178: Every Now and Then, I Get a Little Bit Restless and I Dream of Something Meta
So, the question of the day is whether I will ever forgive seperis for posting a link to the video for Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart. I'm thinking I probably won't. If I ever see seperis in person, I will sniff haughtily and raise my chin and stride right on by. She will deserve it.
Because, see, the video somehow makes the song very sticky, and it's not so much that I mind going around singing "turn around bright eyes" under my breath - okay, wait. I do. I do mind. But I wouldn't be contemplating a permanent grudge just for that. No, but see, the video changes the meaning of virtually all the lyrics. So I'll sing to myself "I don't know what to do/I'm always in the dark/living on a powder keg and giving off sparks" and then I will have to interrupt myself to shriek, "MAYBE YOU SHOULD STOP FUCKING SCHOOLBOYS, THEN. That might be your problem!"
It was when I shrieked that this morning that I realized that a) I was driving, and thus visible to others as I went into my very emotional anti-schoolboy-fucking credo and b) I was on my way to a place where I would be interacting with others. Who might not understand my need to explain, at volume, that being a little bit nervous that the best of all your years have gone by is no excuse for fucking alien schoolboys with wings. (Seriously. This video is like a live action version of all the anime in the world. In five minutes. Except...not good. At all. Sort of the opposite of good, if you get my drift.)
So, no, I won't be forgiving seperis anytime soon. You may say I could just have not watched it, but you would be wrong, because she mentioned dancing ninjas when she linked. Everyone knows that your average person is helpless in the face of dancing ninjas. It's why ninjas dance! So obviously she's entirely to blame, and until I can stop sharing with strangers that, yes, falling apart tends to happen when you spend all your time exploiting underaged lads (and BIRDS - BIRDS!) with mind control powers, I will be holding a massive grudge. I fail to see how anyone could blame me for this.
Obviously, I need help. In an attempt to reclaim the video portion of my brain for better purposes (it's hard to see how there could be worse purposes, frankly), I have turned to vids. Where else? I initially considered doing a Vids That Traumatize set - it would fit in so nicely - but, sadly, those tend to render me unable to speak, never mind type. (I will never forgive Pouncer and Barkley for showing me footage from Xanadu, though. Not ever. The...costumes. The...roller skates. GENE KELLY ON ROLLER SKATES OMG.)
Instead, meta vids. These make me consistently happy, after all. And they make sense. And there aren't any dancing football players in just the shoulder pads without the jerseys. In short: meta vids win.
The One That Will Remind You That We're Living in the Avalanche Times. But We Still Have Each Other. (I'm Sorry! Meta Vids Make Me Really Emotional. Unless That's Bonnie Tyler's Influence.) Us, by lim.
Level of fandom knowledge required: 8.
But in this case, don't worry; if you're reading this LJ (and you're not my mother), you almost certainly know enough to appreciate this vid, because the knowledge you need is not about a fandom, or a part of fandom, but just media fandom itself.
And I say "media fandom" advisedly. When this vid came out, I was curious about how it would read to people outside our neck of fandom, so I asked some anime vidders to watch it and tell me what they got from it. I learned many things, some of them totally not relevant to the vid. (Like that anime vidders will always go to the critique place, always; they talk about technique first and content second, which shows you that they're like us but not us.) And I learned that people outside our community can, in fact, get something from this vid. (It was interesting to see what they did get, and what they didn't. If you ever have a handful of anime vidders and you don't know what to do with them, I recommend the experiment.) But they didn't get most of what's in there, not nearly. Which means this is a vid by one of us that's just for us.
Why? Well, partly because you need to be able to recognize what fandom is, and what our particular kind of fandom does: we borrow pieces from the things we love and turn them into new works of art. And partly because you need to be able to recognize the big fannish moments from the sources here. And partly because this is about being a fan: about the struggles we have with them - the people who aren't us.
The One That Proves That What We All Want Is Rupert Giles. Locked in Our Basement. I Put You There, by laurashapiro and Lithium Doll, aka halcyon-shift. (Password required for download; available without a password in streaming video on IMEEM. At least, I hope it's still there; I can't actually check, because IMEEM hates me, so if you follow this link and it works, will you let me know?)
