Fandom Article
For those interested, here's my article. I haven't actually submitted it yet, so changes may be made by the magazine's editors.
Confessions of a Fandom Junkie
Hi, my name is Masani, and I’m an addict. I’ve been addicted now for almost four years. I can’t seem to stop…it’s totally consumed my life.
Or at least, that’s what I would say if there was treatment for stuff like this. You see, I’m a fandom junkie. Not a technical term by any means, but there it is. Fandom, according to the Urban Dictionary, is “the community that surrounds a TV show/movie/book etc.” Of course, that’s only the basic definition. They leave out the part where your friends and family shun the now insane person you’ve become, or the hideous amounts of time you spend online. Needless to say, I’ve had a long and varied history in fandom, and addiction or no, I’m happy to have found it.
The idea of fandom has been around for decades, but in the past ten or fifteen years, much of it has revolved around the internet. That’s how I found my way into it, first by reading fan fiction (fan-created stories based on an existing TV show, film, book, etc.). My real indoctrination however, came after joining my first fan community and meeting others of my ilk. And after almost four years now, I am a happy member of four different fandoms, each with their own quirks (and sometimes, outright craziness).
My navel-gazing introspection led me to seek out the musings of others. So armed with a few basic questions, I sought to find just what makes fandom tick:
What fandoms are you apart of?
Seularen: Good lord. Which am I bloody not a part of? Doctor Who, Harry Potter, House, Repo! The Genetic Opera, Good Omens, Lost, HIMYM, Blake's 7, L&O: Criminal Intent, Watchmen, The West Wing, The Mighty Boosh, Gossip Girl, Lost, Jane Eyre, The Mighty Boosh... etc...
How long have you been participating in fandom-related activities?
Neyne: For about 5 years, I think. Lord Of The Rings was my first, but I'm not really part of it anymore. Then there was Stargate... and, well, that's also how I got into all the other fandoms: through other Stargate fans.
Huntress69: I am giving away my age (roughly) and wonder if there is anybody here who has been involved in fandom as long as I have. I got involved in the Trek fandom in the 70s at a fan gathering, and attended my first official con (convention) in I think 1978.
How do your opinions about fandom differ from when you first joined?
Fremdfirma: Well, having originally not thought much of fans and fanhood in general, my opinion of fandoms has actually over time gotten better, because small that it may be these folk actually care about SOMETHING beyond themselves, and in the current era that's not as small a thing as it seems.
Neth-Dugan: I've learnt more about it, but when I first joined everyone seemed more remote and perfect; better than me, but that may have been because I was a tween. I've come to realize that fandom is far larger and far more varied than I first thought. That outside of those of us who consider ourselves a part of fandom you can find elements of it alive in many, many more people. I've realized that as much as I love our culture we are still people and we're not as perfect and always kind and unselfish and even tolerant as we like to think. We have out darker side, our flame wars and nutso fangirls and so on. Our own cliques even. But still, despite that, I love us and think we're a great group of people who despite those things ARE generally nice and tolerant people.
Cait_85: Fandom has gone from being my dirty little secret to a big part of my life. And I wouldn't change it for the world.
So there you have it. No matter what we’re fans of, how long we’ve been apart of it, or where it’s taken us, fandom has become, for all of us, an important part of our lives. And though it still may seem strange to outsiders, to us, it’s like being a part of a big, extended family.
My name is Masani, and I’m an addict…and proud of it.
Many thanks and cookies to Seularen, Neyne, Huntress69, Fremdfirma, Neth-Dugan, and Cait_85; without you guys chiming in, this would be a pathetic little article crawling about on weak, spindly legs. Much thanks also to the mods and posters at torch_wood, doctorwho, spnforthesane, and fireflyfans.net; I spend more time with you guys than I do my own family.
Confessions of a Fandom Junkie
Hi, my name is Masani, and I’m an addict. I’ve been addicted now for almost four years. I can’t seem to stop…it’s totally consumed my life.
Or at least, that’s what I would say if there was treatment for stuff like this. You see, I’m a fandom junkie. Not a technical term by any means, but there it is. Fandom, according to the Urban Dictionary, is “the community that surrounds a TV show/movie/book etc.” Of course, that’s only the basic definition. They leave out the part where your friends and family shun the now insane person you’ve become, or the hideous amounts of time you spend online. Needless to say, I’ve had a long and varied history in fandom, and addiction or no, I’m happy to have found it.
The idea of fandom has been around for decades, but in the past ten or fifteen years, much of it has revolved around the internet. That’s how I found my way into it, first by reading fan fiction (fan-created stories based on an existing TV show, film, book, etc.). My real indoctrination however, came after joining my first fan community and meeting others of my ilk. And after almost four years now, I am a happy member of four different fandoms, each with their own quirks (and sometimes, outright craziness).
My navel-gazing introspection led me to seek out the musings of others. So armed with a few basic questions, I sought to find just what makes fandom tick:
What fandoms are you apart of?
Seularen: Good lord. Which am I bloody not a part of? Doctor Who, Harry Potter, House, Repo! The Genetic Opera, Good Omens, Lost, HIMYM, Blake's 7, L&O: Criminal Intent, Watchmen, The West Wing, The Mighty Boosh, Gossip Girl, Lost, Jane Eyre, The Mighty Boosh... etc...
How long have you been participating in fandom-related activities?
Neyne: For about 5 years, I think. Lord Of The Rings was my first, but I'm not really part of it anymore. Then there was Stargate... and, well, that's also how I got into all the other fandoms: through other Stargate fans.
Huntress69: I am giving away my age (roughly) and wonder if there is anybody here who has been involved in fandom as long as I have. I got involved in the Trek fandom in the 70s at a fan gathering, and attended my first official con (convention) in I think 1978.
How do your opinions about fandom differ from when you first joined?
Fremdfirma: Well, having originally not thought much of fans and fanhood in general, my opinion of fandoms has actually over time gotten better, because small that it may be these folk actually care about SOMETHING beyond themselves, and in the current era that's not as small a thing as it seems.
Neth-Dugan: I've learnt more about it, but when I first joined everyone seemed more remote and perfect; better than me, but that may have been because I was a tween. I've come to realize that fandom is far larger and far more varied than I first thought. That outside of those of us who consider ourselves a part of fandom you can find elements of it alive in many, many more people. I've realized that as much as I love our culture we are still people and we're not as perfect and always kind and unselfish and even tolerant as we like to think. We have out darker side, our flame wars and nutso fangirls and so on. Our own cliques even. But still, despite that, I love us and think we're a great group of people who despite those things ARE generally nice and tolerant people.
Cait_85: Fandom has gone from being my dirty little secret to a big part of my life. And I wouldn't change it for the world.
So there you have it. No matter what we’re fans of, how long we’ve been apart of it, or where it’s taken us, fandom has become, for all of us, an important part of our lives. And though it still may seem strange to outsiders, to us, it’s like being a part of a big, extended family.
My name is Masani, and I’m an addict…and proud of it.
Many thanks and cookies to Seularen, Neyne, Huntress69, Fremdfirma, Neth-Dugan, and Cait_85; without you guys chiming in, this would be a pathetic little article crawling about on weak, spindly legs. Much thanks also to the mods and posters at torch_wood, doctorwho, spnforthesane, and fireflyfans.net; I spend more time with you guys than I do my own family.