(no subject)
Comment to this entry and I'll pick up to three of your fandoms. You must then update your journal and answer the following questions:
1. What got you into this fandom in the first place?
2. Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
3. Favorite episodes/books/movies, etc?
4. Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)?
5. Do you think more people should get into this fandom?
lielabell tagged me with Hayao Miyazaki, House of Leaves, and Newsies, so here we go!
1. What got you into this fandom in the first place?
As I recall, my uncle had been bothering me for some time to watch Spirited Away. At the time I sketched every second that I could, on whatever surface was available, and was very serious about my art, and so my uncle (who is a professional wildlife photographer) told me about this show that had beautiful art. I had been hearing about it online for some time, and so I got it from the library one night.
2. Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
I don't think it's possible to move on from this fandom. How can beauty and sensitivity get old?
3. Favorite episodes/books/movies, etc?
Mononoke Hime, hands down. It is exactly the sort of story I love. I don't think I love it more if I tried. On the other hand, My Neighbor Totoro is such a pick-me-up, and since we moved into our new house (with the extensive lands and the huge trees), I always think of that show.
4. Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)?
Eh, no. Miyazaki's work is so poignant, and of such high quality, that in fanfiction one is continually tempted to compare the fanwork with the original, and I've yet to find one that can rise to the challenge. There's generally not much to discuss--Miyazaki's works are not mysterious, although they do tend to leave things unspoken. And with graphics, the problem is the same as with fanfiction. It's hard to match up to the original animation.
5. Do you think more people should get into this fandom?
I honestly think the world would be a much better place if everyone learned to love Miyazaki's films.
1. What got you into this fandom in the first place?
The book was on the staff picks shelf in the library, it looked interesting, I picked it up.
2. Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
I think I'll always be a fan of the book, certainly. I also think I'll always be a fan of the author, Mark Z. Danielewski. Will I always be obsessed with it? No. It'll wax and wane, but that doesn't bother me.
3. Favorite episodes/books/movies, etc?
It's only one book, so... Favorite scene? I loved how he suddenly departed from all the stories and spent a chapter talking about echoes. You're like, "What the hell? Get back to the story!" And then in the next chapter, some of it actually came into use, because you realized (from what was said in the previous chapter) that the echoes the character was hearing just weren't possible, and that made what could have been an inconsequential detail incredibly chilling. It was masterfully done. My favorite thing from the book, though, was just the labyrinthine structure of the book itself. Secret messages, footnotes upon footnotes upon footnotes (several of which were just random names), the whole chapter where the text is upside down and sideways and only a few words to a page. (I copied that layout style in my notebooks for some time.)
4. Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)?
Is there a HoL fandom? Really? I mean, I know there's discussion boards where people try to figure out what the hell the book is supposed to be about, and where they try to find all the secret codes in the book. (There was a section where he kept spelling things out in morse code--long word, short word, or long sentence short sentence--"SO?" "BUTTONS". As in "so what?" "sew buttons", a pun which wasn't creepy to me at all until I saw Coraline!) Anyway, while I read the discussion boards at times, and with great interest, I don't really participate. I just don't have enough time on my hands for that.
5. Do you think more people should get into this fandom?
I'm indifferent. I don't think anyone else needs to be in this fandom. On the other hand, it's cool if people read the book.
Bonus answer:
Because none of those questions really addressed why I like this book so much, I shall explain here. Reading this book had enormous impacts for me. It taught me to like horror, to question the traditional ways that books are written, it re-introduced me to steganography and the concept of storytelling in which there is far more under the surface than you can immediately see (a mindset which has been helpful every time I venture into the book of Revelations). Furthermore, it introduced me to the work of Jorge Luis Borges, who was a big influence on House of Leaves, and who is now one of my all-time favorite authors.