Level of fandom knowledge required: 2.
Because, seriously, all you need to know is that we love our characters a lot, and we...do stuff to do them sometimes, take control sometimes. Because we can. (And also because of love. Let's not forget that.) This is the classic fangirl story, set to music. With drawings that pretty much represent all of us, and show all the things we do to the people we love: Obsessively collect stuff about them! Chase them! Kiss them! Insert ourselves into their stories! Hate their girlfriends! Lock them up and hit them over the head with heavy objects! (...What? Don't even try to tell me you're above hurt/comfort. I saw you with that angsty epic bookmark you think no one knows you have. Your shame is known to me.)
And this is all set to music, I might add, that is so perfect for this vid that I was astonished to learn that it isn't about fandom, or at least that it wasn't written about fandom. I still listen to it and can't believe it: you mean this isn't about a fangirl? But, but, but - how do you explain that line about real life? And, look, we do put you there! (You, of course, being Rupert Giles. Or, okay, I hear people sometimes like other characters. Whatever.) Us! But, of course, we don't have a monopoly on this kind of love.
That's why this is the perfect meta vid to show outsiders, in fact. Everyone can understand this much of fandom, because, well, nearly everyone who consumes fiction has done this. (At least, I assume they have. If they haven't, they are strangers to me.)
The One That Always Makes Me Deeply Happy to See Lemons. I Mean, Not That I Don't Love Lemons Anyway, but These Are Lemons of Significance. Without Me, by mamoru22.
Level of fandom knowledge required: 2 or 6.
Basically, for me this vid is the other side of I Put You There. This is the actor's side: "I've created a monster" must be pretty close to an accurate transcription of their thoughts sometimes. Particularly at cons.
The actor in this case is David Hewlett, and the monster is Rodney McKay, which is curiously appropriate. (He's a monster in some ways. But he's lovable! And he's ours. Aaaaand, oh my god, I just made Rodney McKay sound like a monster from Monsters, Inc., which image will haunt me to my grave, especially since Best Beloved and makesmewannadie tormented me this weekend with Sulley/Mike slash. Seriously, don't ever watch an innocent movie with those two; you'll never be the same again.)
The dual level of knowledge is because to get the basics of this vid, you just have to know that there's actor, and there's character, and there's fans. And sometimes there's a complex relationship between the three. But I love so much that this vid throws in another layer: it's also about SGA fandom. See those penguins? Those lemons? Those are our controversies! Those are part of what we bring to the picture! And I just love that.
But to get the add-in cookie bonuses, you really do need to know the fandom; I watched this initially with Best Beloved, who totally got the David Hewlett/Rodney McKay (not a pairing OMG no no noooooo) part of it, and loved the vid, but failed to understand why I squeaked and laughed and just generally acted insanely joyful at, for example, the postcards. (Fandom, how are you so awesome? No, really, how?) So this vid is perfect for any person who can recognize Rodney McKay, but it rewards a close familiarity with SGA fandom. In other words, it's for nearly all viewers!
The One That Will Remind You Why You Big Pink Line Fandom. I Love Fandom, by barkley.
Level of fandom knowledge required: 5.
This isn't technically a fannish vid, in the sense that it contains only footage Barkley shot herself (as far as I know). And it's set to a song by Chicago, a song that will never, ever make any favorites list compiled by me. (Although I'll tell you what: it effortlessly displaces Total Eclipse of the Heart. My only worry now is that I'll end up singing a hideous mash-up of the two, and then I will have to be confined for my own good.) But of all the vids in my meta folder, this is the one that makes me sniffle emotionally every single time I watch it. Barkley and destina were right; this is indeed the fannish theme song, and here it's set to perfect fannish footage: the computer, the assorted media, the books, the DVDs, the alcohol, the chocolate, the tea. (Also a random clip of something that I believe is called the "outdoors." Ignore that part.)
And, of course, there's footage of musesfool's love meme. If you somehow missed it, it's here, and I still look at it from time to time, just because it makes me so happy. But I look at this vid even more.
