What I meant by fans don't over analyze it is that a fan, subject to no peer pressure, will file things wherever he wants to, without giving it a second thought. Not every fan in the fandom is hearing this discussion or gives a flip what the rest of us think is or is not Furry. Some fans in this fandom may not even have internet access or have any contact with other furs at all. So they've nothing to prove to anyone. They just file things where they enjoy finding them.
Others are just sensible and realize that it doesn't matter what other furs think. It's still their collection and their own mind. They're free to view Furry any way they want, regardless of who it ticks off. And since a fandom is pretty much made by fans, you can expect a certain amount of inconsistency.
Fan 1: "Pokémon does not belong in your Furry section."
Fan 2: "I'm not moving it. You're not changing my definition of Furry."
Fan 1: "But think about it. Pokémon is something else."
Fan 2: "You think about it. I don't need to. I know Furry when I see it."
Sure, some of us love to analyze it. That doesn't mean any conclusions we come to mean a flip to anyone else. And they're certainly not going to click with everyone else.
Why am I the only one who gets to write the essays? I'm not. The Furry History Project is open to contributions from others. Folks can always E-mail me to suggest changes. Many, many furs have contributed to it. Also, now that it's on Live Journal, you can write your own essay and just tack it onto the bottom of any page without even asking me.
The Furry Fandom has indeed created Jack. It's a web comic that won an award from outside the fandom. Something general web comic fans looked at and said "This is the best."
For a fandom that expects everyone to achieve something on their own without money or the support of big organizations, some of us have produced miracles. Some of us have big dreams that we're putting our entire lives into.
Maybe we haven't accomplished enough to satisfy you, or even ourselves, given what some of us dream of accomplishing, but disregarding such achievements as we have managed to accomplish against all odds hardly seems appropriate.
And if you consider how little Anime Fandom or Star Trek Fandom or Dark Shadows Fandom or Doctor Who Fandom have contributed to the mainstream, Furry Fandom has done more than all of them put together, simply because we have the freedom to create our own titles and concepts. In terms of creativity we're more of an art movement than a fandom. We don't have to ask anybody's permission to create something with the object of our fandom.
I wouldn't say we should be satisfied with what we've accomplished - not by a long shot. We can and will do much, much more in the future, just as soon as we get past these negative attitudes that are holding us back. We have not yet begun to embrace our potential. When we do - when we drop all this negative, limiting thinking and start pulling our resources into organizations that can produce and distribute professional quality products, there will be accomplishments that will blow your mind.
I don't agree that nothing is being made for us in the mainstream. Maybe not just for us. Mainstream marketers have to take into account multiple markets to maximize profits. But I hardly think the producers of films like Kung Fu Panda are unaware of us, or how much we contribute to their profits. That's why they kick the bar up a little with each new Furry movie that comes out. They know Furry sells, and when they find that big Furry property geared for older viewers, they don’t want it to come out of nowhere.
Our way is being prepared for us. The mainstream is gradually conditioning the public to see Furry as normal and interesting. And it is entirely possible that sometime in the near future a property that came from the fandom will be purchased for a mainstream production.
My essay isn't meant to camouflage anything. It says right at the beginning most people don't realize the relationship between these things. It's meant, among other things, to be a demonstration of the market that exists, how profitable it's been in the past, and what a goldmine it could be to anyone who finds the secret of how to cash in on it.
In other words, I'm not interested in sitting around lamenting how much time we've wasted and how little we've accomplished. I'm interested in working towards progress. I'm saying, "Look at all these people who were successful because of the object of our fandom. There's no reason any of us shouldn't have such aspirations, if we've got the skills and determination to go for the gold, and a fandom that believes in itself enough to back us up by pulling us over those hills that are too high for us to climb on our own."
What I meant by fans don't over analyze it is that a fan, subject to no peer pressure, will file things wherever he wants to, without giving it a second thought. Not every fan in the fandom is hearing this discussion or gives a flip what the rest of us think is or is not Furry. Some fans in this fandom may not even have internet access or have any contact with other furs at all. So they've nothing to prove to anyone. They just file things where they enjoy finding them.
Others are just sensible and realize that it doesn't matter what other furs think. It's still their collection and their own mind. They're free to view Furry any way they want, regardless of who it ticks off. And since a fandom is pretty much made by fans, you can expect a certain amount of inconsistency.
Fan 1: "Pokémon does not belong in your Furry section."
Fan 2: "I'm not moving it. You're not changing my definition of Furry."
Fan 1: "But think about it. Pokémon is something else."
Fan 2: "You think about it. I don't need to. I know Furry when I see it."
Sure, some of us love to analyze it. That doesn't mean any conclusions we come to mean a flip to anyone else. And they're certainly not going to click with everyone else.
Why am I the only one who gets to write the essays? I'm not. The Furry History Project is open to contributions from others. Folks can always E-mail me to suggest changes. Many, many furs have contributed to it. Also, now that it's on Live Journal, you can write your own essay and just tack it onto the bottom of any page without even asking me.
The Furry Fandom has indeed created Jack. It's a web comic that won an award from outside the fandom. Something general web comic fans looked at and said "This is the best."
For a fandom that expects everyone to achieve something on their own without money or the support of big organizations, some of us have produced miracles. Some of us have big dreams that we're putting our entire lives into.
Maybe we haven't accomplished enough to satisfy you, or even ourselves, given what some of us dream of accomplishing, but disregarding such achievements as we have managed to accomplish against all odds hardly seems appropriate.
And if you consider how little Anime Fandom or Star Trek Fandom or Dark Shadows Fandom or Doctor Who Fandom have contributed to the mainstream, Furry Fandom has done more than all of them put together, simply because we have the freedom to create our own titles and concepts. In terms of creativity we're more of an art movement than a fandom. We don't have to ask anybody's permission to create something with the object of our fandom.
I wouldn't say we should be satisfied with what we've accomplished - not by a long shot. We can and will do much, much more in the future, just as soon as we get past these negative attitudes that are holding us back. We have not yet begun to embrace our potential. When we do - when we drop all this negative, limiting thinking and start pulling our resources into organizations that can produce and distribute professional quality products, there will be accomplishments that will blow your mind.
I don't agree that nothing is being made for us in the mainstream. Maybe not just for us. Mainstream marketers have to take into account multiple markets to maximize profits. But I hardly think the producers of films like Kung Fu Panda are unaware of us, or how much we contribute to their profits. That's why they kick the bar up a little with each new Furry movie that comes out. They know Furry sells, and when they find that big Furry property geared for older viewers, they don’t want it to come out of nowhere.
Our way is being prepared for us. The mainstream is gradually conditioning the public to see Furry as normal and interesting. And it is entirely possible that sometime in the near future a property that came from the fandom will be purchased for a mainstream production.
My essay isn't meant to camouflage anything. It says right at the beginning most people don't realize the relationship between these things. It's meant, among other things, to be a demonstration of the market that exists, how profitable it's been in the past, and what a goldmine it could be to anyone who finds the secret of how to cash in on it.
In other words, I'm not interested in sitting around lamenting how much time we've wasted and how little we've accomplished. I'm interested in working towards progress. I'm saying, "Look at all these people who were successful because of the object of our fandom. There's no reason any of us shouldn't have such aspirations, if we've got the skills and determination to go for the gold, and a fandom that believes in itself enough to back us up by pulling us over those hills that are too high for us to climb on our own."