To boldly go: A hypermodern ethnography of 'Star Trek'(R) fans' culture and communities of consumption

The fan club, convention and virtual communities of Star Trek fans were studied in a 20-month situated ethnography in an effort to shed light on contemporary consumer behaviour. Star Trek fandom is construed to represent a normative North American consumer behaviour phenomenon, that of cultures and communities of consumption: communicating collectivities of consumption object enthusiasts. Cultures of consumption elicit consumptive identification and identity reconstruction. They also manifest imploding consumption webs. Communities of consumption offer a site for engaging in creative production, consumer resistance and consumer activism. These results enhance our understanding of the contemporary creation, superintendence and movement of consumption meanings, and suggest a life cycle model of culture of consumption membership.