Great stuff as always. Nodded along furiously to this: "Fandom used to empower fans to create their content to carry on when they were let down or the source text was completed. Stans are too reliant on industry feedback and too aware of the zero-sum nature of the present cultural ecosystem to take their toys and go home."
I wish I could yell it from the rooftops when people complain about fandom when what they are pointing to is this new version corrupted by industry metrics and interference.
In all seriousness, this is all great stuff. Looking forward to learning more about the Buffy fandom; it was a phenomenon that I was *aware* of, but never knew much about.
It's fascinating! The whole writing staff had fans and engaged in Twitter-like interactions with the fans. The discourse was mad, some bad behaviour has seeds there.
I'm really looking forward to your Buffyverse piece, as someone who loves BTVS (and begrudgingly tolerates Angel, lol) but whose love for the show is predicated on it being... not obviously built around capital-F "Fandom," in a lot of ways? I know that sounds weird for a show so influential on the fandom front. Or so I'm told - I was watching the show for the first time on DVD c. 2009.
I was always a big fan of the show but aside from following graphic makers and making icons I had no connection to the larger fandom. (I was too engrossed in Roswell!) From the forums and mailing list discussions I've read through, I don't think I would've made it through. The discourse was So Much.
I was going to make a lame joke about the idea of Roswell fandom - something in the vein of "can't wait for your deep-dive into Shasta McNasty" - before remembering that I rewatch "The Faculty" every single year and never shut up about how it's akshually one of the best blockbusters of the '90s. None of us are free from sin :P Did you (or other people) have opinions on the reboot from a couple years ago?
Well, I was LJ friends with the showrunner back in the day, hahahahah. I did not watch it and thought it was an abomination, tbh. She got her start with Julie Plec so just perpetuated that garbage. Heard some horror stories from the writer's room/BTS as well.
Two of the actors from the original show had been working on a project (Baron + Toluca) that was reminiscent of the show where the teasers were actually really good, and I always thought *that* should've been green lit instead.
I think I covered all there is to say about Roswell in my fan campaigns post (with some bonus Jossverse) it was a wild ride, tbh, one where the show definitely outstayed its welcome but I still think s1 at least is incredibly solid.
That's a shame! My instinct was that "Roswell" would be probably the only show of that era where a reboot might have had something going for it beyond "look ma, old IP!" - there's probably an interesting show which contrasts extraterrestrial alien invasion tropes with American anxiety about immigrant ""invaders."" I'm not sure the CW could handle that, admittedly. (Jennie Snyder Urman is a *good* showrunner and yet "Jane the Virgin" really floundered whenever it tried to address the political climate of America under Trump 1.0.)
Great stuff as always. Nodded along furiously to this: "Fandom used to empower fans to create their content to carry on when they were let down or the source text was completed. Stans are too reliant on industry feedback and too aware of the zero-sum nature of the present cultural ecosystem to take their toys and go home."
I wish I could yell it from the rooftops when people complain about fandom when what they are pointing to is this new version corrupted by industry metrics and interference.
based & technological determinism pilled
In all seriousness, this is all great stuff. Looking forward to learning more about the Buffy fandom; it was a phenomenon that I was *aware* of, but never knew much about.
It's fascinating! The whole writing staff had fans and engaged in Twitter-like interactions with the fans. The discourse was mad, some bad behaviour has seeds there.
I'm really looking forward to your Buffyverse piece, as someone who loves BTVS (and begrudgingly tolerates Angel, lol) but whose love for the show is predicated on it being... not obviously built around capital-F "Fandom," in a lot of ways? I know that sounds weird for a show so influential on the fandom front. Or so I'm told - I was watching the show for the first time on DVD c. 2009.
I was always a big fan of the show but aside from following graphic makers and making icons I had no connection to the larger fandom. (I was too engrossed in Roswell!) From the forums and mailing list discussions I've read through, I don't think I would've made it through. The discourse was So Much.
I was going to make a lame joke about the idea of Roswell fandom - something in the vein of "can't wait for your deep-dive into Shasta McNasty" - before remembering that I rewatch "The Faculty" every single year and never shut up about how it's akshually one of the best blockbusters of the '90s. None of us are free from sin :P Did you (or other people) have opinions on the reboot from a couple years ago?
Well, I was LJ friends with the showrunner back in the day, hahahahah. I did not watch it and thought it was an abomination, tbh. She got her start with Julie Plec so just perpetuated that garbage. Heard some horror stories from the writer's room/BTS as well.
Two of the actors from the original show had been working on a project (Baron + Toluca) that was reminiscent of the show where the teasers were actually really good, and I always thought *that* should've been green lit instead.
I think I covered all there is to say about Roswell in my fan campaigns post (with some bonus Jossverse) it was a wild ride, tbh, one where the show definitely outstayed its welcome but I still think s1 at least is incredibly solid.
https://exiledfan.substack.com/p/are-fan-campaigns-worth-the-while
That's a shame! My instinct was that "Roswell" would be probably the only show of that era where a reboot might have had something going for it beyond "look ma, old IP!" - there's probably an interesting show which contrasts extraterrestrial alien invasion tropes with American anxiety about immigrant ""invaders."" I'm not sure the CW could handle that, admittedly. (Jennie Snyder Urman is a *good* showrunner and yet "Jane the Virgin" really floundered whenever it tried to address the political climate of America under Trump 1.0.)