News of Note

Here's a roundup of stories on fan fiction that might be of interest to fans:

• One of the most common forms of creative expression by fans has been the written word, and an increasing number of creators are either being asked about it, are writing about it due to the influence of other creators or are even offering fans tips on how to improve their work. This last step may be a lose/lose situation. "I don't want break the heart of a fan by judging it like I would if they were a writer on the show but that's the only way I CAN judge it. I might consider giving notes if they were looking for constructive criticism but only if I knew them really well. Many people who SAY they want criticism don't. They just want me to be thrilled with their work. That's an emotional land mine I'd rather step around."
• Certainly fans don't need encouragement to write fan-fiction although they are increasingly being given incentives to do so. But the impulse has sometimes begun whole new genres of work. In an interview, comics scholar Jared Gardner claimed "the earliest comics creators began their careers imitating their favorite cartoonists and came to New York or San Francisco with a portfolio in hand of their best examples--and often made their first sales peddling some of this fan work...on the streets." Unlike costly formats such as films, "Comics...have always invited audiences to pick up a pencil and try it themselves: from the earliest days of the form creators and publishers have encouraged readers to send in their stories, their sketches--even offering how-to guides for drawing favorite characters," he said, concluding "In a way, the history of comics is the history of fan art and the fanzine."
• In recent years the general fandom audience, if not the general public, has become more familiar with fan fiction as part of the remix impulse at work in both high and low culture or as a core expression of fandom longevity. Certainly fans are not terribly accepting when the creators themselves turn out sloppy tie-in work, so perhaps this is one explanation for why many general fandom sites are beginning to do regular recommendation postings for fanfic, or even issuring writing challenges.

If you write fan fiction, or fan comics, or have something to contribute about creator involvement, why not write about it in Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of "fandom everywhere" stories that might be of interest to fans:

• Mardi Gras in New Orleans now has an open-source side. "Bar2D2, as the robot is called, is the mascot of the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus, which runs a ragtag operation dedicated to all things science fiction. In two years, the group, which started as a drunken joke in a bar, has become the quickest-growing krewe in the city, and a center of the amateur costume culture in New Orleans." Aside from giving people a chance to be creative, "Chewbacchus and krewes like it are a response to the exclusivity of the older groups. Chewbacchus does not have any waiting lists or recommendation requirements, and dues are only $42 (an arcane numerical reference to the novel “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”)." Rather than change old traditions, the krewe believes they are modernizing it. "“The old Mardi Gras krewes play off of Greek gods,” Mr. Powers said. “We believe sci-fi is the strongest mythology of our time.”"
• Star Wars fandom was also in focus at the Hollywood Theater in Pittsburgh. The Fandom Meant Us is "a romantic comedy about Star Wars fans’ love for Star Wars, and their love for each other" that was advertised as "an awesomely geeky Valentine’s Day date."
• Media scholar Henry Jenkins ran a three-part interview with authors Catherine Belcher and Becky Herr-Stephenson, authors of Teaching Harry Potter: The Power of Imagination in the Multicultural Classroom, which Jenkins recommended as "one of the most powerful and engaging books I've read about American education in a long time." In discussing student reluctance, the authors write "The first thing we question is the idea that the "whiteness" of the books negates their use in multicultural classrooms. The nature of the books themselves - their complexity and Rowling's willingness to take on difficult and contemporary issues such as racism, genocide, classism, and difference - make them uniquely valuable." They add "On another level, it is also important because so many white, middle to upper middle class kids DO have ample access to Potter and other popular series at home and at school. In many ways, building students' reading confidence, helping them discover that yes, they too can tackle a book of this length or "that style," whether they end up feeling it is ultimately for them or not, is the most valuable accomplishment."

If you are a Star Wars or Harry Potter fan, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of stories on commodification of fandom that might be of interest to fans:

