Afeto e estudo de fãs: uma análise acerca das percepções e hábitos dos fãs de Pokémon em Natal/RN

Abstract

This monograph aims to analyze the continuous way in which Pokémon establishes affection with its fans and how this translates into the consumption of its products. In the theoretical framework, we discuss the concept of Cultural Industry, starting from the ideas of Adorno and Horkheimer (1985; 2002), who provide a negative connotation to the notion of mass production. We then counterpose this notion with Edgar Morin's cultural ideas and also with the perspectives from English Cultural Studies. Another point of interest is to contemplate issues of taste, the very notion of what it means to be a fan (Jenkins, 2015), and the concept of nostalgia (Boym, 2017), given the significant continuity in the Pokémon franchise over more than three decades. To achieve this, structured surveys were conducted (Venturi, 2017), defining Pokémon fans from Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, as the subjects of the research. Through the answers to these questionnaires, we were able to observe the role of social networks in building the fan community, in addition to the influence of nostalgia on the emotional connection of this community with the Pokémon franchise.