This is the perfect insider meta vid. (So perfect I actually harassed Barkley to make it available again. Vidders, let this be a lesson to you: hide your email addresses, because otherwise, I will totally come for you.) I'm sure it'd be meaningless to outsiders (though I haven't actually checked this, as with Us). But for me - oh, fandom. You're just the part of me I can't let go. *sniffle*
Because, see, the video somehow makes the song very sticky, and it's not so much that I mind going around singing "turn around bright eyes" under my breath - okay, wait. I do. I do mind. But I wouldn't be contemplating a permanent grudge just for that. No, but see, the video changes the meaning of virtually all the lyrics. So I'll sing to myself "I don't know what to do/I'm always in the dark/living on a powder keg and giving off sparks" and then I will have to interrupt myself to shriek, "MAYBE YOU SHOULD STOP FUCKING SCHOOLBOYS, THEN. That might be your problem!"
It was when I shrieked that this morning that I realized that a) I was driving, and thus visible to others as I went into my very emotional anti-schoolboy-fucking credo and b) I was on my way to a place where I would be interacting with others. Who might not understand my need to explain, at volume, that being a little bit nervous that the best of all your years have gone by is no excuse for fucking alien schoolboys with wings. (Seriously. This video is like a live action version of all the anime in the world. In five minutes. Except...not good. At all. Sort of the opposite of good, if you get my drift.)
So, no, I won't be forgiving seperis anytime soon. You may say I could just have not watched it, but you would be wrong, because she mentioned dancing ninjas when she linked. Everyone knows that your average person is helpless in the face of dancing ninjas. It's why ninjas dance! So obviously she's entirely to blame, and until I can stop sharing with strangers that, yes, falling apart tends to happen when you spend all your time exploiting underaged lads (and BIRDS - BIRDS!) with mind control powers, I will be holding a massive grudge. I fail to see how anyone could blame me for this.
Obviously, I need help. In an attempt to reclaim the video portion of my brain for better purposes (it's hard to see how there could be worse purposes, frankly), I have turned to vids. Where else? I initially considered doing a Vids That Traumatize set - it would fit in so nicely - but, sadly, those tend to render me unable to speak, never mind type. (I will never forgive Pouncer and Barkley for showing me footage from Xanadu, though. Not ever. The...costumes. The...roller skates. GENE KELLY ON ROLLER SKATES OMG.)
Instead, meta vids. These make me consistently happy, after all. And they make sense. And there aren't any dancing football players in just the shoulder pads without the jerseys. In short: meta vids win.
The One That Will Remind You That We're Living in the Avalanche Times. But We Still Have Each Other. (I'm Sorry! Meta Vids Make Me Really Emotional. Unless That's Bonnie Tyler's Influence.) Us, by lim.
Level of fandom knowledge required: 8.
But in this case, don't worry; if you're reading this LJ (and you're not my mother), you almost certainly know enough to appreciate this vid, because the knowledge you need is not about a fandom, or a part of fandom, but just media fandom itself.
And I say "media fandom" advisedly. When this vid came out, I was curious about how it would read to people outside our neck of fandom, so I asked some anime vidders to watch it and tell me what they got from it. I learned many things, some of them totally not relevant to the vid. (Like that anime vidders will always go to the critique place, always; they talk about technique first and content second, which shows you that they're like us but not us.) And I learned that people outside our community can, in fact, get something from this vid. (It was interesting to see what they did get, and what they didn't. If you ever have a handful of anime vidders and you don't know what to do with them, I recommend the experiment.) But they didn't get most of what's in there, not nearly. Which means this is a vid by one of us that's just for us.
Why? Well, partly because you need to be able to recognize what fandom is, and what our particular kind of fandom does: we borrow pieces from the things we love and turn them into new works of art. And partly because you need to be able to recognize the big fannish moments from the sources here. And partly because this is about being a fan: about the struggles we have with them - the people who aren't us.
The One That Proves That What We All Want Is Rupert Giles. Locked in Our Basement. I Put You There, by laurashapiro and Lithium Doll, aka halcyon-shift. (Password required for download; available without a password in streaming video on IMEEM. At least, I hope it's still there; I can't actually check, because IMEEM hates me, so if you follow this link and it works, will you let me know?)
Level of fandom knowledge required: 2.
