Fans and the People Who Love Them
I was confronted by something kind of random today. My co-worker, Matt, drew me into a conversation about Fandom. It was he who brought it up, which simply astounded me. He started the conversation by saying, "Hey, Jen. I think you should write a book about fandom." This is an idea that I've tossled about with for a while, but at the moment I'
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Then I sat back, and reviewed that, and thought, 'Well that's complete BS.'
So here's my take.
Fandom is based on not how much money you spend, but on how much time that you devote to it. Because quite frankly if I had the dough, YES I'd go to all the Stargate cons and buy my favorite movie posters, yaddayadda . I can't afford it, so I don't.
However, I spend hours a week on TWoP talking about my shows - Supernatural, Ugly Betty, and Heroes. I write very long and involved fanfiction for Stargate and Pirates of the Carribean. I patiently wait at least half a day to download Doctor Who and Torchwood from places I will not mention. I've actually scheduled my two hours on Sunday night to always be free so I can watch Harry Dresden and BSG back to back.
At the same time, though, I go to work. I hang out with my friends. I take exercise. I read the news. I spend time on just being Wren. So I'm a fan, sure. But I don't devote the time to being a fangrrl.
Now, how do I feel about the people who get to spend all that money on fandom, not to mention the time? Kudos for them. I feel a little worried about people who can't seperate reality from fantasy, but that's not based on the dollar signs. That's based on how they talk about how they spent the money, or how they feel about the characters. Sure, you can indulge yourself by going to cons (David Nykl whee!), but if you also spend the time completely obsessing how you and David are going to be BFF forever afterwards? Yeah, that's taking it a step too far.
Take the time to love your fandom... but don't Lurve Your Fandom.
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