So, yes, PR is a bit of an oddity and so is the fandom, but that doesn't mean you can simply explain away everything that doesn't fit your theory as an exception.
I don't want to explain it away, seriously. Maybe it is an exception, maybe it is the stereotype of an alternative and equally valid model that I am just not aware of. I really don't know much about that part of fandom. Maybe there are two or three or four or more parts of German fandom and I just know one if them.
And fandom as a whole is a very huge mass. I am aware of that. "Fandom" itself is a word that is used in about a million different ways in English as well. Sometimes it refers only to the part of "fandom" that produces and consumes fanwork. Sometimes it refers to the dedicated viewership of the series even though these people have no ties to any other fans and are not part of a community. And I've also seen it used in a way that implied "fandom" was "English fandom" (as I use it), while other times it was meant as a universal and intercultural term. When I use "German fandom" and you use "German fandom", we refer to different things. And I used the term "German fandom" in different senses myself.
What I mean to say: The term "German fandom" is just as complex and undefined as the word "fandom" is in English. And that sucks, but I can't think of any alternative. If I could, I would use it. I can only speak about the corners I know, and I only want to speak about the corners I know. I also frequently put my foot in my mouth even though I try my best not to. At the beginning of this post I said:
This post is about my very subjective experience in fandom
I also included my fannish vita because I wanted to make clear that everything I said is in now way universal. That goes for the comments as well, naturally. I'm sorry if I didn't make that clear enough. I can add an ETA if you want and/or link to a post that explains German fandom as you know it better.
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carisma_sensei
no subject
Date: 2009-05-05 09:44 pm (UTC)I don't want to explain it away, seriously. Maybe it is an exception, maybe it is the stereotype of an alternative and equally valid model that I am just not aware of. I really don't know much about that part of fandom. Maybe there are two or three or four or more parts of German fandom and I just know one if them.
And fandom as a whole is a very huge mass. I am aware of that. "Fandom" itself is a word that is used in about a million different ways in English as well. Sometimes it refers only to the part of "fandom" that produces and consumes fanwork. Sometimes it refers to the dedicated viewership of the series even though these people have no ties to any other fans and are not part of a community. And I've also seen it used in a way that implied "fandom" was "English fandom" (as I use it), while other times it was meant as a universal and intercultural term. When I use "German fandom" and you use "German fandom", we refer to different things. And I used the term "German fandom" in different senses myself.
What I mean to say: The term "German fandom" is just as complex and undefined as the word "fandom" is in English. And that sucks, but I can't think of any alternative. If I could, I would use it. I can only speak about the corners I know, and I only want to speak about the corners I know. I also frequently put my foot in my mouth even though I try my best not to. At the beginning of this post I said:
I also included my fannish vita because I wanted to make clear that everything I said is in now way universal. That goes for the comments as well, naturally. I'm sorry if I didn't make that clear enough. I can add an ETA if you want and/or link to a post that explains German fandom as you know it better.