In Defense of Fandoms
I’ve been called out several times over about how frustrating it is that I can’t just like something and leave it be. That I’ve crossed the line from appreciation towards obsession several times over, and that to pore over something thoroughly is not the same as adoring it abusively. I’ve had a long talk about it with my condiment bottles (don’t ask), and I have this to say:
It’s absolutely fine to have a spectrum of appreciation that delves into the disturbing sometimes. I think everybody has the potential to think this way, most just don’t let themselves because there’s an unspoken rule that says anybody who does is clearly insane. And those who do convene because people who understand feeling strongly about the same things happen to be a rarity.
And the moment they do, something brilliant happens: a new culture forms. A new culture bred out of a person’s work sparking something in people, ideas begetting further ideas, forging relationships, and creating a new zest for life, activity, and creativity.
I usually delve into a fandom after falling in love with something for the shallowest of reasons, at first. But then, how can you possibly not start seeing the real world better after loving something so intensely?
- My first love that got me into fandom was Heroes, and I fell in love with it because I thought the contrast between the two primarily popular heroes was portrayed absolutely perfectly. Hiro Nakamura and Peter Petrelli both took the initiative to try to save the world, Hiro out of a sense of duty— with great power comes great responsibility — and Peter out of a quest of self-discovery, and finding a purpose in life.
- Afterwards, that show introduced me to what would be my next, and most long-term love: Doctor Who. I learned that even the most godlike of creatures, who believed in people and taught that even the most ordinary of people have the potential to be fantastic. Also that things are best seen with a fresh perspective.
- Doctor Who then introduced me to Sherlock Holmes. Oh, what a love affair that’s been ever since. I’ve gained a newfound confidence while learning to be humble, learnt to ask better questions and seek out more facts, find how to better my friends and how they can better me, among other things.
And this is only my personal, isolated experience of it. Once you find people who feel the same way, things change. People who appreciate the creative process and try to recreate it, themselves, who see the value of layers and layers of content, and how much heart and effort was put into all of it. I really do mean it when I say I wouldn’t be half as confident as I am today without the Sherlockians, or the fandom experience as a whole.
And the thing is, it is so difficult to find that in other people these days. Many of us have become so nonchalant, being bombarded with so much information and being asked to pay attention to so many needless things that it’s become so easy to get disenchanted with the creative world, because the things that are remiss tend to be oversaturated and mass-fed to the public without knowing they’re gorging on insubstantial stuff. Kind of like wonderbread.
So yes, I do love being an irrationally exuberant fan. I love how it gives me confidence and makes me learn to appreciate things better. I’ve learned to only be critical for the right reasons, and to seek value in all things. I’ve seen how people, given the right material to channel energy from, have the potential to be amazing. I’ve seen how different people can have different motives towards the same goal, and how those motives reflect different cultures and reveal essential similarities and difference that help to understand people better.
And most importantly, I’ve learned about the power of imagination, and how ideas can bring people of different cultures together and make their lives all the richer.
And if you have a problem with that, you can suck it.
First of all it’s pour over and secondly, yes there is something wrong. There is a line between appreciation and obsession and most people will, correctly, tell you that too much of something is bad for you. Call it a high level of personal involvement if you like that doesn’t change the fact that the high level of emotions people invest in such things is ridiculous. There is nothing wrong with having favourite things that are significant to your life but when it gets to the point where it’s actually affecting your life, that’s when you need to stop. It’s not fine to border on obsession, it isn’t good at all.
This person is trying to give this obsession some form of credibility by discussing the creative side and the culture formed around it and how that’s a good thing. I agree with some of that. The creativity inspired by it, the fan artwork, the (less disturbing) fan fictions. Those are the good things. This ‘culture’, this feeling of validation is other people liking the same things as them. Giving them a sense of belonging, just like everyone has with other people. That’s how people create friends over mutual appreciation of things. The manner in which the person speaks about it is hypocritical. Discussing how meaningless other things in our lives are without realising that the same point could be made against exactly what they are trying to defend. Everyone has likes and it’s fine to joke about how they make you better than others, I do that all the time but don’t try to defend it as something actually more important than the other things because you’re wrong there.
After reading this and thinking over it, this sounds like the same rationale that an addict has, trying their best to make up any excuse they can to prove to themselves that everything they are putting into it is worth it. It’s nice to like things but when it gets to the point where you have to defend yourself against accusations of insanity, that usually means you’re taking it too far.
Bolded the points that make me want to tear my eyes out.
How dare you assume we’re not doing well in our lives because we love something so intensely? Do we need to prove certain things that will show that we lead “proper, correct lives”? I don’t think adding something that makes your life richer and wonderful means that everything else is insignificant. Heck, if anything, fandom made us live life better.
So, in the words of Tintin: “And if you have a problem with that, you can suck it.”
You clearly didn’t understand what I was trying to get at there and several points you made seem only to prove me right.
Oh my god I don’t want to start a hatefest here but okay, here is where I am getting at.
You: “The manner in which the person speaks about it is hypocritical. Discussing how meaningless other things in our lives are without realising that the same point could be made against exactly what they are trying to defend.”
I said we could all be susceptible to disenchantment, not that it happens to everything else. Did I not say that fandom experience definitely enhances living in the real world? Yes, fandom interest does begin at a shallow point, sometimes it doesn’t penetrate to the core of why liking something is important, but it does lead to some degree of progress.
Lonely people forging new friendships, for starters.
You: “Call it a high level of personal involvement if you like that doesn’t change the fact that the high level of emotions people invest in such things is ridiculous.”
Please do not assume that you know how these people live outside of fandom. Please don’t. It’ll make them hate you, and I don’t want that happening.
Here is where I’m getting at, okay: have you ever thought that before fandom you always thought the worst of people? I did — a lot. Being very judgmental, always thinking badly of some people without even knowing them that well.
I’ve learned to decrease this impulse because fandom’s taught me that it takes time for wonderful qualities in people to be demonstrated. And that the most unlikely people can like the same things as you, and if you find core similarities between yourself and others — kindred spirits — is that not the most wonderful feeling in the world?
Here is a quote from The History Boys that sums up my feelings:
“The best moments in reading are when you come across something — a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things — that you’d thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you’ve never met, maybe even someone long dead. And it’s as if a hand has come out and taken yours.”
And imagine, having a personal connection not just with an author but with an entire community. How can you possibly dislike passion that betters lives?
