#&&. i really don't have enough coffee for this . . . (dash commentary) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

darkwingdukat · 3 years ago

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I don't know if being in my mid-30s classifies me as a fandom old or middle, but this really got me thinking.

I engage with media in two very distinct ways. The first is the kind of media that I consume in the way OP feels is correct and acceptable. The second is the kind that OP speaks out against here. And it all has to do with the level to which my brain wants to immerse in the world and how much the concepts presented haunt me.

The first kind of media: these are the stories, the movies, the shows that I enjoy but don't necessarily become obsessed over. Right now, I'm watching Modern Family, which firmly fits into this category. I enjoy it, it makes me laugh, and I know it is a "safe" show that I won't spend hours coming up with headcanons or writing fic or trying to pair up characters. It is a good, easy medium that I don't want to immerse myself in that world.

But then there's the other kind of media. Leverage. Supernatural. To a weird, tangential extent, Sweet Tooth. These shows haunt me. I love the characters. I love the world. I love the concept. Whatever it is about the show (or book or movie), I can't stop thinking about it. This is where I start getting into the territory that OP says is becoming too commonplace.

Truthfully, I don't think it is. Now, I can't speak for all of fandom, but for my own little corner, when I simply enjoy a piece of media on its own accord, as described above, I don't engage in fandom. I don't really seek out gifsets or headcanons because I don't need to. If I see a post on my dash I find amusing I might reblog it. But I'm not actively searching it out and I'm definitely not creating content for it. Therefore, I am not participating in that fandom. Not really.

On the flip side of that? If I am completely consumed by a piece of media? That's where I start to engage in fandom. Because they can contribute something more. They're filling gaps that I'm looking for. Or I'm filling gaps and sharing it with others who enjoy that piece of media and WANT to see more.

OP talks about Squid Game specifically. Now, I haven't watched the show in its entirety. But I've seen enough key elements I feel I could have a reasonable discussion about the themes and elements and commentary presented. But it wasn't a show that consumed me. There were two characters I shipped, but they both died. So if I wanted to see them together in any way I'd have to turn to fanfiction. There's nothing wrong with shipping. And if canon compliance means these characters are going to die then I'll have to look instead to the coffee shop or college AUs because anything else would end in tragedy.

I don't think that fandom has become all about just shipping and AUs and not engaging with the work as it stands... I really don't. It's just what we happen to see here on tumblr.com because that's what leaks through. When I personally engage in media in a way that isn't THAT, it's a wholly private experience for me. It's between me and the work, and no one else need get in between that. That's not fandom. Fanom is collaboration and sharing and contributing and remixing and fulfilling and making art for yourself that other people find meaning in. That's all.

(Side note: I kept saying OP but when I looked back, there were two distinct people talking. So I apologize for conflating the two viewpoints. In this post "OP" refers to the first two opinions expressed, not 5x04dean's)

also everyone treating squid game like the latest fandom of the week and making aus and trendy videos and shipping and all that is absolutely missing the point. beyond salvation

#long post #fandom

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