The Importance of Fandom Culture

 The Importance of Fandom Culture

Participating in fandom is something humanity has been partaking in since the very beginning. Either it be worshipping gods or taking from nature, humans have been deriving works from something that brought them joy since storytelling’s invention. Every “original” story in the modern time can be traced back to a hunt, or a tree’s leaves waving in the wind. There is an unknown origin point thousands of years ago that is not purely from someone’s mind. Even the idea of the Hero’s Journey is noticing a pattern in hundreds of stories, many of which are now lost to time.

Increase in Art and Artists

When people have something they are passionate about, they may find some creative inspiration. The result of this is an increase in art and artists, either it be hobbyists or aspiring professionals. Many children get their start illustrating derivative works or writing stories based on their favorite books, movies, and shows. Without these starting points, the world will simply have less creativity.

Overall, fandom makes the world more colorful and magical for everyone. It brings interest to otherwise mundane days thanks to the creative people involved.

Templates and Sandboxes

Another great thing about fandom is that it allows for experimenting in creating things. When making a derivative work, people have a template that they can work with. They can either remain faithful to the source material, to the point of keeping characters on model, or they can make the source material nearly unrecognizable.

Having the majority of the work done for you allows you to play around with the source material like a sandbox. The world already exists, and there is already a cast of characters to test ideas out with. People can practice and hone their crafts with like-minded individuals within similar demographic groups, making them feel safer to express themselves than if they have to come up with completely new ideas.

Self-Discovery

This sandbox is especially useful for children and young teenagers who are trying to figure out the very fundamentals of who they are. It is a safe way for them to explore their gender, sexuality, and other new things going on in their minds. Children will most often project onto the fictional characters and use them as a type of self-insert, which is the origin for many problematic, and potentially harmful, ships that exist on the internet.

It is this experimentation that helps young people make sense of themselves in a scary and confusing time in their lives, making it easier to swallow through the lens of something familiar. But for any youth who may potentially be reading this, please ensure your safety online and keep your experimental pieces private, especially if it depicts a child you’re projecting yourself onto romantically involved with an adult. While you are free to explore yourself and you’re most likely to grow out of it, there are adults out there who will use your own experimentation against you and hurt you with it.

Even adults explore themselves through the medium of derivative works. While it may not look like the same thing, there are many individuals who may be discovering a new part of themselves or they got out of a restrictive environment where they skipped out some parts of their formative years.

Conclusion

All in all, fandom culture is a vital part of the modern age. Without it, children would have no room to explore, there would be less creativity, and an entire avenue of self-expression would vanish. While humanity has existed without fandom culture as we know it for thousands of years, the same type of activities showed up the entire time. Either it be an oral tradition based on a satisfying hunt, or a painting about local mythological figures, everything we’re doing to this day has been done to some form ever since the dawn of creativity.