What is Fandom?

[ptyx]

This interesting poll on bethbethbeth's LJ showed me that there are many different definitions of "being in fandon" and "being mono-fannish or multi-fannish".

For me, being in fandom has to do with actively searching for fanfiction. That's why I say I entered fandom about 4 years ago. I had read fanfiction before that: my friend morgan_d used to show me her (and tekalynn's)

Comments

[nakeisha]

When I did my Masters Degree dissertation on Media Fandom, I looked at the whole 'what is fandom' thing, and went into it in some depth.

At the time I summed up the 'what is a fan' by saying:

Being a media fan means being involved; it means caring, becoming passionate and viewing on a different level: there is an intellectual and emotional involvement. The media fan will see beyond the physical manifestation on the screen. There is commitment and the texts become ‘real’. When a person finds themselves not only watching the show, seeking out like-minded people, buying fan produced products, (or producing their own), reading stories etc. but also thinking about the characters and how they would react in a particular situation (e.g. how would Bodie, tough man of CI5, really react if his partner Doyle, also a tough CI5 Agent, was killed?) that is when they know they are a fan.I also acknowledged later in the thesis that it is possible to be a fan and have no involvement at all with other people, and it is. However, the interaction with

[ptyx]

I agree with this definition, and with the importance of the interaction. Although I defined my entering in fandom by my searching of fanfiction, even now, when I'm not reading fanfiction, I still feel part of fandom exactly because of the interaction part (and also because I'm still writing fanfiction, of course). I really liked your definition!

[nakeisha]

Thank you very much.

I also think that really ultimately it's how we each define what it is to us that matters. As long as we are comfortable in our definition for ourselves, that is what is important.

[ptyx]

Oh, I can't agree more!

[hambares]

(But interaction is, of course, one of the most important elements of fandom.) -- For me it is almost everything that is important about fandom! I have really enjoyed the meeting people part.

[ptyx]

I agree. But there are many people who just read the fics, and there are even some authors who write and post but don't talk to their readers. They are also part of fandom, and that's why I don't think interaction is necessary for someone to feel part of fandom.

[go_back_chief]

I think it's possible to be a fan of something and not "be in the fandom" at all. All it takes to be a fan, after all, is to be overly invested in the source material

[ptyx]

I think it's possible to be a fan of something and not "be in the fandom" at all. All it takes to be a fan, after all, is to be overly invested in the source material.

I totally agree. Otherwise, I'd have to say I've been in fandom since I was born, hee hee. Because when I was a child I already had my fave books and songs!

I'd say lurkers are members of the fandom, after all, they're just not "active" members.

Agreed.

Before I knew what fandom was, I was still a fan of many things -Elf Quest, Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Stephen Sondheim, but I wasn't part of any of these fandoms, even though I'm sure that they probably existed already then (they do now, at any rate), because I didn't have access to anything the fandoms "produced", and I never actively sought it out either. I did seek out different recordings, adaptations, books and I read everything about it I could find, but there was no community for me to be a part of, even as a lurker.Exactly. I was a fan of rock singers and groups, but I just bought their

[korekan]

I think this no has almost any relation with the subjective but I saw it and remember your post...so...

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/39606134/?qo=6&q=by%3Ahellcorpceo&qh=sort%3Atime+-in%3Ascraps

[ptyx]

You can speak Portuguese here, if you prefer!

It's not how I imagine Hook, but it's an interesting fanart! I like this illustration, by Alice B. Woodward:
http://ptyx.livejournal.com/466232.html#cutid1

[korekan]

Ah, que bom! meu inglês sucks!

=P

Que bela imagem! Adoro essa artista!=D