Snowflake Challenge - Day 12
Fandom Snowflake Day 12: In your own space, talk about what you think the future holds for fandom. What are your hopes and dreams for fandom? Do you have any predictions about what the next five years holds for fandom?
You know, I'm gonna tweak this question. Because I'm not sure I even know what it means. I'm only invested in fandom in the context of my fandom. To me, 'fandom' means being part of a community that analyzes and squees over a TV show (usually) and also creates/consumes/celebrates related fanworks.
I hope others will talk about fandom in general and what the future might bring, and the pros and cons of that. Changes in technology, the very concept of broadcast and cable TV and what the future holds there and how that affects fandom, the impact and future of social media...
But as my current passion moves through season 9, I am more contemplative about my future in fandom. By my definition, I think I've been active in fandom for 25 years or so. And I'm pretty much a serial monogamist; I may watch (and love) several shows at once, but I only get 'involved' in one at a time. And I remember very specifically when my first show, Quantum Leap, headed down its last season, I really wondered what I was going to do when it ended. I felt like I would never again hold any show that close to my heart. My feelings were more curiosity than panic, but there was already a wistful nostalgia for the days when I cared so much about a show.
Somehow, a show did replace it. One that engaged me to read and write fanfics and attend cons, and make music videos and dissect episodes. And then that ended, and I went through the same wistful process. For a while, I filled the gap in my heart with a passion for professional sports (that included collecting stuff and making music videos and traveling to be with like-minded fans). And then I dragged out a show from my childhood and got fannish about that. (Which is weird, when there are no new episodes to get excited about, you never have to worry about your fic getting Joss'd or Kripke'd, and when you go to a con where the actors are invited, you find they are 80 years old.)
But I did that, because I missed 'being a fan' and it gave me pleasure. And then along came Supernatural, and I fell in love with it, every bit as hard as my first love QL. I've never loved a show that ran so long, and I can see that I am in it for the long haul, but I think it will be at most a little over another year.
And then what?
I already find my interest in SPN *fic* waning. After 8 or 9 years, it's hard to find something new, or feel there is room left to explore. There is, but it's shrinknig fast. J2AU fic will, I think, still appeal to me, if the good writers keep writing it. But will they move on to something else when SPN is gone?
The question that occupies me (self-centered as I am), is where will I be in fandom in 5 years? I'm sure there will be shows I'll watch every week, but will there be just a wistful nostalgia for the days when I cared enough about something to want to explore it deeper by writing fic? Or will something take SPN's place in my fannish heart of hearts?
Anyone else feel like that?