Fandom as Democracy
| Meta | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Fandom as Democracy |
| Creator: | Merlin Missy |
| Date(s): | October 11, 2007 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | multifandom |
| Topic: | |
| External Links: | Fandom as Democracy |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Fandom as Democracy is a 2007 essay by Merlin Missy. It has the subtitle: "This Is Why Many People Prefer Monarchy."
Series
This essay is part of a series called Dr. Merlin's Soapbox.
Some Topics Discussed
- everyone has a voice in fandom due to "nature of the 'Net, the availability of free blogging"
- there are no secret cabals
- there are, however, BNFs, and they tend to do the most work
- rules and decisions on the Internet (and Democracy) are made by people who show up to do the work
- if you want more attention and feedback, work harder
From the Essay
There are some things you need to know, young fanthing, and the very first one is this: there is no secret cabal of Big Name Fans conspiring to harsh your squee and take away your cookies. No, not the people who hang out on that members-only LJ community. Nope, not Fandom Wank, either. The folks who go to the chatroom every third Tuesday? Also no. No one in fandom is sitting out trying to figure out ways to make you personally (and all those not in The Group) have a bad day. So the next time you start feeling specifically ignored and put upon, remind yourself that, no, it's not personal.
You see, fandom is a democracy. The Internet as a whole? Also a democracy. Oh, I know the exceptions. Whoever controls the portals has ultimate control over the discussion, and you need to have a minimum amount of free time and disposable income to opt in, which in turns sets up economic class boundaries from the get-go. However, I submit that those realities of online interaction (and the are realities, even when many of us have the choice of not having to see them) are a matter of outside circumstances governing access to the inner playground.
In here, it's different.
In here, we all have a voice.
You get one voice. When you use it, or even when you choose not to use it and instead sit back and read, you're casting your vote. You click on pages, and you say these pages are good and worthy of being read. You bypass other sites and vote with your virtual feet: not worthy of your time and energy. You send emails, or you don't. You comment on entries, or you don't. Every post, reply, comment, story, website, art piece, fanvid, everything you do is a vote. For. Against. Worthy. Not.
At its best, fandom and the Internet at large are meritocracies. If you write it / draw it / vid it / meta it / whatever well, they will come. You will be voted upon as favorable, people will point to you as a reputable source for good things, everyone is happy. Thus are BNFs intended to be born: the cream of the crop, the Names that are Known because they are the Best. That's the ideal. And we all know about ideals. So yes. Sometimes the best-known fanfic writer in your fandom isn't actually very good. Sometimes the vidder everyone fawns over is a little too enamored of fancy transitions. And so on. Sometimes the story you slaved over for months gets ignored for a dashed-off drabble. Sometimes the meta you carefully analyzed for structure and consistency – the essay that looked into the deeper meanings of the musical arrangements chosen for each character and referenced Pablo Neruda – is ignored over someone's misquoted Simpsons joke.
And what about those other people getting all those cookies? Why did they get to make the rules and why is everyone voting for them, even when, hey, you're just as good? What's up with that?
The answer generally turns out to be "a lot of extra effort." Can you name the people who run the ficathons in your fandom? Can you name the people who run the big multifandom ficathons that you participate in? Do you know who organized the convention and who worked the con staff? Who maintains the archive? Who writes the fandom newsletter? Who moderates the communities and the lists? Who owns the website where the forums are? Who does the work to make your fandom experience more enjoyable?
BNFs exist because people vote for them and give them cookies. If they had no people to give them cookies and attention, they would not, by definition, be Big Name Fans. They'd be everyone else. And in many ways, they are. BNFs get exactly the same number of votes to use as everyone else, and the same number of cookies to hand out. And the people what hang out with the BNFs also get their very own allotment of cookies and votes to hand out, and no, they don't always go where the BNF directs. People have their own brains and their own opinions, and one person's "mindless sheep, following passively along where she/he is led" is more likely "someone who rather likes things this way, thanks."
You can claim you're being ignored. You can ignore everyone else and go do what makes you happy regardless of what other people think. (Dr. Merlin rather likes this option.) Or you can do something about it.
You can campaign. Don't like what the current crop of ficathons are writing about? Start your own and promote it in the appropriate places. Want more people in your 'ship? Write stories and meta and make manips and show how hot those two are together; someone will eventually agree with you. Want an archive not underwritten by corporate interests? Start your own!
[...]
Think the Wikipedia article written about your favorite fandom or website was typed in by chimps? Edit the page (and bring your sources).
Show up. Speak up. Let your voice be heard. Even if no one else joins you. Even if everyone does and you're looking around suddenly, blinking in the bright lights, and asking why they're calling you "Madame President."