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So hey, I actually have a question/theory about Human Nature/Family of Blood, though I have no idea if it's already been brought up and discussed to death (point me to if it has)
( On a whim? )
( On a whim? )
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I've been reading through some of the various discussions about the commercialization of fanfic, which is IMO a very bad idea for all sorts of reasons other people have expressed way better than I could, but it got me to thinking about art as commerce in general and the ways in which the current system of distribution are failing and frustrating both artists and consumers. And I'm wondering if it isn't time to bring back some very old ideas with new tech twists in terms of how we make sure artists can both create and, y'know, eat. 'Cause heres the thing. I don't think artists/writers/musicians are going anywhere, but what is going away are the massive profits corporations make off them and the control they have over them. I can't see that as a bad thing.
So how does an artist make a living without relying on the current system? What would the new system even look like? One idea, what about the return of patronage? Except this time around the new tech allows not only the rich and powerful to support and direct art, but anyone with five bucks and a paypal account to chip in and contribute to what they find valuable or important or entertaining, and the means to find them through message boards, websites, online communities and so on. We've already seen something similar happen successfully with blogs in particular, where often readers/users contribute to the continuation of a site, and pay the "salary" of a full time blogger through fund raising drives and tip jars in combination with traditional web ads and sponsors.
What if similar participatory networks and patron supported communities for artists were the primary access point for consumers? And feel free to tell me I'm a total idiot and why in comments. I'm sure there are all sorts of pitfalls and/or better ideas than mine out there. I just wonder if the fear that if people don't have to pay up front for access that they won't pay at all is really true. Or if it's a matter of who they will pay and how. Yeah, it's true that if someone can download a song for free they are less likely to pay 20 bucks for a CD produced by Big Record Company. But does it also follow that they would be unwilling to fnancially support their favorite artist in other ways that ensured continuing access?
I dunno. I'm probably just talking out of my ass here. I just see this whole wealth of potential in the way the internets work to give more access, more control, and more freedom to both artist and consumer. The issue of money so often seems to come down not to how Jane Writer or Mary Musician will make a living off her art, but how Big Corporate Interest will make a profit off her work. And they just aren't the same issue.
I think what it comes down to for me is why should big business should be the gatekeepers of what we read, what we listen to, what we look at and how it's presented? Have they really been all that great about protecting artist's financial stability or artistic freedom? Can we do better? How? (these are not rhetorical questions, I'm actually asking here).
So how does an artist make a living without relying on the current system? What would the new system even look like? One idea, what about the return of patronage? Except this time around the new tech allows not only the rich and powerful to support and direct art, but anyone with five bucks and a paypal account to chip in and contribute to what they find valuable or important or entertaining, and the means to find them through message boards, websites, online communities and so on. We've already seen something similar happen successfully with blogs in particular, where often readers/users contribute to the continuation of a site, and pay the "salary" of a full time blogger through fund raising drives and tip jars in combination with traditional web ads and sponsors.
What if similar participatory networks and patron supported communities for artists were the primary access point for consumers? And feel free to tell me I'm a total idiot and why in comments. I'm sure there are all sorts of pitfalls and/or better ideas than mine out there. I just wonder if the fear that if people don't have to pay up front for access that they won't pay at all is really true. Or if it's a matter of who they will pay and how. Yeah, it's true that if someone can download a song for free they are less likely to pay 20 bucks for a CD produced by Big Record Company. But does it also follow that they would be unwilling to fnancially support their favorite artist in other ways that ensured continuing access?
I dunno. I'm probably just talking out of my ass here. I just see this whole wealth of potential in the way the internets work to give more access, more control, and more freedom to both artist and consumer. The issue of money so often seems to come down not to how Jane Writer or Mary Musician will make a living off her art, but how Big Corporate Interest will make a profit off her work. And they just aren't the same issue.
I think what it comes down to for me is why should big business should be the gatekeepers of what we read, what we listen to, what we look at and how it's presented? Have they really been all that great about protecting artist's financial stability or artistic freedom? Can we do better? How? (these are not rhetorical questions, I'm actually asking here).
So, as I'm sitting here obsessively twitching in my chair waiting for Doctor Who to download I realized that I have needs regarding this fandom that I haven't had in a long time. And I don't quite know where one goes to satisfy them. I don't particularly want fic. I want discussion and meta and squee and obsessive pulling apart of all things Who. But since I haven't done much more than look for fic outside my f'list since I hit LJ I'm at a loss on how one finds this sort of community.
To be more specific in my quest, I love Nine and Ten but I'm also slowly working my way through old skool Doctor so a mix of new and old discussion would be awesome (or more accurately a discussion that encompasses and acknowledges the *whole* universe). I am not a particular shipper except in the sense that I adore (beyond reason) the Doctor/Companion relationship and am more than willing to Go There with nearly every companion I've met so far, but I don't have to. Mostly I want to wallow in obsessed land. With the whole thing. Where does the wallowing take place?
To be more specific in my quest, I love Nine and Ten but I'm also slowly working my way through old skool Doctor so a mix of new and old discussion would be awesome (or more accurately a discussion that encompasses and acknowledges the *whole* universe). I am not a particular shipper except in the sense that I adore (beyond reason) the Doctor/Companion relationship and am more than willing to Go There with nearly every companion I've met so far, but I don't have to. Mostly I want to wallow in obsessed land. With the whole thing. Where does the wallowing take place?
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I watched a neat documentary on Discovery last night called "Prophets of Science Fiction"...okay, I actually only watched half of it because I was really tired and fell asleep after the Jules Verne segement, but I plan on watching the rest later today.
