Random Fandom #6 - Activism in Fandom
This episode is all about the activist side of fandom, as we talk about fans who have banded together to harness the passion for their beloved fandoms in order to promote and support good causes.
1. Fandom Roundup
*We're still talking about sexual harassment and rape culture in Hollywood, finally some consequences for the abusers, and the changes in the industry regarding trans people in trans roles. Also, how come nobody cares about the Joss Whedon Thing.
*Runaways, the New Marvel series is out.
*Chen is reading Rowell's "Carry On", one of Shiri's fandoms, and we say we'll talk about that briefly but then we don't, and we go into the whole Fangirl/Carry On thing, discussing fanfiction in the mainstream.
* In the show “Jane the Virgin”, the actual book that the character Jane have been writing during the series is out in stores now; another exciting example of a canonical fiction breaking through into the real world.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/17/books/review/book-from-jane-the-virgin.html
2. Main Story
*Chen tells us about the outrage around a shocking character’s death on "the 100" a couple of years ago, and how it moved fans to action, birthing, among other things, ClexaCon - a pop culture con for LGBT women.
*"Cancer Gets Lost" - one woman raises money for cancer research by auctioning fandom items. She'd started from the Lost fandom and now have branched out into other fandoms.
*Eliza Taylor from "The 100" asks fans to help build a school in Thailand is an example for actors using their position to do some good in the world.
*Joss Whedon always knew how to direct the passion of his crazy fandom towards supporting a specific cause, "Equality Now". Shiri goes into details about the "Firefly" fandom, one of the most active communities in that regard.
*During the Writers of America strike of 2007, writers were picketing for their rights, and fans of different fandoms were coming together to support the people who make the shows they love so much. The Whedon fandom, and even the Xena fans (a show that at that point had been off the air for years) were taking care of the writers while they were on strike.
*Sometimes the fandom's enthusiasm and willingness to act goes too far, in ways that are unpredictable. In 2011 the Firefly fandom took a off-hand comment by lead actor Nathan Fillion and run with it, in a way that was not supported by the creators.
*In 2009, "Supernatural"’s Micha Collins asked fans via Twitter to lend a hand with social causes, an act that lead to the creation of “Random Acts”, a non-profit that is still active today. From the same fandom came “Wayward Daughters”, that started as a venture to support female characters in Supernatural, and had branched off into other areas of female empowerment and other causes.
*“The Harry Potter Alliance” is another fan organization working towards causes that empower women, born of course from the Harry Potter fandom.
* Finally, we speak briefly about Net Neutrality, and how it threatens to change the internet and our ability to engage in our fan activities online.
http://papurrcat.tumblr.com/post/167854532912/shaolinbynature-your-fandoms-are-at-risk-with
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Shiri Y:
Twitter - @witchstuff
Tumblr - @slitherouter
witch.fm666@gmail.com
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Chen Drachman:
Official website: https://www.chendrachman.com
Twitter/tumblr: @shokoshik
