Fan fiction and midrash: Making meaning

  • Rachel Barenblat ALEPH: the Alliance for Jewish Renewal
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2014.0596
Keywords: Fan community, Fan fiction, Judaism, Midrash, Religion, Torah

Abstract

Just as Jews interpret Torah through midrash (exegetical stories that explore and explain the text), fans interpret contemporary source texts through fan fiction, which functions just as midrash does to sustain community and enable members of that community to join the communal conversation.

Author Biography

Rachel Barenblat, ALEPH: the Alliance for Jewish Renewal
Rabbi Rachel Barenblat holds an MFA from Bennington and rabbinic ordination from ALEPH. She blogs as the Velveteen Rabbi.
Published
2014-09-15
Issue
Vol 17 (2014)
Section
Symposium
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