stranger than you dreamt it
Dec. 27th, 2002 11:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaydeefalls
...and maybe someday I'll be able to figure out why that line just popped into my head, seeing as I haven't listened to my Phantom of the Opera CD in, oh, years.
TTT viewing #3 was today (with lustworthy Physics lab partner, no less, although nothing happened, sigh). And it left me feeling all thoughtful and sad in a fandom-related way. Before I get into that, must note some TTT moments that really deserve mention.
-Can enough be said about the glory that is Gollum? Just. Perfect. Yeah.
-Dude, Merry's scar can't decide which side of his face it's on. Right, left, right...
-When Saruman is rousing his troops with the whole "TO WAR!" speech, and they cut to Grima -- that lone tear running down his face, the shocked disbelief...I love that, just love it.
-Check out Legolas's eyes in the Helm's Deep (pre-battle) scene where he's despairing at Aragorn. (His "everyone is going to die" moment.) They're black. I think Orli forgot his contacts. ;)
-I found PJ's cameo! One of the stone-throwers at Helm's Deep -- dude, the expression on his face is priceless! (He sort of roars at the camera, it's great.)
So I come out of the theater, doing the whole I can't-belive-I-have-to-wait-a-whole-year-until-RotK thing, and. You know what? It's all going to be over in a year. RotK comes out, we cheer, we see it, we cry, we rave about how wonderful it is...and then it's over. That's it. No more. And not just for the movie franchise, or for the actors and production team and whatnot, but also for the fandom.
I mean, what happens once RotK is out? What do we do? Oh, the fandom will linger on for a while, because no fandom ever really dies. But it's hard to sustain group interest in a phenomenon that has ended. The FPSers will last for the longest, before trickling down to the few die-hard fans, mainly the ones who were there before these books ever became movies. Everyone else will splinter off, falling into the Harry Potter fandom, or the Star Wars fandom, or something completely new. But what about the RPSers? We'll probably last until the final extended DVD comes out, maybe a few weeks or months afterwards. But where do we go from there? Correct me if I'm wrong, but before LotR, RPS really wasn't a big thing, except among popslashers. There are no other movies or groups that have inspired this kind of fan devotion or creativity. HP is all very well, and continues to grow, but what about those of us interested in adults, not teenagers?
And it'll be hard to sustain interest in the doing of the LotR boys. They themselves will break apart, work on individual projects, as they've already begun. Lifelong friends they may be, but fewer and fewer plotbunnies for us. Interest will fade. The Bag-End Inn will close down. Ted C. will stop caring.
All of this is less important, to me, than the people involved in this wonderful fandom. We've come together out of our common love for these books/movies/actors, and in spite of kerfluffles and the occasional pettiness, we've lasted because it's been a good experience. I have never experienced this kind of support and cameraderie in ANY other fandom, and I've passed through a few. I've only been on LJ for five months, and admittedly I'm not the most outgoing or friendly of people, but I've still managed to meet some awesome people here, and I really do like you all, even if I don't communicate with you (in comments, AIM, or otherwise) as much as I would like. What happens to us once it's all over? We move on. We splinter off, going our varied ways. And that kills me, it really does. I don't want to lose you all. But that's life, I guess.
I don't know why this is bothering me now. But the next year is going to involve some rather major changes in my life, and maybe I just realized that this fandom -- this community -- will not be the solid constant I wish it was.
TTT viewing #3 was today (with lustworthy Physics lab partner, no less, although nothing happened, sigh). And it left me feeling all thoughtful and sad in a fandom-related way. Before I get into that, must note some TTT moments that really deserve mention.
-Can enough be said about the glory that is Gollum? Just. Perfect. Yeah.
-Dude, Merry's scar can't decide which side of his face it's on. Right, left, right...
-When Saruman is rousing his troops with the whole "TO WAR!" speech, and they cut to Grima -- that lone tear running down his face, the shocked disbelief...I love that, just love it.
