Where are all the SF fans?
Long time passing

-SF Fans

Generation Gap

The rise of throw away media in the ’90’s and ’00’s sapped the passion of a generation of would-be fans away.  With the exception of a few cult classics like Firefly, Lexx, and Farscape, the last two decades have produced little quality content.

Firefly and Stargate produced the most rabid fan followings, but they were slow to adopt the fan culture established by earlier franchises like Star Trek and Star Wars.  As a result, a gap in fandom grew between the older generation of fans and the newer generation coming up.  The new fans were not brought into the conventions, filk,  and fan works until lately, and they are still few and far between.

Enter the web

Compounding the problem, through out the ’90’s, the Internet began to take over the work of more traditional media.  The BBS became the forum.  The fanzine became the website.  The local fan club became the blog.

These newer form of fandom introduced new issues:

• Unlike fanzines, fanfiction sites are not edited.
• Fan clubs went from being collections of local friends to a collection of anonymous strangers on the web.
• Fans stopped sharing new finds, and specialized in one franchise.

Fandom became increasingly less personal.  I have watched the average age at conventions and filksings go up.  Then it happened:

Revenge of the Corporation

Paramount started suing fan sites and clubs.  The few fan clubs that went online had their sites taken down.  The corporate obsession with copyright pushed more would-be fans away.

What had been a nascent culture was now under attack by the copyright holders.  Viewership dwindled, and the corporate media assumed there was something wrong with the shows and not with the alienation of their fanbases.  So they started changing to shows.  Retool, remake, reboot, and reimage became common terms used by the corporate media to try to garner attention.

Their final assault was on the conventions themselves.  Corporate conventions started signing exclusive deals with celebrities changing the convention from a gathering of fans into little more than a weekend shopping spree with the sole purpose of milking as much money from the attendants as possible.

Retaking Fandom

It is time to take fandom back for the fans.  I grew up in the vibrant fan culture the once was, and now that it has been lulled to sleep, and not destroyed.

Like I said in Speculative Fiction: The Lost Art of “What if?”, it is time for us to dream again, but more than that, it is time for us to organize again.

It is incumbent upon us to:

• defend fandom from those who would abuse it.
• promote the culture to those new to the scene.
• spread the franchises we love that treat us with dignity.
• organize a revitalized fan culture, filled with conventions, fan works, and filk.
• seek out solutions to the problems that still plague fandom.

Seeing the problem is the first step to finding a solution.  Together, we can take fandom back!

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Back in December, I took on Meg Guroff in my post, Fandom is not Obsessive Weirdoism! for saying:

One distinctly modern form of obsessive weirdoism is fandom: becoming so devoted to a work of art that you want to augment or even inhabit it. Out of this impulse was born the Klingon Language Institute (www.kli.org), the phenomenon of “fan fiction” (unauthorized stories by civilians advancing new plotlines of beloved films and TV series) (The Urbanite Magazine),

She responded by saying:

Hey, thanks for the shout-out, but anyone who reads the essay—or even just the rest of the sentence you truncated—would know that your outrage is misplaced. This passage is not an attack on fandom, it’s a defense of it. I’d invite the curious to read the essay for themselves or visit my (built, obsessive, weird) site at powermobydick.com. Best wishes.

Originally posted as a comment by Meg Guroff on dashPunk using Disqus.

The rest of the sentence I truncated simply said: “and also, one might argue, my ever-growing Moby-Dick website, which now includes not only a full annotation but also links to artwork, poems, movies, and even cartoons based on the book (The Urbanite Magazine).”  I am glad she enjoys working on a fan site, and I am sorry if I offended her by intimating she had attacked fandom, but the fact remains that characterization of fandom as obsessive and weird obfuscates the fact that what we are seeing is the birth of a new culture, not merely a niche cultural phenominon.

History of Fandom

Hugo Gernsback forged the modern Science Fiction genre in 1926 when he founded Amazing Stories magazine.  In the letters section, he published the addresses of the fans who wrote in.  Readers began to organize themselves into local clubs.  In 1934, Hugo founded the Science Fiction League, a correspondence club where local clubs could apply for membership.

Chicago’s Science Correspondence Club published the first known science fiction fanzine, The Comet, in 1930.  The first convention was held nine years later when at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, when the World Science Fiction Society held the first WorldCon.