Because, seriously, all you need to know is that we love our characters a lot, and we...do stuff to do them sometimes, take control sometimes. Because we can. (And also because of love. Let's not forget that.) This is the classic fangirl story, set to music. With drawings that pretty much represent all of us, and show all the things we do to the people we love: Obsessively collect stuff about them! Chase them! Kiss them! Insert ourselves into their stories! Hate their girlfriends! Lock them up and hit them over the head with heavy objects! (...What? Don't even try to tell me you're above hurt/comfort. I saw you with that angsty epic bookmark you think no one knows you have. Your shame is known to me.)
And this is all set to music, I might add, that is so perfect for this vid that I was astonished to learn that it isn't about fandom, or at least that it wasn't written about fandom. I still listen to it and can't believe it: you mean this isn't about a fangirl? But, but, but - how do you explain that line about real life? And, look, we do put you there! (You, of course, being Rupert Giles. Or, okay, I hear people sometimes like other characters. Whatever.) Us! But, of course, we don't have a monopoly on this kind of love.
That's why this is the perfect meta vid to show outsiders, in fact. Everyone can understand this much of fandom, because, well, nearly everyone who consumes fiction has done this. (At least, I assume they have. If they haven't, they are strangers to me.)
The One That Always Makes Me Deeply Happy to See Lemons. I Mean, Not That I Don't Love Lemons Anyway, but These Are Lemons of Significance. Without Me, by mamoru22.
Level of fandom knowledge required: 2 or 6.
Basically, for me this vid is the other side of I Put You There. This is the actor's side: "I've created a monster" must be pretty close to an accurate transcription of their thoughts sometimes. Particularly at cons.
The actor in this case is David Hewlett, and the monster is Rodney McKay, which is curiously appropriate. (He's a monster in some ways. But he's lovable! And he's ours. Aaaaand, oh my god, I just made Rodney McKay sound like a monster from Monsters, Inc., which image will haunt me to my grave, especially since Best Beloved and makesmewannadie tormented me this weekend with Sulley/Mike slash. Seriously, don't ever watch an innocent movie with those two; you'll never be the same again.)
The dual level of knowledge is because to get the basics of this vid, you just have to know that there's actor, and there's character, and there's fans. And sometimes there's a complex relationship between the three. But I love so much that this vid throws in another layer: it's also about SGA fandom. See those penguins? Those lemons? Those are our controversies! Those are part of what we bring to the picture! And I just love that.
But to get the add-in cookie bonuses, you really do need to know the fandom; I watched this initially with Best Beloved, who totally got the David Hewlett/Rodney McKay (not a pairing OMG no no noooooo) part of it, and loved the vid, but failed to understand why I squeaked and laughed and just generally acted insanely joyful at, for example, the postcards. (Fandom, how are you so awesome? No, really, how?) So this vid is perfect for any person who can recognize Rodney McKay, but it rewards a close familiarity with SGA fandom. In other words, it's for nearly all viewers!
The One That Will Remind You Why You Big Pink Line Fandom. I Love Fandom, by barkley.
Level of fandom knowledge required: 5.
This isn't technically a fannish vid, in the sense that it contains only footage Barkley shot herself (as far as I know). And it's set to a song by Chicago, a song that will never, ever make any favorites list compiled by me. (Although I'll tell you what: it effortlessly displaces Total Eclipse of the Heart. My only worry now is that I'll end up singing a hideous mash-up of the two, and then I will have to be confined for my own good.) But of all the vids in my meta folder, this is the one that makes me sniffle emotionally every single time I watch it. Barkley and destina were right; this is indeed the fannish theme song, and here it's set to perfect fannish footage: the computer, the assorted media, the books, the DVDs, the alcohol, the chocolate, the tea. (Also a random clip of something that I believe is called the "outdoors." Ignore that part.)
And, of course, there's footage of musesfool's love meme. If you somehow missed it, it's here, and I still look at it from time to time, just because it makes me so happy. But I look at this vid even more.
This is the perfect insider meta vid. (So perfect I actually harassed Barkley to make it available again. Vidders, let this be a lesson to you: hide your email addresses, because otherwise, I will totally come for you.) I'm sure it'd be meaningless to outsiders (though I haven't actually checked this, as with Us). But for me - oh, fandom. You're just the part of me I can't let go. *sniffle*