Aim for the head: How [Supernatural] fandom is like a zombie movie

[gwyn]

A couple months ago, I was in line at the coffee house we meet at for my writing group. They keep a Magic 8-Ball on the counter, and in a moment of whimsy, I picked it up and asked in my mind, "Will there ever be another vid or fic recs post on Live Journal that isn't about Supernatural?" The answer was, "Ask again later." So, I did, a few weeks ago, and it said, "Reply hazy, try again." I think the Magic 8-Ball is fucking with me, but I also think it knows fandom.

Every Thursday and Friday, I skim fast over my flist because I know there will be almost no other content except squeeful posts about Supernatural. A while ago, it was the day before and the day after Stargate: Atlantis aired. But many people I adore love these shows, and I try to be all IDIC and my fandom's okay, your fandom's okay, but they can be... omnipresent. And hard to avoid. And a little bit wearing. When you're not into something that seems to have taken over fandom, it's not easy being IDIC.

In fact, I know people who have set up filters to avoid hearing about Supernatural, and I'm sure that if I could actually find the ability to rub some brain cells together and learn how, I might do it, too, just to take control over my flist on Fridays. Of course, if I filtered my buddies who love SPN, I wouldn't have much of an flist. Many people I know will sign on for a fandom they don't even enjoy, just to be in with the in crowd, and because that's where all the good fic writers go. At their peaks, Stargate SG-1 and Smallville (which I called Starville or Smallgate, because they seemed so ubiquitously together) probably had the largest collection of good writers and vidders I'd seen since back in the days of the Professionals, and I didn't even come into Pros fandom till it was nearly moving into the old-folks' home.

Recently I was talking with a friend, someone whom I would expect to be the last person ever to like SPN, and she started squeeing about it, and told me how much she was getting into it, despite the slash and the incest and the things she has never liked at all. And my initial reaction was this internal voice screaming NOOOOoooooo! They got another one! Our numbers of resistance are dwindling every day! NOOOoooooo!

That's when I realized: It's like being in a zombie movie. Any of the fandoms that ate fandom hit you with the reality that you are one bite away from being consumed by the undead, and soon you, too, could be stumbling around with your flesh rotting off, bleeding from your eyes, arms out in front of you, going, "grrrg join us aruggg join us aaalllggg." The few of you still living will huddle in a pub or a shopping mall or a house located in the middle of nowhere but suspiciously close to a cemetery, fending off the zombies with whatever weapons you have -- guns, machetes, old LPs, zine binding-combs.

And this isn't the first time a fandom ate fandom. As I said, SGA held that crown until just this past year, and I mean, try to find one person on your flist a year and a half ago who didn't have their own "Jeez, I wish I could pick off these SGA zombies from my flist" wishes. It's been a lull of a few years, though, from SGA to the previous fandom that ate fandoms, and then before that to The Phantom Menace. Hard to believe, I know, that anything so stultifying as that first of the Star Wars prequels could take over fandom, but anyone who survived that night of the living dead can show you their zombie-bite scars. They didn't take us alive then, and they won't now! Aim for the head, people!

What you get in the fandoms that eat fandom is the sense that you are trapped, and that there's nowhere to go to escape them. If you go to a con, you know that everything on the dealer tables and all the vids will be the current fandom du jour. You can't read your LJ or participate in a mailing list where the conversation doesn't turn to the hot series or movie. And as in any zombie movie, the zombies recognize themselves -- they don't go after one another, do they? No, they go after the living flesh, the ones who are still tasty and raw -- there's no fun in it unless you can convert. Just watch what happens when someone posts about a hot new show, and immediately gets comments on why they will so love it if they just turn to the dark side. So the ranks swell and the remaining few huddle ever tighter, pretty much till they run out of weaponry and are subsumed. Sooner or later, since zombies can't reproduce except by picking off the living, they will run out of resources, once they've eaten every last remaining survivor, or their show is cancelled because it's on Fox or the CW.

The omnipresent fandoms are the lumbering zombies of Night of the Living Dead, not the fast, flash-cut edited zombies of 28 Days Later. They come at you slowly but aggressively, like the ones in thr recent remake of Dawn of the Dead. And, seriously -- if you haven't got Sarah Polley or Ving Rhames to watch your back, you're pretty much doomed. Well, you're doomed anyway, 'cause the zombies always win. Except in Shaun of the Dead, where you get to live with them in your garden shed, and as long as you feed them and keep them chained properly, it's all okay.

And isn't that all we can hope for in the zombie fandoms? Just to get along, to still be able to enjoy one another's company, even though your friend is a slavering, gargle-noise-making, glassy-eyed fan? If you love them enough, you'll put up with their new interest even though you can't understand a word they say or trust that they won't try to eat you.