1. What got you into this fandom in the first place?
Actually, the fandom got me into the fandom. :) Technically I'd seen the movie like fifty times before I even started liking it. Now before you all mob me, let me explain: We used to always watch it in middle-school choir when there was something going on and the teacher couldn't teach us. We would have to write a little paper analyzing the singing styles of each of the main characters. And while the songs are fun, the singers are far from professional, so when you're watching the show for nothing but the singing... well, it falls kind of flat. I maintain that this introduction to the show is partly responsible for Spot being my favorite character; a) He's memorable enough that you know who he is and remember his name even when you're paying more attention to your book than the show, and b) he doesn't sing. XD Anyway, it was finding the fandom that made me really start to like the show, since before that point it had never actually occurred to me to watch it for the characters. Still, I wouldn't have bothered if the fandom hadn't been so impossibly awesome. *luvs you all*
2. Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
I do tend to switch fandoms a lot. I'll get bored, or overstressed, or something like that, and I'll just drift away. (That was the reason for my like six month hiatus from the Refuge boards, actually.) So yes, I'll probably do that, because I do that with every fandom that I'm actually involved in. On the other hand, I think I'll always come back to it, because Newsies has something special. First of all, it has what all my absolute favorite fandoms have: characters that I can think of as real people, the kind you'd meet on the street or in your math class. (Young Wizards, Digimon, and YuGiOh all have this in their favor as well.) You wouldn't think it, but that's a rare and wonderful thing. Second, it has the world's best community! How could I not keep coming back when there's so many awesome people to come back to?
3. Favorite episodes/books/movies, etc?
Again, only one movie, so... Uh, favorite scene? The one where David just did his awesome hijacking of the carriage and stealing Jack from the evil clutches of Snyder and Mr. Pulitzer (if anyone says David cannot be hardcore, let this stand as a testimony--that scene always gives me MacGyver!David plot bunnies), and they run frantically down the alley and then Jack's like 'no, we can't do this!', and David's like 'sure we can, what're you talking about?', and all that. The angsty slashiness of that scene cannot be denied.
4. Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)?
Yuuus, or at least I try. :)
5. Do you think more people should get into this fandom?
Yes! Yes, yes, yes! That is, if it didn't mess up the awesomeness of the community.
So there you are. :)
1. What got you into this fandom in the first place?
2. Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
3. Favorite episodes/books/movies, etc?
4. Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)?
5. Do you think more people should get into this fandom?
lielabell tagged me with Hayao Miyazaki, House of Leaves, and Newsies, so here we go!
1. What got you into this fandom in the first place?
As I recall, my uncle had been bothering me for some time to watch Spirited Away. At the time I sketched every second that I could, on whatever surface was available, and was very serious about my art, and so my uncle (who is a professional wildlife photographer) told me about this show that had beautiful art. I had been hearing about it online for some time, and so I got it from the library one night.
2. Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
I don't think it's possible to move on from this fandom. How can beauty and sensitivity get old?
3. Favorite episodes/books/movies, etc?
Mononoke Hime, hands down. It is exactly the sort of story I love. I don't think I love it more if I tried. On the other hand, My Neighbor Totoro is such a pick-me-up, and since we moved into our new house (with the extensive lands and the huge trees), I always think of that show.
4. Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)?
Eh, no. Miyazaki's work is so poignant, and of such high quality, that in fanfiction one is continually tempted to compare the fanwork with the original, and I've yet to find one that can rise to the challenge. There's generally not much to discuss--Miyazaki's works are not mysterious, although they do tend to leave things unspoken. And with graphics, the problem is the same as with fanfiction. It's hard to match up to the original animation.
5. Do you think more people should get into this fandom?
I honestly think the world would be a much better place if everyone learned to love Miyazaki's films.
1. What got you into this fandom in the first place?
The book was on the staff picks shelf in the library, it looked interesting, I picked it up.
2. Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
I think I'll always be a fan of the book, certainly. I also think I'll always be a fan of the author, Mark Z. Danielewski. Will I always be obsessed with it? No. It'll wax and wane, but that doesn't bother me.
