[penguicon-general] Fannish Material To Read

[john guest]

Now my introduction to fandom was Harlan Ellison's tirades about
dealing with fans.  A not particularly flattering view of fandom
either.  Of course, his motivations in attending conventions was to
schmooze with publishers, and really wasn't interested in the fannish
aspect (apart from how many women he could lure into bed).

--John

On 12/20/06, Matt Arnold <matt.mattarn at gmail.com> wrote:
> Two people have mentioned Bimbos Of The Death Sun. When I finally got
> a copy of that and read it, I didn't enjoy it. I was surprised that it
> was frequently recommended, given that the author has no love of
> fandom whatsoever. It is not affectionate mockery. It's a hostile
> message to stay away from conventions, those who attend them, and
> those who run them. I tried to interpret it more charitably, but could
> find no redeeming qualities in the events or people depicted. Every
> fannish activity the characters in that book participated in was a
> human train wreck. The author attributed their motivation to
> participate entirely to their personality flaws, which were not
> depicted sympathetically at any point. Far from being a core
> experience of fandom, I found its perspective to be outside my
> experience. If BotDS is a good intro to fandom, stay away from that
> fandom.
>
> -Matt
>
>
> On 12/20/06, Molly de Blanc <majorarcanna at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I am a second generation fan. So I will say that before my father went to
> > cons, he got fanzines and even wrote a Star Trek fanfic in his high school
> > sci fi-gaming club. Personally, being a Fan is being fanatical about science
> > fiction and fantasy--which is, in my opinion, the truest sense of the
> > definition. This can be games, TV shows, books, movies, or uhh...thereäs
> > more, Iäm sure of it. But hey, what do I know? I lack a PhD in applied
> > cultural anthropology!
> >
> > I think _Bimbos of the Death Sun_ is a real good intro, personally. I'd also
> > recommend *This is Otakudom* to understand how anime fandom works. It also
> > gives a scarily accurate depiction of a con going experience. _Fans_ is an
> > EXCELLENT webcomic about, well, fans.
> >
> > And, at this point, I shall direct all of you to my documentary proposal
> > _What is a Fan_? once I have a half-decent keyboard again.
> >
> >
> > On 12/19/06, Rob Landley <rob at landley.net> wrote:
> > > On Monday 18 December 2006 10:46 pm, Catherine Olanich Raymond wrote:
> > > > On Monday 18 December 2006 12:32 am, Seth Breidbart wrote:
> > > > > "Matt Arnold" <matt.mattarn at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > > > You're right, fandom is about attending cons, pure and simple.
> > > > >
> > > > > No, *convention fandom* is about attending cons.
> > > > >
> > > > > Fanzine fandom is where it all started.
> > > >
> > > > Gee.  And here I thought the books were where it all started.  :-)
> > However,
> > > > Seth, you've been in fandom longer than I have, so I'll defer to your
> > > > superior knowledge of the historic background.
> > >
> > > Somebody pointed me to Charles Dickens fanfic, contemporary with the
> > > originals.  And his bestseller (A Christmas Carol) is, technically
> > speaking,
> > > a supernatural time travel thriller.  (However, the fanfic I saw wasn't in
> > > anything like a fanzine.)
> > >
> > > Rob
> > > --
> > > "Perfection is reached, not when there is no longer anything to add, but
> > > when there is no longer anything to take away." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > m.j .
> > ---------
> > "Some people experiment with drugs in college; I'm experimenting with
> > postmodernism.
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> >
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