wombat_socho (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wombat_socho) wrote2006-07-20 09:50 am
wombat_socho) wrote2006-07-20 09:50 am
Entry tags:
The Common Tongue
God knows I'm not trying to dredge up the dead and extremely stinky past here, but I was mulling over the concept of the canon as it applies to contemporary SF&F fandom, partially as a result of what ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
windelina had to say in this post (sorry, it's f-locked) about her reaction to some younger fans who didn't quite get the mockup of HAL9000 that sat outside Main Programming this year at Convergence. It occurred to me that every time we get a big influx of fans, part of what leads the mainstream -however you define it at the time- to exclude the neos is that they just don't speak the language. There are just too many referents to films and TV shows they haven't seen, books and stories they haven't read, and all that sort of thing.
Nowadays, of course, I suppose it's not such a big deal, because there are sufficient ghettos within fandom that you don't really have to deal with anyone outside your circle of Trek fans, Harry Potter fans, or whatever your particular fandom might be. On the other hand, when you venture out to a convention, especially a ginormous Gathering of the Tribes such as Convergence, squatting in your little familiar circle is really a waste of time and money. So as we approach the end of the seventh decade of SF conventions, what is the canon? What do fans need to have experienced to interact intelligently with most of the other fans at Convergence? Is there a canon any more, or has the very notion of a central body of knowledge in fandom become obsolete? If there is a canon, what do you think belongs in it?
windelina had to say in this post (sorry, it's f-locked) about her reaction to some younger fans who didn't quite get the mockup of HAL9000 that sat outside Main Programming this year at Convergence. It occurred to me that every time we get a big influx of fans, part of what leads the mainstream -however you define it at the time- to exclude the neos is that they just don't speak the language. There are just too many referents to films and TV shows they haven't seen, books and stories they haven't read, and all that sort of thing. Nowadays, of course, I suppose it's not such a big deal, because there are sufficient ghettos within fandom that you don't really have to deal with anyone outside your circle of Trek fans, Harry Potter fans, or whatever your particular fandom might be. On the other hand, when you venture out to a convention, especially a ginormous Gathering of the Tribes such as Convergence, squatting in your little familiar circle is really a waste of time and money. So as we approach the end of the seventh decade of SF conventions, what is the canon? What do fans need to have experienced to interact intelligently with most of the other fans at Convergence? Is there a canon any more, or has the very notion of a central body of knowledge in fandom become obsolete? If there is a canon, what do you think belongs in it?
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I think it takes a lot to be a well-rounded fan, and not many can/will do it. But the most important thing is a sense of curiosity and openness - on both sides.
Fan A "You haven't seen THIS?"
Fan B "Nope, but it's good?"
Fan A "Yes!"
Fan B "I'll add it to my list. But I'm trying to get through the last season of THIS."
Fan A "I've never watched that. It's good?"
No matter the age, when fandom gets superior about MY fandom in comparison to YOUR fandom, it's a problem.
Now, as for what should be included...
Comics: The Nail, The Watchmen, Kingdom Come, Marvels, The Dark Knight Returns, The Killing Joke
TV Shows: At least a smattering of Buffy, Angel, Firefly, The West Wing, DS9, The Prisoner, BlackAdder, Star Trek Original Series and Next Gen, Batman and/or Superman Animated Series, Animaniacs. Bonus Points: Quantum Leap, Sid & Marty Krofft Shows, The Tick (live action or animated), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Books: I'm not a huge SF fan so I'm lacking in that department. Asimov, of course. Otherwise, Bradbury, Tolkien, CS Lewis, Connie Willis, one or two David Eddings just for comparison, a Jane Austen or two because they are constantly being remade, same for Shakespeare.
Movies: 2001, Clockwork Orange, Lawrence of Arabia, Seven Samurai, Magnificent Seven, Once Upon a Time in the West, Star Wars (all 6), Jaws, Close Encounters, one of two J-Horror films, Real Genius.
There - that's a start. The nicest part of being a fan is discovering something new, after all!
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Word.
This may come as a surprise, but I agree with you on a lot of these, with some exceptions (The West Wing in the SF/fantasy canon? Is there that much slashy goodness there? ;)) although I'd also put in a plug for the Bible, since so many cultural references come out of that.
*makes notes on the comics recommendations*
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What do you think of Yojimbo/A Fistful of Dollars/Last Man Standing? There's a plot that seems to crop up a lot in SF as well. For that matter, there ought to be some essential noir backgrounding somewhere in the canon besides Blade Runner and Dark City
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Yes, I have had 3 cups of coffee this mornign, why?
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(Anonymous) 2006-07-20 08:24 pm (UTC)(link)Yojimbo - Kurosawa in general - should be required.
And I love "Double Indemnity" and "DOA" for noir. Or "Lost Weekend". A few years ago during the noir year we showed "Double Indemnity" in Rex and someone was whining because it wasn't SF/F. I jumped all over him that good film is good film. And you gain a whole new appreciation for films like "Blade Runner" when you understand noir.
That's me above
Also - for fun noiry film, try "Payback" with Mel Gibson. That's not canon, just fun.
Re: That's me above
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There are tons of people into it that are also in SF/F fandom I know of.
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Oh, absolutely. One could make the same claim regarding Danielle Steel, Tom Clancy or a dozen other mainstream authors & shows, though. I'm mainly interested in genre films, TV shows and books here, though I do agree that Shakespeare belongs because (like the Bible) our culture contains so many references to his work.
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And we all know that The West Wing is a liberal fantasy... so of course it counts. Not a show I watch though, and I really wouldn't count it on the true essentials -- though it might be valuable in some circles, and there was a time where it was a reasonable show to have a panel on. I'd say something like Veronica Mars occupies that sort of slot today. (I don't watch either show, btw.)
It's an interesting point -- I think some of it matters what the shorthand is. I wouldn't be surprised if some anime-themed costumes that suffer in the CONvergence masquerade because they reference something that goes over a judges head -- I know that I miss a few. Or perhaps a video game reference that I miss.
It's especially difficult when I think one of the joys of fandom is the shared inside joke.
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YES. The context is very important! Which fans are we talking about? Which local favorites generate the buzz and get read/watched more often than the Hugo winners?
Agreed. While I appreciated the key to the Legion of Super-Connies last year, I felt bad for Chris that he had to explain the joke...and also for myself because I really didn't get the vast majority of the references.
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