MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

The perception of death, or more specifically, the study of the related question of bereavement and mourning, can be difficult to address with traditional scientific inquiry. Researchers face multiple practical and moral problems ranging from the distress caused by answering questions about the death of a loved one to the unreliability of emotions induced by theoretical scenarios. Popular culture can provide interesting material regarding the perception of death. Thanks to parasociality, fans reactions to celebrity’s death have provided interesting insights. However, reactions extend beyond celebrities, and can be found in fan communities after the death of fictional characters. Of particular interest are series such as Games of Thrones which combine very large audience – hence large fan communities – with very high rate of mortality amongst show’s characters. Using popular culture-derived online fan communities for research purpose presents a few advantages making it a powerful tool that should not be neglected.