Document Type
Article
Abstract
[First paragraph]
In the fifth season of the television series Supernatural, demon-hunting brothers Sam and Dean Winchester (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) investigate a haunted hotel. The episode, "The Real Ghostbusters," "features a dour legend, a graveyard, a hidden map, and an unfortunate tourist who is scalped by the ghosts of murdered children. Standard fare for this cult series, except that the hotel Sam and Dean are investigating is also hosting a Supernatural fan convention, complete with discussion panels (including The Homoerotic Subtext of Supernatural), live-action role-playing (LARPing, Supernatural merchandise, and elaborate character costumes. The episode demonstrates the varied and competing interpretations of the series among fans as well as the series producers, particularly regarding "Wincest": a non-canonical sexual and/or romantic relationship between the Winchester brothers that is one of the most popular genres of Supernatural fanworks.[1] As I will show, "Wincest" is the mobile signifier that defines the distinct branches of the Supernatural fan community and their complex relationships to each other. Supernatural is the first canon text of any kind to portray its fans and their fantasies directly, not a sly reference, but a dramatic and undeniable (if biased) full frontal. This series, and the unique fan culture that has developed around it, deserve critical attention for this unprecedented dialogue between source text [2] and fanworks.
Repository Citation
Long, Britt E.. "Wincest is the Best, or, Raep is What Happens When You Say No: Subversive Humor and Serious Business in Capslock Supernatural." Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture vol. 11, no. 4, 2011, pp. 1–7. https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/reconstruction/vol11/iss4/6