Monday, March 17, 2003
"Trying to explain the pleasures of fandom is a bit like trying to explain how comedy works.
Too much analysis can kill a good joke and spoil a good song. Still, thousands of academics in universities around the world have had a go at it in recent decades.
English sociologist Barry Richards reckons that "the pleasures of fandom are at their strongest and best when they confirm our sense of belonging in the social order".
He says they're "vital for the containment of the anxieties with which we all struggle". ...
Maybe that English sociologist is onto something, though, because one of the symptoms of fandom is an evangelical desire to share your new-found passion with as many people as possible."
play it again, fan
¶ 3/17/2003 01:09:00 PM
Too much analysis can kill a good joke and spoil a good song. Still, thousands of academics in universities around the world have had a go at it in recent decades.
English sociologist Barry Richards reckons that "the pleasures of fandom are at their strongest and best when they confirm our sense of belonging in the social order".
He says they're "vital for the containment of the anxieties with which we all struggle". ...
Maybe that English sociologist is onto something, though, because one of the symptoms of fandom is an evangelical desire to share your new-found passion with as many people as possible."
play it again, fan
¶ 3/17/2003 01:09:00 PM
