Read on Twitter
sometimes I feel when some ppl say “this fandom is dead” what ends up being implied (intentionally or not) is “this fandom is no longer profitable“
which Hm. A lot of ppl have talked abt how fleeting fandom feels online lately and I think this probably is a part of it
which Hm. A lot of ppl have talked abt how fleeting fandom feels online lately and I think this probably is a part of it
We all live in capitalism and it’s reasonable 2 want to make some $$ for ur hard work (i do myself!) but fandom is not a reliable vehicle for consistent profit anyways, whether for one’s self OR for charitable intentions. It is, however, great for self expression & connection
With the trend for fanzines/merch to be “professional” & polished as possible, there’s increased pressure to turn a profit to cover expense, and thus increased pressure to make products more broadly appealing and marketable, which ofc will prioritize more skilled/popular creators
In short, fanwork becomes less about relationships and community and shared appreciation of a work, and more centered around the polished Product—sometimes to the detriment of the relationships between people in the first place (see: “zine drama” in any fandom whatsoever)
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE beautiful, polished products—I love craft, I love aesthetics, and I’m excited when I see successful zines with lots of talent involved. It’s just sad to me when I guess being in fandom is associated solely with being a certain kind of “content creator”
I feel like fanzines existing the way most fan content has existed-as passion projects, albeit expensive ones—rather than being positioned as the center of fandom “community” events with such high stakes it would be... a lot better for everyone
The high expense of fanzines which push it to be more marketable/profitable/broadly-appealing (and dare I say,,,”respectable”) also disincentivizes ppl making niche weird batshit stuff, which is too bad bc I personally love ppls passionate shitposts https://twitter.com/GloriousScumbag/status/1338934605873725440?s=20
Anyways. I love the creativity and passion poured into fandom, whether in the form of fic, zines, merch, or other things, but above all the thing that makes fandom tick are the relationships fans have to each other, and that is something more important imo than polished products
Additional thread about how the role of fic writers fit into this as well--especially since most fandom merchandising is heavily visual oriented https://twitter.com/_tigerine/status/1338968860393922562?s=19
