Before any extensive blogging get shared I encourage you to read through this post before any others. This is like picking up issue #1 of a comic you have been wanting to get into. The starting point. The pilot. It’s a New Hope. Or the Phantom Menace, depending on how old you are.
If you’re here reading this, my hope is that your fandom brought you here. It’s what brought me here. And that is what connects you and I, crossing our paths in such a way as this. Fandom is a relatively new concept having its origins come from the mid to late 1800s. The more you look into said subject the murkier those waters get but for these purposes we’re going to run with those timeframes. Some seem to speculate that the sport of boxing originated the word “fan” as a shortening of the word “fanatic”. But what makes a fan, well, a fan? The late 1800s saw the masterful Sir Arthur Conan Doyle begin publishing Sherlock Holmes to what was obviously a commercial success. Reading through those original stories it’s no surprise that they spawned so called “fans”. It’s not hard to find with a quick google search that those late Sherlock tales were so beloved that they spawned a great many things, such as but not limited to: primitive form fan-fiction, live-action reenactments, costumes and even meetings for people to sort out their feelings regarding the titular character’s death (and the boxing audiences were the fanatics?!). If any of the aforementioned categories sound familiar to you in any way shape or form, then you my friends, are part of the craze that began with good ol’ Sherlock (or maybe it was boxing after all). The cult. The group. The brotherhood. Out of all the groups that this world has created I have yet to come across something that can create such an initial bond like fandom can. A immediate stamp of approval. Being a fan of just about anything connects you, and by extension me, to the rest of the fans across world. A shared love of just about anything is one of this life’s deepest forms of intimacy. The proof is right here in the pudding. There are literal conventions for just about anything this world has to offer while those with the highest attendance revolve around the geekiest of things: comics, movies, anime, video games. Why? Because we love these things. And with that love comes the inevitable feelings of ownership. We all know what that uncomfortable feeling is like when someone else has a differing opinion on something you literally own and it’s no different with these fictional characters we idolize. It’s easy to think that my love of Darth Vader belongs to me (a common pitfall of anything we love-including romantic love if were being brutally honest) so my opinion is the end-all-be-all opinion on all things Darth Vader. But the reality is that it doesn’t belong to just me. It belong’s to us all. And that love connects us as we gather to express that love in the masses. You love Darth Vader? So do I. We are the same. No, not literally, we are two very different people, you and I. But our shared love of Batman and Spider-man connects us eternally.
You may be asking why this blog exists. What is the point in adding a needle to the haystack that is the internet? What makes this needle more valuable? Well, it doesn’t necessarily, if you’re not a fan. But if you are…then were already family. We share a passion so that means you have found yourself in the right place. The superior place. And I don’t know about you, but I prefer to spend time with family over strangers. So come, my beautiful extensive extended family, and let’s discuss. Lets theorize. Lets compare. Let’s decide. Let’s express. Let’s cultivate. Let’s opinionate. But always remember that opinions are like butts. We all have one and most of them stink. Besides, if I’m going to consider you all family, then surely arguments are inevitable.
Right?
….right?
To be continued…