Lately I have noticed a certain conflict between media fen and those who call themselves "true science fiction" fans...
| Meta | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Lately I have noticed a certain conflict between media fen and those who call themselves "true science fiction" fans... |
| Creator: | Rebecca A. Walker and Susan E. Voll |
| Date(s): | August 1982 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | |
| Topic: | |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Lately I have noticed a certain conflict between media fen and those who call themselves "true science fiction" fans... is a 1982 essay by Rebecca A. Walker and Susan E. Voll.
It embedded in the two editorials for Legends of Light #1.
The essay does not have an official title. The title used here on Fanlore is part of the opening sentence.
Some Topics Discussed
- becoming a fan, being a fan
- wishing for more tolerance among kinds of fans, specifically between media fans and science fiction fans
Excerpts
[Susan]:
Lately I have noticed a certain conflict between media fen and those who call themselves "true science fiction" fans - meaning that they read the stuff, as opposed to media fans, "who only watch that Star Trek (or Star Wars) junk." This conflict has apparently gone on ever since SF made its way onto the TV/movie screens. I understand that SF "purists" are offended by the way their beloved genre has been portrayed by Hollywood & Co., and, being an avid reader of the stuff, I think they have a point. Still, they need to be reminded that Sturgeon's Law (90% of everything is CRAP), can also be applied to films. The 10% of the "good parts" is what makes wading thru the rest endurable.
Recently the conflict has gotten so blown our of proportion that it's no longer humorous. At last year's World Con, one young man in a Battlestar Galactica uniform was accosted by an SF zealot and told, "You jerk! What are you doing at our World Con? I bet you don't even know how to read." That young man and a large group of his friends will not be attending World Con this year because they don't care to be insulted. They happen to be BG fans and like dressing in BG uniforms - it's fun - and they are all to some extent, quite literate. At least one of them has a fantasy novel in the works. She says she can't wait till it sees print so she can bring it to cons with her. "Then when I'm in costume and someone comes up and tries to tell me I'm brainless, I can shove it at him and say, 'eat this, sucker!'"
I don't know which group I belong to: I've been reading SF since I was 14 or so (comics before that) and watching Star Trek since I was 12. Almost all my books are SF; I belong to the SF Book Club and have read} most of the classics of the genre. Yet I also am a fan of Star Trek, am obviously into Star Wars, and have recently wept through ET and The Wrath of Khan (three and four . times, respectively, to date); does that make me a traitor and if so, to whom, or what? I obviously can read and write - I majored in psychology, theatre arts, and English in college, and I'm the manager of a bookstore (Waldenbooks, Franklin, Ohio.)
The only conclusion I can come up with is WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? Because I like chocolate, am I supposed to forgo chicken for the rest of my days? I should think there'd be enough room for chicken and chocolate, and a million other things to suit my palate; and the same goes for media SF and SF literature. C'mon, people, let's be fair. That person in the Princess Leia outfit might have her Ph.D. in English Lit.; the man in the Darkover duds might think your favorite movie was pretty decent, too.
One can't know all there is to know about a person merely by seeing how s/he is dressed! There are very few truly stupid people who are SF fans (media, purists, or otherwise); those who are treat it like a fad, and sooner or later, will discard it like an old hoola hoop. We certainly don't need to be divided by our differences - there's enough prejudice running rampant in the outside world already. If our great fantasy of sailing the stars is ever to come true, we must band together and push for the Space Program. Let our motto be: Onward & Outward!
[Rebecca]:
I am a neofan. Sort of. To non-fansI am a science fiction enigma. I've been a fan since the original Star Trek, science fiction books are my favorites to read, I've seen Star Wars and Empire 15 time each at the theater, most of my friends are "into" science fiction, I've shaken Leonard Nimoy's hand (wow!), I've been to a (gasp!) World Convention, and now I'm co-editor of a fanzine (a what?). However, to so-called "established fans", all those actions (except maybe the latter), warrant a polite, but unstifled *yawn*.
The key to being a neofan, though you may have been a fan of science fiction since you were three years old, is passivity. As long as a fan stays hidden behind his books, zines, or theater seat, he remains a neo. What separates the "oldies" from us neos is - INVOLVEMENT. Wait, you say, I figured that out a long time ago. Well, if you have, that's terrific. I was not so fortunate. My fate was that I never bought a zine till I was in college, never went to a convention until last year (which was the most fun I've ever had), and never learned fanspeak until recently.
But, alas, even all that is not enough for us neos to break out of the closet. All it takes is a few LoCs, a few friendly letters to other fans, (and some of us sadists publish a fan zine), and *poof* you are now an Acti-Fan!
I wouldn't call myself a Great Fan, I'm certainly not well-known, but I've met an increasing number of active fans in the past year, and they've all given me support and friendship, and inspire me to keep plugging away. Gosh, if only I'd become active years ago, just think how much more fun I'd been having now!
I wish, when I had been a closet fan (which was not very long ago), that someone had shoved pen and paper into my hands and said, "WRITE." If I'd only known how simple it would be to step into the greater circle of friends known as fen. (Hopefully fen will enjoy this zine enough to tolerate me some more.) The "password" into active fandom is not a secret. All it take is a pen pal, an LoC, or a submission to a zine to start the ball rolling. The exchange of ideas, the creativity that begins to flow, the friendships you make, the FUN you have, are worth the time and effort. I'm finding that out, and I know other closet fans out there will discover it, too. Don't let fandom pass you by unnoticed. Speak out, join in. Both you and fandom will be better for it.