Vacation in TV and Movies, Pop Culture Tourism, and Escapism Through Fandom
Our August content theme is for adventurers and armchair travelers!
How are you enjoying Brat Summer? (If you’re unsure what we mean, check out our predictions for the Song of the Summer, or just open up your TikTok; everyone from Stephen Colbert to the U.S. (bronze medalist!) Olympic rugby team is doing the “Apple” dance.) And speaking of the Olympics, we’re almost a week into the 2024 Paris games and living for all the excitement. From the athletes sailing down the Seine in the opening ceremonies and Celine Dion’s triumphant comeback to live performance to watching gold medalist swimmer Katie Ledecky beat her own best time from the last Olympics in Tokyo and of course cheering on the women’s U.S. gymnastics team led by Simone Biles and Suni Lee to Olympic gold–it’s already been a whirlwind.
Before we reveal our August theme here at rmrk*st, let’s take a trip (hint, hint) to look back at everything you might have missed this past July. In honor of the summer games in Paris, we dedicated our content to the Olympics, specifically the Olympics in fandom. The games are fantastic fodder for stories, as proven by the amount of movies and TV shows dedicated to Olympic stories both fictional and nonfictional.
Speaking of storytelling, the Olympics–the way we view them through athlete and team profiles and tales of training, trials, setbacks and redemption while we watch athletes achieve their dreams in real time–are so powerful because they mimic the way we consume fictional stories. We all remember significant moments in Olympic history that brought many viewers together, solidifying fandoms and propelling the sports forward. Of course, it’s better to be ready for those historic moments while competing for your own type of medal: the one where you win for hosting an epic Olympic watch party.
With the games in Paris and Tahiti (for surfing), it got us thinking about travel. Lots of it. It is summer after all, and what’s better than a summer vacation? So this August, we’ll be exploring vacation in fandom! Get ready for listicles on vacations in TV, books and movies, exploring how the concept of vacation makes a great setting for any kind of story. We’ll also look at pop culture and fandom tourism, a phenomenon where fans plan trips to places to visit the real life places they see in their favorite content or plan trips around specific fandom events (we’re looking at you, all of you who just got home from San Diego ComicCon…) And we’ll entertain the idea of fandom as a vacation from your busy life.
Below you’ll find our itinerary for the pieces we’ve got lined up! Check back here for updated links. And make sure to hit that subscribe button to receive our articles delivered straight to your inbox as they drop. Kinda like room service. 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!
Happy traveling!
From Resplendent Resorts to Beloved Beach Houses: Vacation Drama on TV Shows
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Summer Escapes on Screen: The Best Vacation Movies to Watch Year-Round
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Pop Culture Pilgrimages: Vacation in the Worlds of Your Favorite Stories
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Travel Through Pages: Your Next Read Is a Novel Set on Vacation
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Mental Getaways: How Escaping Into Fandom Feels Like Vacation Vibes
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