Your mission should you choose to accept it

[firecat]

This is coming up for me as a result of a combination of things, including: having started to read Star Trek the Reboot fanfic, conversations I heard at Wiscon, and posts I saw today, including this one.

Describe science fiction fandom.
Describe media fandom.
What fandoms do you consider yourself to belong to or feel some affinity with?
What terms do you use to describe them?

Comments

[gramina]

Science Fiction Fandom:

That body of persons who:

• - attend science fiction conventions, and/or
• - participate in internet fora oriented toward science fiction or fantasy, and/or
• - write fiction, non-fiction, or poetry inspired by some facet of science fiction or fantasy or the broader science fiction communities, and/or
• - write or perform music inspired by some facet of science fiction or fantasy or the broader science fiction communities, and/or
• - create art inspired by some facet of science fiction or fantasy or the broader science fiction communities, and/or
• - participate in sf-f oriented APAs, and/or
• - self-identify as science fiction and fantasy fans.

Media Fandom:

That subset of Science Fiction fandom as defined above that includes those who are particularly interested in expressions of science fiction or fantasy in visual form - e.g. television and movies.

---

I consider myself fannish; I both read and watch science fiction and fantasy, I often enjoy conversations with other fans, and I often enjoy science fiction and fantasy conventions. I'm not sufficiently interested or knowledgable to participate actively in most of the work-specific media-oriented fandoms I'm aware of (SGA, House, BSG, SPN, etc.), but can often enjoy the products of those fandoms (especially as seen at zillah_fic ;) ).

I actively enjoy filk; I actively enjoy rambling, enthusiastic, all-over-the-map conversations; I actively enjoy discovering something I didn't know. I can enjoy looking at costumes, but lack the interest-level to be involved in creating them. I tend to prefer my parties quieter and less alcohol-based rather than noisier and more alcohol-based. I have learned to make sure my conversational partner has a get-away path before I start talking about theo/a/oilogy/ies.

I guess in terms of terms, I tend to avoid them? Except for self-identifying as fannish and as a filker. I used to use "mundane" (much as I used to use "vanilla") but too many people I like felt like that was rude to them, so I don't. (well, don't usually. I can't swear I never do, because of the whole not-having-a-memory-chip-in-my-head thing.) I suppose now I'd say "non-fannish."

[serene]

Off the top of my head:

I read some science fiction, but I don't consider myself a fan. There's some divide there, similar to the divide between "I like to watch baseball games" and "I'm a baseball fan". That divide, I guess, is between enjoying an activity, and enjoying the culture surrounding the activity and having a feeling of belonging with others who enjoy that culture. So I guess I think of science fiction fandom as what people belong to when they like science fiction AND the culture surrounding the reading(/watching/whatevering) of science fiction.

(Not a member of any fandoms, so I skipped the rest.)

[sistercoyote]

I'm responding here because I want to mess with your head, I guess.

There are two specific people on my f-list I would like to direct to this post, either here or on LJ. May I? They have been heavily involved in fandom (including cosplay).

[firecat]

Certainly!

[flarenut]

Same here. I used to read a whole lot of SF, still read a fair amount. Enjoy conversations about same, but have over the years been frightened away by a certain kind of hardcore competitive fan type whose non-fandom life seems minimal. (I know that's not everyone or even a majority; it's more that I want to avoid the temptation...)

[firecat]

hardcore competitive fan type

Say more? Do you mean, say, people who learn Klingon and can quote the dialogue from every Star Trek episode? Or something else? I'm not sure what you mean by "competitive".

[firecat]

And thank you, I really enjoyed their contributions.

[sistercoyote]

You're welcome, although I was surprised to discover that Max (slothman) considers himself a part of fandom!

He's very intelligent, hugely socially awkward (though less so since he married), and you'd probably like him. :)

[firecat]

The OH knows him -- they used to work together, and they both go to Baycon -- and also says I would like him.

It's a small world. :)

[sistercoyote]

That's way bizarre.

I went to college with him, sort of. Actually, I had dropped out of college but he was rooming with a friend so that's how we met.

It is a very small world. Six degrees of separation (which works a number of ways in this particular instance).

[flarenut]

Not just can, but do. (And perhaps that's the dividing line between frightening and nonfrightening fen...) And competitive, well, just competitive. Happens in all walks of life, all kinds of fannishness -- people who seem to have to establish some kind of hierarchy of who knows more or is better connected or has more rare items in a collection. Of course, this also speaks to me as a committed dilettante, knowing a little bit about as many things as possible, but not much about anything...

[firecat]

Not just can, but do.

OK, that makes sense.

I don't seem to have run into that many of those. If they are really competitive about their singular focus, then they probably aren't interested in me, since I'm also a dilettante, and not competitive in very many things.

[snippy]

I think of myself as a fan more because I like to hang around cons than anything else, even though I adore SF/F to the point of proselytizing. Fandom has been an excellent filter for me to find fascinating people. I don't find a significant difference to my enjoyment of fandom by type of media: so far I have enjoyed filkers and "media" fans (which means non-printed-material, I think) and writers and readers and costumers and so forth.