J. K. Rowling and Her Fans: The View from a Dark Place

[rattlesnakeroot]

Let's talk a minute about the subject of Fans and Superfans. Who are they and what role do they play in the scheme of things? As both consumers and promoters, do they have a right to some respect from JKR, even if they are not always on the same page with her?

Did Steve Vander Ark cease to be a "Super Fan" when his publisher decided to fight for

Comments

[clair_de_lalune]

I don't really like the term, "Superfan", since I think we should all just be "fans". I see the blogger's point about using the term to distinguish the more creative and/or industrious fans, though.

JKR's comments about the subset of people who particularly like OotP is just another reason to think that I would not really like her, if I met her. Yes, it's a very dark book and that's what I like about it. How does that make me weird? *rolls eyes*

[rattlesnakeroot]

I see your point about the word "SuperFan." I only used it this time because it was mentioned that way in the blog I was quoting.

I think all fans are equal because anyone who has bought and read all the books is a "true fan." That's really my point - all fans deserve some respect from the author because we are her audience, and we buy her stuff, and we love her books.

I really think some of these remarks come across as odd. Dark fans are still fans. And after all, she wrote all the books, and each book has a purpose in the series.

[rattlesnakeroot]

Clair: After I thought about your comment some more, I changed the title to use just the word "Fan" - I think you have a good point.

[clair_de_lalune]

I didn't mean to make you think that you should change your entry's title! I was just generally commenting about the term. :)

[wildfyre]

Wow. I keep trying not to think too negatively about her, but she doesn't half make that difficult.

One thing I will add is that I think she feels uneasy about and perhaps even threatened by adult fans. A lot of adult fans like OotP because that's when the story got darker and more adult - that doesn't mean that they're dark themselves, just that it became less of a kids' book. And I honestly don't think she likes that. Perhaps because we're more critical and we notice mistakes and inconsistencies, I don't know. But take for example my interactions with Bloomsbury right after the DH release was announced. I had 500 people who wanted to buy that book at midnight, and they knew about us and were all enthusiastic about helping us. That is, until I mentioned that we were all over 18. Suddenly, they were putting up every barrier they could. It's downright weird.

[rattlesnakeroot]

That really is strange about Bloomsbury! Most books are bought by adults anyway

[clair_de_lalune]

Wow, I had no idea it was so difficult to arrange! You'd have thought they'd have been happy to have the sales...

BTW, rattlesnakeroot has one of the books that you arranged for me to pick-up at midnight. :)

[rattlesnakeroot]

zomg - I do! Because Clair is such a good friend, too!

It's a small world, really. :)

[potionsmistres]

I liked your example of Bjo Trimble and Star Trek. IMO, Star Trek is an example of fandom done right. You didn't see Gene Roddenberry, and later producers and owners (or WB for that matter!) trying to stamp out any creativity published or otherwise because Star Trek was "theirs" and nobody else's. Instead, you see this whole world of fandom that was allowed to publish anything from encyclopedic/academic books to fanfiction about every series, not mention the infinite number of Trek websites out there. This in turn propelled more fandom, more viewers and readers, and (lo and behold) more profits. Instead of sniping about and to court over how SVA is stealing her thunder from this mythical Scottish book, JKR/WB should be on their knees, thanking Steve for getting a wonderful resource out there, and getting more people interested in HP. I still honestly believe that if JKR/WB had just acted like adults and sat down with SVA/RDR and told them that publishing the book was fine, but a certain percentage of profits would go to JKR/WB

[rattlesnakeroot]

*lol* about Star Trek. :)

That's the only other fandom I know about, having seen all those Star Trek books in bookstores while I was growing up, and having friends who were heavily into it. I still have a box of Star Trek paperbacks and I go back and read some of them for fun now and then. There was never a clue that the fans were somehow "wrong" for loving that show so much. There was no guilt trip, and certainly the actors and writers never called the fans "weirdos."

About child fans versus adult fans, I would just say that Star Trek appealed to all ages. I was about seven years old when I started watching it with my brothers, who were teenagers, and my father who was in his forties! I watch it with my 12-year-old. That's really why it lasted so long. Kids like the action and the "magic" of it. Adults like the characters and the humor. It's just like HP.

[rattlesnakeroot]

Someone just informed me on a forum that Bjo Trimble is someone who is "owned" somehow by Paramount because they eventually shared the rights to her Star Trek Concordance. But that misses the point that she was a Fan who came out of nowhere to help save the show, and Paramount decided to work with her instead of against her! They gave the book their blessing instead of suing her, and that's my point.

Also, she is a fan who has never been afraid to speak up for the "work" over the corporation. For instanceThis Interview about the new series "Enterprise."

Quote:
"Bjo Trimble, who led the campaign to save Star Trek in the late 1960s and spearheaded the movement to have NASA's first space shuttle dubbed Enterprise, criticized the TV show currently using that name and suggested that the franchise bring in people who know the series to write and direct it

[rattlesnakeroot]

Also, just to be clear, Bjo Trimble "shares" the copyright with Paramount on her book:

http://www.trekplace.com/bjotrimble.html

Question: Your Star Trek Concordance has long been considered the definitive guide to the original Star Trek television series. What inspired you to write the book? What the extent of Dorothy Jones Heydt's involvement in the book? Without videotape, how did you manage to gather such detailed information from each episode?Trimble: Dorothy was a very focused person in the 60s, with only 2 interests: Star Trek and her religion. She began making notes on 3x5 cards about everything Trek. I have always liked encyclopedias, and said that would make a book, and we began to work on one. Dorothy and I both watched episodes on TV and on a friend's early VCR (it was tape, wound through the machine much like an old audio tape recorder). We both make many notes. I did the actual writing, though I stupidly credited Dorothy as the total author in the fan edition and me as only the editor. Dorothy's cattiness about females

Re: Yeah Trekkies!

[clair_de_lalune]

*rotfl*

Re: Yeah Trekkies!

[rattlesnakeroot]

(Fan Wars?, or Fan Fatwa?)

*lol* I think the Fan Wars have been going on for a long time, and they certainly don't need any help from the author.

We had the shipper wars, then the "Snape is Good or Bad" war (still continuing today for some unknown reason), and now we have the trial coming up which is causing Fandom to fracture in a few places.

I guess it's always going to be this way, unfortunately.