WARNING: Long post ahead
I just realized that it has been some time since my last LJ post, so you've been forewarned that this will end up being a looooong post (use of LJ cuts employed where necessary, though). I've been crazy busy with work-- it's like all of our university's faculty have decided that they MUST get a news release written about their latest event, study, class, etc. and it has to go out ASAP. Not to mention other end-of-the-year work-related stuff (updating lists and getting our year-end clip report together) and, oh yeah, grad school!
As far as grad school goes, the first semester is almost over! Just two more weeks and then finals. I do have a paper that I've been researching for some time-- it's supposed to be a test-drive on my master's thesis and I've been reading a lot about active audiences, my topic of choice. Active audience research is pretty much focused on fandoms, which is why I find it interesting, especially the research done on fanfic writers and fanartists.
The weirdest thing about my research right now is seeing how fandom is studied, i.e., how does someone go from being a casual fan-- catching the latest episode or volume of the story, or reviewing something on their blog-- to becoming more than that-- to the point of creating fanart, fanfic, or graphics, or cosplaying? What compels a person to want to create a new form of media or dress up like a favorite character? I find myself and my friends put under the microscope and, I reluctantly admit, find it discomforting in some ways. Maybe it's the dry academic way of looking at things, or how some writers write about it from afar.
The essays that I find least bothersome, of course, are written by those that are already active in fandom in one way or another, like those compiled in Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet. The book was edited by two friends who happen to be college professors and fanfic writers. It's an interesting read and not too academic, either. I found the essay on the role of beta readers compelling, especially since I've been doing more of that (for both roshully and pasifik) than writing my own stuff lately. I just wonder, what makes people cross that threshold? Is it the value of the media itself, or the pre-existing mind-set of the consumer?
So, knowing that many of my LJ friends are involved in fandom-related activities, I had a few academic-minded questions (that I follow up with my own answers, so feel free to treat this as a meme and use it in your journal, or answer in the comments section):
1) Why did you get involved in your first fandom? I thought the cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender was cool and started looking up communities online. Then, I discovered fanfic-- my gateway drug to getting more involved in the fandom (Thanks to pasifik no less!).
2) What do you create for your fandom? Nothing recently! XD But I did write some well-received fanfic and currently beta read for a couple of other fanfic writers in two different fandoms.
3) To what do you attribute your current interest in creating something new based on your fandom, i.e., have you always been interested in fandom-related activities, or was it the compelling story (or lack thereof) that got you involved? For me, the story was compelling, but I felt like there could be something more, I guess. So, I started writing...
4) Do you find yourself creating works for your own pleasure or for others? I started writing because it made me happy and helped me de-stress, but, I admit, I do like positive reviews as much as the next person.
5) How do you feel the Internet has affected your involvement? It's affected it immensely! Without the Interwebz, I probably would never have clued into fandom communities to begin with, nor would I have continued stories that were just ideas-- they simply would have languished in my mind or in a notebook somewhere.
Anyway, I'm insanely thankful that my first semester of grad school is nearly at an end and am happily looking forward to winter break. Speaking of being thankful, I decided to compile a little list that I'm dubbing:
Top Five Fangirlish Things to be Thankful For in 2007 (in no particular order):
1) The long-awaited third volume of Dramacon! After being introduced to this series by beyondthemoor earlier this year (Thanks again, Moor!), I find myself impatiently waiting for the last volume in this three-part series by Svetlana Chmakova, aka svetlania. The art is top-notch, the story sweet and funny, and, at times, intelligent and conversational about fandom-related topics. I've read the preview chapter available on Tokyopop (just click the above link) and love this little pic, so I know there's no room for disappointment. :D
2) The first-ever manga adaptation of Vampire Hunter D. D has been a long-time favorite of mine and I'm excited to see the story get the manga treatment. While I have some reservations based on this article, I liked what I saw in the Otaku USA preview printed a little while back. I'm waiting for it to pop up in the mail as we speak...
3) My fav TV shows finally getting back to the plot! Yes, I'm looking at you Heroes and Avatar: The Last Airbender! Both of these shows were GREAT last season and were withering on the vine so far this season. Yet, both seemingly have gotten back to "the magic" these past couple of weeks and will soon be drawing to a close-- Heroes because of the WGA strike, evidently they're re-shooting the Dec. 3 episode as a season finale; and Avatar: The Last Airbender is supposed to be using this season as the last "chapter on the story of Aang." I'm excited to see how both shows tie up the loose ends as they get closer to the end of current storylines-- I'm expecting some belly laughs, fast-paced action, and some tear-jerking moments.