Comments

[kassrachel.livejournal.com]

This cracks me up. Though of course I say that as someone who never fell prey to TPM, SV, SGA, or SPN. *g* Resistance is not futile!

[deejay.livejournal.com]

I remain resolute in my avoidance of ever being sucked into SPN...despite its total deluge upon my flist.

Sincerely, a true 'Miracles' zombie

=P

[batdina.livejournal.com]

Who was who said "circle the wagons, they're coming for our writers"? Was that Sandy? The last fandom that ate me whole was XF. I have fannish appreciation for SGA/SG1, which means I watch them and I read them, but I probably won't ever write them. Oddly at this point, if I were to do any writing at all, I'd probably go back to Pros.

If you shoot, I'll hold your ammo.

[reginaspina.livejournal.com]

Hee! Well, I haven't watched SPN OR SGA. And I doubt I ever will :P

[minim_calibre]

Hee!

I dimly recall what things were like before I liked braaaaaaaaaaains!, and it was very much as you're describing. Then the ZOMBIE ARMY ATE ME. (But it's a very cozy garden shed.)

[killabeez.livejournal.com]

Oh, man, this had me laughing so hard. Seriously, my level of obsession is about as scary as being zombified, most days. And I'm sympathetic, because this is the first Zombie Plague Fandom I've ever really fallen for -- I tried to be stoic through TPM, HP, SGA, SV, you name it. (I was a Sentinel fan, but already gone before it got big.)

Ugh, I'm sorry. *is contrite* Okay, not really, but sympathetic, yes.

*holds up Paul and Alva as peace offering*

[klia.livejournal.com]

I'm sure this was how a lot of people felt when XF and Buffy/Angel were hugely fannishly popular.

As someone who's been in love with SPN since the pilot aired, it's been pretty hilarious watching everyone and their cousin fall for it, too. Heh.

[beck-liz.livejournal.com]

This is awesome. Even though I am a fan of both of the shows you mention, there are other fandoms that crop up on my flist that seem to be causing zombie attacks. Or hypnotism: *swings hypnotic watch* "YOU MUST WATCH THIS. IT IS GOOD. YOU MUST HELP KEEP IT ON THE AIR." And I feel myself flinching whenever I see a post on the subject.

[elz.livejournal.com]

I'm sure conversation will be more diverse once Heroes comes back. (And - well, I would have thought you'd like SPN, actually, but I'll resist the zombified urge to elaborate. *g*)

I always kind of boggle when people talk about The Phantom Menace as an all-consuming fandom, because I was so het-oriented at the time that it barely registered. And because it was so much easier to ignore entire fandoms before Livejournal, I suppose.

[monanotlisa.livejournal.com]

Posts like this are why I love you.

::is still giggling about the zombie imagery::

[sdwolfpup.livejournal.com]

Hee. Good metaphor. *g*

This, funnily enough given your icon, is how I felt about Veronica Mars during its first season. I felt like I couldn't go anywhere without seeing people talking about it and having it waved at me with "you must watch this!" :)

[(Anonymous)]

Hee! You are just saying that until the rest of the world realizes what they have been missing by not watching M7 or The Professionals. As soon as they flock by the thousand to Pros or or Alias or M7 fandom, you'll be a zombie too! Eeek... Any day now!

Personally I was totally zombified by TPM (3+ years, but recovered now) and SGA (close to 2 years and on-going), but still not getting the whole Buffy, XF, SV, SPN etc. in spite of the continued assault...

:D

[merricatk.livejournal.com]

I wish getting into a fandom was voluntary, that I could just make myself fall in love with something just because that's where all the fun is being had.

*sigh*

The sad part is when you do get into a fandom where the people you want to be with are, only your focus is wrong, your take on the characters, you just don't fit in. It's why I won't even try the new hot thing; nobody ever wants my brain to eat, even when I offer it.

[meko00.livejournal.com]

Ah.

Well, I'll confess to enjoying Supernatural (the show) ever since the pilot for a variety of reasons. I do occasionally read fics by flisters of mine, but I tend to stay far, far away from most fandoms -- or at the most, just ghosting around the edges. I find organised sect-like things (political, religious or fannish) quite off-putting, to be honest. But most of my flist is fannish to various degrees -- I just happen to be here for the rest. ;-)

[tavella.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think this is where I differ from the average fan: I really have to love the source material to adopt a fandom. Oh, I'll occasionally dip into ones with lesser source material for the good fic, I went through a lot of Smallville reading a few months ago, but if the core is lame, there is no love. This is why I tend to be off hiding out in places like Farscape and Full Metal Alchemist when the flashmobs hit elsewhere.

