fannish five
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fannish5 prompt was "five fandoms you wish you liked but just don't." I've excluded fandoms that I used to like but fell away from; these are ones I've never really been able to get into, even though other folks seem to love them a lot.
1) Comics
I'm breaking my own rules a little here, because I was quite into comics for a brief while. Before long, though, I grew alienated by the way marketing determines storytelling in mainstream comics. Marvel (and probably DC, although I was never a DC reader) don't want to let you read just the titles you're interested in; they shoehorn every title and every team into massive, incomprehensible crossovers, often forcing the titles you were reading to drop the storylines you were interested in. Plus, I am not a reader who reacts well to retcons and continuity gaps, so reading comics was an exercise in frustration. Finally, comics are expensive! I know that really they're cheap when you consider how much work goes into one, but ten titles a month (which is very few for most comics readers) adds up at $3.99 each.
Indie comics, on the other hand, were always a little too indie for my taste. I couldn't interest myself in slice-of-life stories about teenage/twentysomething ennui illustrated with little black and white sketches. I wanted more drama and (literally) more color than that.
2) Neil Gaiman
He's kind of a fandom in himself, isn't he? People who are fannish about one of Gaiman's works tend to be fannish about them all. I, on the other hand, love Sandman, Good Omens, and the classic Sherlock Holmes pastiche "A Study in Emerald," but I've been consistently underwhelmed by Gaiman's novels and most of his short fiction. To be honest, I'm also a little put off by the cultishness of some Gaiman fans.
3) A Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin
I've read a bunch of these--possibly all of them--but even though I read them one after the other, I got massively confused by all the characters and narrative threads. I also didn't care for the graphic violence (especially all the sexualized violence) and the general bleakness. Many folks on my reading lists have been posting excitedly about the miniseries, but I just can't muster up any interest.
4) Star Trek: The Next Generation
This is the only Star Trek I actually watched (some of) while it was airing. I enjoyed it okay but it never grabbed me. Later, in my thirties, I tried to watch the whole show as part of my burgeoning involvement in all things fannish. But not even the brilliant Patrick Stewart was enough to make up for the show's extreme and often clunky earnestness or its not-infrequent preachiness. Plus, TNG has the most horrible of all the Star Trek uniforms. I cannot deal with form-fitting polyester in garish colors.
5) Stargate (especially SGA)
I've read a fair amount of Stargate fic while never having seen an episode. Even many SG1 and SGA fans admit that the shows are not actually all that great, and the clips I've seen seem to bear that out. Besides issues of writing and acting, I have the impression (do correct me if I'm wrong!) that the show is a bit all-American, pro-military, not much interested in the ethical complexities that are, one would think, inherent in the premise.
Now, I'm quite capable of enjoying less than stellar shows if I love the world and/or some of the characters (e.g. Sanctuary, Warehouse 13). But Stargate, even though the fandom seems interesting, there are awesome writers currently producing tie-in novels, and I know the fics I occasionally read would mean more if I had more knowledge, has never quite gotten past my inertia.
fannish5 prompt was "five fandoms you wish you liked but just don't." I've excluded fandoms that I used to like but fell away from; these are ones I've never really been able to get into, even though other folks seem to love them a lot.1) Comics
I'm breaking my own rules a little here, because I was quite into comics for a brief while. Before long, though, I grew alienated by the way marketing determines storytelling in mainstream comics. Marvel (and probably DC, although I was never a DC reader) don't want to let you read just the titles you're interested in; they shoehorn every title and every team into massive, incomprehensible crossovers, often forcing the titles you were reading to drop the storylines you were interested in. Plus, I am not a reader who reacts well to retcons and continuity gaps, so reading comics was an exercise in frustration. Finally, comics are expensive! I know that really they're cheap when you consider how much work goes into one, but ten titles a month (which is very few for most comics readers) adds up at $3.99 each.
Indie comics, on the other hand, were always a little too indie for my taste. I couldn't interest myself in slice-of-life stories about teenage/twentysomething ennui illustrated with little black and white sketches. I wanted more drama and (literally) more color than that.
2) Neil Gaiman
He's kind of a fandom in himself, isn't he? People who are fannish about one of Gaiman's works tend to be fannish about them all. I, on the other hand, love Sandman, Good Omens, and the classic Sherlock Holmes pastiche "A Study in Emerald," but I've been consistently underwhelmed by Gaiman's novels and most of his short fiction. To be honest, I'm also a little put off by the cultishness of some Gaiman fans.
3) A Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin
I've read a bunch of these--possibly all of them--but even though I read them one after the other, I got massively confused by all the characters and narrative threads. I also didn't care for the graphic violence (especially all the sexualized violence) and the general bleakness. Many folks on my reading lists have been posting excitedly about the miniseries, but I just can't muster up any interest.
4) Star Trek: The Next Generation
This is the only Star Trek I actually watched (some of) while it was airing. I enjoyed it okay but it never grabbed me. Later, in my thirties, I tried to watch the whole show as part of my burgeoning involvement in all things fannish. But not even the brilliant Patrick Stewart was enough to make up for the show's extreme and often clunky earnestness or its not-infrequent preachiness. Plus, TNG has the most horrible of all the Star Trek uniforms. I cannot deal with form-fitting polyester in garish colors.
5) Stargate (especially SGA)
I've read a fair amount of Stargate fic while never having seen an episode. Even many SG1 and SGA fans admit that the shows are not actually all that great, and the clips I've seen seem to bear that out. Besides issues of writing and acting, I have the impression (do correct me if I'm wrong!) that the show is a bit all-American, pro-military, not much interested in the ethical complexities that are, one would think, inherent in the premise.
Now, I'm quite capable of enjoying less than stellar shows if I love the world and/or some of the characters (e.g. Sanctuary, Warehouse 13). But Stargate, even though the fandom seems interesting, there are awesome writers currently producing tie-in novels, and I know the fics I occasionally read would mean more if I had more knowledge, has never quite gotten past my inertia.
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Date: 2011-05-14 03:51 pm (UTC)