4) Rediscovering comic books and finding manga-- I read tons of comics as a kid, fell in love with anime in high school, and only recently found manga. Sure, I've read comic books sporadically for years, but I found the "stuck in time" format of some comics or the never-ending superhero-oriented storylines of others tedious and unexciting. Enter manga earlier this year-- where there are (what seem like) a million different genres, compelling characters, and storylines that ACTUALLY end! And I've found a few other online comic books that I've grown to love, like Last Blood and Jason Thompson's The Stiff (notice any themes? XD). So, yeah, I'm wasting gobs of money on comics and have the reputation of the "comic book girl" again, but I'm happy. :P
5) Lastly, all the loads of fun I've had on LJ this year! I've found some great friends that I'm dying to meet in real life (San Diego Comic-Con 2008 anyone?), found a topic of research for my master's thesis that I actually CARE about, and helped myself imagine a worklife outside of public relations that I can be happy with...
Speaking of newfound manga addiction-- I finally got my copy of Manga: The Complete Guide! It took a few weeks to get it mailed, but I did pay less than $12 for it, so who am I to complain?
The book is a veritable smörgåsbord of manga goodness-- it covers EVERYTHING in English EVER, including the good, the bad, and the plain ol' ugly. The reviews were balanced and I was happy to find that all of the series I've been following were nicely reviewed. I also liked how the essays on genres broke up the monotony of the reviews. The reviews themselves were insightful and entertaining (or as entertaining as a couple of paragraphs of prose can be) and well worth the aforementioned $12. Hell, I would've paid twice as much in retrospect...
So, what could a girl not like about this book? Well, it's mostly a technical issue for me-- being an editor and all-- but I didn't like the layout at times. Those great articles broke up reviews in mid-stream, creating a major disconnect for the reader and making me flip many pages forward to find the rest of said review. Also, review headings were broken by page breaks, something that could be easily remedied by placing some art somewhere or beefing up a couple of reviews with a sentence or two...I also would have liked to see more art, but I understand the inherent issues in getting a publisher's (or artist's) okay to use their graphics.
Anyway, these are tiny, itsy-bitsy issues that probably won't concern the casual reader. Of course, this will prove an indispensable guide to what to read next, especially if you're on the fence about a series, but are unable to preview it in some fashion (like me and Nodame Cantabile, which didn't come off too favorable in its review). And thankfully, Del Rey and Thompson et. al will be updating with new reviews on this page. Simply put, go out and buy this book!
In conclusion, life is good and is about to get better! Hope all my American friends had a great Thanksgiving and that everyone enjoys the upcoming holiday season and that you get everything your otaku-, nerd-, or geek-oriented heart desires!
As far as grad school goes, the first semester is almost over! Just two more weeks and then finals. I do have a paper that I've been researching for some time-- it's supposed to be a test-drive on my master's thesis and I've been reading a lot about active audiences, my topic of choice. Active audience research is pretty much focused on fandoms, which is why I find it interesting, especially the research done on fanfic writers and fanartists.
The weirdest thing about my research right now is seeing how fandom is studied, i.e., how does someone go from being a casual fan-- catching the latest episode or volume of the story, or reviewing something on their blog-- to becoming more than that-- to the point of creating fanart, fanfic, or graphics, or cosplaying? What compels a person to want to create a new form of media or dress up like a favorite character? I find myself and my friends put under the microscope and, I reluctantly admit, find it discomforting in some ways. Maybe it's the dry academic way of looking at things, or how some writers write about it from afar.
The essays that I find least bothersome, of course, are written by those that are already active in fandom in one way or another, like those compiled in Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet. The book was edited by two friends who happen to be college professors and fanfic writers. It's an interesting read and not too academic, either. I found the essay on the role of beta readers compelling, especially since I've been doing more of that (for both roshully and pasifik) than writing my own stuff lately. I just wonder, what makes people cross that threshold? Is it the value of the media itself, or the pre-existing mind-set of the consumer?
So, knowing that many of my LJ friends are involved in fandom-related activities, I had a few academic-minded questions (that I follow up with my own answers, so feel free to treat this as a meme and use it in your journal, or answer in the comments section):
1) Why did you get involved in your first fandom? I thought the cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender was cool and started looking up communities online. Then, I discovered fanfic-- my gateway drug to getting more involved in the fandom (Thanks to pasifik no less!).
2) What do you create for your fandom? Nothing recently! XD But I did write some well-received fanfic and currently beta read for a couple of other fanfic writers in two different fandoms.
3) To what do you attribute your current interest in creating something new based on your fandom, i.e., have you always been interested in fandom-related activities, or was it the compelling story (or lack thereof) that got you involved? For me, the story was compelling, but I felt like there could be something more, I guess. So, I started writing...