• AdWeek wrote about a new branding service called "FanDNA, and it’s pitching itself as an alternative to the established Marketing Evaluations’ Q ratings by matching brands with celebrities." The survey is intended to find out what the fans of a given celebrity like as a way of better utilizing celebrities to market products.
• Ad Age utilized online conversation to determine who were the NFL teams' truest fans. "To find where the true fans lie, back in August we took a look at the volume of team conversations coming from true fans during the off-season. We re-ran the date to see how this played out during the season." The ultimate purpose, of course, was to determine how best to utilize fans for marketing. "Brands outside the NFL can learn from all of this. There are true fans and bandwagon fans. In a brands case, true fans are often referred to as advocates or champions. A social campaign should start from the point of view of the true fans."
• Perhaps spurred by the success of Big Bang Theory as one of the most popular shows on U.S. television, several more series are airing around the globe that focus on fans. One of these is Kevin Smith's Comic Book Men, an unscripted series focusing on a New Jersey comic book shop. Australian TV's Outland just began airing as well, which is about a fan club who are "openly gay but closeted sci-fi fans." One of Outland's creators' "research included sporadic attendances at science-fiction conventions (he admits to being a fan of Doctor Who and Star Trek), but despite the fanatical devotees, it was always the gay fans he remembered. “I don’t know what it is, but I think they’re always a little ‘extra-obsessive.’ They have to collect the full set of Doctor Who dollies. The gays, we get a little bit too excited about things sometimes, I think."

If you are a sports fan, part of a fan club or love comics, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of perspectives on fans stories that might be of interest to fans:

• The CW has greenlit the pilot for Cult, a story focusing on fans of a cult show committing murders. The story was based on the writer's experience with Farscape. ""When I first conceived “Cult” it came out of that. I thought, what if the show wasn’t something like “Farscape,” a science fiction show that had a slight amount of edge but was essentially an entertainment? What if it was a show that was darker, had darker elements? What kind of fan base would grow up out of that, especially considering the anonymity of the internet? It would potentially yield a very interesting opportunity for some very strange people to connect with the show. So that’s where it all began.""
• The newspaper The Guardian recently ran two different negative pieces about genre fiction the first discussing how eReaders both hide and reveal reading tastes and the second bemoaning how mainstreaming sci-fi/fantasy stories has created boring TV and films. Fangirl Unleashed countered the latter and suggested sexism had a hand in these negative views. "In the same way that female-centric films are ghettoised as ‘chick flicks’, ‘syfy’ (as the new label has it) is dismissed as romanticised/infantilised nonsense." In addition "It doesn’t help that some writers refuse to accept the genre label, because their work is ‘serious’, fostering an insidious Catch 22 – serious work isn’t science fiction, so science fiction can’t be serious. Authors like Margaret Atwood and Kazuo Ishiguro write about clones and worlds where women are sold as incubators, but it’s an allegory, not science fiction, so that’s alright, they’re still proper writers."
• The MarySue recently deconstructed how role-playing games represent women and limit the interactions actual female players can have onscreen. "The Hey Sweetheart Scenario is one that plays out with female protagonists, and it pops up all over the place. It’s usually very subtle, presenting itself as a bit of throw-away dialogue separate from the main plot." After examining how this occurs and who it might be targeted to, the author suggests that the main culprit is lazy writing. "Raise your hand if you’ve ever played a game/seen a movie/read a book wherein the heroine’s desire to fight stems from her anger towards men, particularly where a male abuser is concerned. It’s a trope as old as the hills, and it drips with lazy, one-dimensional storytelling. A real heroine doesn’t need to be goaded into action by ill-mannered men. Just let her save the day. That’s more than enough evidence that she’s a badass."

If you play RPGs, are a Farscape fan, are a fan of cult TV shows or read science fiction, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of stories on the benefits of collective fandom that might be of interest to fans:

• An article targeted at chief information officers cited an Australian study showing that the internet can promote the literacy development of young adults. "Curwood analysed the participation of teenagers in fan-created sites of young adult literature, such as Mockingjay.net, ThePotterGames.net and HungerGamesTrilogy.net. "Young people fall in love with these books and seek out other fans online,” she said. “In their own time they write Hunger Games-inspired fiction, create art, produce videos, compose music, and design role-playing games.""
• Former OTW board member Rachel Barenblat recently wrote about Transformative Work: Midrash and Fanfiction. "Judaism has long been a read/write tradition. We are not expected to be passive recipients of revelation; we are expected to join the conversation." Similarly, "The tradition of derivative works (artistic creations which are rooted in other people’s art) is as old as literature itself. But what makes fanfiction unlike Virgil’s retelling of Homer or Alice Randall’s The Wind Done Gone (which recasts and reframes Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind) is that fanfiction arises within the context of community."
• The article Excitement builds for pop subculture events throughout the South focused on the positive. "Many conventioneers said attending their first event showed them that, specialized or not, other people shared their interest in niche subjects. The experience, they said, was often revelatory and had a profound impact on them socially." One long-time con-goer concluded "Whatever misconceptions people have, any kind of convention is an opportunity for people to get together and enjoy each other's company."
• Although not solely a fandom issue, back on January 24 we posted about activity surrounding ACTA, an international treaty which has potentially large implications for the current state of copyright and intellectual property enforcement. Over this past weekend, numerous protests took place in Europe to speak out against this treaty, whose negotiations, and indeed exact content, has been kept secret. A German site to protest ACTA counted over 121,000 participants in numerous cities across Germany, and this report of actions in Italy also reveals large turnouts. This site map gives a much clearer view of the range of protest activity, and those interested may want to peruse the numerous videos and photos linked to the protest organization wiki or sign a protest petition. (Thanks to senior_witch for the link collection).

