No, you're definitely not the only ones, I have lots of friends who are fans, which is the main reason I've read as much as I have, and why in my completist mode I will probably force my way through eventually. They tend to be not people who are generally fanfic readers, though. (There is a perverse part of me that aspires, upon completing my reading, to post the following passive-aggressive message to Facebook "I have spent much time reflecting on the fact that many people I like insist HPMOR is the greatest work of fanfic they've ever read and have concluded that the only explanation is that they have not yet read "Written by the Victors"... and let the wank flow.)
(For someone who has never voted in the Hugos before this year, yes, I do have a Lot of Feelings About It. *rolls eyes at self*)
Yeah, you do, and that's fine, the main point of the Hugos is for fans to have something to argue about. I definitely also have strong, ranty feelings about works that I don't think deserved to win Hugos. I just... for me, the Hugos don't represent some sort of seal of deep literary quality, they represent the works that created the most enjoyment for the SFF Worldcon community. I don't require devastatingly original worldbuilding, I don't require science that pushes the limits of our imagination, though obviously those are things that I enjoy and will vote for.
And I'm a little politically invested in fanfic winning Hugos because I think that there are many people involved in the Worldcon community who are involved in fanfiction fandom, and I hate how that part of their/our fannish life gets pushed to the side in print SF-oriented spaces like Worldcon. I've been exchanging emails for a few weeks with the programming director of my local regional con about how we can bring more, better fanfiction programming to that con, and I think the attitude among print SF fans that fanfic does not deserve to win Hugos is part of the problem that I am trying to fight.
no subject
(For someone who has never voted in the Hugos before this year, yes, I do have a Lot of Feelings About It. *rolls eyes at self*)
Yeah, you do, and that's fine, the main point of the Hugos is for fans to have something to argue about. I definitely also have strong, ranty feelings about works that I don't think deserved to win Hugos. I just... for me, the Hugos don't represent some sort of seal of deep literary quality, they represent the works that created the most enjoyment for the SFF Worldcon community. I don't require devastatingly original worldbuilding, I don't require science that pushes the limits of our imagination, though obviously those are things that I enjoy and will vote for.
And I'm a little politically invested in fanfic winning Hugos because I think that there are many people involved in the Worldcon community who are involved in fanfiction fandom, and I hate how that part of their/our fannish life gets pushed to the side in print SF-oriented spaces like Worldcon. I've been exchanging emails for a few weeks with the programming director of my local regional con about how we can bring more, better fanfiction programming to that con, and I think the attitude among print SF fans that fanfic does not deserve to win Hugos is part of the problem that I am trying to fight.