Out all of the 'defence for fandom' essays out there, I think that yours is probably the most cleverly worded. In fact, I couldn't help but smile every now and then at the tone. It reminds me of a lot of the french lit arts-essays I've read over time; references to (potentially) obscure topics and then concrete evidence about how they work in this context.
Overall, I think that my favourite argument of yours was how there's a creative force in all of us. I've long felt that we probably draw the line far to quickly between 'creativity' and 'art' and everything else in the world.
I've always thought of the practical reasons why fandoms exist (i.e. for young writers, it's normally a little bit easier to start at a story when you have the bases down; environment, context, etc). But, your essay pushes it one tiny step further; a look at the why (instead of 'enjoyment', you throw in a concept of flow) and relate it to everything else that is (and is not) traditionally considered creative. Very nice.
Mostly, I still grin at how 'academic' you sound - minus perhaps the quip about Thomas Edison being crazy. ;)
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Date: 2008-02-11 05:58 pm (UTC)Overall, I think that my favourite argument of yours was how there's a creative force in all of us. I've long felt that we probably draw the line far to quickly between 'creativity' and 'art' and everything else in the world.
I've always thought of the practical reasons why fandoms exist (i.e. for young writers, it's normally a little bit easier to start at a story when you have the bases down; environment, context, etc). But, your essay pushes it one tiny step further; a look at the why (instead of 'enjoyment', you throw in a concept of flow) and relate it to everything else that is (and is not) traditionally considered creative. Very nice.
Mostly, I still grin at how 'academic' you sound - minus perhaps the quip about Thomas Edison being crazy. ;)
-T. pirate