Fred Pohl and Cyril Kornbluth, members of a New York fan club called The Futurians, wrote the oldest known filks in the 1950’s by taking the music from folk protest songs and changing the lyrics.

It wasn’t until the  1970 that the conventions grew in popularity as a result of Speculative Fiction taking on the role of mythology.  More people found Speculative Fiction gave them a set of values, goals, and practices. Through our conventions, filksings, fanfic, and fanfilm, we have developed a culture that is uniquely ours.

Pattern of Behavior

Fans don’t just watch the shows they love, or read the books, they devour them.  We take in these stories, critique them, and rush to share and discus them with our friends.  We often watch the shows or read the books multiple times to see if we missed something.

We flock to conventions to meet the stars, creators, and authors of the works we love, and to spend time reveling in the series we love.  We roleplay, craft fan works, and some even engage in cosplay and LARPing (Live Action Role Playing).

Characteristic Features

It is not hard to spot a fan.  The t-shirts we were, the calendars on our walls, the tchotchkes on our desks, and the phrases we like to use.  Many of us use fanspeak around mundanes and not realizing it until we see that confused look on their face, and realize we need to translate into English.

Shared attitudes, values, and goals

The one thing I have always found most intriguing about fans is how a true fan is not hard on new fans, and wants to make sure everyone is having a good time.

Most of us grew up with Star Trek, and took to heart the idea of IDIC (Infinite Diverity in Infinite Combination) to heart.  Where ever we are, we try to bring IDIC, foresight, and community with us.  Life is to be enjoyed, and nothing cuts off the fun quicker than bigotry, ignorance, or that one guy who is looking to have a good time at the expense of everyone there if necessary.

Fan culture is always developing.

Dear Meg

I wish you the best of luck with your Moby Dick site, and I hope I didn’t upset you further.  My complaint with your article was merely that you used the phrase “Obsessive Weirdoism.”

Any culture is “Obsessive Weirdoism” when viewed from the outside.  You have a fannish heart, and I think it is time you stopped talking in a way that excuses your fannish tendencies to the mundanes.  You are a fan.  Be out and proud about it.

At any rate, I am a little jealous, I can see the merit in Moby Dick, and I can understand from where your passion derives, but I don’t think I will ever share it.  You see something most of us don’t.  That is a gift.  Relish it.

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In August last year had a bit of back and forth over the definition of a Fan with Eoghann Irving from Solar Flare:

Eoghann Irving has posted an interesting rebuttal to my post, Fandom v The Scifi Channel, where he tackles the question What makes a fan? The critique of my position is an interesting one, and I have to say, I agree with his assertion that it sounds like I am trying to say that fans define themselves by their interest in SF.

While there are some who have adopted the fan culture for themselves, cultural adoption is not a requirement to be a fan.

What is a Fan?

We are fans.

We love music, stories, characters, settings, and images.
We know about what we love.
We participate in what we love.
We support what we love.
What we love supports us.

Fans are special.  We are more than just enthusiasts who enjoy a piece of work, fans connect with the work.  We feel it.

Fans love

Fans share a bond with the works they love and with one another.   Fans’ passion is infectious, spreading the the works they love to others.

The love of a fan is a blessing to a responsible creator, but it is a curse to the reckless.

• Farscape fans kept the series alive despite the many attempts by the network to cancel it.
• Star Trek fans helped kept the series alive until the death of Gene Roddenberry when studio pushed the franchise away from its heart.
• Heroes and X-files fans fell in love with disparate aspects of their respective franchises, but when the series lost their way through a lack of focus on the part of the studios.

If a fan’s love is scorned or goes unappreciated, the fan reacts in the same way a jilted lover would.  If a fan’s heart turns cold, it is almost impossible to rekindle it.

Fans Know

Fans know things about the things they love and enthusiasts don’t.

Anyone can quote Star Trek or Star Wars because many of the aphorisms have gone mainstream, but a Star Wars Fan knows who Ulic Qel-Droma and Exar Kun are.  They have become such an important part of the Saga.  They know the Chewbacca died on Sernpidal during the Yuuzhan Vong war trying to save Han Solo’s youngest son.

