From consumption to meaning:

how fans consume Star Trek in

Brazil
Msc. Franciani Fernandes, Galvo, Universidade Estadual de Maring, Brasil,
francianigalvao@gmail.com
Luciano, Mota, Universidade Estadual de Maring, Brasil,
lucianomota_@hotmail.com
Dra. Olga Maria Coutinho, Ppece, Universidade Estadual de Maring, Brasil,
opepece@gmail.com
 Introduction
Fan culture or fan subculture refers to members belonging to a
particular group with likes and predilections of fiction and fantasy
products and texts, engaging in productive activities that result in
the creation of new 'texts' (events, books, discussions, drawings,
movies, etc.) of object consumption (Kozinets, 1997).

Research with a focus on fans and fandoms has expanded, revealing

important cultural character in societies that study contemporary
social behavior.

We seek to investigate how the meaning of consumption related to

Star Trek is given by the group of editors of the site Trek Brasilis,
with the application of the theory Metaphors of Consumption of
Holt (1995).
 Star Trek
Space science fiction series that deals with the social and political
disputes of peoples of planet earth and of several other planets 300
years ahead of this time, in a future where mankind is survivor and
triumphs under adversity (PARAMOUNT BRASIL, 2016).
Idealized by writer George Clayton Johnson (pilot project)
later written by Gene Roddenberry for television in the United States
Star Trek (1966-1969) - TOS
Star Trek Animated (1973-1974)
Star Trek: The next generation (1987-1994) - TNG
Star Trek: Deep Space nine (1993-1999) DS9
Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)
Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)
Star Trek: Discovery (2017...)
13 movies since 1979
 Star Trek
Star Trek is one of the great consumer phenomena, the most successful and lucrative
Cult phenomenon in the history of television (Kozinets, 2001), is the central figure in
American culture since the 1960s, crosses cultural boundaries and has a highly
complex fan culture (Frazetti, 2011).

One of the main icons of pop culture of the twentieth

century.
Redefines the conceptions of technology in many areas.
The trekkie subculture, are fans of the "Star Trek system"
or "Star Trek Universe" (Kozinets, 2001), because it is a
group that surpasses other fandoms of pop culture in
terms of depth and breadth of official and not official
creations (Frazetti, 2011).
Metaphors of Consumption of Holt
The metaphors identify the 'integration' by which
consumers improve the perception of a consume object as
a constituent element of their identity, and facilitates the
symbolic use of this object or group of objects.

Portray how consumers buy

Conceived by Douglas Holt (1995), describes 4 areas of

research, is divided in:
Consumption as experience
Consumption as integration
Consumption as classification
Consumption as play
 Metaphors of Consumption of Holt
Consumption as Experience: contemplates the subjective of the consumer,
emotional reactions to the consumption of objects, encompassing a sociological
view of consuming as an experience, which presents various consumption practices
where emotional states are incorporated.

Consumption as Integration: describes how consumers acquire and manipulate the

meanings of objects, since consumers can integrate themselves and the object,
allowing access to the object's symbolic properties, including the institutional
dimension.

Consumption as Classification: has consumption as a process in which objects,

which are seen as vessels of cultural and personal significance, act to classify their
consumers , with the possession and social display of the object consumed.

Consumption as Participation or Play: is the consume of objects as resources to

interact with fellow consumers and not through interaction with the object alone.
 METHOD

Qualitative research - descriptive character

Basic Theory: Metaphor of consumption of Holt's (1995)
Research: adapted from Kozinets (1997) questionnaire.
Data collection: application of self-filled digital questionnaire and interview
by Phone with five editors of the site, from 20 open questions
Star Trek site in Brazil: Trekbrasilis (dedicated to the Star Trek phenomenon
in Portuguese)
Analysis: Content analysis from Bardin (2006), to emphasize the
categorizations found

Kozinets, Robert V. (1997). TO BOLDLY Go: A Hypermodern Ethnographyof Star Trek @ Fins' Culture and Communities of
Consumption. Thesis submitted to The Scbool of Business in conformity with the requirements for the degree of a Doctor of
Philosophy Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, July.
 Results

The results point out fans

Age between 36 and 55

Men
Married
Family income of more than 10 minimum wages
Full undergraduate and specialization
Professions: Journalism, Systems Analysis, Judicial
Analysis and Engineering.
 Products
We need to compreend who and how they consume Star Trek.
 Results

Consumption as experience

This metaphor demonstrate the emotional reactions to the consumption of

objects and products related to the Star Trek theme. This metaphor was
perceived before the question of the experience of consumption, its
process from the identification of the necessity of the product, process of
choice, decision and motivation.

The entire experience of ST consumption occurs online

How they feel when making the purchase: satisfaction (all), joy, luck,
delayed reward and inevitability, looking for positive rewards with the
purchase.
 Results

Consumption as classification
See consumers and how they would be classified by objects when
they use, share meanings associated with an object of consumption
to classify themselves or others (Holt, 1995, p.10).

Some respondents do not recognize themselves as the source of

information, but rather the site on which they write.
Among them there is no differentiation and no impetus for
competitive purchase of products, they have friendly relationship.
Communicating digitally to talk about other subjects and not
specifically about Star Trek and buying process, which ends up
being sporadic.
 Results

Consumption as integration
The metaphor describes how consumers acquire and manipulate the
meanings of objects by integrating with the object (Holt, 1995)

The perception of the integration between fans and site allows the
representation of the fan as product, or representative of the
product, both among them and with the fans that look for them.

This metaphor can be observed in the relationship with Paramount,

because fans are necessarily part of this universe, feeling
depreciated by the distributor.
 Results

Consumption as play

The entire process of immersion in defense of the Star Trek

System can be seen as such, but is best observed when
consumption is effected.

The taste for the games in the series reflects the need for
immersion in the fictional universe, as well as associating
with something that is preferred to do, can associate the
experience of immersion in the universe of the series during
games or talk. The sensation would be the similarity of having
the same emotion of the characters and sensation of
immersion in stories.
 Metaphors of Consumption: Star Trek
Brazilian fans

Purpose of Action
Autotelic actions Instrumental Actions
Structure of Action

Action Objects Consumption as Experience: Consumption as integration:

Online shopping; Purchase that representatives of Star Trek by
gives positive satisfaction Trek Brasilis

Interpersonal Consumption as play: seek Consumption as classification:

action immersion in the Star Trek Trek brasilis is the reference;
Universe Group without internal
distinction
 Conclusion

This research contributes to a better understanding of the behavior of new

fan consumption subcultures, since the entertainment industry has grown
exponentially in recent years.

We know that the consumption of the Star Trek universe, is not only an end in
itself, but a form of expression of the identity of the fan, apprehended like
philosophy of life that goes beyond the own consumption of the products.

"Star Trek's philosophy is more than a merchandise",

Robert Kozinets
Star Trek is our way of living!
 Thank you!
Gracias!
Obrigada!

Live Long and prosper

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