My history in fandom
Jun. 2nd, 2003 09:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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dargie:
1. What was the very first fandom you got involved in?
That's a hard one. If you define 'fandom' as active participation in creative activity which involves people other than myself, it would be "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." when I was twelve. If you look at things I loved which became active fandoms later, it would be the books of Dorothy Dunnett and of J.R.R. Tolkien, both discovered when I was in my mid-teens - and of course X-Men, discovered in 1963 when I was ten. If you define it as widespread organized fandom, it would be my attendance at my first fannish convention, a comic book con in Toronto when I was 18. (Stan Lee was there, and Barry Windsor-Smith. Barry Windsor-Smith! Stars in my firmament.)
If you define it as 'getting involved in slash' it would have been joining the local Star Trek club when I was 27, and being asked the fateful question, "Do you like slash?".
My answer of course was, "What's slash?"
2. What is the most recent fandom to catch your interest?
Firefly
3. Fandom you've stayed loyal to the longest?
X-Men, Dunnett, Tolkien. But I tend to be loyal to all fandoms - never fully leave, just burn out eventually on active participation (i.e., writing). The exception perhaps is X-Files, where it felt like a painful divorce or betrayal.
4. Fandom(s) you're most passionate about?
Currently I am utterly passionate about Smallville, but my love of Firefly and The Lord of the Rings is strong and bright too. I guess I've been passionate about X-Men for four decades now.
5. Fandom(s) you wish you could get into, but can't?
Hmm. In an abstract sort of way I wish I could join my friends in their love of "Stargate-SG1" because it looks as if they're having fun, but no, I don't really feel a desire to get into it - if I did, I would. One fandom at a time is more than enough for me and I'm feeling stretched right now with an embarrassment of riches - a new X-Men movie, a new LOTR movie to look forward to, another season of Smallville coming up, a potential Firefly movie -fannish life is pretty full and certainly good.
6. Fandoms you're curious about, but never had the chance to get into?
Mutant X. Maybe. Oz. Sharpe. Or various aspects of yaoi.
7. Fandom that's been the most fun to be involved in?
They're all fun.
8. Fandom that's been the least fun to be involved in
Uh... no, they've all been fun, or I wouldn't be into them. That's the whole point. I've never been in a fandom that didn't have good people in it. Horatio Hornblower was a little problematic in that my chosen pairing wasn't the most popular one, and I came into it at an awkward time, and my first experience of Horatio Hornblower fandom wasn't good. But I still had lots of fun and then some. I found people who shared my passion for my pairing, and had a wonderful time with them. I also found a wonderful local group of HH fans, people whom I would never have met otherwise.
9. Fandom you're ashamed to admit you were involved in?
Shame? What's that? My credo is: if I like it, it's worth liking.
10. Are you looking for a new fandom, or actively avoiding getting sucked into something new?
Neither. I am happy with the fandoms I have, but I wouldn't close my eyes to the next thing. I wouldn't wanted to have missed the joyous discovery of Firefly, which is maybe the best show I've seen on television.
dargie:1. What was the very first fandom you got involved in?
That's a hard one. If you define 'fandom' as active participation in creative activity which involves people other than myself, it would be "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." when I was twelve. If you look at things I loved which became active fandoms later, it would be the books of Dorothy Dunnett and of J.R.R. Tolkien, both discovered when I was in my mid-teens - and of course X-Men, discovered in 1963 when I was ten. If you define it as widespread organized fandom, it would be my attendance at my first fannish convention, a comic book con in Toronto when I was 18. (Stan Lee was there, and Barry Windsor-Smith. Barry Windsor-Smith! Stars in my firmament.)
If you define it as 'getting involved in slash' it would have been joining the local Star Trek club when I was 27, and being asked the fateful question, "Do you like slash?".
My answer of course was, "What's slash?"
2. What is the most recent fandom to catch your interest?
Firefly
3. Fandom you've stayed loyal to the longest?
X-Men, Dunnett, Tolkien. But I tend to be loyal to all fandoms - never fully leave, just burn out eventually on active participation (i.e., writing). The exception perhaps is X-Files, where it felt like a painful divorce or betrayal.
4. Fandom(s) you're most passionate about?
Currently I am utterly passionate about Smallville, but my love of Firefly and The Lord of the Rings is strong and bright too. I guess I've been passionate about X-Men for four decades now.
5. Fandom(s) you wish you could get into, but can't?
Hmm. In an abstract sort of way I wish I could join my friends in their love of "Stargate-SG1" because it looks as if they're having fun, but no, I don't really feel a desire to get into it - if I did, I would. One fandom at a time is more than enough for me and I'm feeling stretched right now with an embarrassment of riches - a new X-Men movie, a new LOTR movie to look forward to, another season of Smallville coming up, a potential Firefly movie -fannish life is pretty full and certainly good.
6. Fandoms you're curious about, but never had the chance to get into?
Mutant X. Maybe. Oz. Sharpe. Or various aspects of yaoi.
7. Fandom that's been the most fun to be involved in?
They're all fun.
8. Fandom that's been the least fun to be involved in
Uh... no, they've all been fun, or I wouldn't be into them. That's the whole point. I've never been in a fandom that didn't have good people in it. Horatio Hornblower was a little problematic in that my chosen pairing wasn't the most popular one, and I came into it at an awkward time, and my first experience of Horatio Hornblower fandom wasn't good. But I still had lots of fun and then some. I found people who shared my passion for my pairing, and had a wonderful time with them. I also found a wonderful local group of HH fans, people whom I would never have met otherwise.
9. Fandom you're ashamed to admit you were involved in?
Shame? What's that? My credo is: if I like it, it's worth liking.
10. Are you looking for a new fandom, or actively avoiding getting sucked into something new?
Neither. I am happy with the fandoms I have, but I wouldn't close my eyes to the next thing. I wouldn't wanted to have missed the joyous discovery of Firefly, which is maybe the best show I've seen on television.
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Date: 2003-06-02 12:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-02 01:27 pm (UTC)Yes - it's something entirely new to him. And it's emphasized by the angel-imagery we see in the pilot. This contrasts nicely too with Lex's past sexual experiences, in that he's obviously had a number of lovers, but Clark still offers him something new and completely different.
Yes, there are so many levels of signficance on so many levels, symbolic and psychological.