a curious person · 3mo
So sorry this turned out so long, feel free to skip all my nonsense lol! To summarize, I’m wondering if you can talk more about what you said with self expression and fandom expression?
I’m not the same anon but I really wanted to jump in on the conversation about keeping things in fandom spaces. You said how things are best “enjoyed in the sacred enclosures of fandom spaces” and oh boy, absolutely agree! Fandoms used to be about building community and I think it’s definitely morphed into something else. It’s funny though because that specific thing the other anon linked to with that display I actually didn’t think it was too bad because, at least from what I’ve seen others say, it was at a hotel or something, not at the race itself. So if it’s meant to be just a fun place for bxg to get together and take pictures and not at the official event where wyb can see, I think it’s fine. It’s the signs at the events with both their faces and stuff that I find kind of distasteful. I don’t really complain about it much publicly though because it’s not like I as an international fan who can’t even access weibo, will convince those people to stop. So it’s easier for me to shrug off- if it becomes a problem I’m sure the boys will do something. Otherwise it’s me complaining on Twitter just to complain. So I’m glad there’s this opportunity to discuss it with you and engage on the topic in a deeper way.
You brought up western media and how journalists are now asking actors about fanfic. It made me think of other fandoms I’m a part of where fans get genuinely angry that an actor or director/screen writer says no, that fictional character ship is not cannon and the story won’t be heading that way. Like since when did we need a show writer to confirm a ship? Thats the joy of fanfic and fan art! Thats why those exist! I feel like fans can sometimes take this stuff too seriously when it’s supposed to be about the enjoyment of a thing. Is it simply fans needing validation or something deeper going on here? There are probably many lenses to examine this kind of fan behavior that pops up in all kinds of fandoms. Would love to hear what you meant about self-expression being collapsed into fandom expression!
omg this is totally not nonsense and i will bonk u on the head (lovingly) if you say otherwise!!! 🫵🏻
i wish there was a way to send likes back to people who leave asks because i absolutely agree with everything you've said, no notes, no crumbs, no nothing!
i stand corrected: i didn't realise the event the previous anon sent was at a hotel — i thought it was at the race venue itself — in which case, i don't actually mind that much haha. at its core, it's no different from things like pair cupsleeve events or fan viewing parties that are intended for fans to just gather and have a good time ♡
totally concur with what you said about the signs at the official events though ;; i'm always a little conflicted about it because i really, truly understand wanting to represent the niche and unique position cpfs occupy in both fandoms, and to make visible support for a relationship that has been so vilified by others. but i also really believe there are more... elegant... ways and places to do this, for lack of a better word?
but honestly, more than the actual method of fan support itself (which we can argue about till the cows come home!!), at the heart of it, what's really discouraging is that fandom has become a place where we can't even. talk about it. like we are now. it's so hard to have a civil, nuanced (!!!) discussion about anything — or even agreeing to disagree — without people immediately jumping the gun and passing judgment on your character 😭 in this case, for example: you disagree with the banners? you're caving in to the despicable solo mentality! you don't respect or empathise with The Turtle Suffering! you love the banners? you don't respect xz and yb as individuals! you're a terrible fan and an even worse person!!11!1!!
which funnily enough is the gist of what i meant by self-expression is being collapsed into fandom expression: the reason people take fandom so seriously (the obsession with "canon", a strange inclination to be abrasive to prove themselves) is because they see it as representative of their identity.
(i wrote briefly about this somewhere that i can no longer find, so i'm sorry if this is being repeated!)
you know how we were talking about how things are "best enjoyed in the sacred enclosures of fandom spaces", and how we somehow just don't do that anymore? i really believe this has to do with the way technology has progressed over the past 20 or so years.
we used to have those enclosures because technology wasn't so omnipresent (omnipotent?). the internet used to be a place that took conscious effort to access: dial-up internet. our chunky home computer that we couldn't bring around with us. a learning curve that wasn't difficult but took time, because not everyone knew how to navigate the internet. our interests, our hobbies, our friends and family, our work, our life — everything waited outside in places we had to physically be in.
but now we have phones, laptops, unlimited data, free wifi, synchronised devices... technology has made it so that it is easy to carry around and difficult to unplug. geographical distance no longer exists! we talk to our friends online. we find new things online. we shop and eat (order food) and basically breathe online. our entire lives are being lived online, which also means that our systems of finding belonging and meaning and identity have migrated into digital spaces. "pictures or it didn't happen!" i.e. the documenting of life on social media.
(this was basically strapped to the back of a rocket and propelled to all sorts of heights during the long few years of covid, where people had no choice BUT to live their lives online...)
(and the obsession with making things simpler, smaller, easier spilling over into schools of thought and making people less inclined to want to think) ("i aint reading all'at")
hence!!! because so much of life develops online, it's easy for people to equate what you partake in online — including fandom — as, naturally, an expression of the self. your fandom choices are seen as indicators of your moral compass. ("you like morally grey characters? YOU'RE A RED FLAG!") if you don't talk about ABC in fandom, that means you don't care about it. ("you like pancakes? omg so you hate waffles!")
technology is unforgiving in the sense that it moves so quickly. whatever is the newest, or hottest, or most talked about wins. so rather than being a space focusing on shared enjoyment and the slow enjoyment of exploring different interpretations, fandom has become obsessed with being seen and being right.
because if no one is seeing/agreeing with me in the online space where i live so much of my life...
... doesn't that mean i'm disliked? ostracised? wrong? as good as dead?
is what it feels like sometimes 😭✊🏻
WELL!!!!! I'M SO SORRY. you didn't ask for a lengthy monologue, and that definitely got away from me! but this is a topic i'm personally really passionate about (my area of research back in the day was digital culture!) so i hope you enjoyed the read nonetheless ;v;
i'm sorry this took so long to get to! i had so much to say about it and didn't want to rush it before i could flesh it out like this. thank you for sharing your thoughts with me and please know i'm always happy to have these discussions!!!