Fandom is not defined by obscure knowledge.  On the contrary, a fans love for a franchise causes them to seek out everything they can from that franchise.  We read the books and watch the OVAs.  A fan remembers the details and more often than not knows the minutia.

Fans participate

Fans create and enjoy filk, fanfiction, fan films, fan art, costumes and conventions.  We often play role playing games, video games and MMOs in the settings we love.

Fan participation is the most commonly mocked aspects of SF fandom.  No one mocks a music fan’s attendance of a concert or a sport fan attending a game.  They don’t even mock the wearing of band shirts or sports jerseys, or fantasy football or rock and roll camp.  These are not different from conventions, or filk, or role playing, or cosplay.

Fans support

Fans support what we love.  We buy the books, DVDs, and games.

This is where modern fandom is in the most trouble.  The studios and publishers have not offered fans the options they want for media they consume.  DRM (digital rights management) and region codes restrict how and where media can me viewed.

International fans often have few options for obtaining media other than piracy.

Media companies have to listen to the fans and make media available in as many ways as possible to they do not drive money away.  They also must learn that they are not owners of their franchises, they are caretakers and conservators.  The tighter they hold on to outdated and outmoded concepts of ownership, the smaller market they will have and the most desperate they will become.

What we love supports us.

Fans often gather insight and inspiration from the franchises they love.  In moments of fear, I have found myself reciting the Bene Geseret prayer from Dune.  It is also not uncommon for fans to quote dialogue to make a point.

These franchises are not just shows or books we like.  More than we realize they are the myths that help us:

1. talk about the aspects of life that are impossible to discuss straight on.
2. see the connections between our lives and the transcendent mysteries.
3. develop a pattern of living with honor, integrity, and purpose.
4. react the trial, tribulations, and joyful moments of life.

This is why fans embraced the movie Galaxy Quest.  It is a love letter to fandom, showing at its most extreme, but also showing it for what it is.  A culture that gives hope and inspiration to millions.

Are you a fan?

Here are a few questions to ask yourself.  The more times you answer yes, the better the likelihood you are a fan.

• Have you ever connected with a work on a deep level?
• Have you ever enjoyed something so much you rushed to tell someone?
• Have you ever played a game, watched an OVA, or read a book that is part of the extended universe of a franchise you love?
• Have you ever debated or conversed with someone about an aspect of a franchise’s setting or the minutia of a setting?
• Have you ever dressed up as one of your favorite characters?
• Have you ever attended an SF convention?
• Have you ever bought a boxset?
• Have you ever quoted SF to make a point?

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February last year, I posted for the first time about the Three Types of SF Fans.  Reactions were mixed.  I have thought about it a lot, and I have realized that their are not really three types of SF fans, these are actually parts of a spectrum.

Fans of the Spectacle

Fans who are interested in action and special effects, typically of Space Opera, Disaster/Monster/Action Movies, usually watches movies, some series, rarely reads the books.

These fans are on the coldest end of the spectrum.  They are only interested in being entertained, and simply do not think too much about what they are watching.  Think about your friends who thought the Matrix was just a great action movie with cool special effects.  You know the ones who didn’t see all the questions about the nature of reality and how we perceive it.  They are fans of spectacle.

The studios have geared their films more towards this type of fan because there are more of them and they are easier to please.

Admit it though, we all started here.  We may have been young, but each and every one of us first got into Speculative Fiction be we enjoyed the spectacle.  For me, it was dragons and vampires.

This is the first stage of development of every fan.  Our job is to move more people into the second and third phase.

Fans of the Specifics

Fans who are interested in the nitty-gritty details and their accuracy or consistency.Typically of Hard Scifi, Military Scifi, and High Fantasy, usually reads the books, watches the series, and nit-picks the movies

For many Scifi fans, this shift happened with Star Trek or Star Wars.  For Fantasy Fans, it is usually Lord of the Rings, and for Horror Fans it was either The Vampire Chronicles or Mayfair Witches by Anne Rice or Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Many fan bases stagnate here and die off.  The Studios have started blaming continuity and consistency for their financial short comings, thus the spate of remakes, reboots, and the dread re-imaginings that crop up every year.

Yes, it is easier to write a story when you don’t have to worry about consistency or continuity, but they are not better stories.  They are just different.

