In which I type about fandom.
This week I bumped directly into two radically different aspects of fandom, and that made me want to type about it.
quarryquest is writing an article on fandom and she asked me to sound off a bit because she wanted to chastise the Moffats of the world for stirring up the beast that is fandom by actively engaging with us. I found that an intriguing sort of idea, but I wasn’t able to immediately rattle off something intelligible and quotable. So below is basically my brainstorming on the point with a few bits cleaned up after the fact:
Well, part of the problem is that there are very definitely two different breeds of fan: fans of the show and fangirls of the show/actors. You and I certainly get all squeeful over Benedict, Martin, Mark, Rupert (take your pick) at certain times, but we're active in the fandom for deeper reasons than that; there are a lot of fangirls who aren't. I'm absolutely not saying that I'm in it only for intellectual reasons; I think Benedict is gorgeous too; he is a pretty, pretty man and I enjoy watching him on my television screen. I think he should be on it in nothing but a sheet a lot more often than he is. *pauses for thought* If I could send him back home whenever I liked and with no emotional fallout, I’d even appreciate it if he would, from time to time, come sit on my couch wrapped in a sheet.
What happened at the Gatiss event (and what happens a lot) is attention-seeking behaviour. There are a lot of fans who want to cause the people who are responsible for the show to acknowledge both fandom and themselves in particular. This is why they stand up and demand notice by asking about specific fandom things. "What do you think about all the slashy fic that's out there?" The subtext is, "I love writing slashy fic and I'd really love for you to acknowledge my work and maybe even let it slip that you've read it."
This can be embarrassing for some of us in the fandom who aren't doing it mainly for the recognition, mostly because of what follows after, which is finally getting to the actual point that you're trying to make. That the writers and actors communicating directly with the fans makes the fangirls/show/actors contingent go completely wild because of that recognition factor. Then we all look rather silly even though that wild reaction is only really coming from the top level of fandom. Beneath the surface the rest of us are calmly trying to decide if 'Rat' means not that we're going to get an adaptation of an ACD case which ACD never wrote, or if the clue is actually very clever (just like Sherlock) and we're going to get an adaptation of the ACD story in which that case is mentioned.
I then phrased this up a bit more snappily (and even managed to get in a snide mention of ‘Cumberbitch’ *shudders* because the moment Benedict was first told that word had been coined haunts me like it was Marley & Marley, Avarice and Greed) and sent it off. Happily, the end result made its other parent chuckle.
*And now for something completely different* Please insert here your favorite Python scene because I just cannot compete.
221b_hound recently used her stellar writing abilities in her story Stay to both help her sort out her own feelings about a friend’s attempted suicide and reach out to others in fandom who may find themselves in a similar position. The response has been overwhelming and thoroughly positive.
This, right here, is what fandom is at its very best. It is a safe place for us to come and share our talents as we take joy both in creating our own work and acknowledging the works of others. It is a place where we can love and support one another and make everyone’s day a little brighter even though we may never actually meet in person. It is a thoroughly wonderful place when at its best.
And now, because I enjoy second opinions (and fandom is a wonderful place), classy blue or kitchy green for the new bathroom? Blue is the smarter choice, but with green I get to have a matching hamper/bin/toilet brush set which gets to live either with me or has to go straight back to the set of Austin Powers.
Poll Help me decide.
quarryquest is writing an article on fandom and she asked me to sound off a bit because she wanted to chastise the Moffats of the world for stirring up the beast that is fandom by actively engaging with us. I found that an intriguing sort of idea, but I wasn’t able to immediately rattle off something intelligible and quotable. So below is basically my brainstorming on the point with a few bits cleaned up after the fact:
Well, part of the problem is that there are very definitely two different breeds of fan: fans of the show and fangirls of the show/actors. You and I certainly get all squeeful over Benedict, Martin, Mark, Rupert (take your pick) at certain times, but we're active in the fandom for deeper reasons than that; there are a lot of fangirls who aren't. I'm absolutely not saying that I'm in it only for intellectual reasons; I think Benedict is gorgeous too; he is a pretty, pretty man and I enjoy watching him on my television screen. I think he should be on it in nothing but a sheet a lot more often than he is. *pauses for thought* If I could send him back home whenever I liked and with no emotional fallout, I’d even appreciate it if he would, from time to time, come sit on my couch wrapped in a sheet.
What happened at the Gatiss event (and what happens a lot) is attention-seeking behaviour. There are a lot of fans who want to cause the people who are responsible for the show to acknowledge both fandom and themselves in particular. This is why they stand up and demand notice by asking about specific fandom things. "What do you think about all the slashy fic that's out there?" The subtext is, "I love writing slashy fic and I'd really love for you to acknowledge my work and maybe even let it slip that you've read it."
This can be embarrassing for some of us in the fandom who aren't doing it mainly for the recognition, mostly because of what follows after, which is finally getting to the actual point that you're trying to make. That the writers and actors communicating directly with the fans makes the fangirls/show/actors contingent go completely wild because of that recognition factor. Then we all look rather silly even though that wild reaction is only really coming from the top level of fandom. Beneath the surface the rest of us are calmly trying to decide if 'Rat' means not that we're going to get an adaptation of an ACD case which ACD never wrote, or if the clue is actually very clever (just like Sherlock) and we're going to get an adaptation of the ACD story in which that case is mentioned.
I then phrased this up a bit more snappily (and even managed to get in a snide mention of ‘Cumberbitch’ *shudders* because the moment Benedict was first told that word had been coined haunts me like it was Marley & Marley, Avarice and Greed) and sent it off. Happily, the end result made its other parent chuckle.
*And now for something completely different* Please insert here your favorite Python scene because I just cannot compete.
221b_hound recently used her stellar writing abilities in her story Stay to both help her sort out her own feelings about a friend’s attempted suicide and reach out to others in fandom who may find themselves in a similar position. The response has been overwhelming and thoroughly positive.
This, right here, is what fandom is at its very best. It is a safe place for us to come and share our talents as we take joy both in creating our own work and acknowledging the works of others. It is a place where we can love and support one another and make everyone’s day a little brighter even though we may never actually meet in person. It is a thoroughly wonderful place when at its best.
And now, because I enjoy second opinions (and fandom is a wonderful place), classy blue or kitchy green for the new bathroom? Blue is the smarter choice, but with green I get to have a matching hamper/bin/toilet brush set which gets to live either with me or has to go straight back to the set of Austin Powers.
Poll Help me decide.