Highbrow Fandom?

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Title:	Highbrow Fandom?
Creator:	Jeff Johnston
Date(s):	July 1975
Medium:	print
Fandom:	Star Trek: TOS
Topic:
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Highbrow Fandom? is a 1975 essay by Jeff Johnston.

It was printed in Spectrum #18.

The editor notes: "This is a reworked, filled-out version of a similar fannish thoughts article that appeared in an earlier issue of this zine, but because of the material it contained I felt it should be given another airing."

Some Topics Discussed

• neofans bring enthusiasm and energy to fandom, but they also bring a lot of problems
• fandom, according to Johnston, is made up of powerful BNFs who need to have that power to keep fandom alive
• the Star Trek Welcommittee is a leader in keeping fans and fandom organized and working well
• some fans believe that Star Trek fans will merge with traditional science fiction fandom
• it's going to become harder and harder to remain powerful as one big fandom; fans will have to work harder to connect with other, to find zines, and to learn fan slang (all of which are necessary)

The Essay

One of the first things that impressed me about fandom was the diversity that you can find within those tenuous boundaries which we have chosen to fandom. Indeed., some so-called fanzines have very little ST or SF in them, but we still include them in the ranks. Perhaps the length of time that fandom has been in existence shows itself by the number of fringe groups that come under that name. In this aspect however ST fandom is extremely young and has not had much time to develop to many well known fanzines, many internationally known fans or do as much as SF fandom has managed to do in its years of existence, especially the last few years.

Although some people believe that ST fandom will eventually merge with SF fandom, ST fandom has still not hit its height nor has it accumulated its greatest number of fans. ST fandom is still growing, evolving and this process must be something we must be prepared for as much as we must be prepared for future shock.

When a person first becomes involved in fandom he may search out all of the other sources, buy a dozen different subscriptions to zines, and may even delve into fan writing and publishing. Another person may get two subscriptions to well-known zines and only attend one or two cons. Obviously there are going to be some people who will devote more time to fandom than most hobbies deserve.

Fandom does have room for this, because of its unique versatility. Fandom has always been a funny kind of open forum for ideas and I'd like to see a psychologist's opinion of a few fanzines. I'm sure many of them have opened up new horizons of thinking for their reader's. Fandom should continue to keep up this kind of work as long as there are new people to add to the ranks. This means fresh blood, fresh ideas, and maybe somebody here and there to shake up the pillars to make us take a second look at the foundation.

There are some problems in a running fanzine is stagnation. A publication's editors or writers may run out of ideas or get stuck in a rut. Another thing that could happen is that the level of the writers may rise above the level of the readers. Take a look at it this way...the writers of a publication or the leaders of a fan group will be deeper involved with fandom than most of their subscribers/members. These people will probably attend more cons subscribe to more zines and talk and think more about it among themselves. Wouldn't there come a point where the ideas and events talked about by the most experienced people of the group will go right by the other people?

Imagine now that that is probably happening now in Star Trek fandom. Groups of people and individuals are becoming more experienced in Star Trek fandom and a high brow level of fandom may be developing now to accommodate these people. I don't believe that many people would be happy with a stagnant form of fandom but would rather constantly be experiencing new forms of the art. For the experienced, "highbrow" fans the direction of expression is more difficult. With the constant influx of new fans more and more fanzines will flood the market and more and more new fans will flood the cons. For those highbrow fans that see this all and can't find find an outlet for expression they may be discouraged enough to drop out of fandom altogether.

Several things are happening to relieve things like that although they may not be very apparent, but they may still turn out to be necessary. The highbrow fans may be developing a clique of their own among fans through very subtle means. One of the initial "tests" you usually have to pass to become acquainted with fandom is learning your way around the fan slanguage. Take a good objective look at some pieces of fan writing (other than fiction) and see how many pieces would make sense to someone off the streets. Then again, slanguage is fun to learn, and once you have mastered it, it promotes a feeling of being a part of one big "in" group. Some of the other methods of expressing the hardcore are not so gently subtle.

The hardcore fans will probably begin to seek themselves out more. One reason for this will merely be to express themselves. It will become increasing hard for these fans of five or six years standing to communicate well enough with those new fans of SIX months. In some cases it may take a great deal of time to express a concept to a new fan because all of the details leading up to the concept have to be laid down first. The fan world of the highbrow fans is increasingly complex.

These highbrow fans may actively seek out other hardcore fans either in exclusive clubs that use a number of different techniques to weed out the neofans or there may be new innovations added to conventions to exclude the neofans, for example only out of-state fans may be allowed to attend since these fans that would take the time any money to travel from their own state would probably be more sincere fans. Such a method however is only an exaggeration and it would meet with a great deal of disapproval not only from fans but from the state in which it was held since it would lose out on a lot of the state and city taxes normally paid over in a large con.