To move a fan from Spectacle to Specifics, find something in a setting or character they like, and talk to them about it.  Encourage them to grow in their fascination, and soon they will delve into the setting more fully, and the spectral shift will happen.

Fans of the Story

Fans who are interested in the story, the characters, and Typically Soft Scifi and Sociological Fantasy, usually reads or watches the series, and watches the movies.

For Fans of the Specifics, the changes George Lucas made to the original Star Wars Trilogy and the prequels went too far.  Fans of the Story were able to see how these changes improved and tightened the narrative.

Fans of the Story are few in numbers, but they are the heart blood of fandom.  They write/perform the filk, the fan fiction, and fanfilms.  They make the fan art, run the conventions, and strive to keep SF on the straight and narrow.

It isn’t easy to move from being a fan of Specifics to a fan of Story.  For this shift to happen, the fan has to see the complete series as a seamless whole.  They have to learn how to see past the trees to the forest.  There is no easy way to happen or to bring this about.

When it does happen, it is like magic.  Most of us have had this shift happen for at least one franchise.  Think about the one series that is closest to your heart.  The one you seek out every little tidbit of information about.  For that story, you are a fan of the Story.

Spectral Shift

It is not easy to ask people to make these shifts, or to help other move through the spectrum, but it is vital if fan culture has any chance of surviving.  So for the next thirty days:

• Introduce your friends to filk.
• Have a movie night at your house and show a fanfilm.
• Start a role playing group and uses your favorite setting.
• Start having friends over to watch your favorite shows.
• Help just one person find a new series, book, or movie that they will fall head or heels in love with.

If we all do our part, fandom has a long and beautifyl future.

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Let’s face it, Speculative Fiction fandom has a stigma attached to it that no other fans base does.  Music and sports fans are celebrated, while SF fans are often ridiculed for engaging in the same activities.

Rise of Anti-intellectualism

I blame the rise of the anti-intellectual movements which began to organize in 1972, and the culture of ignorant bliss they promulgated for the stigma.  They pushed the image of a good American as a one more interested in might than dialogue.  Following the leader and the trends those leaders established were seen as more valuable than free thought.  Questions were not encouraged.

Civics classes were dropped from the curriculum in the 1970s, and science education suffered soon there after.

This new culture held instinct and feeling as a higher source of insight than rationalism and education.

Never left High School

The tension between nerds and jocks in American High Schools is a schism that has probably always been with us, but in the 1970’s and ’80’s this conflict was moved into the popular culture through movies, music, and television.  These shows portrayed the jock as the hero and the nerd as the misfit who should be mocked and left out.

Dialogue and debate were stripped from our public dialogue, replaced by televised shouting matches.  Pop culture’s development was stunted.  Adherents never matured out of the the high school mindset because there was no need.  Pop Culture lowered itself so it would remain accessible to this new class of permanent high schoolers.

The Consumer Culture

There is a financial reason to stunt the growth of Pop Culture.  The less discerning your audience is, the less expensive content is to make, the more people are likely to buy it.

Despite the pleas for better content, the financial benefit of keeping people from maturing and developing opinions is just too high to dissuade them from their present course.

Revenge of the Nerds

In the 1980’s and ’90’s, the misfits started to fight back.  Movies like Revenge of the Nerds, The Goonies, and Mallrats became touchstones for outcasts to rally behind, but the damage had already been done.

The culture had been damaged, and fans were charactured as annoyances.  The misfits, now nothing more than the punchline of a poorly written joke, had to fend for themselves.  We orginized into tighter groups.

The Heart’s Ache

Through it all, the fans persevered, because through it all, we knew something the pop culture never will.  We know what it is to find meaning.

The music, books, series, and movies we love gave us meaning.  It is different for every fan, but it is still there.  In our hearts, we know why we are in the world and what we have to do.

I found my meaning in the Klingons from Star Trek.  While I wouldn’t say my life has been a hard on, I still had to fight for everything that I have.  I had to fight for my identity, my life, and my very mind and soul.  Through the Klingons, I learned that life is about the struggle.  It is about the fight not the outcome.

I used to cosplay as a Klingon at the conventions (when I wasn’t a vampire).  I took their idea of honor, and made it my own.  It helped me to reign in my temper, and enjoy the struggles of my life.  I am a better person for rejecting the popular culture and embracing fandom.