If you are a Hunger Games fan, write fan fiction or attend conventions, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of stories on sports fandom that might be of interest to fans:

• In the post Competitive Fandom in the Social Media Age blogger Carles notes how fannish values have changed to prioritize online networking. "Attending a live sporting event forces consumers to analyze a monetary and emotional break-even point. Is it really worth it for mass-market suburbanite families to make the trip all the way to the stadium in order to watch some meaningless, a la carte regular-season game from the upper level? After the team jogs through the motions, a bad basketball game can turn into an almost dehumanizing consumer experience." He observes that it is also an experience few people can have. "[W]hen you get older, you start to witness the typically inverse relationship between the proximity of your seat to the court versus the level of genuine rooting interest...Somehow we all turn into post-reverse-classists who assume that basically no one should be allowed to watch live sports from nice seats. We are the other 99 percent of sports fans."
• The Daily News Egypt also looks at sports in a larger political-economic context in "Football fans as revolution." "The Ultras’ unconditional support to their teams, whether they win or lose, reflects unrestricted faith in an idea and working relentlessly to support and improve it. Their motivation and organizational capacities in achieving that goal, using team work in an unmatched creativity, induces hope and inspiration. The dynamics of the process brings (positive) patriotism and freedom to the forefront, two critical values that have been subdued and suppressed by the ailing regime but are experiencing rebirth."
• From national politics to fandom politics, a Chicago sports blogger took it upon himself to lecture fellow fans on how fandom should be performed. "I’m a Cubs fan and root for them harder than anyone. I also understand that the Cubs play a game, and I respect myself too much to ask another grown man who plays a game for a living to write his name on something while I’m wearing a shirt with that man’s name on it. And I know you make fun of Trekkies and the weirdos who go to adult entertainment conventions and buy the rubber genitalia replicas of their favorite porn stars. But guess what? You’re no different." As one respondent points out, given the sorts of depths that sports fandom can sink to it's a bit much to declare conventions to be an over-the-line form of fannish expression. "I’ve never been to an adult entertainment convention or a Star Trek convention – or a Cubs convention for that matter. But I don’t mock anyone who does because it’s their hobby and their money and it in no way, shape or form concerns me how other folks entertain themselves as long as it does no harm to me."

If you are a sports fan or attend conventions, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of stories on fannish technologies in the news that might be of interest to fans:

• The new site WorldCosplay is making an effort to connect cosplayers across the globe. "Though still in beta, the network already comes in an impressive 12 languages." WorldCosplay has some differences from existing sites. "There are already three big social network players in the cosplay community: the American based Cosplay.com, the Japanese Cure, and the general art site Deviant Art. Since the first two focus on their home countries and the third was never designed to be a cosplay community, Botea said WorldCosplay might have a chance to become the cosplayer’s social network of choice."
• Apple's recent effort to promote textbook publishing for the iPad prompted this discussion of the need to simplify epublishing. "Ebooks have blown open that world of exclusivity — but the ease of use still isn’t there. There’s a long list of tools that try to make ebook creation easier, from big names (Apple’s Pages, Adobe’s InDesign) to smaller ones (Scrivener) to open source alternatives like calibre. But it’s still a complicated enough business that there’s a healthy ecosystem of companies offering ebook conversion services." Indeed the growing simplicity of online posting and content hosting sites helped fan fiction's distribution grow enormously, but few sites replicate the print book experience. "But if publishing is dirt simple...how would publishers (book, news, and otherwise) respond to an even greater flood of competing content than the ebook world has already produced?"
• YouTube was also a milestone, not just in the distribution of video content, but in its revealing look at the diversity of fan-created visual works. However the site is moving away from the amateur creator. As YouTube increasingly promotes partnerships with professional producers "what will happen to the “little guy,” those who make content to share with people—not for profit?" Various critical reactions have sprung up. "“I don't want my TV to invade YouTube,” commented Porcelanesa on the promo video. “I came here because it was YOUtube, people talking to people and sharing their lives, videos of their kids, their pets, something exciting that happened during the day they wanted to share with someone else. Normal people, like you and me.”"

