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Imagined communities of fandom: sport, spectatorship, meaning and alienation in late capitalism

Publication ,  Journal Article
Kalman-Lamb, N
Published in: Sport in Society
January 1, 2021

This article accounts for the allure of sports spectatorship in late capitalism by theorizing spectatorial communities as imagined communities. Building on the work of Benedict Anderson and others, and drawing on discourse around fandom in popular culture and the media, it argues that imagined communities of fandom function as sites of meaning and community within the alienating and individualist context of late capitalism. These communities are invented and continuously rehearsed through fetish spectacle and ritualistic practice and produce Manichean understandings of social relations that can lead to marginalization and violence.

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Published In

Sport in Society

DOI

ISSN

1743-0437

Publication Date

January 1, 2021

Volume

24

Issue

6

Start / End Page

922 / 936

Related Subject Headings

  • Sport, Leisure & Tourism
  • 4702 Cultural studies
  • 4207 Sports science and exercise
  • 1608 Sociology
  • 1504 Commercial Services
  • 1106 Human Movement and Sports Sciences
 

Citation

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Kalman-Lamb, N. (2021). Imagined communities of fandom: sport, spectatorship, meaning and alienation in late capitalism. Sport in Society, 24(6), 922–936. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2020.1720656
Kalman-Lamb, N. “Imagined communities of fandom: sport, spectatorship, meaning and alienation in late capitalism.” Sport in Society 24, no. 6 (January 1, 2021): 922–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2020.1720656.
Kalman-Lamb, N. “Imagined communities of fandom: sport, spectatorship, meaning and alienation in late capitalism.” Sport in Society, vol. 24, no. 6, Jan. 2021, pp. 922–36. Scopus, doi:10.1080/17430437.2020.1720656.
Journal cover image

Published In

Sport in Society

DOI

ISSN

1743-0437

Publication Date

January 1, 2021

Volume

24

Issue

6

Start / End Page

922 / 936

Related Subject Headings

  • Sport, Leisure & Tourism
  • 4702 Cultural studies
  • 4207 Sports science and exercise
  • 1608 Sociology
  • 1504 Commercial Services
  • 1106 Human Movement and Sports Sciences