Fandom At The Crossroads: Celebration, Shame And the Fan/Producer Relationship

[cuddyclothes]

Ok, so it's about another fandom.  BUT it has so much to do with being a fan, writing fanfiction, being overly invested in the show, any fan can relate.

You will be amazed.

Comments

[srsly_yes]

Thank for the rec. I'm drooling. Sounds fascinating, but sixty dollars?! Why is the book so expensive? It seems self-defeating. The people who want to read it don't usually have that kind of spare change to invest in book about a show.

I watched Dark Angel after it was canceled and recommended on a podcast. The show didn't interest me until Ackles showed up. Oh mama! He looked like a young James Spader. :P So it was Doris's doing? I love that lady.

[nightdog_barks]

Why is the book so expensive?

Possibly because it's published by an "academic" press -- Cambridge Scholars Publishing, which, although they say they're not affiliated with the university, is billing itself as a scholarly outfit. Books published by university presses and academic organizations often cost an arm and a leg more than mainstream publications. :-)

[srsly_yes]

Thanks. Good catch. The price does resemble a textbook.

[nightdog_barks]

Plus it's a hardcover, which adds a whole 'nother level of priciness. :-D

I think you're exactly right -- it's priced like a textbook because that's the market they're aiming for.

[damigella_314]

These are the kind of books that make libraries such an awesome idea. Sixty dollars? No way. But fascinating it definitely is.

[stenveny]

Sounds interesting, but that title -- celebration I understand, but shame?

David Shore and the other PTB at House seem to have kind of a dysfunctional symbiosis going on with their fandom. Obviously they need the fans, and the fans depend on them. They do engage in fanservice from time to time, and lately they've been very graciously asking for fan input on the series, but GY, in particular, likes jerking the more obnoxious fans around, and DS has basically said that he's going to write what he's going to write regardless of the fans.

[cuddyclothes]

Many fanfiction writers feel shame about what they write and how they spend their time. Obsessive fans as well.

[stenveny]

I don't understand this. I know it's true, I just don't get why anyone should be embarrassed or guilty about spending their time producing something instead of sitting around inert as dirt in front of a tv screen, which is the way most people spend their free time. Why should anyone feel bad about knitting or making music or painting or gardening or whatever gives them (and others, if they share it) joy? It baffles me.

[cuddyclothes]

There are many fanfic/fanvid folks whose lives would be adversely affected if other no-fan friends and employers knew about it.