Fan Culture @ Swarthmore

I know a lot of people have been sort of tossing around the topic of Beatles fandom for a while without us ever really addressing it, and I just watched Across the Universe this weekend, so the topic’s been on my mind.  It seems to me that music fandom can take two slightly different shapes: fan activity centering on the musical artists and fan activity centering on the music itself.  The former is like any kind of celebrity culture: you can engage with singers the same way you can engage with actors, mostly (in my opinion, anyway).  But engaging with music is totally different from engaging with movies or TV.  Covers and remixes, for example, are clearly fannish activities.

But what about the Beatles, specifically?  How would we classify Across the Universe, a musical with all Beatles songs (similar to Mamma Mia and…that one with Billy Joel songs, only far more awesome)?  What about Love, a Cirque du Soleil show with an entirely Beatles soundtrack?  If we’re looking at fandom as a subculture (as suggested, perhaps, by the Hebdige article), how do we deal with the fact that the Beatles are so universally canonized (in both the canon/fanon sense and the made-a-saint sense)?  As far as I know, it’s often seen as weird to *not* like the Beatles, which is a little counterintuitive as far as fandom goes.  I think this also ties in very closely with the distinction between fandom and…inspiration or influence.  We can’t say that everyone who’s been influenced by Orson Welles or Francis Ford Coppola is necessarily a fan of theirs.  So what of all the people who started bands because of the Beatles (or REM, or Nirvana, or Pearl Jam, or Green Day, or whoever)?  If you’re writing an original song in the style of the Beatles, is it fannish or just inspired-by?  Or both?  Rufus Wainwright did a concert a few months ago that was all Judy Garland songs, because he idolizes her so much, but that was called a tribute concert, not a fan concert.  Is there a difference?

There’s also the question of concerts — personally, I’ve had some of the most communal experiences of my life at concerts, and if an integral part of fandom is community then that definitely counts as fandom.  I’d posit that music festivals are in some sense analogous to conventions, but having never been to one, it’s hard to say.

Bob gave me a heads up on a response thatwas made on the Convergence Culture Consortium about the NY Times article I posted regarding the issue of fan fiction and a critically acclaimed but ratings incompetent shows like NBC’s Friday Night Lights.

I have to admit that I strongly agree with pretty much everything she says in her response to the article and frankly it brings to light a lot of the same questions I asked myself when I decided to take this course and when I began my fanifesto (although I left FNL off for reasons I am not completely sure of).

I consider myself a serious fan of the show but my fandom is not manifested in any sort of creative manner.  I think about the show a lot, I check their ratings information on Zap2it as soon as possible after a new episode airs and it always kills me when their share or ratings are down even a point.  Furthermore, I post on forums about the show, read and watch interviews with cast members and keep myself entirely up to date on the actor’s and actresses careers (most notably Zach Gilford who was coincidentally my trip guide on an outdoors trip I took to New Zealand two summers ago).

Li argues that Heffernan’s article ultimately made the mistake of assuming fans of the show are not actively involved in participatory fan cultures like those associated with Heroes or Star Trek because it is simply too good.  Part of me actually sort of agrees with this assumption but I say this only on a personal level.

Let me put it this way.  I got to know Zach Gilford pretty well on the trip I took with him but as soon as I started watching the show, I completely detached the character of Matt Saracen from Zach Gilford the actor that I knew.  That really excited me.  I rarely get excited over television narrative because I always end up eventually getting really disappointed due to absurdity of a show’s narrative as it continues (Prison Break, 24) or end up getting attached to a show that’s end comes too soon (Tom Goes to the Mayor, Arrested Development).  Friday Night Lights has always genuinely kept my interest and I find myself constantly pleased with the direction the narrative takes and frankly I have no interest in thinking of alternative plot possibilities or messing with the careful balance of the show I have in my mind.

The show is personally too good for me to actively enjoy on any level other than constantly singing its praises, interacting with other fans regarding the show’s future, etc.  Maybe when the show is inevitably cancelled I will participate in other manners but for the time being I am too invested in the show’s characters and lives to try to do anything but continue to support it with my viewership which I think is incredibly important to a show with as devoted (albeit, small) fanbase as FNL has.

With that being said, entry number two for The Smash Williams Chronicles is up on Azizisbored.com and its pretty golden too.  Buddy Garrity makes an appearance.