Summer Olympics in Fiction, Top Moments, Watch Party Tips and Athlete Stories!
Fandom and the summer Olympics!
It’s July, and you know what that means: things are really heating up (and no, we don’t just mean in the kitchen as The Bear has returned to our TV screens for Season 3 or in…every scene of Bridgerton). No, no, no–we’re strictly talking about the weather and the best things to watch while escaping the heat (hint: if you need some Gilmore summer eps, find ‘em right here).
Coming off of a great Pride month, we’re launching right into summer for real. And this summer is extra special for the entire world. We’re going from rainbows to bronze, silver and gold! We are, of course, talking about the unifying fandom event that turns all of us into fanatics of sports (that we likely never watch otherwise) every four years: The summer Olympics! This July, we’ll be dedicating content here at rmrk*st Magazine to the fandom around this world event.
But before we do that, let’s take a look at what you might have missed in June: We kicked off Pride celebrations by putting together a list of some of the most iconic LGBTQ+ characters–and their stories–in television history. And speaking of characters, we know fans love fanfic and character shipping–and LGBTQ+ shipping is a huge subset of fanfic fandom.
If you’re still making those summer playlists, make sure to add these LGBTQ+ artists to your tunes rotations. Lip synching for your life to those warm weather tracks? You can thank drag: we explored how drag balls have influenced mainstream popular culture. And last but certainly not least, one of the best events of Pride Month was the Las Culturistas podcast’s Culture Awards–we were there and it was as spectacular as you’d think. Hosts of the podcast and the awards Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers have provided the perfect segue from Pride to the Olympics, as they have a new limited series podcast, Two Guys, Five Rings, where they’ll be talking about the intersection of the Olympics and pop culture. And that’s exactly what we’ll be doing here also in July!
We won’t be covering the games as they happen, rather we’ll be taking more of a pop culture/fandom approach to the Olympics. These global events galvanize enthusiasm worldwide, and for that reason they are often used as a backdrop to drive storytelling in fiction. For the real athletes, the stories we hear about their paths to the games get fans excited about rooting for them. We’ll take a look at moments from past games that united the world and resulted in pop culture moments that define generations. And of course, if hosting Olympic watch parties was a sport, we would be going for the gold! We’ll give you some great hosting ideas that will wow your friends and fam!
Below is our table of contents; check back here all month for updated links and some surprises. Don your country colors, get ready to cheer, and get excited to watch your favorite events as they happen in Paris, France! And let us know in the comments which Olympic sports you’re most excited about–we can’t wait to watch along with you! And as always, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and Tumblr, and find other fans like you in the forums on our Discord!
