The Validation of the Internet Fandom: Bridging the Gap
Between Traditional Fandom and the Age of Tumblr
By Kristina Manente
Scintillation of
Scions V
June 9, 2012
I
have an addictive personality. I’ll get addicted to outfits or hummus
sandwiches, movies and songs. I should have known I’d end up here at
Scintillation for one simple reason: as a child I watched The Great Mouse
Detective. I watched it so many times over and over again, I’m sure it’s melted
my brain. And drove my mother insane. I was hopelessly in love with it. I still
am. It was a staple of my childhood and while I was vaguely aware of whom
Sherlock Holmes was growing up, I wasn’t a Sherlockian.
I
didn’t start reading the canon until last year. I thought Watson was always
rotund with a bushy mustache (well, part of that is true), and I had no idea
who Jeremy Brett was. In fact, when the Robert Downey Jr movie adverts first
showed, my first thought (other than god Jude Law is hot) was that of Basil of
Baker Street. Of the cartoon mouse who unashamedly stole my heart. I didn’t
know what would happen in the next two to three years. I didn’t know about
Sherlock or how it would change my life forever.
Sherlock
is my first fandom, and I use fandom in the sense of a distinct internet
community. A community of thousands who all love the same thing, who write
about it, laugh about it, argue about it, art about it, cry about it, and lust
over animated gifs of Benedict Cumberbatch together. It’s a beautiful mad
thing. I stepped in unaware and I have never been more glad. Fandom has
introduced me and countless others to the original stories. It has celebrated
these magnificent characters and it has changed my life, and many others.
As
such, Sherlock has one of the most vocal and dedicated fandoms out there. The
Believe In Sherlock campaign should be enough indication of that. If you don’t
know what that is, following the transmission of The Reichenbach Fall in the
UK, a fan movement was started much akin to Frodo Lives. We had to restore
Sherlock’s reputation and prove Richard Brook was a fake. The original post by
earlfoolish on tumblr charged believers in Sherlock to take to the streets. It
was a bit meta, but we did it. The Believe In Sherlock movement spread worldwide,
popping up in schools, places of work, and along the streets of cities and
towns. The campaign went completely viral and has been reported on numerous
blogging sites and even The Radio Times. Fans are finding one another through
the movement as well, going to tumblr to try and find original posters of the
fliers and artwork. It’s bringing the Sherlock community together, promoting
the show, and including the fans into the universe of BBC Sherlock.
And it’s
all fan made. Those involved in the BBC show have mentioned numerous times how
staggered they were by the movement, and still are. Steven Moffat called it
“the best viral marketing campaign ever,” and that he and Mark Gatiss didn’t
need to do any promotion for Series 3 because we had done it for them. The
parallels to the legend of Victorians marching along the Strand in black
armbands are obvious. Just as they did, we mourned the “death” of our hero,
allowing ourselves to enter the Sherlock world and bring it into our reality.
Some have called it childish and ridiculous, but we had fun. And I won’t
apologize for that.
No
one can doubt the sincerity and absolute dedication of the Sherlock generation
of Holmesians. If Believe In Sherlock isn’t enough how about the thousands of
votes that pour in when someone from the show, or the show itself is up for an
award? Countless number of trending topics on twitter have been started by the
fandom, and as I said before, those involved in the show have remarked multiple
times how floored they are by their fanbase. We’re a fanatically dedicated
bunch, which is why I get surprised when older Sherlockians get annoyed at us
and fear us.
Are
we not the same? Many of you entered Sherlockiana through more traditional
means. You might have read the canon and found a group. You might have started
your own or subscribed to a newsletter. Some of you as Baker Street Irregulars
and are quite distinguished. Others just run a blog or are Holmesian authors,
both scholarly and pastiche. I like to yammer into a microphone with friends
and it’s in that way I express my love. That and reblogging some gratuitous
photos of the cast, because they’re gorgeous. And that’s okay. I’m sure
Victorian women and men were oogling the Paget drawings. Don’t even try to tell
me they weren’t.
With
Sherlock, and to a lesser extent the Robert Downey Jr films, has come a surge
of new Sherlockians. Some very learned in canon, others encountering the
characters for the first time. It’s a global Holmesian Renaissance and it’s
come to life and spread rapidly through social media, primarily through tumblr,
twitter, and the fanfic communities on livejournal and AO3. I can understand
how the massive surge can be terrifying for the more traditional minded
Sherlockian: hoards of teenage and twenty-some-year-olds descending upon their
Holmesian world. They’re afraid of, dare I say it, The Cumberbitches, and
afraid they aren’t in it for the stories. But if they took a moment to go
beyond the surface of OMG and FEELINGS, they’re realize that it’s more than
that. They may have come for the cheekbones and the dishy silver fox from
Scotland Yard, but it’s not why they stayed.
