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Were you so saddened by the death of Ianto Jones in 2009's Torchwood: Children of Earth that it almost felt like you'd lost someone close to you?
Or did you see the online reaction and hear about his Memorial Wall in Cardiff and wonder, "Where the HECK is this coming from?"
Racheline Maltese, scholar and fan, wondered the same things about how people relate to stories in her paper, "Tangible Reality of Absence: Fan Communities and Mourning Fictional Characters," presented last July and now available online. I invited Racheline to talk about what it means to be an "enchanted believer" who reacts to a story as strongly as if it were a real-world event, and why Ianto was mourned by fandom but Owen and Tosh weren't.
Finally got around to listening to this last night, Chip. Great interview! It provided a lot of clarity for me in terms of the "enchanted Believer" crowd. I didn't understand it and was part of the judge-y set who didn't get why people were so upset for so long. Having this sort of context really helps.
Thank you!
Fascinating stuff. I was in attendance at the panel on character deaths referred to during the podcast and was also struck by the intensity of some of the reactions to Ianto's death, several months after the broacast of Children of Earth.
I'll definitely follow the link to read Racheline's paper. Thank you for both the interview and the link.