View Single Post
Old 12-15-2013, 01:28 PM   #1
Galadriel
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
 
Galadriel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: In Eldamar beside the walls of Elven Tirion
Posts: 551
Galadriel has just left Hobbiton.
Tolkien Why do you like the Tolkien fandom?

That is, assuming you do like it. If you don't, I'd still like to know why. I do think there's a difference between enjoying Tolkien's work and enjoying the Tolkien fandom.

For me, the reason is this: while the Tolkien fandom, like all other big fandoms, can get nutty, it tends to be, well, more sane, for want of a better word. Just to clarify, I don't count dressing up as Gandalf or Fingolfin, or reading Tolkien's books again and again, as 'insane'. What I do call insane is, for instance, getting pointlessly aggressive towards people who happen to dislike a character you are fond of. That, in my opinion, is excessive. Of course we have our puritans (!) and our Legolas fanatics, but on the whole, I find the Tolkien fandom to be generally more pleasant, more accepting, and more welcoming than other fandoms, such as, say, the Game of Thrones fandom, which I have dabbled in for a while. There seems to be more of a 'come, let us all sit by the fire and tell each other stories' air than a 'let us completely tear each other apart over which character is cooler' one. The latter occurs, I think, but not nearly as much as it could. There is some snobbery, but I'll take a bit of snobbery over snarling, frothing-at-the-mouth fanatics.

Or maybe I'm just deluded.
__________________
"Hey! Come derry dol! Can you hear me singing?" – Tom Bombadil

Last edited by Galadriel; 12-15-2013 at 05:52 PM.
Galadriel is offline   Reply With Quote