Unlike so many that I meet, my heart doesn’t ache from a lack of meaning.

Laugh if you want to

So laugh at me if you want to.  Tell me that I am taking these silly books, songs, series, and movies too seriously.  That’s ok, I am used to it.  My only hope is that if my words can find their way to that one kid who is ashamed of who they are, how they see the world, and how they want to live, it is all worth it.

Fandom quite literally saved my life.  Suicide is all too common among people who don’t feel like they belong.  Fandom is the only culture and community that asks so little of its members.

Do you love something so much you want to keep it with you always?  Has there ever been a song that you felt told your story so perfectly you had to love it?  Have you ever seen a show that drew you in so deeply you saw yourself in it?  Have you ever read a book that changed you, and made you better?

I feel sorry for the people who cannot answer yes to those questions, and I hope they will open their hearts and let something in.

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Ira Rubenstein is the Executive Vice President of Marvel Comics‘ Global Digital Media Group.  Dave Roman is associate editor of Nickelodeon Magazine and a cartoonist.  Stuart Levy is the chief executive of Tokyopop.

This is a conversation they had at ICv2 Graphic Novel Conference:

Rubenstein: But Dave, I think there’s a difference. No one can write about Spider-Man or X-Men except for us.

Roman: I disagree.

Levy: Totally.

Rubenstein: Those are our characters. How could someone else write another Spider-Man story?

Roman: Because fan fiction is becoming so powerful. I’ve seen the power of fan fiction. Working at Nickelodeon, there are people out there doing ‘Avatar’ comics that are soooooo much better…

Rubenstein: But that’s like saying YouTube is a real entertainment channel. It’s not.

Roman/Levy/like five people in the audience: It is (THE BEAT).

They just don’t get it.

Caretakers of Legends

As I said in What makes a fan a fan, studios and publishers have to stop thinking of themselves as copyright holders and more as caretakers of the franchises we love.  The good and the bad of the dialogue above is that Dave Roman and Stuart Levy seem to understand, but Ira Rubenstein still doesn’t.

I have a feeling that many companies will go out of business before their leaders who do not understand the changes in the marketplace are replaced by people who do understand.  If there is a future, then we have to change the economic model from the owner/consumer model to a new fan based model.  Here are some of suggestions for a possible way forward.

Studio/Publisher Side

Producers of media have to come to terms with the fact the days of closely controlled monopolies they once held over the franchises in their care are over, and that they have to open up to accept new methods of distribution and a new relationship with their fans.

National Borders are meaningless

The first lesson may be the hardest.  We have believed for so long that National Borders were meant to limit trade.  Where media is concerned this is a recipe for piracy.

With the advent of digital downloads, online streaming, and print on demand, it is easier than ever for any and every release to be global.  Distribution models have to built that will allow for a studio/publisher to monetize their work in every country simultaneously.

Ads, Subscriptions, Purchases and Give-aways

Studios and Publishers have to realize that they will never again be able to rely on a single method to monetize their works.  There are four main ways businesses make money on the net:

1. Ads: Not too many or it turns people off, but the opportunity to direct targeted ads to reader and viewers.
2. Subscriptions: Allow readers/viewers access to ad free versions of your content that they pay a regular recurring fee.  There are two major subscription models:
   1. All you can eat:  Allow your subscribers to full access to your content library so long as they pay the subscription fee.
   2. Ala carte:  Allow your subscribers the right to own so many files a month based on subscription level.
3. Purchases:  Allow your readers/viewer to purchase copies of your work.
4. Give-aways:  Sometimes you have to give your work away to find an audience and make your money some other way.  For example: give away the streaming, but sell the file.

Platform Independence

Don’t tie your work to one platform.  Give your readers/viewers options.

Let us stream with ads or subscribe by the season or purchase outright.  You offer every method, we chose the one we want.

Don’t tie our purchases to a single player or device.  If I want to watch my DVD on my AppleTV, let me.  If I want to watch my digital files at a friend’s house, let me.  If I want to watch my iTunes purchases through Boxee, let me.

The more restrictions you place on your files, the more you encourage piracy.  The more freedom you allow you readers/viewers, the more money you will make.  You cannot expect to be respected by your reader/viewers, if you do not treat them with respect.  If you treat them like pirates, don’t be surprised when they act like pirates.