Anyway, I'm fascinated by the "prophetic" nature of so much of Verne's writing. And I use prophetic in quote marks because what quickly became clear is that he didn't so much predict the future of science as he did inform and shape it. By using actual science to create his visions he set up several generations of baby geeks, reading late at night under the covers, to go "OMG you can actually DO THAT" when they hit the level of education where the concepts came from. They were predisposed to see the application of scientific concepts the way Verne wanted them to go. How very cool.
'Cause really, if you grab a ten year old with visions of space rockets you've got the adult as well. And it just set me to thinking how important a component fiction is to creating reality. Which is not exactly a ground breaking revelation but it is neat. The possible is given shape and form...a blueprint. If you dress it up as fiction you can influence anything because it's your job to play make believe.
I have no point to this post. Just rambling. And wondering just what's been imprinted on some ten year old's brain right now that she'll be bringing the world in twenty years when she has her "OMG you can actually DO THAT" moment. *g*
Anyway, I'm fascinated by the "prophetic" nature of so much of Verne's writing. And I use prophetic in quote marks because what quickly became clear is that he didn't so much predict the future of science as he did inform and shape it. By using actual science to create his visions he set up several generations of baby geeks, reading late at night under the covers, to go "OMG you can actually DO THAT" when they hit the level of education where the concepts came from. They were predisposed to see the application of scientific concepts the way Verne wanted them to go. How very cool.
'Cause really, if you grab a ten year old with visions of space rockets you've got the adult as well. And it just set me to thinking how important a component fiction is to creating reality. Which is not exactly a ground breaking revelation but it is neat. The possible is given shape and form...a blueprint. If you dress it up as fiction you can influence anything because it's your job to play make believe.
I have no point to this post. Just rambling. And wondering just what's been imprinted on some ten year old's brain right now that she'll be bringing the world in twenty years when she has her "OMG you can actually DO THAT" moment. *g*
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*waves* Howdy y'all. Nice to see you again :). I'll be dealing with friending and icons and all that soon, but first some long winded fandom blathering as promised. I was wandering around TWoP the other day because while I have very few reasons for going there anymore, it's still a good way to catch up on reality tv and I somehow found myself in the middle of a marathon block of America's Top Model on VH1 last weekend (oh, like you've never). Anyway, I ended up reading some Dr Who recaps because I find jacob interesting sometimes and I was curious as to his take on it when I found something that made me sit up and go "YES, that." in his recap of The Long Game:
And that right there? Is what I've missed so much. The play I haven't engaged in so long. That's why I'm in fandom. And why I tend to avoid straight up criticism of shows, and in fact get so frustrated with the habit so many of us have of ripping apart episodes and scripts for their quality or lack thereof...to the point where I will actually stop reading reviews of episodes (even by people I adore) when they go negative, or stop watching a show if I get to the point where I can't wave away its faults.
It's not that critical analysis of that kind isn't a valid pursuit or that there's no value in it, it's that in the context of fandom for me the text is not the point. It never was for me. It's about the engagement with it. What can I, you, we do with it is the point. Canon is important to me only in the sense that it defines the shape, color, and size of the blocks we use, but it doesn't and can't limit what we build with them. Ever give a group of kids the same lego kit? Same blocks, but over there you have a spaceship and over there you have a castle and over there you have a wild and crazy structure that can't quite be identified but dang it's kind of cool looking. The picture on the box is only the starting point.
Meta, fic, vids, silly conversations at 3 in the morning about gay porn...all playing with the blocks. And I have no interest in whether or not the box has too many green blocks in it or not enough corner pieces or if the plastic is kinda cracked...I just wanna see what gets built out of it.
Time to pull out the blocks again. Glad to have you with me.
if you don't swallow your TV and digest it and taste it with your salty and sweet and bitter and whatever parts of your tongue, it doesn't matter what you watch. Two hours of Big Brother is equal to sixteen hours of the History Channel or a single episode of Laguna Beach, if you look at it right. If you want to see war strategy in action. Whether it's the nightly news or a sci-fi show, a show is not brainless if you engage with it; the quality of the entertainment is always directly dependent on the quality of the viewer, how much you are willing to risk in engagement.
And that right there? Is what I've missed so much. The play I haven't engaged in so long. That's why I'm in fandom. And why I tend to avoid straight up criticism of shows, and in fact get so frustrated with the habit so many of us have of ripping apart episodes and scripts for their quality or lack thereof...to the point where I will actually stop reading reviews of episodes (even by people I adore) when they go negative, or stop watching a show if I get to the point where I can't wave away its faults.
It's not that critical analysis of that kind isn't a valid pursuit or that there's no value in it, it's that in the context of fandom for me the text is not the point. It never was for me. It's about the engagement with it. What can I, you, we do with it is the point. Canon is important to me only in the sense that it defines the shape, color, and size of the blocks we use, but it doesn't and can't limit what we build with them. Ever give a group of kids the same lego kit? Same blocks, but over there you have a spaceship and over there you have a castle and over there you have a wild and crazy structure that can't quite be identified but dang it's kind of cool looking. The picture on the box is only the starting point.
Meta, fic, vids, silly conversations at 3 in the morning about gay porn...all playing with the blocks. And I have no interest in whether or not the box has too many green blocks in it or not enough corner pieces or if the plastic is kinda cracked...I just wanna see what gets built out of it.
Time to pull out the blocks again. Glad to have you with me.
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