They’ve
fallen in love. Just like everyone in this room has.
Those
of us from the Sherlock generation are vocal and opinionated. We care about
this show an obscene amount and we aren’t afraid to show it. There are around
30,000 Sherlock tumblr fans and that is a conservative estimate. There are
thousands upon thousands of fanfictions and beautiful, stunning pieces of art.
A fanartist was actually contacted by Sue Vertue, producer of the BBC series,
and her stunning portraits of the Sherlock cast will be going in a board room
at Hartswood Studios.
Along with the art are the
essays and heated debates. Emotions run high in the tumblr world and never have
I seen such detailed responses to questions. There is plenty of scholarships on
tumblr. They research to an obsessive level and have enough references to even
make Les Klinger happy. I’ve read
beautifully researched essays on the canon as well as on the BBC show.
Character essays. Theories. Everything you can imagine. Where you all have
journals and newsletters, we have the internet.
They’re also not afraid to
have fun, and will gladly trend topics on twitter like replace a Sherlock quote
with pancake.
Why
so silly? Why not? Why is it a crime to have fun? We can interact in a whole
new way: live chatting with writers and actors, Q&As, and spreading out
ideas to the public. The Sherlock generation is a force to be reckoned with,
and yes, some are silly, but so are some BSI members. They are, however,
genuine fans, and you should never doubt their sincerity.
When
I was privileged enough to attend the judicial review for the Undershaw
Preservation Trust, for which I am the London Ambassador, on May 23rd,
I wasn’t surprised by who was in attendance. There were a handful of
middle-aged and older people, but the vast majority of those who had come out
to sit in court for seven hours were young. Teenagers. Twenty-somethings. It
was the youth. It was the Sherlock generation.
We
love Sherlock Holmes. We are the same. The Sherlock generation just has more
toys to play with. And yes, it is intimidating, and yes it’s all changing quite
quickly. But it’s a good change. So this is an open invitation for every person
who may ever hear or read this. Interact with the young fans. Invite them to
your meetings. Talk Sherlock Holmes with them. Don’t underestimate them. Just
because we blog doesn’t mean we’re not genuine and earnest, or intelligent. The
hesitation goes both ways though. You young’uns, newbies, and those who only
came in with BBC Sherlock, don’t be afraid. Read the canon. Explore the world.
Be willing to be taught. I have never met a more gracious group of people in my
life. Try. You won’t regret it.
If
you challenged me to a canon quiz you’d most likely beat me. And I am fine with
that, because I am still learning. I’m still exploring these stories for the
first time, as are many of my tumblr colleagues. We’re not subpar to those of
you who can quote the canon word from word, because at our core we all love
these characters. Some of you are just further ahead than us, but we’re on our
way and we want to be on our way. Those
of us from the tumblr generation don’t expect some of you to understand our
weird jokes about how John Watson is obsessed with jam or understand why
animated gifs are perfectly acceptable responses to questions. That’s fine.
We’re two different camps, but we have a lot in common and we’re starting to
meld. I think it’s okay if we still have our own worlds, but coming together
should be a priority. It’s starting, and it is my hope that we can all work
together to enjoy the great consulting detective and his steadfast partner Dr.
Watson as Sherlockians.
I
and the Baker Street Babes owe a lot to the Sherlock fandom. It’s where we came
from and as such we are fiercely protective of it. We also couldn’t have gotten
where we are without the acceptance of all of you and for that I offer my
sincerest thanks. We’re flattered by our popularity, having hit over 110,000
listens as of June 7th. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to getting
fanmail. We’re also frankly gobsmacked by the opportunities we’ve had. I
remember literally faceplanting onto my bed when I got a DM on twitter from Sue
Vertue and New Year’s Eve shall always be highlighted by Amanda Abbington,
Martin Freeman’s wife, posting on our facebook wall about how to become a Baker
Street Babe. A few months later we’d be having brunch with her. A month after
that we’d be on the red carpet at the TV BAFTAs. I don’t think I’ve actually
gotten over it. I don’t say these things to gloat and boast, but rather to
count my stars. I’ve enjoyed every moment of this, even the masochistic sound
editing until the wee hours of the morning and the terrifying moment when you
send a query letter to an agent in hopes of an interview. Through the good and
bad it’s been a beautiful time, and it’s a beautiful time to be a Sherlockian.
Whether
you’re a BSI or a Sherlock tumblr fan, you are a Sherlockian. Whether you’re 65
or 15, you are a Sherlockian. Whether you discovered Sherlock Holmes as a child
or yesterday, you are a Sherlockian… and you should be proud of that.
