The Common Tongue

[wombat_socho]

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 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?

Comments

[fsf-rapier.livejournal.com]

I think it's important for all of us to understand that there is a deep and rich history of Spec-Fi, and that it takes time to learn and appreciate that.

That said: There is always a "know-it-all" attitude in the "younger generation" that the older one have to cut through before those in the younger generation can start to appreciate that something like "Underworld", for example, might not be the End-All Be-All authority on Vampires and Were-creatures.

Items that should be understood by a "Fan":
1. The Hobbit (LOTR is recommended, but still optional)
2. Star Trek TOS (Next Generation is recommended, all others are optional)
3. Star Wars (At least the first trilogy)
4. Arthurian Legend (pick one)
5. The Adventures of Robin Hood (Pick one)
6. One of the following series:
~Harry Potter
~The Chronicles of Narnia
~The Martian Chronicles

If you can get this simple background, you can at least follow most (51%) conversations at CONvergence. Hopefully, you'll realize your ignorance at this point and become interested in learning more.

Other things an older fan SHOULD be familiar with, not necessarily all of them, but these have been on fan radar long enough to be known. This list is not exhaustive:

Literature
The Bible (Old Testament more than New)
William Shakespeare
Geoffrey Chaucer
Mary Shelly

Novels
The Dragonriders of Pern
The Belgariad
The Dark Tower
Starship Troopers
The Chronicles of Amber
The Wheel of Time
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
The Riftwar Saga

Films
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Dragonslayer
Superman (1980)
Krull
Jaws
Battlestar Galactica


I have to run, but I meant to put on a few other television shows...feel free to add on.

[wombat-socho.livejournal.com]

I think people should know about the Thomas Covenant books...in the same way they know about Perry Rhodan and the "New Wave" SF writers. Don't know if I'd actually recommend them to anyone, though.

[fsf-rapier.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Good point. They can be a bit painful at times.

[digex.livejournal.com]

but getting the background to be in on SF fandom
isn't about reading the "best of" - you need to read
some of the "less good" stuff too in order to be a
bit more well rounded, and to understand some of
the evolution of it all.

I was going to comment on Wombat's "the bible should
be part of it" and ask if he was including that in the
fiction part of things, but that is likely a very different
set of blog entries ;-)

doug

[wombat-socho.livejournal.com]

I was going to comment on Wombat's "the bible should
be part of it" and ask if he was including that in the
fiction part of things,

You know me better than that. ^^ I was thinking that it belongs in the larger canon of Western civilization, of which SF&F is only a part, because (like Shakespeare) so much of what comes after it draws on it, often in ways we're not conscious of.

Your point about fans needing to be aware of the not-so-good stuff is a valid one, too. Lots of the stuff I like (Saberhagen, Laumer, Christopher Anvil, David Drake, etc.) isn't award winning literature by anyone's definition, but it's still good entertainment, tasty brain candy. The Thomas Covenant novels (well, the first ones, anyway) definitely fall into that category.