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

commodoresexual February 4 2007, 15:16:27 UTC

My first immediate thought to this was, 'well yes of course some people are more 'fannish' than other people. They can afford to do so. They make blah amount of money every year. They can afford to BE fangrrls.'

Then I sat back, and reviewed that, and thought, 'Well that's complete BS.'

So here's my take.

Fandom is based on not how much money you spend, but on how much time that you devote to it. Because quite frankly if I had the dough, YES I'd go to all the Stargate cons and buy my favorite movie posters, yaddayadda . I can't afford it, so I don't ( ... )

measkren February 4 2007, 17:46:08 UTC

You're not a real Doctor Who fan until you own a large remote control Dalek and remote control K-9 ( ... )

larissa_j February 4 2007, 18:41:09 UTC

I know my thesis: fandom is love.

*laughs* I must be a bit more jaded than you. My thesis would be: fandom is family.

Some you love and some you want to lock in a closet for daysdisown.

They suggested that she could use this money on helping people. Now really, the way she spends her money is her own darn business.

Exactly. Who are they to say that she hasn't already contributed enough money to worthy causes? In addition, people are entitled to get some enjoyment out of their paychecks; otherwise, what's the point of it all? Seriously, I would've defriended them all instantly.

But as long as enjoyment is had by the person who purchases the merchandise, and the person isn't harming herself or himself, why should it matter where the money goes?

I've spent a good amount of money on Who and Tennant merchandise as well and I really don't care if people think I'm nuts. I don't have anyone else to support. My bills are paid. It's my business. If people think I should be sending that money to charities, that's their problem and not ( ... )

autumndandelion February 4 2007, 18:48:18 UTC

To be the type of fan who gets really involved in fandom takes a certain kind of personality. I have friends at all levels. Some are fans who like this or that, but the fandom doesn't seep into all aspects of their lives; it's just something they enjoy. Some are more like me, who get obsessed and can't stop thinking about the fandom and write fics and buy merch and try to know everything there is about the fandom and make references to fandom when the opportunity arises - and even at random, when it really doesn't apply. This applies to TV show fandoms, music fandoms, and while less recognised as geeky although people can geek over it too, sports fandoms. Really, it's a personality difference ( ... )

foreverseenstar February 4 2007, 19:40:40 UTC

When it comes to fandom there is a very thin line between uber obsession, buying things, loving actors, characters, ships, whatever, and losing that reality grip. I don't look down on the folks in the former category because I think I'm one of them. Being so involved in something isn't just fun, but sometimes when the rest of life is beyond stressful, it's a nice escape to just fully enjoy and surround yourself with fandom stuff ( ... )