters to break forum rules (specifically, posting ship oriented art in the general art thread, which the rules clearly state is not allowed) if those posters are in favor of a particular ship. At the same time the mods threaten to ban those who don’t like that particular ship by sighting rules that are listed nowhere on the forums (not in the Smallville subforum or the general FF forums). This sends a clear message that people who are not in agreement with the mods’ favorite ship aren’t welcome on the forum. Those people leave the forum and, again, it appears that one ship is vastly more popular than the others.
Earlier this year one of the maintainers of smvl_icontest posted icons comparing Chloe fans to the KKK. (Interestingly, she didn’t post them on her comm. She posted them on one that isn’t modded.) It wasn’t until Fan Wank posted about the icons, ridiculing the maker and those who publicly supported her racism, that people who aren’t Chloe fans said anything against what she had done. Until then they were all quiet, letting the Chloe fans protest the racism and insults on their own and sitting idly by when the response was, “You deserve to be called this.”
I’m not immune to the Spiral of Silence. A few weeks ago on someone else’s journal I expressed concern that people who publicly show their support for Chlois at conventions might find themselves in altercations with other fans. I felt the pressure to keep quiet and even exerted some pressure for others to do the same.
I don’t mean to imply that the Spiral of Silence in SV fandom is all one sided. I think it probably happened to the Clana fans. As more and more people posted their dislike of Clana the Clana fans withdrew more and more, until it seemed like there were hardly any. Yet the ratings for Lana’s episodes this season (the only time Season 8 did better than Season 7) suggest otherwise.
And I think there’s most likely some Spiral of Silence in effect on TWoP, the only general forum left where Chlarkers and Chloisers haven’t been run off. Because it’s the one place Chlarkers and Chloiser feel comfortable voicing their opinions I think there can be a tendency to try to shout down those who don’t agree. The difference I see with TWoP is, because of the strict modding (sometimes bordering on oppressive), there are few personal attacks or attacks on fandom subgroups in general.
So what can be done to counteract the negative effects of the Spiral of Silence?
Another quote from Wikipedia
The theory explains a vocal minority by stating that people who are highly educated, or who have greater affluence, and the few other cavalier individuals who do not fear isolation, are likely to speak out regardless of public opinion. It further states that this minority is a necessary factor of change while the compliant majority is a necessary factor of stability, with both being a product of evolution.
We need to speak out, all of us, whether we’re Chlarkers, Chloisers, Clana fans, Clexers, Cloisers, Chimmy fans, etc. We need to allow differing opinions. We need to show each other respect even if the other person is a Chlarkers, Chloisers, Clana fans, Clexers, Cloisers, Chimmy fans, etc.
Let’s put ourselves in the vocal minority. Let’s pretend we’re highly educated or have greater affluence. Let’s act like we’re cavalier individuals who do not fear isolation. We can celebrate the things we love and debate the things we hate, but let’s let others do the same, even if they love the very thing we hate.
Here are some excerpts from the article
The spiral of silence is a political science and mass communication theory propounded by the German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann. The theory asserts that a person is less likely to voice an opinion on a topic if one feels that one is in the minority for fear of reprisal or isolation from the majority.
The spiral of silence begins with fear of reprisal or isolation, and escalates from there.
It is as much a measure of protection as it is one of oppression. Since it only applies to moral issues, which tend to evoke passionate responses in even the most reserved individuals, it can be used to contain social unrest over highly controversial topics. Though it can aid in keeping civil order, attempts to employ it knowingly are essentially methods of manipulation and coercion.
So, how does this apply to Smallville fandom, especially since fandom isn’t a moral issue?
Smallville fandom isn’t a perfect fit with the theory, but there are things that are happening right now that I do think apply. I’m referring specifically to the pressure put on Chloisers and Chlarkers to keep their opinions to themselves.
