Topics in Fandom: a Historical Fenella Survey
So I've got this thing where I've been getting this fandom version of intellectual snobbery, in which I put down my 26 year old self's interests. I've been thinking about this a lot - because, hey, like the things you like - and found some dots that I hadn't previously connected.
The fandom that got me into fandom (fan forums, reading and writing fanfiction, livejournal, hoarding photos that could pass as obscure characters for iconing purposes) was Tamora Pierce's Tortall verse. I'm very grateful that I spent a number of years in that fandom, learning how to write, becoming sensitive to a myriad of topics I'd never even considered, and in general becoming a more thoughtful human being. Present day me thinks, "Hey, for a 14 (?) year old girl, a fandom created around Lady Knights and their coming of age adventures wasn't a bad place to be!"
After Tamora Pierce, I flitted around, reading and writing in a few fandoms, but never landing in one that stuck or made me as cannon-detail-obsessed. Recently had a "thing" with the Merlin fandom, but it didn't really last because one of the actors is basically Boy Me, and it made me incredibly twitchy sitting through any single episode of the actual show, let alone the more angsty ones.
But then I found One Direction, which is the first fandom since I went to the internet, not sure what I was looking to find (and typed into the Yahoo! search bar some variation of "Alanna of Trebond and Jonathan of Conte END UP TOGETHER FOREVER AND EVER, RIGHT?????"), that makes me go YES! YES! YES!
AND THEN I started to get this non-committal guilt because, really Fenella, teenage boybanders who rocketed to fame before they even grew into their bubblegum pop??? (The guilt never stays, because ONE DIRECTION IS AWESOME). How far have my interests fallen, I would think with a bit of uneasiness*.
The thing is though, here is my interpretation of the three fandom narratives above:
1) Alanna of Trebond - she is forced to hide who she really is (female), over a number of years, to achieve her career goals. She makes a lot of friends while doing so.
2) Merlin - he is forced to hide who he really is (magic), over a number of years, to fulfill his goals. He makes friends, and one really compelling friendship in particular, while doing so.
3) One Direction - 2 of the 5 boys are forced to hide who they really are (young gay men in a relationship), over a number of years, to achieve certain career goals. There are five young men in really compelling friendships.
What does it mean, other than the fact that I imprinted at an early age on "FRIENDS" (re: compelling friendships, and where is the secret identity story line in that TV show anyways)??? Did 1) predispose me to go looking for 2) and 3), or make me more likely to latch on to this particular story trope?
I am still thinking all of this through. It does make me want to cut myself a lot of slack, though, with respect to fandom snobbery. And whatever, self, LOUIS TOMLINSON IS GOING TO STEAL HIS FRIENDS SOME LIVE ANIMALS FOR CHRISTMAS.
* Partially because I spent a lot of years earning a very expensive music degree. This has never prevented me from loving good and trashy music alike in every genre imaginable. It just makes me more self-aware of whichever Robbie Williams song I happen to be belting out while I dance around my room**.
** Robbie Williams... wow, I guess I really was pre-dispositioned to love One Direction. I spent the bulk of my summer between 1st and 2nd year university listening to "Intensive Care" on repeat on my discman. Internet, the things that I admit to you. You know all (all? maybe not) of my secret shame.
The fandom that got me into fandom (fan forums, reading and writing fanfiction, livejournal, hoarding photos that could pass as obscure characters for iconing purposes) was Tamora Pierce's Tortall verse. I'm very grateful that I spent a number of years in that fandom, learning how to write, becoming sensitive to a myriad of topics I'd never even considered, and in general becoming a more thoughtful human being. Present day me thinks, "Hey, for a 14 (?) year old girl, a fandom created around Lady Knights and their coming of age adventures wasn't a bad place to be!"
After Tamora Pierce, I flitted around, reading and writing in a few fandoms, but never landing in one that stuck or made me as cannon-detail-obsessed. Recently had a "thing" with the Merlin fandom, but it didn't really last because one of the actors is basically Boy Me, and it made me incredibly twitchy sitting through any single episode of the actual show, let alone the more angsty ones.
But then I found One Direction, which is the first fandom since I went to the internet, not sure what I was looking to find (and typed into the Yahoo! search bar some variation of "Alanna of Trebond and Jonathan of Conte END UP TOGETHER FOREVER AND EVER, RIGHT?????"), that makes me go YES! YES! YES!
AND THEN I started to get this non-committal guilt because, really Fenella, teenage boybanders who rocketed to fame before they even grew into their bubblegum pop??? (The guilt never stays, because ONE DIRECTION IS AWESOME). How far have my interests fallen, I would think with a bit of uneasiness*.
The thing is though, here is my interpretation of the three fandom narratives above:
1) Alanna of Trebond - she is forced to hide who she really is (female), over a number of years, to achieve her career goals. She makes a lot of friends while doing so.
2) Merlin - he is forced to hide who he really is (magic), over a number of years, to fulfill his goals. He makes friends, and one really compelling friendship in particular, while doing so.
3) One Direction - 2 of the 5 boys are forced to hide who they really are (young gay men in a relationship), over a number of years, to achieve certain career goals. There are five young men in really compelling friendships.
What does it mean, other than the fact that I imprinted at an early age on "FRIENDS" (re: compelling friendships, and where is the secret identity story line in that TV show anyways)??? Did 1) predispose me to go looking for 2) and 3), or make me more likely to latch on to this particular story trope?
I am still thinking all of this through. It does make me want to cut myself a lot of slack, though, with respect to fandom snobbery. And whatever, self, LOUIS TOMLINSON IS GOING TO STEAL HIS FRIENDS SOME LIVE ANIMALS FOR CHRISTMAS.
* Partially because I spent a lot of years earning a very expensive music degree. This has never prevented me from loving good and trashy music alike in every genre imaginable. It just makes me more self-aware of whichever Robbie Williams song I happen to be belting out while I dance around my room**.
** Robbie Williams... wow, I guess I really was pre-dispositioned to love One Direction. I spent the bulk of my summer between 1st and 2nd year university listening to "Intensive Care" on repeat on my discman. Internet, the things that I admit to you. You know all (all? maybe not) of my secret shame.