roseembolism (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
roseembolism) wrote2004-06-02 12:06 am
roseembolism) wrote2004-06-02 12:06 am
Show and Tell
It's noon, I'm waiting for my tri-tip burrito, and the news anchor on TV looks like Chloe from Smallville. In my state of mind this is the sort of association I come up with naturally.
Today I am coming down from four days spent at Fanime. Four days spent in a frenetic high energy phase, dealing with a mélange of impressions and events. It was four days that seemed like weeks, because time is compressed at an anime convention. Everything, whether events or relationships happen far more quickly then in real life- at a pace that would be lethal if it were kept up for any real length of time.
It was an excellent con. We managed a decent amount of sleep, had far too much excellent food, and the hotel staff the nicest I’ve ever seen at a con. I even managed to see a couple hours of anime, and actually attended a panel. That Megatokyo panel was worth traveling to the con in and of itself- I shall have to try attending another panel someday..
But having an intensely good time at a con isn’t enough to write a post on- not for me. I have to add INSIGHT! And here it is.
The base concept for anime fandom- in fact all of fandom, can be expressed in one sentence- “Hey! Look at this cool thing!”. Fans find something they think is neat, and share it. For example, I spent time with friends, watching the very cool Tim Burtonesque “Tweeny Witches” anime on their laptop. Then later, a fan showed a group of con staff a hilarious flash webcomic. I also offered to show my friends the insanely neat Invader Zim.
Scale it up, and the bottom line you have a con full of several thousand fans, professionals, and companies, all of whom have found something neat, and who want to share it. They all have that in common, which is why I’ve put up with all the annoying elements of fandom for years. And why I will continue to do so.
And now the news anchor has been joined by a woman with straight brown hair who looks suspiciously like Lana Lang. Meaning it’s my cue to go.
Today I am coming down from four days spent at Fanime. Four days spent in a frenetic high energy phase, dealing with a mélange of impressions and events. It was four days that seemed like weeks, because time is compressed at an anime convention. Everything, whether events or relationships happen far more quickly then in real life- at a pace that would be lethal if it were kept up for any real length of time.
It was an excellent con. We managed a decent amount of sleep, had far too much excellent food, and the hotel staff the nicest I’ve ever seen at a con. I even managed to see a couple hours of anime, and actually attended a panel. That Megatokyo panel was worth traveling to the con in and of itself- I shall have to try attending another panel someday..
But having an intensely good time at a con isn’t enough to write a post on- not for me. I have to add INSIGHT! And here it is.
The base concept for anime fandom- in fact all of fandom, can be expressed in one sentence- “Hey! Look at this cool thing!”. Fans find something they think is neat, and share it. For example, I spent time with friends, watching the very cool Tim Burtonesque “Tweeny Witches” anime on their laptop. Then later, a fan showed a group of con staff a hilarious flash webcomic. I also offered to show my friends the insanely neat Invader Zim.
Scale it up, and the bottom line you have a con full of several thousand fans, professionals, and companies, all of whom have found something neat, and who want to share it. They all have that in common, which is why I’ve put up with all the annoying elements of fandom for years. And why I will continue to do so.
And now the news anchor has been joined by a woman with straight brown hair who looks suspiciously like Lana Lang. Meaning it’s my cue to go.
no subject
Ohhhh, I love that song! It's my own personal anthem. ^_^ (It's funny, the first side of that album I completely adore; the second half leaves me a bit cold.)
You've absolutely got it with the idea of "Look at this cool thing!" as being the heart of fandom. And all the places where fandom gets itself into trouble and starts to become a nasty flaming train wreck happen because people *forget* that fandom is about sharing the cool stuff that we love, and they start trying to turn it into something else.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the con. ^_^