At A Scintillation of Scions V, I (Curly) presented a paper entitled The Validation of the Internet Fandom: Bridging the Gap Between Traditional Fandom and the Age of Tumblr. It was very well received and made a lot of people cry (gyah sorry!). My heart sort of swelled as I walked back to my seat and kept getting stopped, Sherlockians new and old thanking me, telling me how fantastic it was, and that they were so proud and pleased. I hadn’t felt like I had done anything monumental or extraordinary, but after awhile I realized that maybe I had done something important.
So, here is the paper in its entirety, as well as the recording from the actual presentation (so I can prove people laughed and clapped!) I hope you like it.
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The Validation of the Internet Fandom: Bridging the Gap Between Traditional Fandom and the Age of Tumblr
By Kristina Manente
Scintillation of Scions V
June 9, 2012
I have an addictive personality. I’ll get addicted to outfits or hummus sandwiches, movies and songs. I should have known I’d end up here at Scintillation for one simple reason: as a child I watched The Great Mouse Detective. I watched it so many times over and over again, I’m sure it’s melted my brain. And drove my mother insane. I was hopelessly in love with it. I still am. It was a staple of my childhood and while I was vaguely aware of whom Sherlock Holmes was growing up, I wasn’t a Sherlockian.
I didn’t start reading the canon until last year. I thought Watson was always rotund with a bushy mustache (well, part of that is true), and I had no idea who Jeremy Brett was. In fact, when the Robert Downey Jr movie adverts first showed, my first thought (other than god Jude Law is hot) was that of Basil of Baker Street. Of the cartoon mouse who unashamedly stole my heart. I didn’t know what would happen in the next two to three years. I didn’t know about Sherlock or how it would change my life forever.
Sherlock is my first fandom, and I use fandom in the sense of a distinct internet community. A community of thousands who all love the same thing, who write about it, laugh about it, argue about it, art about it, cry about it, and lust over animated gifs of Benedict Cumberbatch together. It’s a beautiful mad thing. I stepped in unaware and I have never been more glad. Fandom has introduced me and countless others to the original stories. It has celebrated these magnificent characters and it has changed my life, and many others.
In which @CurlyFourEyes articulates the most cohesive argument ever for not Othering someone in your territory because they’re new. The next time you’re interested in calling someone out on their geek cred (regardless of what segment you’re in: comics/film/games/tv, etc.,) think again. It’s not about who is the best at being a fan, it’s about finding each other as fans.
As someone who has written at length regarding the misogyny inherent in demanding that geeky women produce cred, and about the idea that geek culture must be an insular, stagnant environment to be authentic, I think it’s important that we’re reminded that as geek culture goes mainstream, it doesn’t dilute what we love or why we love it. It keeps it alive, thriving, and vital. New people will falter, they will learn, they will grow. Those of us who have been around for a while when it comes to loving the things we love, should be glad of that. We should offer help when someone isn’t sure of where to start, we should be happy to share the things we know, because it shouldn’t be an arthurian quest to love something. It should be easy. We should be aiming for a raucous, fractious, silly, amazing family of fans instead of the absurdly demeaning cliques most of us weren’t allowed in when we were at school.
