froM pArAtex t to polyproCess: the “Quirk y” MAshup novel
93
If fandom is about preserving what is felt to be pure, true and distinctive about a given mythology or “universe,” then convergence is about
developing new markets, media platforms, and types of interactivity.
Thus, as the case of Holmes and Watson demonstrates, given enough
time, the “universes” of fan fiction – as if responding to laws of motion
or evolution – will expand into new areas of the imaginary until even
the original stories are dwarfed by the industrial-paced productivity of
their derivatives. 22
Poore’s argument is not new: in 1994, before the advent of convergence
culture and low-threshold participation on digital platforms, Michael
Jindra argued that Star Trek fandom is a religious phenomenon in a
nonconventional location, involving practices such as canon building
and hierarchization. Jindra contended that by participating in Star Trek
fandom one is set apart from the “mass” of society and becomes part of
“symbolic communities [that] resist the secularization and rationalization of modern life.” 23 Similarly, and without any hint of irony, the f irst
Lucasfilm/Star Wars magazine referred to Lucas’ authorized publications
as “Gospel.” The “Canon” is, variously, the seven f ilms, Lucas Licensing,
or what has been termed EU (Expanded Universe). Since the Walt Disney
Company took over control of Star Wars in 2012, it has taken measures
to control, redef ine, and delimit the GWL or “George Walton Lucas”
canon. These typical issues over legitimacy and continuity have a clear
economic dimension, but are in line with Eugene Ulrich’s religious definition of canon from the Greek “κανών,” meaning “rule,” as “the def initive
list of inspired, authoritative books which constitute the recognized
and accepted body of sacred scripture of a major religious group, that
def initive list being the result of inclusive and exclusive decisions after
serious deliberation.” 24
The “fandom = religion” equation has also generated its critics, however.
Matt Hills, for instance, rejects this wholesale application:
If transgressive fanf ic challenging canon is often the order of the
day among media fandoms, such transgression is hardly common
22 Benjamin Poore, “Sherlock Holmes and the Leap of Faith: The Forces of Fandom and
Convergence in Adaptations of the Holmes and Watson Stories,” Adaptation 6, no. 2 (2013): 159.
23 Michael Jindra, “Star Trek Fandom as a Religious Phenomenon,” Sociology of Religion 55, no.
1 (1994): 38.
24 Eugene Ulrich, “The Notion and Def inition of Canon.” In The Canon Debate, ed. Lee M.
McDonald and James A. Sanders (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002), 28, 34.
93
If fandom is about preserving what is felt to be pure, true and distinctive about a given mythology or “universe,” then convergence is about
developing new markets, media platforms, and types of interactivity.
Thus, as the case of Holmes and Watson demonstrates, given enough
time, the “universes” of fan fiction – as if responding to laws of motion
or evolution – will expand into new areas of the imaginary until even
the original stories are dwarfed by the industrial-paced productivity of
their derivatives. 22
Poore’s argument is not new: in 1994, before the advent of convergence
culture and low-threshold participation on digital platforms, Michael
Jindra argued that Star Trek fandom is a religious phenomenon in a
nonconventional location, involving practices such as canon building
and hierarchization. Jindra contended that by participating in Star Trek
fandom one is set apart from the “mass” of society and becomes part of
“symbolic communities [that] resist the secularization and rationalization of modern life.” 23 Similarly, and without any hint of irony, the f irst
Lucasfilm/Star Wars magazine referred to Lucas’ authorized publications
as “Gospel.” The “Canon” is, variously, the seven f ilms, Lucas Licensing,
or what has been termed EU (Expanded Universe). Since the Walt Disney
Company took over control of Star Wars in 2012, it has taken measures
to control, redef ine, and delimit the GWL or “George Walton Lucas”
canon. These typical issues over legitimacy and continuity have a clear
economic dimension, but are in line with Eugene Ulrich’s religious definition of canon from the Greek “κανών,” meaning “rule,” as “the def initive
list of inspired, authoritative books which constitute the recognized
and accepted body of sacred scripture of a major religious group, that
def initive list being the result of inclusive and exclusive decisions after
serious deliberation.” 24
The “fandom = religion” equation has also generated its critics, however.
Matt Hills, for instance, rejects this wholesale application:
If transgressive fanf ic challenging canon is often the order of the
day among media fandoms, such transgression is hardly common
22 Benjamin Poore, “Sherlock Holmes and the Leap of Faith: The Forces of Fandom and
Convergence in Adaptations of the Holmes and Watson Stories,” Adaptation 6, no. 2 (2013): 159.
23 Michael Jindra, “Star Trek Fandom as a Religious Phenomenon,” Sociology of Religion 55, no.
1 (1994): 38.
24 Eugene Ulrich, “The Notion and Def inition of Canon.” In The Canon Debate, ed. Lee M.
McDonald and James A. Sanders (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002), 28, 34.