The Rec Center #71
Hello! Well, it sure has been an...interesting (/horrifying) few days. If you’re looking for a little distraction, we’ve got the usual mix of articles, tweets, and Tumblr stuff, plus a Rec Center first: Gav has put together an all-vid set of recs for the fanfic section! — Elizabeth
new stuff
“Hanging by a thread: How the online nerdy T-shirt economy exists in an IP world” by Willie Clark at Ars Technica
An interesting piece on intellectual property, copyright, and pop culture clothing (which might answer questions that have crossed your mind while wondering around a convention).
“How Internet Fandoms Are Gaming the Music Industry” by Brittany Spanos at Rolling Stone
“Fan accounts on social media are finding new ways to help their favorite artists reach the top of the charts—but are these campaigns effective?”
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: On the abusive treatment of Mantis” by Ana Grilo of The Book Smugglers
Analysing the role of Mantis in GOTG, a character who was basically treated as a joke, but whose role has a disturbing abusive subtext.
older stuff
“The Man from U.N.C.L.E. movie is revitalizing one of fanfiction’s first loves” by Gav at the Daily Dot
The 2015 Man from UNCLE movie is ~back in the news~ because Guy Ritchie is promoting his disastrous-looking King Arthur movie, so we figured we’d dig out this fandom classic from the archives. The original Man from UNCLE TV series was one of the earliest slash fandoms alongside Star Trek and Sherlock Holmes, and Gav charted its history through early archives and the Beatlemania-like obsession the show inspired in 1960s Britain.
tumblr & beyond
Sonequa Martin-Green, the star of Star Trek: Discovery, in a Starfleet uniform. Beautiful fanart by TheMeeDes.
Footage from female Star Wars fans from the upcoming documentary “Looking for Leia”
“Kylo” is rocketing up the baby name charts thanks to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and like... can we not?
“The Hermione Books”
Ianto’s shrine in Cardiff is still going strong, Torchwood fans!
Note: Gav was the one who added this tweet about Ianto’s shrine, but only one of us has made a legit pilgrimage to this site on THREE separate occasions. :-)
fanfiction
I asked people on Twitter to recommend their favorite vids, to jog my memory of fandom’s greatest hits. And oh boy, did Twitter deliver! I’ve only watched a tiny fraction of your suggestions so far, but here’s a selection of new and old faves, with more to come in future newsletters! — Gav
“Tik Tok” by Miss Sheenie
Fandom: Star Trek: TOS; Ship: N/A, ensemble cast
Rec: “Tik Tok” is a true classic, celebrating the silliness of Star Trek’s original series with the truly inspired choice of a Ke$ha soundtrack.
“Survivor” by Odessie
Fandom: Doctor Who; Ship: N/A
Rec: Set to a mashup of “Survivor” and “I Will Survive” by the Glee cast, this vid does a great job of illustrating Doctor Who’s radically different tones. It’s a fun disco song but the lyrics are about survival and the end of relationships, illustrating the finite nature of traveling with the Doctor. Different companions come and go over a span of 50 years, a lifetime of adventures and love and tragedy. The music is cheesy, but it evokes the intensity and sincerity of the show.
“Women’s Work” by Luminosity & Sisabet
Fandom: Supernatural; Ship: N/A
Rec: This one’s an early Supernatural vid, critiquing the show’s use of violence against women. It’s effective and pretty disturbing,and you can read further analysis on its Fanlore page.
“Like Father, Like Son” by Adjectival
Fandom: Brooklyn Nine Nine; Ship: Jake Peralta + Captain Holt, father/son relationship.
Rec: Rather than being a music vid, this is a clip montage about Jake and Holt’s father/son relationship, and the show’s theme of found family. Really well-edited!
“I’m Your Man” by charmax
Fandom: Multifandom; Ship: Basically every femslash pairing in existence!!
Rec: This is like, the ultimate femslash fanvid. It uses dozens of sources from a wide range of genres, set to a female vocalist’s cover of “I’m Your Man” by Leonard Cohen.
FINAL THOUGHT
Have a favorite one-off rec? Please send it our way! We’ll use it in a future list. Other fanworks—comics, vids, etc—are strongly encouraged as well.
If you liked this, please share it with your friends! https://thereccenter.substack.com/. And find us on social media: Gav (twitter/tumblr) & Elizabeth (twitter/tumblr)