screaming crowd
The screaming crowds. The hours spent online, spreading pictures and information. All these people coming together. Let me introduce आप to a fandom.
Fandom is a term that sounds like what is is—it refers to all the combined प्रशंसकों of something. It can be a sport, hobby, या book. It can be very specific, down to one show; या wide, encompassing all shows in a genre. The प्रशंसकों are closely connected द्वारा shared interest. Fandoms have been around for some time, but have recently become mainstream. Are आप ready to enter their world?
“People sometimes look at fandoms from the outside and wonder why [they] spend so much time on these people they don't know personally, but once आप step inside the world आप can start to understand it...fandoms are just one of the many ways that we gain and spread ideas, information and wisdom from all over the world,” कहा Haley, a high school junior, in her लेख Fangirling Dissected.
Now fandoms can take their interest online. Many websites are built द्वारा dedicated प्रशंसकों of everything from Harry Potter to My Little Pony. प्रशंसकों from all over can collect information, have conversations, post original artwork and stories, and write on forums. It’s easy for every member of the fandom around the world to connect, even if they never meet in real life.
There’s a difference between प्रशंसक and fandom. Only the most devoted प्रशंसकों are included in the fandom. यूट्यूब user danisnotonfire explains the difference between a “casual” प्रशंसक and an “internet” प्रशंसक that would be in a fandom.
“Let me explain: firstly the person discovers and enjoys the thing. Then the person goes onto the internet and has fun learning और about it and people who feel the same way. The person then suddenly becomes aware of their [the object of interest] overwhelming perfection and it becomes the प्रशंसकों main reason for being alive.”
Being overcome द्वारा emotion when something in the fandom happens या the person sees या hears anything related to their fandom (They see a picture, hear the name, etc) is called “feels”.
“Now whenever anything happens, they are overcome द्वारा so many emotions [feels] that they can't function and it’s basically destroyed their life. Basically fandoms are like drugs, आप just need that little bit to get आप hooked, and then a tiny bit और here and there, when BAM, suddenly your life is a train wreck.”
That’s where many disagreed. As फैन्पॉप यूज़रनाम x-Yumi-x pointed out, being a प्रशंसक may take up a lot of time, but that’s because it’s all stuff they प्यार doing; stuff they’d rather be doing than other things.
“To be honest, being in a fandom really enriched my life and दिया me a sense of belonging,” कहा फैन्पॉप यूज़रनाम Cerudays.
“Being in a fandom has brought a lot of good times into my life that I wouldn't have had otherwise. I honestly don’t know what I’d be doing if it weren’t for this,” added फैन्पॉप यूज़रनाम Panisepic.
Members of a fandom tend to be very interested in all of the details of their object of interest. They will absorb any accessible knowledge about it, and it often makes them very educated about it. For example, प्रशंसकों of Doctor Who could सूची all the actors, talk about who made the best companion, या argue avidly that David Tennant was the better doctor. Often, members connect द्वारा organizing things like conventions, games, या conferences. प्रशंसक fiction (fictional stories about the object of interest written द्वारा fans) and art are also common among fandoms. These are just और signs as to how much प्रशंसकों प्यार their hobbies.
One example is a story of how much one girl wanted to get a poster and see a new movie. “I had been waiting for the new फिल्में to come out for half a year, and they were being shown…near my town. If आप attended in cosplay [dress up like a character from show, book, या video game, especially ones from Japanese genre of मांगा and anime], आप could get a free poster— and I really, really wanted a poster! I went with a friend, but there were maybe 40 people also in costume there, and the theater wasn’t open yet! So all 40 something of us stood outside in cold weather wearing ridiculous costumes, watching as people stared when they drove by. It was hilarious!” exclaimed Cerudays, telling of a story she happily remembers. “I met a lot of cool people, got the poster I wanted, and enjoyed watching an ऐनीमे movie in a theater full of people who shared my interest. It was so cool!”
Many people can misunderstand these fans. Panisepic thinks the biggest challenge would definitely be other people’s view of fandoms, and having the reputation of being nerds.
“I know there’s a lot of stereotyping that goes on...I really think we would prove them wrong. We wear shirts with characters on them, आप wear a football jersey. We talk about last night’s episode, आप talk about last night’s game. We have प्रिय characters, आप have प्रिय players. आप think it’s weird we listen to something in another language we can’t understand, all your plays, scores, player names, and teams are just as must gibberish to me as ऐनीमे is to you.”
Sometimes the stereotyping of fandoms goes beyond just points of views. Sometimes people take it as far as bullying.
This was the case with फैन्पॉप यूज़रनाम Animegurl235.
“The only thing I basically have an interest in is anime… I was actually depressed for a period of time in middle school for being bullied so much for loving anime. I’m totally fine now though, and have made ऐनीमे loving friends!”
So, now that आप know about fandoms, are आप curious about the most लोकप्रिय ones? Here’s a compiled list, not in any specific order. Doctor Who with प्रशंसकों called Whovians, Sherlock Holmes with प्रशंसकों called Sherlockians, Breaking Bad, ऐनीमे (Japanese animation) with प्रशंसकों called Otakus, Hunger Games with प्रशंसकों called Tributes, Game of Thrones, and Supernatural.
Now, when most people think of the beginning of fandoms, they think of Spock. But it came even before तारा, स्टार Trek. In 1900’s, it was used to describe sports fans. The earliest known record of fandom is actually when Arthur Conan Doyle began his stories of mystery novels about Sherlock Holmes when a passionate प्रशंसक base popped up. These early Sherlockians weren’t happy with just पढ़ना the books; they wanted to live them. Since gaming systems were a while off, they settled for the अगला best thing: लेखन stories. Except they didn't use the term fanfiction, they called them “parodies” and “pastiches”. “Fanfiction” didn't get used until the mid 60’s around the publication of the earliest fanfiction journal, the तारा, स्टार Trek themed Spockanalia.
So a fandom is close community of people with shared interest. These people can laugh, cry, and make memories together.
“I प्यार knowing that there are people all across the world that shares your interests! Even if they live on the other side of the ocean, even if they don't speak your language...just knowing that thousands of people are लिंक्स in a community dedicated to one universal thing with inside jokes, art, and संगीत is pretty awesome. We’re like one big family!”explains Cerudays. It’s a little और understandable why they like being a part of that, isn’t it?
¨WE ARE FANDOMS hear us roar¨
I just need my fandom family
