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Apr. 26th, 2009 10:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kat8chaFandom as a Dysfunctional Social Group (note, I've only had a few sociology classes, and really shout just STFU)
Chrissie was talking about this over in Plurk, and I was like 'you know...'
Okay, first, 'dysfunctional' can be considered a strong word for fandom. The problem is mainstream society is what decides what is 'normal' and what is 'abnormal'. The fact that I have a blog is 'normal' the fact that I write fanfic is 'abnormal'. Society has come to accept the internet for it's usefulness. So I'm going to try to explain fandom in terms of 'functionalism' which is a sociological theory of though. Functionalism's basic point is that 'instruments have specific functions to preform for society'. If something DOESN'T serve Society, than it is a disfunction.
So, let's take society at large. That's... your mother, your father, your siblings, your grandparents, your neighbors, your teachers, your boss, your work friends, your school friends... etc. That's society.
How many of them take part in fandom? Your school friends might... but what about your parents? The people you work with?
DOES Fandom serve society? Not if you're talking about society at large. Now, the society of people that make up fandom? (AKA, fandom) They are served by fandom... so is it really disfunctional?
People devote time and money to 'fandom' that they could be using for other means. (Like food, buying a car, saving for a house, etc.) The time spent in fromt of the computer could be used to exercise, clean, study. Fandom is an escape, from the real world, from stress, from society. But in fandom you are judged by not who you are but often by what you can produce. People who can share videos, scans, fanart, fanfic, etc, are often treated differently than those who are simply 'fans' of the series. Innovation, creativity, skill, these are what fandom invites us to cultivate. In real life, no wait, that phrase is derogatory, because though these interactions take place online that does not make them any less real. Offline, you might be someone boring, you might be a real bitch, you might not be successful at your job, or at school, but online you can be accepted... so long as you can produce. Mainstream society may consider you to be 'deviant' but in fandom you're just a little 'quirky'. ...does this make us more of a utopia? Or is it a utopia only a portion of society can enjoy?
Does your fandom interaction shame you offline? Could you talk about it to someone and say 'yes, I write/draw/love ____'? A number of people AREN'T comfortable talking about fandom in an offline setting. That's because to society it's 'abnormal'. But fandom is gaining ground offline, it's been mentioned in mainstream newspapers, in magazine articles, actors are aware of it, people even play up to it. The only way to make society sit up and listen, that it's NOT a social disease, that we're NOT abnormal is to talk about it without shame, to bring it out of the niche it's been stuffed into and show it off. Mainstream Society would like it if it fandom conformed to it's wishes, but given that fandom is full of fanatics... it's unlikely. Still, fandom, because of it's small societal base, and because it really is a little weird (expressing yourself through an intermediary of precreated characters and settings IS a little strange) is probably going to be viewed as 'dysfunctional' for a while.
IDK, IDK what I'm talking about. XD Chrissie mentioned it and I was like 'blah blah blah...'
Chrissie was talking about this over in Plurk, and I was like 'you know...'
Okay, first, 'dysfunctional' can be considered a strong word for fandom. The problem is mainstream society is what decides what is 'normal' and what is 'abnormal'. The fact that I have a blog is 'normal' the fact that I write fanfic is 'abnormal'. Society has come to accept the internet for it's usefulness. So I'm going to try to explain fandom in terms of 'functionalism' which is a sociological theory of though. Functionalism's basic point is that 'instruments have specific functions to preform for society'. If something DOESN'T serve Society, than it is a disfunction.
So, let's take society at large. That's... your mother, your father, your siblings, your grandparents, your neighbors, your teachers, your boss, your work friends, your school friends... etc. That's society.
How many of them take part in fandom? Your school friends might... but what about your parents? The people you work with?
DOES Fandom serve society? Not if you're talking about society at large. Now, the society of people that make up fandom? (AKA, fandom) They are served by fandom... so is it really disfunctional?
People devote time and money to 'fandom' that they could be using for other means. (Like food, buying a car, saving for a house, etc.) The time spent in fromt of the computer could be used to exercise, clean, study. Fandom is an escape, from the real world, from stress, from society. But in fandom you are judged by not who you are but often by what you can produce. People who can share videos, scans, fanart, fanfic, etc, are often treated differently than those who are simply 'fans' of the series. Innovation, creativity, skill, these are what fandom invites us to cultivate. In real life, no wait, that phrase is derogatory, because though these interactions take place online that does not make them any less real. Offline, you might be someone boring, you might be a real bitch, you might not be successful at your job, or at school, but online you can be accepted... so long as you can produce. Mainstream society may consider you to be 'deviant' but in fandom you're just a little 'quirky'. ...does this make us more of a utopia? Or is it a utopia only a portion of society can enjoy?
Does your fandom interaction shame you offline? Could you talk about it to someone and say 'yes, I write/draw/love ____'? A number of people AREN'T comfortable talking about fandom in an offline setting. That's because to society it's 'abnormal'. But fandom is gaining ground offline, it's been mentioned in mainstream newspapers, in magazine articles, actors are aware of it, people even play up to it. The only way to make society sit up and listen, that it's NOT a social disease, that we're NOT abnormal is to talk about it without shame, to bring it out of the niche it's been stuffed into and show it off. Mainstream Society would like it if it fandom conformed to it's wishes, but given that fandom is full of fanatics... it's unlikely. Still, fandom, because of it's small societal base, and because it really is a little weird (expressing yourself through an intermediary of precreated characters and settings IS a little strange) is probably going to be viewed as 'dysfunctional' for a while.
IDK, IDK what I'm talking about. XD Chrissie mentioned it and I was like 'blah blah blah...'
