Can Fandom Co-exist with Commerce?

by John M. Ellison IV

I’m not sure that I’ve mentioned this in public, but I’m an avid fan of fan derivative works. Stuff like Doujinshi, Fan fiction, fan art, Fan films and the newer trend “fanimation.” The culture of derivative works by has been around for years in some fashion. Now, that you have innovations with high speed internet connections and desktop software, with these tools fans can now share their works with other fans of a series. But, with that, sometimes trouble rears their ugly copyright symbol adorned head. A lot of creators have to deal with “cease & desist” orders and in some cases actual lawsuits from the copyright owners and sometimes the creators themselves!

As a copyright owner, I understand the frustration copyright owners feel with their work and or creations being used without their permission or in some cases what some would see as bad taste. As someone who also creates fanfiction for their personal use, I’m taking the stance that the concept of fan derivative works are harmless homage and tribute to the series and the creator and isn’t trying to pose a threat to them.
In this article, I’m going to share some examples of fandom and creativity.

Fanimation

Like the old saying, there’s nothing new under the sun. But, with the advent of commercially available animation software, spare time and internet, budding animators are releasing derivative works of copyrighted material. As, you probably know by now, I’m a huge fan of the MTV series Daria. Around 2002, the show was cancelled. But, with the cancellation of the series, a thriving community of fans kept the show alive by breathing new air. These fans whose talents included writing and drawing flourished into people creating stories canon and non-canon stories and now animation.

A cartoonist by the name of S.C. animated a fan fic by fellow Daria Fan and writer Lawndale Stalker into a well animated short that was very close to the style. Due to the lifelike nature of said work, Viacom jumped in and had it removed. S.C.’s work is popular in the Daria community. One of his major creations was dPod which was a parody of the silhouetted ad campaign of the iPod. Now with the release of the complete Daria DVD series, I look forward to the video remixes of said series.

Fan Art/Doujunishi

More than likely, when you were a kid you probably drew. It doesn’t mean they were good, but you still drew. Well, for the ones that had the knack for it, some of those kids drew their favorite characters doing things that either would make Larry Flynt blush or just general fan stuff like creating a crossover story where Superman beats the living shit out of The Joker or Lex Luthor buys property in the Marvel Universe and gets into a rivalry with Kingpin.

In Japan, some fans have come together to create their own derivatives of their favorite manga (comics for my English speaking followers). These fan comics are known as Doujinshi and is quite a popular vehicle for budding creators to get exposure. The authors of these are Doujinishis are fans of a series that release these comics for trade with other fans. In fact, a lot of popular manga authors and studios such as Clamp started their careers with this. The same goes with their western counterparts, artists such as Erik Larsen, Evan Dorkin and many other popular cartoonists work was either published in the fan art section of their favorite comic book or can be found in fanzines. When a creator becomes famous with their own work, these works become more sought out.

Fan Fiction

Where do I start with this? There’s thousands and thousands of aspiring writers who publish their stories based off their favorite franchise in their vision. In some cases, there’s some amazing work and others have a darker and more twisted variant of said series. Sites such as Fanfiction.net have been a hub of creators from across the world to expatiate their ideas on how a series should have ended or creating their own characters and putting them inside of the universe of their favorite series.
Fan fiction hasn’t been without controversy; writers such as Anne Rice and Raymond E. Feist have had ties to remove stories that include their characters.

Fan films/fan series

Fan Films are one of the newer vehicles of creativity in fandom; you have (obviously) fans of a series that either creates trailers to a movie of a franchise that doesn’t exist or entire fan films on shoestring budgets of either $4,000 to $30,000.

