When Fandoms Collide

[krpalmer]

On the weekend, I'd been hoping I could keep updating this journal with a post about the successful launch of space shuttle Atlantis (with Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean on board), but the ship has been returned to the hangar to avoid a hurricane. (I did turn up a list of previous rollbacks; at least this time woodpeckers weren't drilling holes in insulation...)

Then, I discovered a link to a Toronto Star article talking about how disreputable anime fans are, which also managed to throw in lines about "sweaty Jedi mimicking lightsaber battles in the lobby" and "you're dressed up in a Star Wars costume that's two sizes too small and you're giving me weird funny looks?" With a slight wince, I wondered again if the Star is especially tone-deaf when it comes to matters of fandom.

Of course, when reading articles like this I also get to wondering if I'm getting advanced in years when it comes to being an anime fan. I always suppose I started late compared to many fans these days, not really seeing any of it until I got all the way to university. For a decade before, though, I had managed to coast on the memories of my generation's closest thing to anime on TV, Robotech...

Comments

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

Most of the mundane media is tone deaf about fandom. We're all hapless geeks and nerds living in darkened basements. Some people do fit the stereotype but a lot don't.

Somewhat Belated Response

[krpalmer.livejournal.com]

I suppose I knew that, but it might have been the juxtaposition of what fandoms were roasted that got to me.

As it turns out, manga bloggers are also dealing (http://irresponsible.patachu.com/2006/08/binbou-roujin-monogatari-tales-of-po.html) with the article as well. The post directly linked to did briefly touch on the whole "age" thing too.