I mean, Shatner-era Star Trek -- the classic fandom inspiration -- would you say it could live up to the collective imagination? Would you be eager to watch it today if the Trek universe in your mind didn't include the fanworks as well as the canon?
This is a very apt comparison. I can't imagine watching TOS without the context of fandom. (I mean, I did when I watched it the first time, but I was a little kid and wasn't yet able to analyze media beyond "I like this".) I can remember reading the first few HP books as books, but by the time it got to OotP, I was so invested in the fandom that there was no way to separate the two. I was reacting to everything that happened as "fandom will love this" or "fandom will hate this" or "there's going to be so much fic about this". I have absolutely no idea what I would have thought of the last few books if I'd read them outside of that context.
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Date: 12/5/18 05:45 pm (UTC)This is a very apt comparison. I can't imagine watching TOS without the context of fandom. (I mean, I did when I watched it the first time, but I was a little kid and wasn't yet able to analyze media beyond "I like this".) I can remember reading the first few HP books as books, but by the time it got to OotP, I was so invested in the fandom that there was no way to separate the two. I was reacting to everything that happened as "fandom will love this" or "fandom will hate this" or "there's going to be so much fic about this". I have absolutely no idea what I would have thought of the last few books if I'd read them outside of that context.