Arctic Light

Last year it was Meta Month of March, this year it's Meta Month of May - but in any case, trobadora and I are doing it again! This is a month-long fest to encourage more fannish meta and discussion on Livejournal and Dreamwidth. Anyone can participate; all you have to do is write a post about any fandom-related topic, post it on LJ and/or DW in May, and link to it from month_of_meta / month_of_meta.

As last year, there is a signup sheet (on LJ / on DW -- this is nonbinding, but it gives you a target to aim for, and everyone else some idea of what to expect) and a brainstorming & meta prompts post (on LJ / on DW). The rules are the same as last year. Posting will begin on May 1 and run through the end of May.

Feel free to promote this in any of your fandoms, and ask trobadora or me if you have any questions!

Unfortunately I am having Internet problems at home right now -- I actually posted the signup sheet RIGHT before my home Internet went out for a half-hour or so, and it's been up and down ever since. If the problem persists, I may be slow to update the signup sheet and/or answer any questions until it's working properly again.

(Thank you very much to my flist for the last-minute feedback and handholding! You were most helpful!)

This was a topic suggestion by michelel72 over at month_of_meta, and it snagged my interest immediately.

But what I realized when I started trying to write a detailed post is how unique and individual all of my viewing experiences have been. Mostly, when I look back on it, I can't come up with a good example of a show, book, comic or anime that I think would have been better viewed or read in a different way. My lingering warm fuzzies (or viewer frustration) is a composite of all the different aspects that went into the viewing experience. Do I know that I would have liked Avatar: The Last Airbender just as much if I'd watched the episodes over the course of years rather than in a couple of weeks? I have no idea -- it would be different! So it's hard to analyze the similarities and differences -- every viewing experience is unique.

So these are not so much conclusions as, I suppose, general rambling on the topic. It's also very specific to my own experiences, not really meant to apply to fandom as a whole -- though, of course, I'm definitely interested in hearing how this works for other people.

Also, most of this applies similarly, I think, to any kind of long-format series -- books, TV, comics, anime, manga, etc. I'm going to generally use TV examples because, among other reasons, it's easier to type "viewer" every time rather than "viewer/reader/comics fan". *g* But when it comes to serials, I think that books, comics, or manga are not really all that different.)

( General ramblings under the cut. Long! )

So what about you? Are you a binge viewer, settling in for an uninterrupted marathon, or do you like to parcel out shows (or anime, books, comics) and mix them up with other series? Do you have any thoughts on the pros and cons of either method? I've generally conflated different media in this post, assuming that the similarities outweight the differences, but do you agree, or do you think TV actually does work differently from books or comics, or Western TV bingeing is a different thing from bingeing on anime? Talk to me!

I keep forgetting to post about this (aargh!), but the possible meta fest that trobadora and I were polling about back in January, now titled Meta Month of March, is a go! There is an LJ and a DW community, and all admin posts and meta roundups will be mirrored between the two, so you can watch either or both: month_of_meta/month_of_meta. They are co-modded by me and trobadora, so you can ask either of us if you have questions!

Rules and dates: on LJ / on DW

Condensed version of the rules: There will be a signup sheet going up on Feb. 15 - you can pick a day or days in March to post on any fandom-related topic. Posting begins March 1. This is a low-pressure fest; there will be no penalty for dropping out or being late, and you do not have to notify us. As suggested in the comments to our earlier brainstorming posts, there are also posts over at the comm(s) where you can suggest meta topics for others to write about, or ask for help with your own.