A recent conversation on Twitter got me to thinking about what it takes to be a fan. Let’s begin with a definition. The word ‘fan’ is a short for ‘fanatic’. Fans aren’t people who like something, those are dabblers. Fans don’t partake occasionally; they are devoted to their hobby. Be it sports, comics, movies, etc. Fans give their hobby a permanent place in their lives. Fans are lovers.
Love isn’t cost free. Love demands time, attention, and even resources. If you’re not willing to make sacrifices for your hobby, then you are not a fan. The problem is that we have failed to distinguish between infatuation, lust, and love. Infatuation isn’t true love of a hobby. It’s a love of what’s new. It’s simply chasing after trends. When a hobby loses the shine of novelty, the infatuated move on. Lust isn’t true love. It’s a desire to possess and consume. Lust, like infatuation, craves new tastes to satiate its cravings. To be a fan you must have true love for your hobby.
I can’t think of a better place for the definition of true love than the Bible. Here is what St. Paul had to say, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (I Corinthians 13: 4-8a NIV)
Now we see the price it takes to be a fan. It wasn’t the dabblers, the infatuated, or the lust-filled that formed the first Star Trek convention. They weren’t the ones lobbying Paramount for years. It was fans who turned a short-lived TV show into a franchise. When all the rest have moved on to, fans were patient and persevering.
So let’s talk specifically about anime and manga fandom. The crux of the matter is fansubs and scanlations. I’ll be blunt; fans don’t download fansubs or scanlations. There are many nuances to this argument, so I’ll keep it simple. We’re talking about fansubs and scanlations of licensed material or material that is under consideration for being license. Currently running manga, TV shows, and movies are all items that have the potential to be licensed.
Fans don’t steal from creators. It really is that simple. If you love anime and manga, then you want the people who make the series and movies you love to continue to do so. We treat it like a euphemism, but it’s a literal truth. Manga authors and anime directors survive off the products they create. Someone like Tite Kubo is able to continue making Bleach because Bleach puts food on his table, pays his rent, and puts clothes on his back. Remember, love always protects. As fans, our paying for products protects the jobs of the creators.
Some people are worried that telling others they’re not fans is a way of controlling fandom, a way for a select few to determine who does and doesn’t get to be a fan. Or it’s a way to control the thinking of fandom, to say what ‘real’ fans think about a show or story. That’s not what I’m talking about.
I’m not trying to establish gatekeepers that only let in a select chosen few. Anyone can become a fan. However, I think it’s right to challenge someone’s claim to being a fan. Real fans watch shows through legal channels of distribution. This means through a TV channel, borrowing a friend’s DVD, renting a DVD, or via online streaming through sites like Crunchyroll, Funimation, Hulu, or the like. Paramours, false lovers, watch fansubs. For manga fans it means buying the book, borrow a friend’s copy, or borrowing from a library. No, sitting on the floor of the local bookstore and reading the latest volume doesn’t count. It only counts when you are reading a copy that has been properly purchased.
I’m also not interesting in being the thought police for my favorite show or series. I’m a fan of Pluto. I love what it says about personhood and the relationship between technology and humanity. Someone else may love Pluto simply for the art. Another person may love Pluto for the murder mystery aspect. That’s fine. You might love the series and hate Uran. Nothing wrong with that, you cold-hearted jerk. (Kidding.) Each person can love a series or show in their own way.
Some people are worried that I’m being judgmental. I am. I make no apologies or excuses. Sometimes politeness is the wrong response. When we’re talking about true love, then we shouldn’t be scared to call out the false lovers, the infatuated, the luster, or the dabblers for what they are. To include them as fans is to dilute the value of fandom.
As fans, we should be protective of the name, because being a fan means something. Calling myself a fan is making a statement about my level of commitment to a series or show. I simply won’t let anyone use the word because it’s convenient. As fan I don’t mind people challenging me, I know my love is true and can stand up to the test.
