where the action is

I was wondering if any of you have heard of Filk Music or know anything about it. I am interested in learning more about it as a form of vocal music and how it is performed, distributed, written, etc. Thanks!

Alright. Maybe I will try another approach. If fandom does not bring meaning to your life how does it create meaning? Or if fandom does not create meaning in your life do the relationships you form through lj and such create meaning? What does fandom mean to you?

Hello all.. I am new to this community and I am interested in learning more about fandom and what it means to people. I am doing some research for a sociology class about alternative ways that people find meaning. So I guess I am interested to know what you all think about fandom and meaning. Does it bring meaning to your life? How does it bring meaning to your life?

Thanks so much for your help!

The ever-interesting cathexys posted some of her musings on whether slasher is a sexual identity, and whether or not slashers should put their money where their mouth is and start "coming out." Unfortunately, the post is locked, but that's no reason not to start some conversation about it elsewhere. So:

1) Do any of you see "fan" as part of your identity (or one of your identities)? Either way, what are your reasons? Have you made this identity public? Again, reasons?
2) For those of you that read or write slash, chan, or have a particular affinity for any other type of romantic/sexual relationship in fanfic, ditto all of the questions above.

In case anyone's interested, here's my response to Cathexys's question about taking slash as the basis of a sexual identity:
( Read more...Collapse )

It's been a little quiet on here lately, but my friendspage is full of discussion about the latest self-mocking fandon fad: BNF deathmatches. (See lotr_deathmatch, hpbnfdeathmatch, and svbnfdeathmatch for example.) The principle seems to be pretty simple- someone (in the case of the LOTR one, the creator is anonymous) draws up a list of 64 BNFs (criteria for inclusion unclear), organizes them into sets of 16, and sets them up in elimination matches. Anonymous posters comment on who they think would win and why, and the organizer tallies the votes and announces the winner. Presumably, the final winner will be crowned Ultimate BNF, or something like that.

Now, some people are highly amused at the concept, a lot seemed to be baffled by their inclusion on the challengers list, some are playing along, others bowing out. But the comment threads are starting to get vicious.

So weigh in: what do you think about the concept, the execution, the particular communities, the way people are conducting themselves? Love it, hate it, feel completely indifferent towards it? I'm curious. All input will fly. [ETA: within the limits set in the community guidelines, of course. I trust everyone can keep this civilized.]



I still say I'm waiting for the Big Name Meta-Fan Deathmatch, so we can really watch fandom deconstruct itself to death.

Has anyone else noticed how very, very gendered fandom is? And by "gendered", of course, I mean "gendered feminine." (Ain't it always the way.) Think about the context-specific language we use. "Fangirl" doesn't merely refer to a girl who is a fan, it refers to a certain way of being a fan that is considered girly. It's even become a verb, "to fangirl" (which makes me wonder if non-femme-identified people can be said to fangirl). And the net-speak we semi-satirically employ (e.g. "squee" and "OMG") is (at least in my mind) stereotypically feminine (and also stereotypically adolescent). In the larger cultural context, obsession with characters or actors in a media source is considered a female/feminine trait (though it's important to notice that the association is sometimes reversed for obsession with science-fiction).

( More on thisCollapse )

So how did fan culture get this way? And is it fan culture "at large," or is this a phenomenon specific to blog-based fandom? Can we or should we do anything about it? Because right now, our language and modes of interaction can exclude some fen or render them invisible, but as Riki Anne Wilchins (and half the rest of the activisty planet) has noted, identity politics sucks.

Please, please weigh in.

In one of my fandoms, there have been a few works posted recently (one of them epic and long-awaited, the other mine) that explore BDSM sexuality and issues of power/control in a fairly complicated way. The responses to them have been strong and extremely varied. Since we're a meta-fandom community, I'm curious to know how you all see BDSM being used in different fandoms and subfandoms. Is it written a kink for gratification purposes? Portrayed as an orientation, a lifestyle? Is there much exploration of the different roles, how power works within them? How are different uses and explorations of BDSM received by fen? What are your thoughts?


ETA: After thinking about this for a while, I wrote a brief essay on kink in fandom, header warnings, and consent in the author-reader relationship. I didn't want to crosspost, but it's up at my journal, and I'm interested in what you think about it.

I'm not sure if this is a Blakes7 phenomenon, or simply a depravity shortage among certain writers I've encountered--I'd be interested to hear from other fandoms. At one time I would never have believed that I'd skip the sex scenes, but I've read all too many sex scenes that, IMO, just aren't dirty (i.e., they do nowt for me). Three fingers and touchdown within two minutes of the time the last sock hits the floor.

Is the synecdoche "anal intercourse" = "male/male sexual expression" an export of a belief that PIV = "real" heterosexual sex? There's also an element of ageism--midlife males are very, very unlikely to have a second erection in the shower which inevitably occurs forty-five seconds after the orgasm...

I went fandom hopping again tonight. I used to be in Harry Potter and then switched to LOTR RPS. Tonight I went back over to HP for a few moments. And I was struck by how different it feels to read HP vs. Lotrips.

I'm wondering why it's so different. HP feels more fictional, less immediate, less hot to me. (Yeah, I'm reading smut.) The writing is just as good, but it's different somehow. I think it goes beyond the fact that I've got much clearer visuals in my mind to work with as far as Lotrips goes.

I'm curious. Are there any other people who read RPS/media and literary slash? What kind of differences have you noticed in the writing? Particularly does the level of sexiness feel different between the fandoms?

At a fan gathering not so long ago, I was asked my fandoms. After stuttering through a list of ten or so, the questioner referred to me as the 'WB girl.' I watch/write in Everwood, Smallville, Harry Potter, and The O.C., not to mention about five other fandoms, but it started me thinking about the characters and stories to which we as fans are drawn.

Why, for example, am I drawn to fandoms with younger characters? I admit to being interested in beginnings, innocence, and the process some call 'coming of age,' so that partially explains my fascination with younger characters. As does my age, I expect: I missed some older fandoms like Due South and Blake's 7, and haven't yet gotten around to trying them.

But are we drawn to experiences we've had, or to those we're most interested in having? Is it simply how we prefer our escapism, some of us wanting spaceships and other planets, some an idyllic and simplified teen world?

Moreover, does this preference have anything to do with the characters we're most drawn to writing? My fandoms often involve first times for the characters, growing up, discovering adulthood and its complications--as do the stories I write. Do y'all also find these preferences affecting your fannish work?

*goes back to writing O.C. smut*