I have discovered why I never see my fellow postgrad students on brandies on Wednesday nights (other than the fact that they have more sense and taste). Every Wednesday night, they have a research program meeting in Crewe, from whence I have just returned. It was quite interesting – all about research methodologies empiricism, the difference between qualitative and quantitative forms of enquiry. I usually find that stuff dry as hell, but tonight was rather cool.

I’m currently using an autoreflexive methodology. Now, I know what you lot are going to say, but the only way to deal with things like cinephilia and fandom is from the inside. Fans are neither lab rats, nor are they diseased. Also, we are all fans of something or other ourselves. Thus there is a movement, started by people like Henry Jenkins and matt hills, that says to deal with something like fandom, the researcher can do no better than look at ourselves. Of course, the guys from the more traditional sciences, and even the psychologists and sociologists have all pointed and laughed at us aartists, but I have no problem with either this, or the practice-asresearch which is currently all the rage in places like MMU. Objectivity is a myth anyway.