There have been, for several years now, individuals who troll Chloisers’ journals, leaving insulting and threatening comments that have prompted most Chloisers (even the ones who haven’t been attacked) to lock their journals and filter their entries so that only the people they know who share their opinions can read them. Since less people are publicly voicing their opinions it makes it seem that less people have them.
In March of 2008 there were a lot of Chlarkers posting on Kryptonsite. I wouldn’t say it was an example of perfect harmony, but there were more varied opinions expressed on the forum then there are now. I noticed in May of last year a tone switch on the board. More and more posters began to express intolerance towards opinions that were not theirs, specifically the opinions of Chlarkers and Chloisers. Personal attacks were made in the Chlois thread calling Chloisers delusional. The Chlark thread was trolled on a nightly basis. This was all compounded when the owner of the forum went into the Chlois thread and implied Chlarkers were to blame for him being banned from another forum. This set the precedence that it was okay to view all Chlarkers as mean, awful people and that they deserved all the incivility thrown at them. A year later and most everyone I know who used to post on K-site has abandoned it, leaving the impression that there aren’t many Chlarkers or Chloisers anymore.
On FanForum.net the mods allow posters to break forum rules (specifically, posting ship oriented art in the general art thread, which the rules clearly state is not allowed) if those posters are in favor of a particular ship. At the same time the mods threaten to ban those who don’t like that particular ship by sighting rules that are listed nowhere on the forums (not in the Smallville subforum or the general FF forums). This sends a clear message that people who are not in agreement with the mods’ favorite ship aren’t welcome on the forum. Those people leave the forum and, again, it appears that one ship is vastly more popular than the others.
Earlier this year one of the maintainers of smvl_icontest posted icons comparing Chloe fans to the KKK. (Interestingly, she didn’t post them on her comm. She posted them on one that isn’t modded.) It wasn’t until Fan Wank posted about the icons, ridiculing the maker and those who publicly supported her racism, that people who aren’t Chloe fans said anything against what she had done. Until then they were all quiet, letting the Chloe fans protest the racism and insults on their own and sitting idly by when the response was, “You deserve to be called this.”
I’m not immune to the Spiral of Silence. A few weeks ago on someone else’s journal I expressed concern that people who publicly show their support for Chlois at conventions might find themselves in altercations with other fans. I felt the pressure to keep quiet and even exerted some pressure for others to do the same.
I don’t mean to imply that the Spiral of Silence in SV fandom is all one sided. I think it probably happened to the Clana fans. As more and more people posted their dislike of Clana the Clana fans withdrew more and more, until it seemed like there were hardly any. Yet the ratings for Lana’s episodes this season (the only time Season 8 did better than Season 7) suggest otherwise.
And I think there’s most likely some Spiral of Silence in effect on TWoP, the only general forum left where Chlarkers and Chloisers haven’t been run off. Because it’s the one place Chlarkers and Chloiser feel comfortable voicing their opinions I think there can be a tendency to try to shout down those who don’t agree. The difference I see with TWoP is, because of the strict modding (sometimes bordering on oppressive), there are few personal attacks or attacks on fandom subgroups in general.
So what can be done to counteract the negative effects of the Spiral of Silence?
Another quote from Wikipedia
The theory explains a vocal minority by stating that people who are highly educated, or who have greater affluence, and the few other cavalier individuals who do not fear isolation, are likely to speak out regardless of public opinion. It further states that this minority is a necessary factor of change while the compliant majority is a necessary factor of stability, with both being a product of evolution.
We need to speak out, all of us, whether we’re Chlarkers, Chloisers, Clana fans, Clexers, Cloisers, Chimmy fans, etc. We need to allow differing opinions. We need to show each other respect even if the other person is a Chlarkers, Chloisers, Clana fans, Clexers, Cloisers, Chimmy fans, etc.
Let’s put ourselves in the vocal minority. Let’s pretend we’re highly educated or have greater affluence. Let’s act like we’re cavalier individuals who do not fear isolation. We can celebrate the things we love and debate the things we hate, but let’s let others do the same, even if they love the very thing we hate.