I visited a midnight showing of the Wizard of Oz with friends during my misspent teenage years. Callow youth that we were, I expect we might have been under the influence of some controlled substance. That's all a bit vague. What is crystal clear, though, is the memory of sitting in the theater, watching this movie I'd seen so many times previously -- watching as it unfolded, yet again.
However, this viewing of the movie was strangely different from all those childhood occasions. I knew the munchkins and witches and all their stories and was aware of them playing out their parts in the foreground. My interest though was completely preoccupied with the background. There were these completely cheesy, painted studio backgrounds of distant mountains. And I couldn't take my eyes off of them. I knew all about the Emerald City and the Yellow Brick Road. What I wanted to know was what the heck was over those mountains.
This I think it's fair to say is the impulse that inspires the phenomenon of fanfiction. Fanfiction is the art form by which a fan of a pre-established work of art tells a tale within the context of the world created by the original. Though a very old practice, it became something of a pop culture (subculture) phenomenon in the 60s when a major fanfiction cottage industry grew up around The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Star Trek. The fans took this as an opportunity to see things, which the original show didn't, wouldn't or couldn't provide: from a Klingon conquered universe to Kirk and Spock as homosexual lovers. Fanfiction truly did provide the opportunity for fans to boldly go where no staff writer had gone before.
At first this fiction was presented in fanzines, which were carbon copied and stapled sheets of paper that were sent by post to subscribers, all enthusiasts and conference attendees. This was all changed by the nineties. The Internet, and especially the World Wide Web, opened up vast new opportunities for fanfiction. Recently, there has been a great boom in the available inventory people have to draw upon of visual, video material. They can be edited and rejigged in all kinds of ways to provide unexpected implications and interpretations. And now fans can do this sitting at their laptop, in their bedroom. What is consistent through it all, though, is this impulse to go over the other side of those mountains -- so to speak.
In any original show, like The Walking Dead, there are always doors not entered, streets not followed, choices not made and thoughts not expressed. The original story follows only one narrative thread; in the process it inevitably opens the possibility of countless others. The writers of fanfiction are the explorers of these tantalizing possibilities which the original story tellers have left dangling. And this is a pretty thriving undertaking in the case of The Walking Dead. The single site Fanfiction.net alone has over 2000 fanfictions stories inspired by The Walking Dead. And that is very much just scraping the surface of what is available.
There are recurring themes in the Walking Dead fanfiction. One of the most popular is to delve more deeply into the background or makeup of one or more of the characters -- to understand better where they come from and where they're coming from (if you follow the distinction). Andrea and Daryl have been popular topics for this kind of writing. Others are more interested in getting beyond those mountains off in the distance. They look to tell a story of people that Rick Grimes and crew may never meet, but who are dealing with the same challenges of this walker infested world. In some cases it seems likely that the creators in fact are transparently putting themselves into this world of the Walking Dead. Pondering how they would rise to its challenges. How would they respond?
This fanfiction is a great venue for getting deeper still into the exotic world of The Walking Dead. The creativity of the fan creators suggests all kinds of new possibilities and venues of curious pursuit. To say nothing of being loads of fun. A question does come to mind though when we're considering the fascination with this TV show.
Does it say something about our world in a way that resonates, even if we don't realize it? Check out our thoughts on that at Pretty Much Dead Already
However, this viewing of the movie was strangely different from all those childhood occasions. I knew the munchkins and witches and all their stories and was aware of them playing out their parts in the foreground. My interest though was completely preoccupied with the background. There were these completely cheesy, painted studio backgrounds of distant mountains. And I couldn't take my eyes off of them. I knew all about the Emerald City and the Yellow Brick Road. What I wanted to know was what the heck was over those mountains.
This I think it's fair to say is the impulse that inspires the phenomenon of fanfiction. Fanfiction is the art form by which a fan of a pre-established work of art tells a tale within the context of the world created by the original. Though a very old practice, it became something of a pop culture (subculture) phenomenon in the 60s when a major fanfiction cottage industry grew up around The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Star Trek. The fans took this as an opportunity to see things, which the original show didn't, wouldn't or couldn't provide: from a Klingon conquered universe to Kirk and Spock as homosexual lovers. Fanfiction truly did provide the opportunity for fans to boldly go where no staff writer had gone before.
At first this fiction was presented in fanzines, which were carbon copied and stapled sheets of paper that were sent by post to subscribers, all enthusiasts and conference attendees. This was all changed by the nineties. The Internet, and especially the World Wide Web, opened up vast new opportunities for fanfiction. Recently, there has been a great boom in the available inventory people have to draw upon of visual, video material. They can be edited and rejigged in all kinds of ways to provide unexpected implications and interpretations. And now fans can do this sitting at their laptop, in their bedroom. What is consistent through it all, though, is this impulse to go over the other side of those mountains -- so to speak.
In any original show, like The Walking Dead, there are always doors not entered, streets not followed, choices not made and thoughts not expressed. The original story follows only one narrative thread; in the process it inevitably opens the possibility of countless others. The writers of fanfiction are the explorers of these tantalizing possibilities which the original story tellers have left dangling. And this is a pretty thriving undertaking in the case of The Walking Dead. The single site Fanfiction.net alone has over 2000 fanfictions stories inspired by The Walking Dead. And that is very much just scraping the surface of what is available.
There are recurring themes in the Walking Dead fanfiction. One of the most popular is to delve more deeply into the background or makeup of one or more of the characters -- to understand better where they come from and where they're coming from (if you follow the distinction). Andrea and Daryl have been popular topics for this kind of writing. Others are more interested in getting beyond those mountains off in the distance. They look to tell a story of people that Rick Grimes and crew may never meet, but who are dealing with the same challenges of this walker infested world. In some cases it seems likely that the creators in fact are transparently putting themselves into this world of the Walking Dead. Pondering how they would rise to its challenges. How would they respond?
This fanfiction is a great venue for getting deeper still into the exotic world of The Walking Dead. The creativity of the fan creators suggests all kinds of new possibilities and venues of curious pursuit. To say nothing of being loads of fun. A question does come to mind though when we're considering the fascination with this TV show.
Does it say something about our world in a way that resonates, even if we don't realize it? Check out our thoughts on that at Pretty Much Dead Already
About the Author:
Mickey Jhonny is lead writer at The Walking Dead celebration site: http://prettymuchdeadalready.com He also writes for the Mad Men celebration cite: http://dondraperhaircut.com http://dondraperhaircut.com/
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