Presentation Schedule
K-Pop Demon Hunters as Global Remix Phenomenon: Narrative, Fandom, and Creative Networks in Transnational Popular Culture (102358)
Session Chair: Paul Newland
Monday, 11 May 2026 18:15
Session: Session 5
Room: Room G404 (4F)
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Since its streaming release on Netflix in June 2025, K-Pop Demon Hunters has been gathering fans around the world, and making a significant impact in the international popular culture scene. This animated feature blends presents a highly stylized and fictionalized version of K-pop stardom through the lens of demon-fighting girl group members. Fan responses to the film have been particularly of note, as its broader cultural and media universe also provides a rich narrative space that fans have been actively co-creating and expand upon. With example ranging from fanfiction to fan art, roleplay, re-imaginings, and digital remix culture, fans have engaged in world-building practices that extend beyond the official content of the film, contributing to decentralized creative outputs. These participatory practices not only reinforce fan identity and community but also challenge traditional producer-consumer boundaries. Platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook have served as nodes of collaboration and performance, where fans collectively write alternate storylines, design characters, and craft multimedia content. This paper will explore how such hybrid fan practices constitute a participatory “creative network,” characterized by collaborative authorship, genre blending, transmedia storytelling, and cultural hybridity. These networks not only generate new forms of storytelling but also reflect broader shifts in how audiences negotiate identity, power, and creativity in digital spaces. Ultimately, as K-pop also continues to cement its place on the global cultural stage, the K-Pop Demon Hunters fandom serves as a compelling case study for understanding participatory cultures in the era of transnational pop media.
Authors:
Lorna Piatti-Farnell, SAE Creative Media Institute Auckland, New Zealand
About the Presenter(s)
Professor Lorna Piatti-Farnell is Academic Dean at SAE Creative Media Institute in Auckland, New Zealand.
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