----- Original Message -----
From: "Take a wild, friggin guess"
>
> I'm certainly not meaning to come across as a "whiner". Basically,
> though, my understanding of the fandom is minimal at best. See, I went to
> conventions to meet with fans (put a face to a name) and sell my work. I
> avoided get-togethers, room parties, and the like. Why? Because the
> convention, for me, was a business event. It would cost me a few thousand
> bucks to attend a con and print up material; by the gods, I had better
> work my ass of to make that all back and show a profit! "Cutting even" at
> a convention would be extremely discouraging; I know some artist's are
> happy to cover their costs, but if they want to make any extra money,
> they'll have to work hard, party less, and focus on the business.
I think they do, it's just that for most of them 'the buisness' as it is
means mostly online, selling folios and comics and CDs and things through
Amazon and other intermediaries if not directly, offering commissions,
and/or running a paysite. The face-to-face sales are less about profit in
and of themselves and more about face-time with the fans, with networking,
with 'Schmoozing', looking like they're having fun doing it (by, you know..
actually Having Fun) also helps. Turning a profit at a con is all well and
good but not as important as boosting profits for their entire franchise.
> I can understand the inclusion of sexual material in the artwork; after
> all, we're all adults here and that sort of stuff crosses a guy's mind
> constantly throughout the day. But I cannot fathom why all these other
> things have become a "staple" of the fandom, when they have nothing to do
> with funny animals at all. _That_ is what I'm trying to comprehend.
What 'other things'? And how do you mean they have nothing to do with
'funny animals'? More on this later...
> And regarding the general content of the fandom, I honestly do think it
> needs to focus on more than just sex, for crying out loud. You can't even
> look at a comic without the characters engaging in sex by the second
> panel. Story-writing and plots are obviously not some people's strength.
90% of everything is shit, this is a universal truth. With resources like
fchan and FurAffinity it's just much easier for the shit to float to the
top.
> Speaking for myself, I'd like to grow. And I'd like to do what I can to
> make the genre a little better, if that's possible for one person to do.
>
> --JMH
Ah, here lies the rub. I think part of the problem is that you're operating
under the mistaken assumption that 'Furry' is a Genre. It's not, not in and
of itself.
Furry is a trope, an artistic/storytelling device, a 'hook' on which many
things can be hung but which serves little purpose in and of itself. The
closest I think to being an actual example of Furry as a stand-alone genre
would be webcomics like Ozy & Millie or The Suburban Jungle which treats
anthropomorphic animals like.. well.. animals that have been
anthropomorphized. For the most part though Furry acts as 'seasoning', a
good deal of the afor-mentioned 90% in furry storytelling I think is people
forgetting they need some 'meat' to go with it. The 'seasoning' of Furry
could be used to add something purely for asthetic appeal, a 'pinch of salt'
as it were; or it could expand an existing story by introducing new themes
to explore in the psychological, sociological, and even physiological
differences between ourselves and something not-human.. now that's a Spicy
meatball, Manja. You might disagree, but I consider both of these equally
valid as 'Furry'.
But, the main point is Furry isn't a thing in and of itself, it's a thing
that's added to other things. Furry Sci-Fi, Furry Fantasy, Furry War
Stories, Furry 'Slice-of-Life', Furry this and Furry that. Furry Fandom is
people who really like this particular seasoning and actively seek it out in
whatever other things they like, in artwork, in comic-books, and yes.. even
in fetishims. Kinda like those folks who'll try to put Tabasco on
Everything they eat. :D
YMMV
-Les
Received on Sun Jun 07 2009 - 11:33:57 CDT