Our Media

You have to understand that you do not own this media.  If you allow your fans to have a sense of ownership over franchises under your care, they will feel a greater sense of responsibility for the future of the franchise.

Next time we will discuss the Fan Side of the new marketplace.

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Last time we talked about the Studio/Publisher side of the new marketplace.  Last year, Clive from Fan Cinema Today and I went back and forth about the merits and flaws of Creative Commons system in Dream of a Fandom Economy and Fan Works and Creative Commons.

The Importance of Fan Works

The Studios/Publishers have to understand that they do not own the media franchises like they used to.  If they allow their fans to have a sense of ownership over franchises under their care, we will feel a greater sense of responsibility for the future of the franchise.  Fan works are the strongest way fans connect with the franchises they love.

The amount of time it takes to produce a fan work ties the fan to the franchise.  Lately, the best trailers for many films have been fan made, not to mention the T-shirts, posters, and desktops.  The problem is the studios/publishers have not found a way to bring in the fan works in a way that benefits them and the fans.

The studios/publishers need to license their works in such a way that fans understand what they can do and how.

Licensing Fan Works

A license like this is important for both the studio/publishers and the fans.  What would this offer the studio/publishers?

• They empower their fans to give them free promotion through derivative fan works.
• They allow their fan base to become more involved with their franchises which will allow them to become more involved and deeper connected to the original work.
• By allowing their fans to produce derivative works, they are able to fill in the gaps between releases at no cost to them.
• They increase their footprint which will help them to convert more casual readers/viewers into fans.  An increased fan base will increase sales.
• With fans providing them free advertising, they will be able to focus their efforts more on content than marketing.

Fans would benefit from this approach nearly as much as the copyright holder.

A Fan Works Economy

Towards a Fan Works License

I approached the Creative Commons Foundation with a proposal for a Fan Works License:

Some of the rights holders I have talked to are reluctant to use the CC because they are concerned they are giving up too many rights to their works.  A Fan Works License would allow rights holders to clearly state what they will allow others to do with their characters, content, and settings.

It would be a bit more complicated than a standard CC, stating whether others may make original text, video, music, or art projects based on their works.  It would also allow them to set the content rating they would allow fan works to have.  This could be aligned with the MPAA ratings or the ESRB ratings system or an original system.  The reason for this is so a young adult novelist could set a max rating of PG-13, allowing others to know what standards they would apply to determine whether a fan work is legitimate or not.

The other terms would be the same as in the standard CC.

You may not think something like this is necessary, but the current state of fan works is hazy.  While few have been sued in the last couple years, at any time, rights holders could decide to start suing again.  By creating a license that covers works with the same characters and settings rather than a particular book or movie, I believe we could get more rights holders to use the license to allow for the creation of fan works, which is a step on the road to open up works to the commons.

They responded with a simple, “CC probably isn’t going to be expanding the license offerings, and in fact, over the past few years CC has been reducing the number of licenses.”

This type of license may not be the best, and it is by no means the only way to move forward, but it is the best way to end the tyranny of copyright and by showing the fans that they are a part of the franchise.

The d20 Model

One alternative is for the studio/publishers to institute something like the d20 License.  The d20 License allowed registered participants who followed the strict rules to produce for profit tie-ins to Wizards of the Coasts’ games.  Rights, responsibilities, and penalties were clearly laid out.

Wizards made money by requiring that the licensed works refer back to their works and not retell certain aspects of the setting and system.

This is not the best solution, but it is one that has already been tried.

An Improved Music Licensing Model

The music industry allows for music to be licensed through an overly expensive but easy to use system.  The studios/publishers could attach a licensing fee and rules for each possible use of the material, then they could earn a royalty and the fan work can be made.

The Best Solution

The best solution is probably one that has not been developed yet, but it won’t if we don’t start the conversation now and keep it going until the answer is found.

The market in all forms of media will not be restored until the studios/publishers and the fans are brought back into balance in a way that is mutually beneficial and forward looking.

Next on the agenda, Fandom Strikes Back!