If you cosplay, write fan fiction, or create videos, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of stories on fannish histories in the news that might be of interest to fans:

• CNN's Geek Out blog hosted a post by Colette Bennett about how she became a J-Pop fangirl. "In 2008, a friend of mine mentioned that he enjoyed Japanese television dramas - known fondly as J-dramas to the fan community. I had no idea what the J-drama scene was about, but it wasn't long before I sat down to watch one. The opening scene was accompanied by a Japanese pop song from outrageously popular boy band Arashi. Within five minutes, I had two new realizations: I was madly in love with J-dramas, and I was madly in love with Arashi." The Korea Herald recently hosted a similar article by Elizabeth Gwee about her love of K-Pop fandom. "I don’t fit the stereotype of a K-pop fan. I like to think of myself as a mature, normal-functioning, happily married adult. I try not to brainwash my friends into liking it, unless they ask me about it. K-pop happens to be something that my husband, who introduced me to it, and I enjoy indulging in when we need an escape from mundane adult life."
• Romance novel review site Smart Bitches, Trashy Books hosted a discussion about paranormal vs. contemporary romance fans that tried to define how each group participated in their fandom. "[T]he paranormal fans are more likely to click links, rate books, review books and spread the word about a series they love - and connect with other readers. That's not to say that the contemporary fanbase can't be built among readers; I think the limitation is that the contemporary world building is reality-based, and ultimately the connected activities are both based in the real world (knitting, cooking, etc.) and focused on real-world promotion instead of online."
• Today in Comics History posted about the origins of comic book fandom, citing the practice of allowing fans to network among themselves as a turning point. "Now letters pages were not rare before the 1960s, and even letters pages with full addresses (name, street, city, state) were published in comic books back in the 1930s. And there were fans clubs, even if they were mostly company run. But something changed with comic book fans in the early 1960s. There were many factors, but one key was the older, activist fan like Jerry Bails, Roy Thomas, and Don & Maggie Thompson. They enjoyed comic books and wanted to tell others about it. And they had the life experience and knowledge to act on that desire."
• Lastly, The Literary Omnivore had some book recommendations about fandoms highlighting "three works dealing with pre-Internet fans."

If you've read zines or are part of the comics, J-pop, K-Pop, or romance book fandoms, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of stories on fandom works in the news that might be of interest to fans:

• Indiana Jones fan Jeff Gurwood created a stop-motion film of the Raiders of the Lost Ark opening which gained media attention. The film took "six months of work, 45 hours a week" and "cost him about $500 to $600." The fan film was undertaken only after he and his creative partner attempted to sell a film based on an original work they had made and after the "Syfy channel came close to green-lighting a series. And Adult Swim, the late-night arm of Cartoon Network, talked to the pair about a year before producing Robot Chicken, which also features action figure stop-motion." He currently has at least one offer: "A major toy manufacturer saw the Raiders video and is looking to hire Gurwood to make videos for its toy lines."
• The band My Chemical Romance's new video was partially created by a fan. "Emily Eisemann, a 21-year-old from New York, had created a collage-like YouTube video called “My Chemical Romance - Celebrating 10 Years as a Band,” which singer Gerard Way and crew stumbled upon while mining for footage to use in a similar purpose." Now available on YouTube "in a nod to Eisemann, her original video -- and story -- is also linked prominently."
• Filmmaker Ryan James Yezak "was better known on YouTube for his glittery remakes of Katy Perry and Rihanna videos as gay love stories" before he turned his hand to a new project, a successful fund raising effort to create "a full-length documentary, called Second Class Citizens." The current trailer "takes the viewer on a fast-paced journey through the gay rights movement, starting with historic footage denouncing “homosexuals.”" A major supporter was actor George Takei. "“This young filmmaker made my Spidey video,” he tweeted, referring to a campaign to have Takei play Spider-Man on Broadway. “If you watch one clip today, let it be this.”"
• Less inspiring is a recent trend to get celebrities to read fan fiction on camera, the more potentially embarrassing the better. Ralph Fiennes' appearance reading Harry Potter fanfic was covered by dozens of sites including TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly, The L.A. Times and Vulture. A post at Crushable mentions a similar recent case in Twilight fandom. While it has been considered poor etiquette for fans to confront celebrities with fan fiction written about them or their projects, the media seems to be setting different boundaries for ratings fodder.

If you're part of My Chemical Romance, Twilight, Harry Potter or Indiana Jones fandoms, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.