Fandom = France, or my cold/flu meds are doing a number on my brain
In thinking about fandom, like I do, I realize that fandom can be pretty bitchy and snobby, but is also a place full of really generous people.
To wit. (Or in my case, not so much with the wit).
We've all seen the super-amazing smackdowns by those in fandom over some bit of wankery or another, and so you could view fandom as this totally bitchy place, with popular girls and jocks and goths and yada yada, sort of like high school (but not MY high school, actually). However, I think of it more as a place full of snobs - in the good sense - a place full of people who have pretty high standards and are intelligent on a variety of levels. Not necessarily in the academic sense, although there are a lot of people here with high academic qualifications.
But it's also a place of amazing generosity, where people give and give and give again - freely, without asking anything in return. Except maybe comments. Yeah, we like comments.
So in my limited experience of French people, it's kind of like that. The French people I know are rather snobby, shockingly smart and strangely generous. They live large. They aren't as homophobic and and they're less macho (a guy can give another guy something, for instance, without it being some Big Gay Thing), and yet they don't give out false approval. If you annoy them, you'll know it. Like fandom.
The problem, of course, with blanket statements is that the blanket will by no means fall on everyone, and usually people don't like a blanket being thrown over them and they'll crawl out from under it and shake their fist at you for throwing it in the first place.
What started this? Er... The whole hanky-wanky thing with a big name real life author stating that she doesn't get fanfic and doesn't want anyone writing it with her characters. [Link goes to Fandom Wank and outlines the whole tragic tale]. I came across 'cause sheafrotherdon posted a pretty darn good post on it. Making me all WTF with 'dat?
I dunno, it all struck me as being kind of ungenerous with the fans. And this is during a time when fans are getting serviced on a fairly regular basis (by Joe and David, FOR ONE GLORIOUS EXAMPLE).
Also, if you watch SPN, you know what fanservice is, by GOD.
I guess I just don't get why people have to be stingy. And fandom is, as I said, a place of great generosity. Sharing and caring and stuff. Also, it's more fun that way, no?
To wit. (Or in my case, not so much with the wit).
We've all seen the super-amazing smackdowns by those in fandom over some bit of wankery or another, and so you could view fandom as this totally bitchy place, with popular girls and jocks and goths and yada yada, sort of like high school (but not MY high school, actually). However, I think of it more as a place full of snobs - in the good sense - a place full of people who have pretty high standards and are intelligent on a variety of levels. Not necessarily in the academic sense, although there are a lot of people here with high academic qualifications.
But it's also a place of amazing generosity, where people give and give and give again - freely, without asking anything in return. Except maybe comments. Yeah, we like comments.
So in my limited experience of French people, it's kind of like that. The French people I know are rather snobby, shockingly smart and strangely generous. They live large. They aren't as homophobic and and they're less macho (a guy can give another guy something, for instance, without it being some Big Gay Thing), and yet they don't give out false approval. If you annoy them, you'll know it. Like fandom.
The problem, of course, with blanket statements is that the blanket will by no means fall on everyone, and usually people don't like a blanket being thrown over them and they'll crawl out from under it and shake their fist at you for throwing it in the first place.
What started this? Er... The whole hanky-wanky thing with a big name real life author stating that she doesn't get fanfic and doesn't want anyone writing it with her characters. [Link goes to Fandom Wank and outlines the whole tragic tale]. I came across 'cause sheafrotherdon posted a pretty darn good post on it. Making me all WTF with 'dat?
I dunno, it all struck me as being kind of ungenerous with the fans. And this is during a time when fans are getting serviced on a fairly regular basis (by Joe and David, FOR ONE GLORIOUS EXAMPLE).
Also, if you watch SPN, you know what fanservice is, by GOD.
I guess I just don't get why people have to be stingy. And fandom is, as I said, a place of great generosity. Sharing and caring and stuff. Also, it's more fun that way, no?