Comments | fangirljen: Fans and the People Who Love Them

fangirljen

Fans and the People Who Love Them

Feb 03, 2007 23:59

I was confronted by something kind of random today. My co-worker, Matt, drew me into a conversation about Fandom. It was he who brought it up, which simply astounded me. He started the conversation by saying, "Hey, Jen. I think you should write a book about fandom." This is an idea that I've tossled about with for a while, but at the moment I' ( Read more... )

fanning, fandom is love, doctor who, fans

Comments 20

claudiasharon February 4 2007, 10:57:44 UTC

Some people and fandom are scary and they do take it too seriously ( ... )

silver_x_cross February 4 2007, 11:22:50 UTC

I spend quite a large amount of my money on my fandoms (take Serenity/Firefly- I've spent quite a bit on buying orginal One Sheet posters, the DVD from various regions, books and autographs- probably doesn't add to much but for a student income! the BF has spent a fortune on his various Star Wars stuff over the years) It's my money, I earned it, and if I want to buy collectbles that may grow in value, that's my choice- I find people who try to disrespect other's choices really irritating ( ... )

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thirdblindmouse February 5 2007, 15:50:11 UTC

"Lady, if you ban fanfic, you've got no fandom."

What about meta? That's not to say I don't think banning fanfic is a stupid thing to do, since a lot of people really love the stuff, but meta is another very big part of fandom. I was in the Tolkien fandom for years before I realized that anyone wrote fanfic for it.

selmak February 4 2007, 12:53:40 UTC

Well, it really determines on the level of fandom, to be honest. I've only gone to two cons where I ONLY went because of the actors. (And since it was the first time Peter Jurasik was on the East Coast and a three hour drive, I plead guilty for being a crazy fan. The other time was for a Creation Con an hour away from my house with the stargate actors). The other cons I attend are mainly to meet with my online buddies and sometimes the actors are the icing on the cake ( ... )

so_out_of_ideas February 4 2007, 14:42:59 UTC

Personally, I don't look down on anyone. I do know some people take fandom more seriously than others, and I think it's fine. Whatever works for each of us, as long as no one is doing anything potentially dangerous.

In terms of what makes people become fans, I'd have to say that it differs from person to person like anything else. For me, fandom is usually an accident. I don't know if that makes sense. I don't go looking for new fandoms; if I happen across something (be it a tv show, movie, or musical group, although the third is rather rare these days) in which I see some element of myself, I pay closer attention, and usually that interest develops into fandom.

kitsunealyc February 4 2007, 15:08:10 UTC

There's some interesting academic work being done on fandom that you might be interested in. The most famous is Henry Jenkins' _Textual Poachers_. Jenkins is a fan himself and his fandom is what lead him to the study of fandom, so it's an insider/outsider approach (he's also done a follow up book called _Science Fiction Audiences: Star Trek, Doctor Who and their Audiences_). I have a whole bib of books and articles if you're interested ( ... )