Okay, something that has been nagging me in a vague, unrealized way for a couple of years, has just come into sharp relief.
The advent of the BNF - "Big Name Fan"
I'm not sure I like it. I don't know why. The term, I mean, as well as the phenom.
I mean, I've never had an issue with the idea of Fan GoHs at convention who are, one must assume, BNFs by default.
But... things are getting weird and occasionally unpleasant, close to home, and I can't help attributing at least some of it to the BNF phenom.
Yep, I'm talking about Whovian fandom.
Whilst I joke about not really being an old-school fan - since I didn't start watching the show until at least 1976 - I consider myself more of an old-school fan than a new one. I've certainly have had my moments of grumbling about the whippersnappers who seem to think the show starts and ends with Ten/Rose. But I accept that that's just me being a bit curmudgeonly and I get over it. After all, all fandoms need new blood to survive and thrive, and so whilst I might occasionally indulge in a bit of old-fan mentality, I don't mean and I certainly try not to perpetuate any of the awful old-fan stereotypes out there, or try to drive new fans away.
But the BNF thing isn't an old-school vs. new-school schism. I think it's more of a perceived proximity to fame and/or the desire fannish entity. A little glamor by association, I suppose. We're all supposed to be smart and secure enough to not resent (perceived) BNF's but, god knows, I've fallen prey to a few damfool notions in my time. At least I recognize 'em as damfool.
But I digress. (Migrane + advil + 2 glasses of wine = wandering attention span).
I can't help wondering if we'd all have been a lot happier if the terms pro-fan and BNF had never been coined... I certainly think there'd be less drama rampaging around the place.
What do you think?
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