THE INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD OF FANS

(Or the Precarious Balance between War and Peace and How It Works)

It starts innocently enough. An interesting movie. A good series. A book you cannot put down. A day or two to ponder the things, the necessary internet search that follows, and you’re hooked, yet all is still well until that one crucial moment: you realise there are others like you.

Nowadays, ‘fandoms’—consisting of fan [fanatic] plus the suffix -dom, as in kingdom, freedom, etc.; a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterised by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest—are a common occurrence. Being a part of a fandom is great. It doesn’t end with “oh, we have a common interest, nice. So, what else do you like to do?” Seeing/reading the movie/series/book is just the beginning.

It is, perhaps, a bit hard to explain the experience to somebody who has never been interested in those kind of things. In a way, belonging to a fandom is similar to being a part of a social network, only there is no official way to ‘log in.’ Of course there are websites where fans gather, such as tumblr or livejournal, but they are by no means limited to the aforementioned topics. The simplest way to know you’ve entered a fandom is probably asking yourself how much you’re interested in the thing. If the answer is a lot…

A fandom’s ability to turn a single detail into science is—in my experience—incredible. There is hardly anything that goes unnoticed, especially in the bigger fandoms, and this leads to the important part: discussions. Sharing and comparing beliefs. Analysing things. It’s a proof that the hysterical (or not so hysterical) ‘fangirls’ (and ‘fanboys,’ it depends on the fandom) think. They have things to tell, things that are worth hearing. No, they don’t obediently take whatever production companies dish out to them. Mistakes are criticized, unmoral things are judged, good characterisation is praised. Fans are not just ‘nerds’ who know nothing but their own computer screen.

However, not everything is all rainbows and flowers all the time. There are the so-called ‘fandom wars,’

not so much real wars as they are competitions meant to compare the popularity or the size of certain fandoms, and while there are some fandoms where staying neutral among all the zealous fans and stubborn haters is hard (*cough* Twilight *cough*), mostly this isn’t the case. Members of one fandom mostly leave other fans alone. Many people (if not the majority) participate in more than one fandom at a time anyway. Though rest assured that, if attacked, a fandom will stand together and fight.

But fandom wars are not the only battles out there, nor are they the most important ones. The real fights happen within the fandoms.

You think if two people are fascinated by the same thing, they are necessarily going to get along? Wrong. There are as many opinions as there are fans, and they are bound to clash. Firstly, there is ‘shipping.' Everybody has their OTPs (=one true pairing; see the shipping link); of course these are always a hot topic. Secondly, opinions about a certain character differ, and this is where it really comes to fighting. Most people are polite (or try to be) when expressing their opinions, so yes, etiquette exists on the internet (and I feel sorry for anyone who claims otherwise, because, obviously, they have only ever had bad experiences with the web), but there is a point where it becomes impossible to defend one person without insulting another. It’s sad. Mostly, it’s not even done on purpose. Unless, of course, the whole thing escalates, replies are exchanged, and everyone ends up fed up and sulking. It happens. It is happening, continually.

Why am I writing about this? I don’t know. I guess it hurts when your views and beliefs get insulted (or when one group keeps insisting the other side claims something they have never claimed… But that’s details, and I’ll stop before I start ranting…). It’s not all bad, though. There are people who have the same opinions and beliefs—well, hello, bonding. Also, like in every war, there are battles, and then there is peace. Give the fans a common enemy, and they will stand united again.

(I hope.)

~S