It's calling....
Jul. 28th, 2004 09:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xaaraI just looked at the course schedule for GW Fall and found this one:
In 1987, William Shatner, still famous for his role as Kirk on Star Trek, appeared on Saturday Night Live. During a skit, in which he was playing himself at a Star Trek convention, fans asked Shatner detailed questions that suggested they were taking the sci-fi series too seriously. He finally yelled, "Get a life!" In the aftermath of this hugely popular skit, debates raged among "Trekkers" about whether or not Shatner had really meant what he said. The incident raises a number of questions about fandom. For example, what ideas or texts or people are sufficiently important to deserve fans? (Football? Elvis? America?) How devoted can fans be to their chosen idol, without provoking concern or contempt? What's the difference between a fan and a fanatic, or a disciple, or a zealot? Why do people care so much about something that is, in almost every case, so remote from their personal lives as to appear to have absolutely no personal relevance to them? And there are times when fans, by their enduring enthusiasm, manage to make a cultural icon out of something absolutely undeserving, such as Rocky Horror or the Chicago Cubs. Are fans actually part of the creative process? Or are tribute bands and fan fiction writers merely parasites of other people's artistic creations? This semester, we will read and write about fans, enthusiasts, and zealots. We will examine theories about what motivates fans, and we will collect ethnographic data. In addition, every student will select an internet fandom (e.g., Dawson's Creek or Lord of the Rings) and participate in an online writing community devoted to that series.
Dude.
Is that not perfect? That's like taking a class on my life.
I'm calling tomorrow - I want that course.
In 1987, William Shatner, still famous for his role as Kirk on Star Trek, appeared on Saturday Night Live. During a skit, in which he was playing himself at a Star Trek convention, fans asked Shatner detailed questions that suggested they were taking the sci-fi series too seriously. He finally yelled, "Get a life!" In the aftermath of this hugely popular skit, debates raged among "Trekkers" about whether or not Shatner had really meant what he said. The incident raises a number of questions about fandom. For example, what ideas or texts or people are sufficiently important to deserve fans? (Football? Elvis? America?) How devoted can fans be to their chosen idol, without provoking concern or contempt? What's the difference between a fan and a fanatic, or a disciple, or a zealot? Why do people care so much about something that is, in almost every case, so remote from their personal lives as to appear to have absolutely no personal relevance to them? And there are times when fans, by their enduring enthusiasm, manage to make a cultural icon out of something absolutely undeserving, such as Rocky Horror or the Chicago Cubs. Are fans actually part of the creative process? Or are tribute bands and fan fiction writers merely parasites of other people's artistic creations? This semester, we will read and write about fans, enthusiasts, and zealots. We will examine theories about what motivates fans, and we will collect ethnographic data. In addition, every student will select an internet fandom (e.g., Dawson's Creek or Lord of the Rings) and participate in an online writing community devoted to that series.
Dude.
Is that not perfect? That's like taking a class on my life.
I'm calling tomorrow - I want that course.
