The “Phan”-dom of the Opera: Gothic Fan Cultures and Intertextual Otherness

Abstract

The Phantom of the Opera , the 1986 musical, is a Gothic megahit with a global appeal. Having been performed to audiences around the world, the musical has inspired a multitude of “Phans” to extend the production’s central theme of obsession beyond the auditorium walls and into their intertextual fan practices. That said, such responses stem from a narrative which is ultimately about fandom itself (where the Phantom’s obsession with Christine causes him to haunt, and even murder, the occupants of a fictional Paris opera house). Drawing from musical theatre, popular culture, and fan studies, this chapter argues that there is a direct correlation between the content and presentation of The Phantom of the Opera and the type of fan response it tends to evoke. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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