raul grau
Jan 22, 2007, 04:15 pm
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/mangamerica.jpg" hspace=10 align=left border=0 alt="Mangamerica logo">By Marcina Riley, fantasyfiv@yahoo.com
Fandom Days...
Fandom is a word that I didn't really become familiar with until a professor of mine in college handed me a book called Bimbos of the Death Sun. Whilst I enjoyed reading the book for its plot, I have to say that the themes brought up about devoted fans were more than a little interesting. At the time, I was only a mild fan of science fiction, fantasy, and manga. I was a big comic book fan, but I never really interacted with too many other fans. I had no idea how strange fandom can get. It really wasn't until I got more into the fandom that I realized what fandom truly is. Fandom is its own society, with its own rules and language.
Most people should be pretty familiar with the word fandom, but maybe not the concepts and imagery it evokes. The best means to see fandom in action is actually by going to a convention. Watch everyone interact at a "con" and you will see how fandom really works. There you'll witness an odd assortment of people, cliques, industry buffs, rituals, languages, and just about anything else that you could imagine. I'm not saying thatthe behavior is bad, just out of ordinary. People who normally wouldn't associate with each other do, and they also do things that you wouldn't expect them to. Cons are like a fans' Mecca, their place of gathering.
At these cons, certain fans have achieved a sort of status among other fans, forming an almost hierarchy. At one time this might have been due to fanzines and letters, but these days it's due primarily to the internet. Now fans from all over the globe know one another. And, they all come to the events. Last year, I roomed with someone from Puerto Rico, and we both waiting in the lobby for friend of a friend visiting from England. It was her first time in the States. It's almost like a well-to-do affair, watching people parade into the lobbies of hotels wearing costumes and other such things, speaking a variety of different languages. However, they all seem to understand each other.
Each fandom has its own lexicon. Words that have either been assigned a new meaning or made up by the fans themselves. This lexicon is an important identifier for the fans. Knowing what the words mean helps to identify you as being a part of that group. Don't think you use these words? Alright then, have you ever sent someone a PM or an IM? Do you know someone that speaks 733t? Or how about used the words fan fiction, fanzine, and fanlisting? You might think that you're immune, but just coming on the internet has taught you a variety of words. Some of these are directly related to specific fandoms and some aren't, but all identify you as being internet savvy.
There are times when the behavior at cons and on the internet confuses people who are not in the fandom. I remember wondering why someone would want to learn Klingon. Now I know people who speak what we call Fan Japanese, which I almost think is worse. Nonetheless, while most people just don't get it, I can relate to other fans. I don't get singing flik songs, but I do get Karaoke. I can't tell you what the blueprints of a Starfleet ship should look like, but I do know people who can give you the precise weights of all of the Gundams. All and all, it evens out. Different behavior, different fan, different language, but essential the same.
It might be hard to grasp that comic book fans and manga fans are the same, but they are. I hear the same sort of conversations from both groups. Some people argue about in-series things, and other people argue about writers and how well they write. Going to a con and recognizing these similarities, I must laugh. I want to call some behavior strange, but how strange is my behavior to an onlooker. Are we really that different? Are these groups really that incompatible? I'd like to think not. I'd like to think that, in the future, everyone will be able to just sit and have a casual conversation. Of course, there's no basis for that dream, but I think it's an interesting thought.
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Marcina Riley refuses to admit that she's been to a Star Trek con and owns a Bajoran earring.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of Comixfan or its other staff in general.
Fandom Days...
Fandom is a word that I didn't really become familiar with until a professor of mine in college handed me a book called Bimbos of the Death Sun. Whilst I enjoyed reading the book for its plot, I have to say that the themes brought up about devoted fans were more than a little interesting. At the time, I was only a mild fan of science fiction, fantasy, and manga. I was a big comic book fan, but I never really interacted with too many other fans. I had no idea how strange fandom can get. It really wasn't until I got more into the fandom that I realized what fandom truly is. Fandom is its own society, with its own rules and language.
Most people should be pretty familiar with the word fandom, but maybe not the concepts and imagery it evokes. The best means to see fandom in action is actually by going to a convention. Watch everyone interact at a "con" and you will see how fandom really works. There you'll witness an odd assortment of people, cliques, industry buffs, rituals, languages, and just about anything else that you could imagine. I'm not saying thatthe behavior is bad, just out of ordinary. People who normally wouldn't associate with each other do, and they also do things that you wouldn't expect them to. Cons are like a fans' Mecca, their place of gathering.
At these cons, certain fans have achieved a sort of status among other fans, forming an almost hierarchy. At one time this might have been due to fanzines and letters, but these days it's due primarily to the internet. Now fans from all over the globe know one another. And, they all come to the events. Last year, I roomed with someone from Puerto Rico, and we both waiting in the lobby for friend of a friend visiting from England. It was her first time in the States. It's almost like a well-to-do affair, watching people parade into the lobbies of hotels wearing costumes and other such things, speaking a variety of different languages. However, they all seem to understand each other.
Each fandom has its own lexicon. Words that have either been assigned a new meaning or made up by the fans themselves. This lexicon is an important identifier for the fans. Knowing what the words mean helps to identify you as being a part of that group. Don't think you use these words? Alright then, have you ever sent someone a PM or an IM? Do you know someone that speaks 733t? Or how about used the words fan fiction, fanzine, and fanlisting? You might think that you're immune, but just coming on the internet has taught you a variety of words. Some of these are directly related to specific fandoms and some aren't, but all identify you as being internet savvy.
There are times when the behavior at cons and on the internet confuses people who are not in the fandom. I remember wondering why someone would want to learn Klingon. Now I know people who speak what we call Fan Japanese, which I almost think is worse. Nonetheless, while most people just don't get it, I can relate to other fans. I don't get singing flik songs, but I do get Karaoke. I can't tell you what the blueprints of a Starfleet ship should look like, but I do know people who can give you the precise weights of all of the Gundams. All and all, it evens out. Different behavior, different fan, different language, but essential the same.
It might be hard to grasp that comic book fans and manga fans are the same, but they are. I hear the same sort of conversations from both groups. Some people argue about in-series things, and other people argue about writers and how well they write. Going to a con and recognizing these similarities, I must laugh. I want to call some behavior strange, but how strange is my behavior to an onlooker. Are we really that different? Are these groups really that incompatible? I'd like to think not. I'd like to think that, in the future, everyone will be able to just sit and have a casual conversation. Of course, there's no basis for that dream, but I think it's an interesting thought.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Marcina Riley refuses to admit that she's been to a Star Trek con and owns a Bajoran earring.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of Comixfan or its other staff in general.