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

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C.E. Dorsett

Recently, I was on a board, and someone posted the question: “What do you think about fanfiction?” The questions angered up my blood, so I have to pull out my soapbox for a minute:

Fanfiction is a story that uses the characters and/or setting of an another writer to tell an original story. So we must accept that…

Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Fanfiction. Virgil’s Aeneid, Fanfiction. Ovid’s Metamorphosis, Fanfiction. Euripides, Sophocles, All of the Greek and Roman Classics, Fanfiction! Shakespeare almost exclusively used the settings and characters of others!

Most of what we consider classics today were written by people who wrote in a setting they did not create with characters created by others, in other words, FANFICTION! All primal storytelling is fanfiction, telling retelling, embellishing and adding to that characters and setting that the storyteller enjoyed. This is the art of a story teller. Virtually every folktale and myth falls into this category.

Before the modern tyranny of the copyright holders, this was a natural function of culture. Now it is a hobby of a few select subcultures. Stories give our lives and our world meaning. For the stories to remain relevant, they have to be retold and expanded in ways that are true to the original. This is how a healthy culture grows and evolves over time. The numerous copyright extension acts have crippled our culture. Stories, characters, and whole worlds have been lost to the commons. The culture is weakened.

For example: There is no legitimate reason that Star Trek: The Original Series, should still be under copyright today, 40 years after it originally aired. If the copyright expired on the original series, then we could still have The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and the others. But who knows how many great series we lost because they did not win the lottery to be Voyager or Enterprise. Just because the copyright on the first one expired would have no effect on the copyright status of the later ones. In fact, the iron grip of Paramount may have destroyed more great series that it could ever produce. Read the The Voyage of the Star Wolf series by David Gerrold.

It is a sad comment on our society that fanfiction is so rare. That our culture has been destined to atrophy under these conditions. With the advent of Creative Commons and other ways around the tyranny of copyright, there is hope.

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Filk is the culture, community, and music related to speculative fiction.  It has also in some circle become almost synonymous with parody lyrics.  Having said that, it is important to note that the definition of Filk has been a bit of a discussion topic among fans.  Groups as varied as space enthusiasts, science fiction fans, and Society for Creative Anachronism have adopted the term to describe the music they create.

Filk ranges from poignant to hilarious, but for me, the music is secondary to the sense of community and fellowship among fans of the genre.  At most conventions, if you look deep in the schedule, you will find a filksing or a chaos filk on the grid late into the night.  These are the hardest of the hardcore fans and artists who gather together to celebrate the things they love.

That is the what makes Filk so magical and wonderful for me.  I love to seek out passionate people.  When someone shares something they love with others there is (more often then not) an infectious enthusiasm that fills the room.  Filksings are beautiful thing.  Humor and insight dance together as a group of strangers become one with the songs.

These are the songs of my culture.  I have never resonated with much of the folk music traditions of the United States.  Often, they are regional, or based in a religion that I do not subscribe to.  Filk takes the characters, themes, goals, and ideals that I believe in, and presents it through music that speaks to me on a very deep level.

I have never thought that I have anything but a bad singing voice, but I am not one to shy away from singing “That Real Old Time Religion,” “The Rooster Song,” “The Birthday Dirge,” or “Holy, Holy.”  These are the songs that reside within me.  They are the music to which my heart beats.  When I participate in a filksing, I feel like I am with my people and a part of a larger community.

Perhaps, I am taking this all too far, but it is important for people to find the community that they belong in, embrace it, and carry it around with them always.  When we allow ourselves to identify the culture we thrive in, we give ourselves a fertile ground in which to grow.

Most modern people suffer feelings of isolation as a result of the corporate culture that dominates the mainstream.  We have become detached and disillusioned by its shallow materialism.  To be separate from our culture is to be a part of nothing.

I felt this way for most of my childhood.  I was lucky to stumbling into the SF culture when I was about 11, for the first time in my life I found a place that I belonged.  Filk, as the music of that culture, forms a strong backbone of that culture.

I invite you to look into it and see if it speaks to you.  You might see it as nothing more than a novelty genre that is entertaining or a bizarre style, but if you are like me, you might just find a music that speaks to you on a deep level.

Sites to Check Out

• Our Filk Page at P:S
• Virtual Filksing (Free MP3s)
• Interfilk
• Debbie’s Filk FAQ
• Filk.com
• The Filk Book Index
• Leslie Fish
• Prometheus Music
• The Pegasus Awards
• Filk in the DMOZ

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One of my absolute favorite aspects of fandom is the costuming and roleplaying, and I would have to say they are the two most maligned and stigmatized things that we do.  Let’s start with the most accepted by the popular culture and proceed to the least understood.

