Fandom as gift economy
Dec. 20th, 2022 10:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shrimpchipsssA few times a year I’ll have an existential crisis over why I participate in fandom and why I make fanart and shouldn’t I be working on personal projects? and go through an iteration of the same exact thought process that usually comes back to “I need an un-monetized thing I do just for fun with friends.”
This post is for the next time I enter that spiral and also to talk about fandom as gift economy, which basically encapsulates my greatest hopes and intentions for how fandom should be.
But first, the existential crisis. It usually includes such thoughts as:
x_los's post about writing, fic, and the publishing world which also introduced me to the idea of fandom as gift economy. I’m also going to steal her idea of reviewing her own writing and want to do a “fanart year in review later” post later; more to come then.
So why participate in fandom?
Fandom as gift economy. Ineggburial's words, "theory of surplus value but it's not exploitative." Which makes me think about Richard Gilman-Opalsky's Marxist theory of love which is about how the whole system of exchange value breaks down when you bring love into the picture.
It's the Elric brothers taking 10, adding 1 of your own, and giving someone 11. There is more to go around because the exchange is not about breaking even but about creation and generosity. And the “adding 1 of your own” to the 10 you’ve been given, which is comprised not just of the original work but also of many other people’s “1 of your own” is intrinsic to fandom with the way fanart and fic is derivative not only of the original source but often of each other—art and fic and meta inspired by other art or fic or meta.
More and more, I’m trying to point out who I’ve gotten inspiration from, other than the obvious fic link. Pointing out someone’s take on a character design or a someone’s post that started the train of thought. It’s obviously about giving credit where credit is due but also a reminder that we’re all in conversation with one another and part of the same (and it feels weird to use this word) economy. I have this idea because we were given the original work and you gave us your thoughts on it.
For better or worse, we also live in fandom bubbles so you may be like me and be 28 and have participated in fandom at some level since you were 12 and never have heard about things like “fandom as gift economy” which was unknown to me untilx_los’s post (after I tweeted about the concept virgomoon immediately sent me this post which just proves the point!) which is part of why I’m writing this at all.
Anyways. I continue to be in fandom and I’m glad to be here even with the looming existential why of it all. I think there’s something to giving my time and attention and the thing that I’m good at to something wholly unrelated to how I make money to pay for being alive. Reclaiming something back from the capitalist machine or whatever. The triumph of getting someone's blorbo right.
This post is for the next time I enter that spiral and also to talk about fandom as gift economy, which basically encapsulates my greatest hopes and intentions for how fandom should be.
But first, the existential crisis. It usually includes such thoughts as:
- Hating but also being haunted by the idea that fanart is just practice for my “real” art
- The nagging annoyance that my fanart is somewhat formulaic and easy and templated (¾ bust, meme redraw, person floating on a flat color background) I’m not pushing any boundaries or getting all that conceptual, which art isn’t required to be, but like. I can do that. Shouldn’t I show it?
- But isn’t the point of fanart (and all art) that you might gravitate towards different styles of even “finished work” (character design, animation, background art, 3d modeling, etc. And then painting, drawing, coloring, lineart, etc.)
- And regardless of the battle of fanart vs. original art, aren’t I at least honing something? I’d never have gotten to where I am as an artist if not for the silly little characters I'm obsessed with.
- And it’s not like I want to be an artist for my vocation. I want to protect it as a major source of joy in my life and also just the way I am.
- But don’t I have something to say? Don’t I have original thoughts? Is there such a thing as an original thought? Do I think?
x_los's post about writing, fic, and the publishing world which also introduced me to the idea of fandom as gift economy. I’m also going to steal her idea of reviewing her own writing and want to do a “fanart year in review later” post later; more to come then.So why participate in fandom?
Fandom as gift economy. In
eggburial's words, "theory of surplus value but it's not exploitative." Which makes me think about Richard Gilman-Opalsky's Marxist theory of love which is about how the whole system of exchange value breaks down when you bring love into the picture. It's the Elric brothers taking 10, adding 1 of your own, and giving someone 11. There is more to go around because the exchange is not about breaking even but about creation and generosity. And the “adding 1 of your own” to the 10 you’ve been given, which is comprised not just of the original work but also of many other people’s “1 of your own” is intrinsic to fandom with the way fanart and fic is derivative not only of the original source but often of each other—art and fic and meta inspired by other art or fic or meta.
More and more, I’m trying to point out who I’ve gotten inspiration from, other than the obvious fic link. Pointing out someone’s take on a character design or a someone’s post that started the train of thought. It’s obviously about giving credit where credit is due but also a reminder that we’re all in conversation with one another and part of the same (and it feels weird to use this word) economy. I have this idea because we were given the original work and you gave us your thoughts on it.
For better or worse, we also live in fandom bubbles so you may be like me and be 28 and have participated in fandom at some level since you were 12 and never have heard about things like “fandom as gift economy” which was unknown to me until
x_los’s post (after I tweeted about the concept virgomoon immediately sent me this post which just proves the point!) which is part of why I’m writing this at all. Anyways. I continue to be in fandom and I’m glad to be here even with the looming existential why of it all. I think there’s something to giving my time and attention and the thing that I’m good at to something wholly unrelated to how I make money to pay for being alive. Reclaiming something back from the capitalist machine or whatever. The triumph of getting someone's blorbo right.
no subject
Date: 2022-12-20 11:30 pm (UTC)accessibility to "artist" title as working person + reclaiming something from capitalist machine + elric add one of your own + love = fandom as gift economy? art as emotional economy?? something that keeps us coming back for more when money cannot and will not??? when e-girl fandom cannot and will not??? having to be your own dancing circus as a paid writer to even be considered for some of these life-sustaining contracts is commonplace in fandom, we do it from the heart and we do it for free and maybe that works out for everyone who only has the time and energy for a meme redraw???? i'm still brain jello so i don't know if any of this will read right when u see it lmao okay byeee!!!!
no subject
Date: 2022-12-21 10:33 pm (UTC)Lucky for me in my tortured early 20s the realization that finally made me accept that I was an artist and not feel weird and presumptive using the term was that I wasn't not an artist. Which feels like a stupid way to get to the conclusion but literally, if I wasn't an artist I wouldn't be filled with frustration and glee over whether I could draw a line a certain way or not. Or think or see the way I do. I could never pick up a pencil for the rest of my life and it wouldn't change this. You know?
Making art for the real economy, a thing a lot of people do to get by. Making art for the gift economy, a thing we do because it's good for us emotionally/mentally/spiritually, probably.