sholio | (no subject)

Now I'm buying Wiseguy fanzines on ebay. I HAVE NO SHAME. *shakes tiny fist at ebay for being so very tempting*

A random rec:

stargate_vegas is a new comm for Vegas 'verse fanworks -- fic, discussion, etc -- modded by

darkrosetiger and

telesilla. There's very little there yet, but it would be really cool to see it grow, and there's so much potential in the episode for universe exploration and expansion. They welcome all pairings and ratings.

Unrelated to the above, I've been perusing various posts off Metafandom discussing fannish responsibility, the way that we interact with the things we fan on, the reasons why we move between fandoms. I keep starting to write posts and then discarding them ... I'm finding the discussion very interesting (and generally pretty polite considering how vehement people's opinions on it obviously are) and it's not a simple thing for me to suss out in myself. I do find that I'm a reader/viewer first, and a fan second -- in other words, it's love of the source material that brings me to fandom, not love of fandom that makes me go looking for things to fan on. (The fact that I'm currently fanning on something with next to no active fandom is ample evidence of that.) But I certainly can't discount the extent to which my own actions, as a fan and a reader, and my enjoyment and appreciation of the source are shaped by the way other people react to it. I'm deeply loving "Wiseguy" right now, but without a steady supply of fic, and other people to bounce off fannishly, I'm not really sure how long the deep obsession is going to last. I'm not sure if my SGA obsession would have gone on so long if there hadn't been such a huge fandom to play in. The fandom itself is enough to keep me at least peripherally involved, even now.

And, on the flip side of that coin, I don't think it's wise to completely ignore the fact that we're also shaped and influenced in subtle ways by what we read and watch. It does matter what you put into your brain and how deeply you let it live there. It's like eating junk food -- perfectly harmless and fine in moderation, and nobody else's business if you love it, no one else's right to judge you for it. But it's not really healthy in the long term to live on a steady diet of it. I really don't think I have that much control over my emotional responses to stuff ... when I love a show, it doesn't really matter if it's award-winning drama or the worst dreck known to mankind -- I still have that emotional response to it. But I'm starting to be wary of letting it work its way too deeply into my brainspace without really thinking about it first, if that makes any sense.

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You found some on ebay? That's great! :) Sometimes they don't have any fanzines at all, other times loads.

I did! And they look pretty good, too! :D I know, I was lucky. That kind of thing is *very* hit or miss. Maybe it means there are a lot of zines out there from the early '90s in this fandom, and I just have to find them (or have other nice people search for me, which I *really* appreciate :).

It's so interesting to me that you are into the Wiseguy fandom. I can remember being so involved in the program years ago before computers and fandoms. I was fascinated with the brother/sister relationship as well as a bit creeped out. It was so cutting edge then and really quite outside the norm.

I haven't seen it in years! I'm amazed there is a following. Was it like 1987 or so?

Yeah, as freaky as it is, I love that they actually go there with the consensual incest; it's subtle, but it's obvious in canon that the siblings are sleeping together (even so far as Vinnie pointing out that Susan's brother might have impregnated her). It's a show that's very much ahead of its time in a lot of ways -- though admittedly, not so much in others (it doesn't do so great with its female characters, in general, to name one example).

I watched it when it was originally on TV, but it was really more my mom's show; I was only about 12 or 13, and I think I was really too young to appreciate the show's darker and quirkier aspects.

it's love of the source material that brings me to fandom

Yeah, it's pretty much the same for me. If I don't like the source material, it doesn't matter much how awesome the fic is - it just doesn't hold my interest. That's why I never got into bandom and was disappointed to find only a handful of Rome fan fiction.

It's really fascinating for me reading these posts and seeing all the many different reasons that people have for doing the same fannish things. Of course there are as many reasons for being in fandom as there are fans.