The current issue of Intensities: the Journal of Cult Media includes an article about the particular forms taken by amateur web authors in the electronic archiving of “Video Nasty-themed web sites� and the social meaning of such archives. This is particularly interesting because it explores the ways in which fans of a marginal genre (‘Video Nasties’ includes cult and horror films created in the 1980s and beyond which were censored by the 1959 Obscene Publications Act) organise and archive information electronically and how new forms of archives are adopted by various fandoms and subcultures. Further, the article argues that the archival nature of these fan sites serves to re-enforce the gendered identity of the creator within the subcultural context. The author, Kate Egan , discusses at length the writing of Jim Collins, whose work revolves around the concept of the “popular archivist�. Also, thankfully, the article refrains from blindly supporting the argument that the archiving or organisation of information is an inherently masculine trait.
An interesting view of the social dimensions of informal archival creation in the very least.
Update: 04/02 07:31 EST by B: URL fixed
404 message
Liked the look of the site, but the link brought up a 404 not found error.