(no subject)

[itsnotmymind]

I think I approach fandom differently from many fans. I often hear people say that fandom is escapism for them. that idea is alien to me. Fandom never could be an escape for me, even if I wanted it to be. Fandom has been part of who I am - been who I am - since long before I started hanging out in the internet. Since long before I can remember. I take fandom as seriously as I do the rest of my life. Getting a livejournal and joining fandom wasn't easy for me. It was very stressful. To this day, fandom can cause me as much unhappiness as the real world, and often more. I'm not in fandom to escape from the world. I'm in fandom to process the world. Fantasy worlds have always been a way for me to deal with the real world metaphorically, indirectly. To understand it from a different angle.

I think I do fandom different from a lot of people in that regard. Fandom is not supposed to be fun for me. Fandom is supposed to be fulfilling.

Comments

[spikesjojo.livejournal.com]

I am so much the same! Fandom has been a huge part of my life for 50 years now - from Spock to Spike. I see through that lens - I learn through that lens. And sometimes I feel rejected, hurt, angry in a way that seems insane. Archetypes, metaphors - maybe it's a Jungian construct - but they touch me on a level that most things don't.

[itsnotmymind.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes. Weirdly for me it almost helps to remind myself that it's about real life for me - and ultimately, I think, for most fans, even if they want to treat it as an escape. I can remember that people's attitudes towards fictional character are about their own issues and experiences - and if I think they're wrong, it's because their interpretation of human nature and morality is wrong, not because they would hate me or the people I care about if they knew us.

[local-max.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I hear that. Fandom is where I work out existential issues. And also sometimes have fun. Just like life, where I both have fun and deal with serious issues. But it's not really fluff or escapism.

[itsnotmymind.livejournal.com]

Word.