The Right to Say
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| Title: | The Right to Say |
| Creator: | M.J. Fisher |
| Date(s): | August 1975 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: TOS is mentioned |
| Topic: | |
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| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Right to Say is a 1975 essay by M.J. Fisher.
It was printed in Spectrum #19.
Some Topics Discussed
- how to communicate effectively
- the fanzine as the main area of communication
Excerpts
There seem to be two areas where fans have the right to speak out for or against fandom. In the first instance fanzines provide almost the ideal medium for being able to communicate. A lot of what most fans know about fandom comes from zines. There are few among us who write enough letters and have enough contacts, or have a budget large enough to let them attend the majority of the cons. So almost anybody that has come to know fandom has probably done so through fanzines.
About the best way to get your ideas across is to write for fanzines, and if no one will print your stuff, you publish your own and hope enough trade copies get around so that you're heard. Some of the best pieces on the people in fandom have come from fan club journals, and that is another way to get ideas started. Wherever you can get into print you can get at least some acknowledgement back.
Most of the reports of people and places you find in fanzines tend to be simple reporting, but there are always certain zines and certain authors that can attract attention with scathing reviews or a cruel con report. In fact, the incidence of the daring writers in increasing in Star Trek fandom. Enough folk have been around long enough to see schlock for what it really is. I would also be willing to wager that more unfavorable con reports have come out within the last year that you would ever have found in previous years of fandom. (That might also be a loaded wager too, since there have been soooo many cons lately, so take that as you wish.)
If you're writing a con report,or your experiences in fandom in one aspect or an other you'll only be able to go so far in your reporting. A little common sensical writing also plays in this too, since you can't go around criticizing the smallest details you can find. The end point in criticism is usually where opinion leaves off and where slander starts.
A certain amount of suspicion is needed in order to try to print the dark side of things and not just the rosy aspects. But woe be to the writer who happens to have likes that are currently not generally liked by the majority of fans. An example might be a fan who lists his favorite ST episodes as: Spock's Brain, Let That Be..., Alternative Factor, and Omega Glory, and then does a bad job defending his viewpoint. [snipped] You can speak out on something, but if you don't do it intelligently or gauge the strength of the writing to the subject material at hand, then it won't come across well in the eyes of the reader.
...to the other type of subject that is pretty much left open to smaller circles of discussion, and those are the items that aren't fit to print in most zines. In general, anything that is slanderous against a star, a professional, or another fan Isn't touched by too many publications.
Despite the fact that some people don't believe in them, there ARE people out there waiting to take your money, and one of the easiest ways of doing it is to win a libel suit in court. At least I believe in these "fan parasites" and I know there might only be one or two in fandom, but the world is full of all kinds of weirdos & it's surprising fandom doesn't have more of them! So most writers watch their step when commenting to any degree on personal reputations.
I have seen only two cases where there is an exchange of opinions on touchy matters such as this. One is between personal correspondents, and there are enough 15-letter-a-week buffs out there (myself included) to pass the word around quite well. Also groups of fans in hotel rooms at cons or just for get-togethers are usually expect[ed] to go through the entire gamut of recent news and gossip between themselves.
So the right to say depends on what you're going to be talking about and how well the intended audience will take it, and generally it doesn't help to be fool-hardy doing it. And if you're desperate, you can always say it in fiction!