4) Do you find yourself creating works for your own pleasure or for others? I started writing because it made me happy and helped me de-stress, but, I admit, I do like positive reviews as much as the next person.
5) How do you feel the Internet has affected your involvement? It's affected it immensely! Without the Interwebz, I probably would never have clued into fandom communities to begin with, nor would I have continued stories that were just ideas-- they simply would have languished in my mind or in a notebook somewhere.
Anyway, I'm insanely thankful that my first semester of grad school is nearly at an end and am happily looking forward to winter break. Speaking of being thankful, I decided to compile a little list that I'm dubbing:
Top Five Fangirlish Things to be Thankful For in 2007 (in no particular order):
1) The long-awaited third volume of Dramacon! After being introduced to this series by beyondthemoor earlier this year (Thanks again, Moor!), I find myself impatiently waiting for the last volume in this three-part series by Svetlana Chmakova, aka svetlania. The art is top-notch, the story sweet and funny, and, at times, intelligent and conversational about fandom-related topics. I've read the preview chapter available on Tokyopop (just click the above link) and love this little pic, so I know there's no room for disappointment. :D
2) The first-ever manga adaptation of Vampire Hunter D. D has been a long-time favorite of mine and I'm excited to see the story get the manga treatment. While I have some reservations based on this article, I liked what I saw in the Otaku USA preview printed a little while back. I'm waiting for it to pop up in the mail as we speak...
3) My fav TV shows finally getting back to the plot! Yes, I'm looking at you Heroes and Avatar: The Last Airbender! Both of these shows were GREAT last season and were withering on the vine so far this season. Yet, both seemingly have gotten back to "the magic" these past couple of weeks and will soon be drawing to a close-- Heroes because of the WGA strike, evidently they're re-shooting the Dec. 3 episode as a season finale; and Avatar: The Last Airbender is supposed to be using this season as the last "chapter on the story of Aang." I'm excited to see how both shows tie up the loose ends as they get closer to the end of current storylines-- I'm expecting some belly laughs, fast-paced action, and some tear-jerking moments.
4) Rediscovering comic books and finding manga-- I read tons of comics as a kid, fell in love with anime in high school, and only recently found manga. Sure, I've read comic books sporadically for years, but I found the "stuck in time" format of some comics or the never-ending superhero-oriented storylines of others tedious and unexciting. Enter manga earlier this year-- where there are (what seem like) a million different genres, compelling characters, and storylines that ACTUALLY end! And I've found a few other online comic books that I've grown to love, like Last Blood and Jason Thompson's The Stiff (notice any themes? XD). So, yeah, I'm wasting gobs of money on comics and have the reputation of the "comic book girl" again, but I'm happy. :P
5) Lastly, all the loads of fun I've had on LJ this year! I've found some great friends that I'm dying to meet in real life (San Diego Comic-Con 2008 anyone?), found a topic of research for my master's thesis that I actually CARE about, and helped myself imagine a worklife outside of public relations that I can be happy with...
Speaking of newfound manga addiction-- I finally got my copy of Manga: The Complete Guide! It took a few weeks to get it mailed, but I did pay less than $12 for it, so who am I to complain?
The book is a veritable smörgåsbord of manga goodness-- it covers EVERYTHING in English EVER, including the good, the bad, and the plain ol' ugly. The reviews were balanced and I was happy to find that all of the series I've been following were nicely reviewed. I also liked how the essays on genres broke up the monotony of the reviews. The reviews themselves were insightful and entertaining (or as entertaining as a couple of paragraphs of prose can be) and well worth the aforementioned $12. Hell, I would've paid twice as much in retrospect...
So, what could a girl not like about this book? Well, it's mostly a technical issue for me-- being an editor and all-- but I didn't like the layout at times. Those great articles broke up reviews in mid-stream, creating a major disconnect for the reader and making me flip many pages forward to find the rest of said review. Also, review headings were broken by page breaks, something that could be easily remedied by placing some art somewhere or beefing up a couple of reviews with a sentence or two...I also would have liked to see more art, but I understand the inherent issues in getting a publisher's (or artist's) okay to use their graphics.
Anyway, these are tiny, itsy-bitsy issues that probably won't concern the casual reader. Of course, this will prove an indispensable guide to what to read next, especially if you're on the fence about a series, but are unable to preview it in some fashion (like me and Nodame Cantabile, which didn't come off too favorable in its review). And thankfully, Del Rey and Thompson et. al will be updating with new reviews on this page. Simply put, go out and buy this book!
In conclusion, life is good and is about to get better! Hope all my American friends had a great Thanksgiving and that everyone enjoys the upcoming holiday season and that you get everything your otaku-, nerd-, or geek-oriented heart desires!