Computer Roleplaying Games

Mass appeal of video games have normalized RPGs on the computer, and why not.  Final Fantasy, Mass Effect, and Knights of the Old Republic were all such brilliant games, it is hard to see how they couldn’t have had a mass market appeal, but in the one place where Roleplaying should flourish, it is all but extinct.

There was once a type of game known as the Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (MMORPG).  The problem is that these too entered the popular culture, and they spawned a new bane: badge collectors.  A sizable number of the MMORPG players became obsessed with their statistics, what badges they earned, and what loot they could get.  The software companies saw these players as their core audience and in some cases, there only audience.

The games were increasingly designed for these players and not for the fans of story.  Coinidentally, the acronym was shortened from MMORPG to simply MMO.  Players have done what they can to keep roleplaying alive, but they are generally isolated to a specific server or guild, and they are not aided by the software designers who more and more are crafting games that challenge your prowess with a keyboard and mouse and don’t require any thought whatsoever.

This is one of the reasons I am so excited about Star Wars: The Old Republic and Stargate Worlds.  They are trying to bring story into the games and make it front and center.  I wish them the best of luck.

Table Top Role Playing Games

Table top RPG fans are the geeks that geeks love to hate.  Don’t believe me?  Listen carefully to a lot of the podcasts out there.  It won’t take you too long to find people having a geeky conversation about their favorite tech and occationally mocking TTRPG players.

Table Top games are not  as easy to play as their computerized bretheren, but they are a lot more fun.  There are more requirements to play:

• The Rule Books
• Friends who have free time to come over
• Dice
• Creativity
• Imagination

I didn’t stutter at the end, and no, I am not padding the list.  Creativity is the ability to think originally, and imagination is the ability to see with the minds eye events as they are described to you.

I think those last two more than anything else makes people not like tabel top games.  Personally, I love them.  I run an Earthdawn game at the house every Sunday.  Nothing brings friends together for a good time like a shared adventure built from the collective imaginations of everyone there.

Live Action Role Playing

Live Action Role Playing (LARPing) is penultimate expression of role playing.  There are numerous systems for LARPing and they all generally involve renting a location, playing in a park, or the storyteller’s home.  Most LARPers dress up in elaborate costumes and carry props to aid in game play.

I used to play Vampire: The Masquerade both as a table top game and as a LARP, and I have to say, the LARPs were always more fun.  We played at local conventions and I ran a chronicle that spanned various players homes, parks, and a few businesses who allowed us to use their establishment.

Who doesn’t enjoy getting dressed up and spending a night as someone else?

One aspect of the LARPs I’ve played that made them so fun was that they were locked to the locations they took place.  The story was handled through notes given to the players to explain what happened between sessions, and a couple players who agreed to play according to the scripted motives I provided for them.  To this day, some of my favorite memories took place at LARPs.

We were a part of a LARP network where storytellers coordinated large scale events between cities, and at conventions our players would play through pivitol stories.  The largest LARP event we threw had 500 players in attendence.  3,00o players made up the network.  We coordinated through a email list.

LARPs are emense fun, and I miss them terribly.  I had hoped that MMOs would provide a platform for virtual LARPs, but so far, they haven’t.

Costuming

Some people just love dressing up.  They don’t roleplay at all, they just wear the costume for enjoyment.  For some, it is an uniform.  For others, it is an expression of their identification with the character or race they are recreating.  And others do it for the challenge of recreating the costume.

Steampunk is an entire movement built around costuming for the sheer fun of it.

Fans who Play together Stay together

Most of the deep, personal relationships I have developed with fans over the years has been between fans I have roleplayed with.  We share an experience that is truly unique to the players who were there.  Memories of events that are not replecatable in real life.

All these years later, I still run into people at the conventions who remeber the night my Taleison should have seen his reflection in the mirror and went mad.  We talk about it like a moment from a movie or series that we loved, but our connection to the event is so much more personal because we were there when it happened.

So if you haven’t before.  I hightly recommend to gather up your friends and play a game with them.  Feel free to choose the type, but make sure it is one that will build those memories that will last a lifetime.

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