-Check out Legolas's eyes in the Helm's Deep (pre-battle) scene where he's despairing at Aragorn. (His "everyone is going to die" moment.) They're black. I think Orli forgot his contacts. ;)
-I found PJ's cameo! One of the stone-throwers at Helm's Deep -- dude, the expression on his face is priceless! (He sort of roars at the camera, it's great.)
So I come out of the theater, doing the whole I can't-belive-I-have-to-wait-a-whole-year-until-RotK thing, and. You know what? It's all going to be over in a year. RotK comes out, we cheer, we see it, we cry, we rave about how wonderful it is...and then it's over. That's it. No more. And not just for the movie franchise, or for the actors and production team and whatnot, but also for the fandom.
I mean, what happens once RotK is out? What do we do? Oh, the fandom will linger on for a while, because no fandom ever really dies. But it's hard to sustain group interest in a phenomenon that has ended. The FPSers will last for the longest, before trickling down to the few die-hard fans, mainly the ones who were there before these books ever became movies. Everyone else will splinter off, falling into the Harry Potter fandom, or the Star Wars fandom, or something completely new. But what about the RPSers? We'll probably last until the final extended DVD comes out, maybe a few weeks or months afterwards. But where do we go from there? Correct me if I'm wrong, but before LotR, RPS really wasn't a big thing, except among popslashers. There are no other movies or groups that have inspired this kind of fan devotion or creativity. HP is all very well, and continues to grow, but what about those of us interested in adults, not teenagers?
And it'll be hard to sustain interest in the doing of the LotR boys. They themselves will break apart, work on individual projects, as they've already begun. Lifelong friends they may be, but fewer and fewer plotbunnies for us. Interest will fade. The Bag-End Inn will close down. Ted C. will stop caring.
All of this is less important, to me, than the people involved in this wonderful fandom. We've come together out of our common love for these books/movies/actors, and in spite of kerfluffles and the occasional pettiness, we've lasted because it's been a good experience. I have never experienced this kind of support and cameraderie in ANY other fandom, and I've passed through a few. I've only been on LJ for five months, and admittedly I'm not the most outgoing or friendly of people, but I've still managed to meet some awesome people here, and I really do like you all, even if I don't communicate with you (in comments, AIM, or otherwise) as much as I would like. What happens to us once it's all over? We move on. We splinter off, going our varied ways. And that kills me, it really does. I don't want to lose you all. But that's life, I guess.
I don't know why this is bothering me now. But the next year is going to involve some rather major changes in my life, and maybe I just realized that this fandom -- this community -- will not be the solid constant I wish it was.
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no subject
Date: 2002-12-27 09:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-12-27 11:30 pm (UTC)Dude, I'm gonna be a wreck at graduation, in spite of myself...
no subject
Date: 2002-12-28 02:42 am (UTC)But if I thought that in 18 months time I would have lost track of you all, (and have no domlijah or Frodo and Big Men to read) then I think I would just start crying now.
I love this fandom, love all of you and as long as you can put up with me I am here to stay.
(((((Kaydee)))))
no subject
Date: 2002-12-28 12:17 pm (UTC)That's what's so lovely about this fandom, and maybe LJ has a lot to do with it -- it's actually more a community than just a fandom. I've never seen this before, a fandom where people really connect and communicate and...yeah. Meh, it's not in my nature to be this mushy... ::grins::
no subject
Date: 2002-12-28 03:17 am (UTC)I hope the fandom stays. I think we could.
@-'-,-----------------
no subject
Date: 2002-12-28 12:25 pm (UTC)YEAH. I've had that problem myself. Especially when it's a really excellent book, the sort that just begs for a sequel...
Hi, I'm kaydee, and I'm assuming you surfed in through your friendsfriends list. Nice to meetcha. ;)
no subject
Date: 2002-12-28 07:50 am (UTC)(Of course we'll just ignore the fact that anime fandoms work differently from movie fandoms, but...)
...Tari
no subject
Date: 2002-12-28 12:21 pm (UTC)