Mythmoot Presentation: "Transformative Works as a Means to Develop Critical Perspectives ..."

[dawn_felagund]

I had to let the video upload on YouTube run overnight because of my current Internet situation but--at last!--the video of my presentation on Saturday at Mythmoot is finally ready. The full title (which is too long to fit in the title field) is "Transformative Works as a Means to Develop Critical Perspectives in the Tolkien Fan Community." The paper covers the history of Tolkien fan fiction, the development of online communities, and the use of Tolkien fan fiction as a means for writers to not only learn more about the texts but to become more analytical and critical readers. This is probably not news for anyone here, but keep in mind that I was presenting to a general (and not necessarily fanfic-friendly) audience at a fantasy studies conference.

The handout for the presentation can be found here. An audio-only version of the presentation can be found here.

"Transformative Works as a Means to Develop Critical Perspectives in the Tolkien Fan Community" (Watch on YouTube)

Thoughts and reactions are most welcome, of course! :)

Comments

[aranrhodinhimring]

It's been so long since I used a journaling platform that I've entirely forgotten the etiquette, so I'm just going to say hello, thank you for friending me back, and your presentation is fantastic! Wonderfully in-depth analysis of Tolkien fandom and the idea of critical vs creative response - particularly interesting to hear the bits about the crossover between Tolkien academia and Tolkien fandom. I'm sat right in the middle, working on my Masters with Tolkien as my focus, writing Tolkien fanfic since I was tiny, so it was really fascinating. It seems to be one of the areas/fandoms that there actually is a fair degree of crossover; I was beyond surprised when my diss advisor had a sort of 'other minds and hands' wink-wink-nudge-nudge response to my wish for more in depth stories alongside what was provided by The Silmarillion.

I've rambled, I'm sorry, but I just wanted to say that basically this was a great paper and I'm thoroughly jealous of Mythmoot attendance and the opportunity to meet Professor Olsen

[dawn_felagund]

Eek, I'm excited to see you here from Tumblr and SWG! :D I don't really have an etiquette. I remember the days when people made all kinds of crazy meticulous demands on their LiveJournals ("if you do not leave a comment on THIS POST stating your name, shoe size, and reason for being here, then you CANNOT FRIEND THIS JOURNAL!!1!!" ... which one would prevent exactly how, I always wondered?) but I'm glad you found and followed me here.

Thank you for watching my presentation and for your kind comments. :) It was a challenge to squeeze into 20 minutes. There was so much I wanted to say (I didn't get to say it all) and didn't want to just write a defense of fanfic but also didn't want to get too technical for people who knew nothing about fanfic/fandom. It was surprisingly more challenging than when I sent in my proposal wanting an "easy Mythmoot" this year!

I am also working on my MA; my thesis, which I will be writing this summer (I hope), will be on Beowulf. I love Beowulf studies but color me just a teensy bit jealous on getting to write on Tolkien studies! :D Any idea on your topic yet?

Professor Olsen is just as warm and funny in person as he is on his videos and podcasts. He is truly an excellent ambassador between the fan and scholarly communities.

And please ramble anytime! :)

[aranrhodinhimring]

Yeah, I suppose one of the problems it's easy to run into when you're writing/talking academically about something you love is that you start defending it. I honestly have notes to myself written on my research saying 'YOU ARE NOT WRITING A DEFENCE!!'

Ohhh, that does sound interesting! I've only read Beowulf the once, for a course last year, but I'd like to get my hands on Tolkien's translation and see how it compares. I'm more or less in the middle of writing mine at the moment - nostalgia in the Legendarium, and ways in which it's undermined, which is fascinating, but I think my advisor was right when she said it might be more suited to being a PhD topic. It's incredibly difficult to pin down, and I only have 16,000 words to work with. I was hoping to finish by May but that's looking less and less likely now.

I need to get back to listening to his podcasts, I was about halfway through his Silmarillion Seminar series before things got in the way.

[dawn_felagund]

Presenting in front of a non-fanfic audience, I did go in with my guard a bit raised. I expected questions about the legality of fanfic, for instance, and thought through my response to those kinds of questions. But everyone was very supportive. (It did help, I suspect, that Professor Olsen had earlier in the day talked about his own evolving views on fanfic, from viewing it somewhat disdainfully as "mere fanfic" to understanding it as a legitimate way to engage with the texts.) Two of my fellow panelists also spoke on forms of art and criticism that are also often dismissed: video games and Internet memes. After my presentation, several people came out of the woodwork as fanfic writers and wanted to talk about it, which was really cool.

The commentary on Tolkien's translation is a goldmine for a Tolkien scholar. There are tantalizing glimpses of Middle-earth in there. I am actually in the process of writing up a Tumblr post about how he used Scyld Scefing as inspiration for his Ardaverse.

I'm smiling at your topic because my rough idea for my MA thesis? Nostalgia in Beowulf ... :D

[aranrhodinhimring]

I have a tendency to forget that a lot of people have issues with the legality of fanfic - I was introduced to it when I was about 12, so was a pretty ubiquitous part of my formative years! It probably didn't help that two years of my undergrad were spent looking at how recent issues of things like copyright and 'idea ownership' are, so I feel like it's cemented as absolutely valid to me and I have to remind myself that not everyone agrees.

Multiple translations of works are fascinating, so it'll be interesting to read it, and the criticism that goes alongside it! Another thing to go on my to-read list ...

And hah, that some synchronicity!

[dawn_felagund]

It just seems to me that the mainstream media can't write about fan fiction without identifying it as a "legal gray area" or somesuch, even when the article is positive. I was glad it wasn't brought up at my presentation. I was prepared to address it in as few words as possible, but it would have been dispiriting to have the main purpose of the paper missed in favor of addressing what feels for me as well like something that is tired and old. (I am not expert, but I feel like the law very much favors creators of fanworks and that there is a reason why fanfic hasn't been challenged in court: because the rights holders know full well that they are likely to lose! :)