As fans, we should accept no substitutes. So if you want to call yourself a fan, you best be able to define your claim to that name.
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Okay, dad.
ReplyDeleteSo basically fans are people who PAY for their fave products. I do pay for a lot of manga, but I buy most of it at my local used book store at 3.99 a pop. Does that mean I'm NOT a fan because my money only helps the book store and not the creators and publishers?
ReplyDeleteNot everyone can pay the premium price. While 10.99 is "reasonable", it's still expensive. If I read scanlations of Air Gear, but paid for my volumes of Maria Holic, does that make me a fan of Maria Holic, but not one of Air Gear?
Oliver,
ReplyDeleteBeing a fan doesn’t mean being financially irresponsible. I buy a lot of books off Amazon because they are sold for a discount. I also buy a lot of books at the $5 manga booth at cons. So you don’t have to pay full retail to show your love.
Getting books from a used book store is similar to watching anime on TV. While it’s true you’re not directly putting money in the creator’s pocket you are doing so indirectly. You buy used manga, which means the store will continue to stock used manga; they are getting that manga from people who are most likely taking the money from the book sell to buy more new manga. Or they might be getting the manga from distributor’s clearance sales. You watch Kiki’s Delivery Service on ABC. You contribute to the ratings ABC gets. ABC is able to charge advertisers money based on your viewership. Advertising money pays to show new anime. As Kimba taught us, circle of life.
I can’t afford everything I want to read either. So here are my options. 1) Go to the local library and see if they have it. If they don’t I fill out a request form asking them to start carrying it. Libraries don’t know what the public wants, if the public doesn’t tell them. The request forms are your friend, fill them out. 2) Borrow the books from a friend. 3) Drop one series in favor of reading another. 5) Rearrange my budget so I can buy more manga. Most likely this means cutting down, or cutting out, another hobby/activity. So maybe less movies or dining out. 4) Get a second job to earn money to buy all the books I want.
It’s a reality of life that few humans have unlimited financial resources. Wwe do the best with what we have. Part of being a fan is making sacrifices. Just don’t sacrifice food, rent, or other necessities for manga. Manga is important, but it isn’t your life.
So please stop reading scanlations. You’re only supporting thief.
And just so we're clear, I don't think you're evil or a rotten person because you read scanlations. I think reading scanslations is wrong, but it doesn't invalidate your worth.
I have to agree that people who refuse to buy anything aren't really fans- fans want the creators to continue to make their series and creating their art, and so support them how they can.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I might dispute you on are the series that aren't licensed. I love many series that aren't- and probably will never be-licensed. Because anime and manga is so niche, that those smaller/less popular series may never be brought over into English. I'm all for dropping a series/ buying a series that gets licensed during or after I read it or watch it. But since I can't read Japanese to order the manga through importers, I would miss many, many fantastic series that would otherwise never see stateside.
Sweetpea,
ReplyDeleteI agree that's a grey area. And honestly, there are some series that will never be licensed here. So it's a tough call to make.
Glad you posted this- it's really good to hear such an honesty summary of why people oppose piracy. The hatred towards Colleen Dorans' defense of her rights from TechDirt and other bloggers [sorry, but Johanna's forever in my bad books for that] reflected the nastiness that is the world of scanlations, comic scans, filesharing and lack of respect for creators rights [whether Manga, Marvel or Indy].
ReplyDeleteThe whole Rob Granito thing was refreshing to see, fans and pros teaming up to take down a thief and liar. Wish fandom would do something like that when it comes to piracy. Instead they make up excuses, participate in the crime, and spout useless babble to defend themselves
Always appreciated how well you sum this stuff Ed, hope you keep fighting the good fight.
Andre [from Kuriousity]
Also, Sweetpea- there's lots of english language webstores that sell japanese language manga, some directly from Japan, some that import the product.
ReplyDeleteAndre
What a spot on post Ed. Quite an interesting comparison.
ReplyDelete