As fandom's gotten larger and larger, the focus has shifted primarily to the producers -- especially the prolific and vocal producers -- and the "just consumers" now think they have no voice or right or need to speak up.
I hear this frequently, but I'm kind of in the camp that thinks this is more an effect of fandom moving to the net. It's never *not* been like this since I got in fandom. I had the same feeling when I first got online, knowing nothing, not even aware that *fandom* of this sort existed at all. It wasn't something I ever experienced before, despite being someone who went to a lot of conventions (sci-fi, comic cons) before I even had computer access. It didn't take me long to trip over "big" fans, people everyone knew, everyone referenced, especially *slash* which was still fairly small (as far as my perception went) Kellie Matthews, Kevin Robnett, those were my BNF's. I didn't feel like I had anything much to say about the show (HL) or the characters or concepts and it took me a couple of years, I think, before I felt confident enough to actually discuss things like characterization or arcs or underlying texts and messages...but what I could do was *write*. And it's what I did. But I also sent pretty gushing fan-girly letter to people, feeling pretty stupid and presumptuous at the time. The discussions were *so* very much of an academic-like nature that I felt totally inadequate. I still do, watching the discussions on LJ, where people who really do understand literary standards and are vastly more well-read than I make me feel like a first year comparative lit student again and I sucked at that class.
I don't disagree that some BNF's take themselves way to seriously, but I think that's more of function of their personalities that their status. (and the willingness of other people to fawn.) I've been there and the first time anyone ever referred to me as a BNF I was pretty much like, "what? are you nuts? all I do is write stories -- and badly edited ones at that."
It took me awhile to realize the status had way more to do with the fact that I was prolific rather than because I was good or because I contributed in some overall way to the whole HL fandom -- most of whom were still calling slash both an abomination and an aberration.
My one definition of a BNF is still guided by those early people, the people who actually influenced fandom in some way, either by producing or analyzing or being a reference, and people who have a high amount of name recognition.
Gah. all I think I'm saying is that I know it's different for you, but for me, coming in so much later, it's always been like this. HL was a balkanized fandom long before that became the term du jour, long before TPM hit the net...and even long before I realized there had been a whole other fannish existence before the net. The only thing I see now is that the people who can discuss fannish tropes (either fandom specific or on the meta level) -- they are hard to keep track of -- there's so many and way too many fandoms for me to keep up with. But there are a few. Cathexis comes to mind for the meta. Cereta at the fanfic Symposium, not because of what she writes but because of the kind of space she provides. And you do too, Gwyn, when I think of people who have managed to reach across multiple fandoms and leave an impact. I know you don't think you have but really, I think it's there.
no subject
I hear this frequently, but I'm kind of in the camp that thinks this is more an effect of fandom moving to the net. It's never *not* been like this since I got in fandom. I had the same feeling when I first got online, knowing nothing, not even aware that *fandom* of this sort existed at all. It wasn't something I ever experienced before, despite being someone who went to a lot of conventions (sci-fi, comic cons) before I even had computer access. It didn't take me long to trip over "big" fans, people everyone knew, everyone referenced, especially *slash* which was still fairly small (as far as my perception went) Kellie Matthews, Kevin Robnett, those were my BNF's. I didn't feel like I had anything much to say about the show (HL) or the characters or concepts and it took me a couple of years, I think, before I felt confident enough to actually discuss things like characterization or arcs or underlying texts and messages...but what I could do was *write*. And it's what I did. But I also sent pretty gushing fan-girly letter to people, feeling pretty stupid and presumptuous at the time. The discussions were *so* very much of an academic-like nature that I felt totally inadequate. I still do, watching the discussions on LJ, where people who really do understand literary standards and are vastly more well-read than I make me feel like a first year comparative lit student again and I sucked at that class.
I don't disagree that some BNF's take themselves way to seriously, but I think that's more of function of their personalities that their status. (and the willingness of other people to fawn.) I've been there and the first time anyone ever referred to me as a BNF I was pretty much like, "what? are you nuts? all I do is write stories -- and badly edited ones at that."
It took me awhile to realize the status had way more to do with the fact that I was prolific rather than because I was good or because I contributed in some overall way to the whole HL fandom -- most of whom were still calling slash both an abomination and an aberration.
My one definition of a BNF is still guided by those early people, the people who actually influenced fandom in some way, either by producing or analyzing or being a reference, and people who have a high amount of name recognition.
Gah. all I think I'm saying is that I know it's different for you, but for me, coming in so much later, it's always been like this. HL was a balkanized fandom long before that became the term du jour, long before TPM hit the net...and even long before I realized there had been a whole other fannish existence before the net. The only thing I see now is that the people who can discuss fannish tropes (either fandom specific or on the meta level) -- they are hard to keep track of -- there's so many and way too many fandoms for me to keep up with. But there are a few. Cathexis comes to mind for the meta. Cereta at the fanfic Symposium, not because of what she writes but because of the kind of space she provides. And you do too, Gwyn, when I think of people who have managed to reach across multiple fandoms and leave an impact. I know you don't think you have but really, I think it's there.