Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Today's observation: ET and The Cat From Outer Space have the same plot.
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Fans and Fandom
I'm looking at the definition of Fandom and Science Fiction Fandom a bit.... in general, I find the useful definition is that fandom is a community of fans. There are, as one would expect, many different communities that all have the same interest.
And this all goes back to what does it mean to be a fan of something, and perhaps even more importantly, what does fandom actually mean?
If you've spent any time in any fandom, you'll realize very quickly that this isn't a non-controversial question.
I don't think the poltical sides of fan communities is all that different from any other ideological "virtual" community -- the same sorts of things appear in religious groups, political groups, civic groups, and probably all sorts of enthusiast groups and so on -- if there's any truth to Best in Show, there are elements of that in Dog Show communities, and I've seen it in the music-fan groups as well.
The comparison that I come back to is a religious one -- as part of the Lutheran service that I grew up with, one professes to believe in One Catholic Church -- of course, in a Protestant congregation, that's a bit strange. And I've encountered people who confuse a particular denomination with the religion as a whole -- people who assume that all Christians are Catholics, or that a particular belief is carried by all people of a certain faith, when there aren't a lot of beliefs that are shared by all people that might identify with a particular religious label.
I keep circling around this topic of what these communities mean -- and someday, I'd really like to focus on What It All Means in some extended, focused format, but I haven't quite figured out how I would want to go about it. It's a topic that interests me -- as a technological professional, as someone who is a science fiction and comic book enthusiast, and as someone who has done his share of organization and community building in those communities. And how these communities relate to what they are built around -- the community is not just about the material, as there are people that may be members of a fan community but have little current interest in the material that inspired the community.
I'm sure I'll get back to this topic again, as little things remind me of it from time to time...
I'm looking at the definition of Fandom and Science Fiction Fandom a bit.... in general, I find the useful definition is that fandom is a community of fans. There are, as one would expect, many different communities that all have the same interest.
And this all goes back to what does it mean to be a fan of something, and perhaps even more importantly, what does fandom actually mean?
If you've spent any time in any fandom, you'll realize very quickly that this isn't a non-controversial question.
I don't think the poltical sides of fan communities is all that different from any other ideological "virtual" community -- the same sorts of things appear in religious groups, political groups, civic groups, and probably all sorts of enthusiast groups and so on -- if there's any truth to Best in Show, there are elements of that in Dog Show communities, and I've seen it in the music-fan groups as well.
The comparison that I come back to is a religious one -- as part of the Lutheran service that I grew up with, one professes to believe in One Catholic Church -- of course, in a Protestant congregation, that's a bit strange. And I've encountered people who confuse a particular denomination with the religion as a whole -- people who assume that all Christians are Catholics, or that a particular belief is carried by all people of a certain faith, when there aren't a lot of beliefs that are shared by all people that might identify with a particular religious label.
I keep circling around this topic of what these communities mean -- and someday, I'd really like to focus on What It All Means in some extended, focused format, but I haven't quite figured out how I would want to go about it. It's a topic that interests me -- as a technological professional, as someone who is a science fiction and comic book enthusiast, and as someone who has done his share of organization and community building in those communities. And how these communities relate to what they are built around -- the community is not just about the material, as there are people that may be members of a fan community but have little current interest in the material that inspired the community.
I'm sure I'll get back to this topic again, as little things remind me of it from time to time...
Thursday, December 23, 2004
A while ago I put together a list of items for people interested in Preparing for Doctor Who 2005. I figured I might as well put together a list of even more items, especially as we get more guest cast announcements and other information.
Labels: doctorwho
Some Doctor Who concept art, which I think is pretty cool looking. Of course, I got the links from Outpost Gallifrey
Labels: doctorwho
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
The Venture Brothers Christmas episode is the best Christmas special EVER.
(well, maybe not better than the original Grinch-- but it's the best new one this year.)
Hopefully there will be more The Venture Brothers episodes made. It sounds likely, looking at some of the following websites:
The Venture Brothers on TV Tome
A Review of The Venture Brothers on The Simon
And there is an interview with Dr Venture on ign as well.
And believe it or not, there is an official Venture Brothers website.
(well, maybe not better than the original Grinch-- but it's the best new one this year.)
Hopefully there will be more The Venture Brothers episodes made. It sounds likely, looking at some of the following websites:
The Venture Brothers on TV Tome
A Review of The Venture Brothers on The Simon
And there is an interview with Dr Venture on ign as well.
And believe it or not, there is an official Venture Brothers website.
New Harry Potter book finished
I've been told that the release date wil be after CONvergence next year, and I think her later books have needed some more editorial involvement, but it's something to look forward to...
I've been told that the release date wil be after CONvergence next year, and I think her later books have needed some more editorial involvement, but it's something to look forward to...
Kung Fu Monkey: Fandamentalism
Extremists in the persuit of an interest have a lot in common.
Actually, I'd disagree with the "men dominate" generalization he makes though -- my experience is that the people who are bothered the most with the changes to the new Battlestar Galactica are women.
Extremists in the persuit of an interest have a lot in common.
Actually, I'd disagree with the "men dominate" generalization he makes though -- my experience is that the people who are bothered the most with the changes to the new Battlestar Galactica are women.
Labels: galactica
Monday, December 20, 2004
"Thought Experiments" by Roger Ebert
Movie reviewer Roger Ebert on classic SF Fandom.....and what it has evolved into today.
Movie reviewer Roger Ebert on classic SF Fandom.....and what it has evolved into today.
Monday, December 13, 2004
Netflix has a new program where you can see what your friends have ranked and seen for movies. If you're interested in an invitation, send me mail...
New BATMAN BEGINS trailer. So far, so good -- it looks like this will be much, much better than the previous series of Batman films....
Friday, December 10, 2004
The New Zealand Herald is a bit behind the times. And it wouldn't take much to verify that yes, the Daleks are going to be in the new Doctor Who....perhaps five minutes on Google
Labels: doctorwho
Thursday, December 09, 2004
I'm watching VH1's My Coolest Years: The Geeks because Wil Wheaton is on it, and I see that Todd Hanson, one of the writers from the Onion, and a fellow UW-Madison alumni, is on wearing a Doctor Who shirt.
(Of course, anyone who has read The Onion for fifteen years isn't surprised by that sort of thing...)
(Of course, anyone who has read The Onion for fifteen years isn't surprised by that sort of thing...)
Labels: doctorwho
Sunday, December 05, 2004
Thursday, December 02, 2004
The Official Doctor Who site has the first teaser -- and when I say teaser, I mean teaser -- for the new series of Doctor Who.
Labels: doctorwho
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