The most recent fan films have featured the Ghostbusters franchise, Batman and even Lord of the Rings! What is amazing about these fan film is the high production values of some of these works and how they created it on such a low budget. In some cases, these works can potentially rival the official film.
One of the biggest complaints that I’ve ran into is that “Why would people create stories are based off of characters that they don’t own? Why not create and develop their characters instead?” Well, it’s simple. With fandom, we like to show homage to creations that have influenced us and what we enjoy. These fan creations are our way of saying thank you to the creators and when we create works off of a series that has been cancelled due to executive incompetence or whatever reasons, it’s our way of saying “C’mon, one more season!”

image source

Bob Marley: Redemption Song

29 years ago, we lost another great musician/activist.

No! I Didn’t Forget About Lena Horne

When I heard about the passing of Lena Horne, it caught me off guard. I can’t say much that hasn’t been said before. Lena was a pioneer in music, film and a martyr due to the idiotic blacklist because of her left leaning politics but bounced back from it. Ms. Horne took a stand and demanded respect and she gained it. She refused to play maids and other demeaning roles. She’s one of the many trailblazers for black people in Hollywood. My condolences to Ms. Horne’s family.

Happy Mother’s Day…

Here’s a message I sent to all of the mom’s on my buddy list on Facebook last night. So, I thought I would post it on my site as well.

“Just wanted to say happy mother’s day to all the Mom’s on here. A mother’s work is never done so, I want you to know that your work never went in vain. You all have raised and molded great people and to the new and expecting Mom’s, I know you will raise great kids.

So, I want to say thanks for the love and sacrifices to make our lives better. Peace.”

Fandom and Copyright Law Can Come Together…

A fan/animator known as S.C. has made a name for himself by his fan art and fan animations based off the MTV series Daria. In fact, one of his projects became so popular MTV contacted him so they can use some of his work in the upcoming release of the Daria DVD box set. He mentioned the animations are half finished. I anticipate the finish product. Since the Daria DVD box set is FINALLY coming out May,11 2010, I thought I would post some of his work.

S.C.’s Daria Fan Art by *S-C on deviantART

S.C.’s Deviant Art Page

Public Enemy: “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” (video)

Okay, is anyone really surprised by the fact that Arizona would pass a law like “Arizona Senate Bill 1070?” I mean, is it that surprising?

Tik Tok Simpsons Intro video

Heh, this caught me off guard last Sunday.

“Dick Riding Obama” is driving the internet “nuts”

It’s kind of an old meme, but everyone’s been dick riding the “Dick Riding Obama” vid since May 2nd, 2010.

Chyna’s Drama

by John M. Ellison IV

“According to Popeater.com, Former WWE wrestler Chyna is allegedly under investigation for her role in a violent altercation in Los Angeles, and according to TMZ sources, the accuser said that the situation became so intense (complete with punching, hair-pulling, etc.) that she felt her life was in danger.

No arrests have been made regarding the incident, and attempts to contact Chyna have gone unanswered.

According to the TMZ report, the Los Angeles Police Department is looking into claims made by Gabriela Targos, alleging that on April 24, Chyna — whose real name is Joanie Laurer — asked her to meet up at a motel. However, upon Targos’ arrival, the wrestling pro and former ‘Surreal Life’ and ‘Celebrity Rehab’ star “immediately snapped and began attacking her for no reason.”

During the incident, TMZ reports that Chyna, 39, allegedly punched Targos, beat her with a wire hanger, dragged her by her hair and threatened her life. The incident only came to an end when Targos escaped the motel room, ran down the street and flagged down police officers.”

I just heard this about this story and to put it mildly, I was taken aback by this. It’s very sad to see Chyna (orig. Name Joanie Laurer before having it legally changed) personal issues become public fodder. From her termination from WWE to her substance abuse issues that should have remained personal and hopefully resolved out of the public eye.

But, like I’ve said before, once you’re in the public eye, all of your triumphs and failures are for public consumption.

As a wrestling fan, there are only a handful of wrestlers that have made me “mark” out; Chyna is on that list. Referring to another article about strong women that I’ve posted, you probably know that she’s one of my heroes. If I knew how to contact her, I’d get to the bottom of this and see what’s really going on.