Daria, Batman, Darth Vader and the Braves

I recently read a post on MightyGodKing titled “Mad Men and Rocket Men” which examined the cancellation of two very different TV shows: “Hank” and “Dollhouse”. The author’s point is that there was no kerfluffle over the demise of Hank; there is moaning and gnashing of teeth over the end of Dollhouse. This, of course, is explained by the fact that those who watched “Hank” were passive observers and those who watched Dollhouse were fans with a personal investment in the show.

The author briefly touches upon – but does not explore – the nature of fandom. I found one comment telling, and by coincidence, the unexplained nature of the comment ties so much into what fandom is.

The term “found object” is used in passing. In art, a “found object” is just that – some technological remnant that is repurposed; a teapot becomes a part of sculpture. The author, however, used the term with respect to certain kinds of literature, and I don’t think the term is meant to be used that way. I believe the author wanted to use the term “found object” with regards to certain types of literature/media as “having some sort of real-life property”.

For example, The Wire would not be a “found object” TV show. The goal of The Wire is to plunge you into something that is very much like the real world. In a way, one “stumbles” across The Wire the same way one would stumble across our teapot in the paragraph above. The show is meant to throw up a mirror to nature; the more realistic the presentation the better the reflection.

The author makes the point that certain genres cannot be “found objects” in literature or film or whatever because one is reminded at all times during one’s interaction with these objects that the objects had a human maker. These are the science fiction genres, the superhero/heroic fantasy genres…and of course, the cartoon genres.

Each of the items from these genres tries to present itself as a found object, and each items has a relative degree of success or failure. In the movie Star Wars, for example, a lot is left unexplained – the idea is to immerse a viewer into something that approaches real life but cannot be real life. Likewise for Batman or Daria. If it has to be explained why Kevin wears his uniform all the time or how Robin is able to beat up adults the attempt of immersion fails.

People who are fans – who have a personal investment – decide that the level of detail with which they’ve been presented is not enough. They have to fill in the gaps. A lot of fandoms on the superhero/science-fiction/cartoon scale are devoted to filling in these gaps. What I have found – at least in Daria fandom – is that Daria fans tend to have their thumbs in either the superhero or science-fiction or anime fandoms. If you’re a Daria fan it’s almost an even-money bet that you’re a fan of a genre that is not a “found object”.

(It’s also surprising how genres that wouldn’t be “found objects” have fans that explore the more artificial parts of the genre. There is a community of House fans that supposedly write their own fan fiction. What those fans find artificial are the relationships between the characters, and they work furiously at filling in those perceived gaps.)

Looking at the “found object” theory, a lot of my fandoms makes sense. I’m the kind of person who likes to fill in gaps, that likes to assist in creating the illusion. Which explains why I’m a fan of Daria and superheroes and certain kinds of science fiction.

However, there was one fandom of mine I couldn’t explain using this theorem – sports fandom. Sports is not a literary genre of any kind, and the only meaning it has is the meaning that you care to give it.

As it turned out, another comment on the post above provided clarity. It states that fans invest a lot in their fandom, to the point that fandom becomes a substitute religion. If you think about it, Daria fandom is like a religion in a lot of ways – there is canon, there are saints (among characters and fans), sinners, demons, objects of devotion, holy art, gatherings, etc.

One might argue that as a religion, Daria fandom is a very poor substitute for a real religion. There is no physical community of believers; that community exists only online. There is no overall message from Daria, and if you want to use Daria’s speech in “Is It College Yet?” as Holy Writ, then the meaning is not particularly deep. Which begs the questions, why do so many fans – even few in number – treat Daria with the kind of reverence that the local clergymen in the areas where each fan lives would be begging for?

The answer: because fan religions – “fandoms” – have removed the most unpleasant aspect of real religions – that of self-sacrifice and self-denial. You don’t have to give up too much to become a Daria fan – you just to have to have a sort of genial open-mindedness, and in some places in Daria fandom you don’t need to have that. It would be like a Christian minister saying that the only thing you have to do is love Jesus – you don’t have to treat your neighbors any differently or make any effort whatsoever to change as a person.

Sports can be considered a religion in some places – take Alabama, for instance. (Please.) All that sports fandom asks of you is to love the team above all others and to hate its enemies. And yes, sports does not have fan fiction (*) but it does leave a lot of unanswered questions, and fans love to speculate with various degrees of intensity. You would never dream of rewriting Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn” but the Patriots-Colts drama can be rewritten ad infinitum.

Think about it: a religion where not only no changes are demanded of me, but a religion in which I get to write the missing chapters of the Holy Scripture? Sign me up for that.

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(*) – Don’t ask me about “real person fiction”. Please, don’t.