YMMV

[amchara]

I should be unpacking (my room is a disaster) but apparently, am not at the moment. I am content to live like a slob. Anyway, my Firefox is groaning under the weight of hmmm, 50+ tabs and to help it out, I'm unloading a couple of links I've found along the way.

This discussion/plea why people shouldn't join in the Merlin fandom by thingswithwings and a counter-

Comments

[amchara]

Merlin is a BBC tv series, the most recent re-imagining of Arthurian legend. It's kind of like... a high school AU of Arthurian legend, where Merlin and Arthur are teens of a similar age, (along with Guinevere and Morgana [Morgan Le Fay]). There's colorblind casting, ridiculous anachronisms, weird re-interpretations of the myth (such as Guinevere as a servant, Morgana not related to Arthur, several prominent knights of the roundtable dying in the series... It's not the most serious of shows or the most well-written. But the cast is rather adorable and have chemistry, and it's fun, light stuff, imo. Also, it's incredibly slashy, both in m/m slash and f/f pairings, which is why I think it's popular with fandom

[ignipes]

I have no idea if it's the next big fandom (although I wouldn't complain! more fic about magical boys to read!), but I really have a hard time taking that first post seriously. We're supposed to shun the fandom because of one person's extremely subjective interpretation of the show that claims it's Not Good Enough For Fandom? I don't think she thought her argument through to its logical conclusion, because if that's the case then no show would ever have any fandom, ever.

I don't think there's any way to predict fandom migrations, and the way to influence them is by participation/non-participation, not by lecturing other fans on what they should or shouldn't like. But people always feel the need to lecture anyway, I guess.

[amchara]

*nods* The argument presented in the first post seems to be based more in emotion, with the OP trying to convince her friends leaving SGA that their new fandom is crap and not worthy of their time, which... no. I don't think that's ever worked in convincing someone not to get involved in a particular fandom.

I don't think there's any way to predict fandom migrations, and the way to influence them is by participation/non-participation, not by lecturing other fans on what they should or shouldn't like. But people always feel the need to lecture anyway, I guess.

Yes, exactly. It seems like it there are similar lecturing posts every 10 months or so, but with different fandoms every time. You'd think people would learn. *sigh*

[ignipes]

I don't think that's ever worked in convincing someone not to get involved in a particular fandom.

For me, it can have the opposite effect. It was all the bitter SPN fans posting ad nauseum about how much they hated bandom about a year ago that made me decide to see what all the fuss was about. When fans talk about something, good or bad, it makes other fans curious. No amount of dire warning and desperate pleas is going to change that.

[labellementeuse]

This is what I said to someone else about that Merlin drama

[amchara]

*nod nod* Exactly. You lay it out very clearly, in that the problematic sources, while found in the text, are usually not just based in the fandom itself, but come from the deeper underlying tensions in society. And sometimes it's easier for people to realize and confront their prejudices when it's slightly removed and found on tv/in books/films, even if it's sometimes uncomfortable, rather than it being pointed straight out. And realization, as you said, isn't likely going to happen in Ursula Le Guin, but could potentially happen in Merlin.

Merlin has its own share of problems - I agree with you in regards to Morgana and Gwen. And the OP did well in pointing them out, but I guess it was more the treatment that was prescribed (ie. people should have nothing to do with the fandom) that I felt was an overreaction, and not really useful under the circumstances.

[alethialia]

2003: LOTR/LOTRRPS | 2004: SGA | 2005: Harry Potter, maybe? 2006: Supernatural | 2007: Bandom | 2008: ??

::nodsnods:: I can't speak to most of the years, but yeah, these are definitely the biggies. I'd go back even further and call 2002 the year of Smallville as that was S1 and even I, from my distant procedural-slash perch, saw the flailing and ecstatic adulation for Lex and Clark's mouth.

Personally, I think Merlin is destined to be the next one and I base that solely on the quality of writers I see migrating there. Such writers that are TOO GOOD not to put out some great fic...and that lures other writers. Hell, I'd consider checking out the show, solely because of the quality writers talking about it...ya know, if I weren't too busy, omg.

[amchara]

Yeah, when I was writing this up last night, I had a moment where I thought of Smallville, but since it was before my time in fandom I didn't really feel qualified to make a guess.

I think it could go either way for Merlin. The fact that it's an import, and doesn't have any new episodes until next fall is a huge potential stumbling block that stopped the last British show I remember sweeping the flist (Torchwood). On the other hand... SGA has just recently ended, and a lot of good writers and people actively involved in fandom are looking for a new fandom, and Merlin has come at an especially opportune time... I guess we'll see, in any case!

Hee, well... I caught up with the show (only 13 episodes) over break and it's not a taxing show to catch up on. ;) You might want to give it a try, if only to know the background canon for the awesome stories that are coming out of the fandom.

[krisomniac]

a) I can't believe people care so much about whatever the "next big fandom" is to post things like that.

b) I kinda doubt Merlin will be big and scary-- more like it's big and highly entertaining, especially during hiatus time. The one major flaw in worrying about is is that people in the US don't get to watch as it airs, so it must be d/l-ed (which is easier for some people than others) and there are only a few eps per year. Eh, but people will wank.

[amchara]

a) Yeah, I know. :/ But apparently they do!

b) Heh, yeah, I definitely I agree with you there. I see it as being a Torchwood fandom, medium sized, a good place to jump to whenever there's hiatus or wank within the bigger fandoms. The only instance where I could see it ballooning to SPN or Bandom proportions is if the end of SGA means that most of its writers are transferring to Merlin. Might happen, might not, but no need to get upset about it. Oh, fandom. *shakes head*