Richard Book is Innocent (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
oxfordtweed) wrote2010-03-12 04:55 am
oxfordtweed) wrote2010-03-12 04:55 am
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Fandom: What is It?
It seems like everybody has a slightly different idea of what "Fandom" actually is. And why not? With the internet being huge as it is, there are everything from alt.fan groups to ONTD_ comms. Virtual fanzines, chat rooms, icon contests, art, fic, discussion... It goes on.
But at which point does one crossover from being "a fan of the show" to "in the fandom"? Are you in the fandom if you have the DVD box set and a few icons? Do you have to write fic to be in the fandom? Do you have to be a member of a certain group? And what about ONTD_ comms? I, myself, watch![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
ontd_startrek (as well as check ohnotheydidnt on a daily basis), but does that really mean anything? I've posted there a few times, but I don't really engage in any of the discussion that goes on over there. I have a few icons, but I've not written any fic (well, I did one tiny little cracky ficlet, but that doesn't really count, does it?), so am I in the Star Trek fandom, or am I just a fan?
I've been watching Heroes for the last two days, and the husband has given me an idea for a crackfic of doom involving Heroes and Friends. If I write and post that fic, am I in the fandom? And speaking of Friends, I've written fic for it, but I only know two other people on the whole of the internet who have seen every episode, and those two people don't even know one another. Sure, there are a dozen or so icon communities and a FF.net section for fic, but if no one actually talks to one another outside of, "Great fic! Write more!" is it still a fandom?
The only fandom I belong to that I can positively say is actually a fandom is Hot Fuzz. Quiet as that's been lately, it still qualifies no matter how you look at it. It has creative posts, general ONTD_ style squee posts, discussion about the film and characters, and many of the people in the community talk outside ofsandfordpolice. I know Life on Mars fandom is very similar, but I've always sort of existed on the outskirts of that one, which is how I would define my role in many of the mainstream fandoms I'm more or less into. Doctor Who and Top Gear fandoms scare me, so I only read posts that are news/informational, and anything else that I'm into doesn't really have a fandom by my standards of "people actually communicating and doing more than just occasionally posting icons."
I mean, I like the icons. And for the most part, I like the fic that's out there. But what I really want is discussion.
But at which point does one crossover from being "a fan of the show" to "in the fandom"? Are you in the fandom if you have the DVD box set and a few icons? Do you have to write fic to be in the fandom? Do you have to be a member of a certain group? And what about ONTD_ comms? I, myself, watch
ontd_startrek (as well as check ohnotheydidnt on a daily basis), but does that really mean anything? I've posted there a few times, but I don't really engage in any of the discussion that goes on over there. I have a few icons, but I've not written any fic (well, I did one tiny little cracky ficlet, but that doesn't really count, does it?), so am I in the Star Trek fandom, or am I just a fan?I've been watching Heroes for the last two days, and the husband has given me an idea for a crackfic of doom involving Heroes and Friends. If I write and post that fic, am I in the fandom? And speaking of Friends, I've written fic for it, but I only know two other people on the whole of the internet who have seen every episode, and those two people don't even know one another. Sure, there are a dozen or so icon communities and a FF.net section for fic, but if no one actually talks to one another outside of, "Great fic! Write more!" is it still a fandom?
The only fandom I belong to that I can positively say is actually a fandom is Hot Fuzz. Quiet as that's been lately, it still qualifies no matter how you look at it. It has creative posts, general ONTD_ style squee posts, discussion about the film and characters, and many of the people in the community talk outside of
sandfordpolice. I know Life on Mars fandom is very similar, but I've always sort of existed on the outskirts of that one, which is how I would define my role in many of the mainstream fandoms I'm more or less into. Doctor Who and Top Gear fandoms scare me, so I only read posts that are news/informational, and anything else that I'm into doesn't really have a fandom by my standards of "people actually communicating and doing more than just occasionally posting icons."I mean, I like the icons. And for the most part, I like the fic that's out there. But what I really want is discussion.