[hobbituk.livejournal.com]

The only fandom I have ever been sucked into was the Buffy one. And even then, I was only peripheral, because I am totally Spike focussed and don't have much time for the precious scoobies...

I've watched some episodes of Supernatural. I've watched some of Stargate, Veronica Mars, Lost, Heroes.... nothing stuck. I take them and leave them.

Hey, perhaps I am immune to zombification!

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

See, the upside is that you're not frothing at the mouth about it.

[klia.livejournal.com]

I am, just internally. ;)

Well, but, what if I were? There've been plenty of times I've watched friends obsess over stuff that didn't grab me, and I ended up really enjoying seeing them all happy and giddy. I guess I just don't begrudge people their various obsessions, regardless of how I feel about the source. I may not understand the appeal, but so what?

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

I may enjoy it to begin with, but when it's pretty much nonstop, it means that everything they post about I can't connect with. I start to feel distanced and like we don't have anything in common, so I start skipping over their posts.

I mean, hardly anyone comments on my 13th Warrior posts. I get why. It's okay; I'm content to squee and my flist is content to ignore me.

[klia.livejournal.com]

I may enjoy it to begin with, but when it's pretty much nonstop, it means that everything they post about I can't connect with. I start to feel distanced and like we don't have anything in common, so I start skipping over their posts.

Well, yeah, but who hasn't experienced that at one point or another? It's a total crap shoot whether something you love ends up catching on or not. Like, Drive is totally not my thing, so I don't read posts about that, but, geez, I don't take it personally, or start blowing off friends who post about it, because there are always other things we have in common, you know?

[morgandawn.livejournal.com]

"The omnipresent fandoms are the lumbering zombies of Night of the Living Dead, not the fast, flash-cut edited zombies of 28 Days Later. They come at you slowly but aggressively, like the ones in thr recent remake of Dawn of the Dead."

and here is where I disagree with you. Supernatural zombies (oops I meant fans) are like the 28 Days later. One second you're standing there talking about something else (like 'hey did you hear about that latest wank on...") and the next thing you know the only words coming out of their mouths are "SamandDeanandSamandDeanandSamandDeanandSamandDeanand" and then they're running and tackling you.

Trust me on this. I know. In fact, come a bit closer...I want to show you something....

[killabeez.livejournal.com]

Supernatural zombies (oops I meant fans) are like the 28 Days later. One second you're standing there talking about something else (like 'hey did you hear about that latest wank on...") and the next thing you know the only words coming out of their mouths are "SamandDeanandSamandDean...

Oh, so true.

and then they're running and tackling you.

Or in my case, gnawing their own arm off.

[kirbyfest.livejournal.com]

Oh, I do love you with an insane amount of love right now.

[queenofattolia.livejournal.com]

Hm. I guess all the people on my flist who are zombies fans of shows I don't like are kind enough to put their slaverings fannish squeeing behind cut-tags. As such, I can't begrudge their bad taste obsessions because I don't have to read about them. I do the same for them when I go off on my beloved shows (most currently Rome, Doctor Who, the Sopranos). I suppose I like most of the folks on my flist for reasons that have nothing to do with fandoms, although most became my friends because of BtVS. Since its demise we've mostly all moved on to other pursuits, and for the most part I still like them because they're interesting people with varied lives. We all adhere to that old adage "different strokes, etc." and admire each other for things other than our fandoms.

[ixchel55.livejournal.com]

Speaking as one who's not only been hooked since the pilot of SPN, but who was also in love with the idea of SPN before it ever started, I must say that I agree with a lot of what you say.

SPN probably takes up about 60-75% of my fannish time right now, depending on any particular day. I like the meta, I love a lot of the fic (and there's tons of fic!) and I love a lot of the vids, but even I get a bad case of 'holy crap! another SPN community!?!' And sometimes I just want to read something non-SPN for a change and have to go digging for it.

This is the first time I've been part of a fandom juggernaut. One of those big honking fandoms that just sort of increases exponentially almost by the hour.

It is a little daunting and stupifying, but I have to say that after 1 1/2 years, I'm not tired of it yet.

I think what keeps me centered is that I actually have quite a wide fandom base. There are so many fandoms that I love that I can usually find common ground somewhere with just about everyone.

So, would you like to debat the sexiness of Sonny's stubble verses Martin's scowl? Or Martin's sleek, black panther look amongst all the pretty birds with their bright 80s Miami plummage? *G*

And what's your stand on the series Wiseguy? I had a serious kink for Roger Lococo. (RAWR! See icon.) There's a Sonny/Roger story that seriously butters my muffin. o.O

Also, I saw your post about the Miami Vice seasons. I'm so looking forward to that MV vid, as well as the one yu and mlyn have been working on. *mutters* need to get my damn computer fixed!