3. Favorite episodes/books/movies, etc?
It's only one book, so... Favorite scene? I loved how he suddenly departed from all the stories and spent a chapter talking about echoes. You're like, "What the hell? Get back to the story!" And then in the next chapter, some of it actually came into use, because you realized (from what was said in the previous chapter) that the echoes the character was hearing just weren't possible, and that made what could have been an inconsequential detail incredibly chilling. It was masterfully done. My favorite thing from the book, though, was just the labyrinthine structure of the book itself. Secret messages, footnotes upon footnotes upon footnotes (several of which were just random names), the whole chapter where the text is upside down and sideways and only a few words to a page. (I copied that layout style in my notebooks for some time.)
4. Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)?
Is there a HoL fandom? Really? I mean, I know there's discussion boards where people try to figure out what the hell the book is supposed to be about, and where they try to find all the secret codes in the book. (There was a section where he kept spelling things out in morse code--long word, short word, or long sentence short sentence--"SO?" "BUTTONS". As in "so what?" "sew buttons", a pun which wasn't creepy to me at all until I saw Coraline!) Anyway, while I read the discussion boards at times, and with great interest, I don't really participate. I just don't have enough time on my hands for that.
5. Do you think more people should get into this fandom?
I'm indifferent. I don't think anyone else needs to be in this fandom. On the other hand, it's cool if people read the book.
Bonus answer:
Because none of those questions really addressed why I like this book so much, I shall explain here. Reading this book had enormous impacts for me. It taught me to like horror, to question the traditional ways that books are written, it re-introduced me to steganography and the concept of storytelling in which there is far more under the surface than you can immediately see (a mindset which has been helpful every time I venture into the book of Revelations). Furthermore, it introduced me to the work of Jorge Luis Borges, who was a big influence on House of Leaves, and who is now one of my all-time favorite authors.
1. What got you into this fandom in the first place?
Actually, the fandom got me into the fandom. :) Technically I'd seen the movie like fifty times before I even started liking it. Now before you all mob me, let me explain: We used to always watch it in middle-school choir when there was something going on and the teacher couldn't teach us. We would have to write a little paper analyzing the singing styles of each of the main characters. And while the songs are fun, the singers are far from professional, so when you're watching the show for nothing but the singing... well, it falls kind of flat. I maintain that this introduction to the show is partly responsible for Spot being my favorite character; a) He's memorable enough that you know who he is and remember his name even when you're paying more attention to your book than the show, and b) he doesn't sing. XD Anyway, it was finding the fandom that made me really start to like the show, since before that point it had never actually occurred to me to watch it for the characters. Still, I wouldn't have bothered if the fandom hadn't been so impossibly awesome. *luvs you all*
2. Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
I do tend to switch fandoms a lot. I'll get bored, or overstressed, or something like that, and I'll just drift away. (That was the reason for my like six month hiatus from the Refuge boards, actually.) So yes, I'll probably do that, because I do that with every fandom that I'm actually involved in. On the other hand, I think I'll always come back to it, because Newsies has something special. First of all, it has what all my absolute favorite fandoms have: characters that I can think of as real people, the kind you'd meet on the street or in your math class. (Young Wizards, Digimon, and YuGiOh all have this in their favor as well.) You wouldn't think it, but that's a rare and wonderful thing. Second, it has the world's best community! How could I not keep coming back when there's so many awesome people to come back to?
3. Favorite episodes/books/movies, etc?
Again, only one movie, so... Uh, favorite scene? The one where David just did his awesome hijacking of the carriage and stealing Jack from the evil clutches of Snyder and Mr. Pulitzer (if anyone says David cannot be hardcore, let this stand as a testimony--that scene always gives me MacGyver!David plot bunnies), and they run frantically down the alley and then Jack's like 'no, we can't do this!', and David's like 'sure we can, what're you talking about?', and all that. The angsty slashiness of that scene cannot be denied.
4. Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)?
Yuuus, or at least I try. :)
5. Do you think more people should get into this fandom?
Yes! Yes, yes, yes! That is, if it didn't mess up the awesomeness of the community.
So there you are. :)