Although this is apocryphal example some measures to limit the neos from cons are already being taken at the worldcon to be held in Kansas City next year, and the larger Star Trek fans will find they will have to take similar measures.

As Star Trek fandom develops, I imagine there will be small sub-groups formed inside of the central framework. In SF fandom there are comix fans. Burroughs fans and many other sub-cults. What other sub-cults can we expect from ST fandom, surely there isn't the great diversity that there is in SF fandom but enough to make things complex. I well expect that there will be a "old ST" cult, comprised by those people who only accept the original ST and not the animation and not the movie. Then there will be those fans who only accept the newer forms of ST since they relate better that the original s 1956 morality, and perhaps there will be widely different fringe groups that would be hard to classify.

Since the failure of communication will inevitably come out in many instances we might well be prepared for an elite fandom. The distinction between the two won't be very clear to many. It will probably be all too clear to the new fan who picks up an elitist zine and can]t begin to understand the first things that are talked about. I can t say that this is bad, it is necessary. The people who have worked to build up ST fandom to what it is today are the ones that will lead the way for many of the rest of us, they will push through the changes in fandom themselves without realizing and only because it is the only way they can continue to communicate adequately.

Fandom may eventually be comprised of those great legions of passive fans and the few handfuls of highbrow fans around the country. It will make things difficult for the new fan that picks up the highbrow publications since they won't be geared for him. In this aspect it is unfortunate that no great distinction made between the two groups of publications or the two groups of fans. Perhaps reviewers may be able to warn readers of new zines whether they should already be introduced to the material or something of the sort may be included in the forward to new zines.

The ramifications of a highbrow fandom are very complex and might turn a dozen directions, but they are necessary if we are to keep a lot of our Big Name Fans interested in coping with fandom. By understanding the problem we may be able to figure where troubles lie and may be able to turn the path straight in places we have en countered nasty turns. Fandom is changing and if you don't believe me ask any chairperson from a large convention if it's getting easier. One of the organizations that will play an initial role in the evolution of Star Trek fandom will be the Star Trek Welcommittee -- mark my words! I believe that it may even be possible that in the future the STW will develop a separate branch that has resulted from the changes in fandom in order to cope. I only hope that we will all have insight into the changes And work them to everyone's advantages.

Fan Comments

I think you've got your idea of "highbrow fandom" and "lowbrow fandom" all inside out and upside-down.!,> You seem to think that older fans are forming cliques to avoid contact with, never fans. I don't think that's so... And I have never met anyone who has felt that way...

...I am confidant that any new fan can become as active in fandom as he/she wants to be. You also seem to equate "highbrow" with "hardcore" and "hardcore" with "older" or "more experienced." But different people take different lengths of time to find their niche in fandom.

What I find distasteful about your theory is that older fans will necessarily want or need to exclude newer fans from their little cliques. Taint so. Fans want to talk with other fans who have the.same interests and degree of involvement in fandom. Not all the time. But, when you want to do some serious discussing you tend to seek out the people who have similar interests as yours...

I think we already have "elite" fanzines--but, they're not at all the way you picture and "elitist" zine. I think of an elite zine as being one which lives up to extremely high standards in writing, art, and production...Their quality and content makes them enjoyable to large numbers of fans.

I think an "elitist" attitude would be the death of ST fandom. It would be stagnation. It would be the end of the free-flow of fresh new ideas...But, the influx of new fans has little to do with the exodus of some older fans. Sometimes, people just get tired of one hobby and move to another. What's this about a problem of keeping "Big Name Fans interested in coping with fandom."? If they want to stay in fandom, they will; if they don't want to stay, they won't. I'd hate to see a zine like T-NEGATIVE fold. But, if Ruth were to decide to leave fandom, what are you going to do -- chain, her to her typewriter? You can think of other examples, too, I'm sure...

Yes, fandom is changing and it is expanding at a tremendous rate. There seems to be an explosion in the numbers of clubs and fanzines that are being started. But, I don't see an "elitist" trend. The people I've met in fandom have been truly beautiful. Very friendly, open people.

I was interested in your views about ST fandom, but disagree that 'the level of the writers may rise above the level of the readers'...I cannot see that any knowledgeable group of writers would allow themselves to 'go right by the other people' . That would be literary suicide. I think that fandom is much the same. It is, above all else a form of communication. Once communication breaks down you have really lost the purpose for which these fields (fandom writing, etc.) have been created. ...Most people who discuss or philosophize on Star Trek's ideals do so because they like the exchange of ideas or because they are working on a piece of fiction and want to try out a theory on a large number of fans.