As one of the most famous cultural IP in the world, Harry Potter's business scope includes book publishing, film and television works, games, theme parks and other fields. Fan practice has brought great commercial value to Harry Potter to a certain extent. The form of fan practice is increasingly complex and diversified with the development of society, fans are producing texts in various virtual communities, text production conveys significant meanings for fans. The researcher has studied Harry Potter fans in Baidu post bar and found that fans generally engage in three types of text production in the virtual community, namely interpretation, appropriation (borrowing) and writing sequels to the original work, and each type has respective functions for fans. On the one hand, text production can help fans establish personal and social identities. On the other hand, through text production, fans can do re-imagination and parody, create a carnival atmosphere online, subvert routines and challenge authorities. Fan virtual communities are semi-closed sociological microcosms where fans can release emotional stress and get spiritual support. This article explicates fan text production from the perspective of communication, sociology and psychology, enhancing people’s understanding of fan practice and culture effectively.

Zhang Meng. Motivation and Significance of Fan Practice in the New Media Environment. International Journal of Frontiers in Sociology (2024), Vol. 6, Issue 9: 96-103. https://doi.org/10.25236/IJFS.2024.060915.

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