I visited a midnight showing of the Wizard of Oz with friends during my misspent teenage years. Callow youth that we were, I expect we might have been under the influence of some controlled substance. That's all a bit vague. What is crystal clear, though, is the memory of sitting in the theater, watching this movie I'd seen so many times previously -- watching as it unfolded, yet again.
However, this time, as the munchkins and witches and so forth all went about their well rehearsed business in the foreground, somehow my attention was riveted on the background. These cheesy painted studio backgrounds of distant mountains had me transfixed. I couldn't help wondering, yes, yes, I know all about the Yellow Brick Road and the Emerald City and all that. But what the heck is on the other side of those mountains?
This I think it's fair to say is the impulse that inspires the phenomenon of fanfiction. Fanfiction is the art form by which a fan of a pre-established work of art tells a tale within the context of the world created by the original. Though a very old practice, it became something of a pop culture (subculture) phenomenon in the 60s when a major fanfiction cottage industry grew up around The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Star Trek. The fans took this as an opportunity to see things, which the original show didn't, wouldn't or couldn't provide: from a Klingon conquered universe to Kirk and Spock as homosexual lovers. Fanfiction truly did provide the opportunity for fans to boldly go where no staff writer had gone before.
Originally the fiction was produced in fanzines, which were mimeographed and stapled collections mailed out to subscribers within a narrow clique of aficionados and conference attendees. The rise of the Internet and particularly the World Wide Web in the early 90s changed all that and has allowed for a great blossoming of fanfiction of all kinds. In recent years, the proliferation of a vast inventory of video material available to be manipulated, edited and reinterpreted has taken fanfiction away from the written word into the YouTube editing room of any fan's bedroom. What remains consistent through it all though is the desire to see what lay beyond those distant mountains - to speak metaphorically.
In any original show, like The Walking Dead, there are always doors not entered, streets not followed, choices not made and thoughts not expressed. The original story follows only one narrative thread; in the process it inevitably opens the possibility of countless others. The writers of fanfiction are the explorers of these tantalizing possibilities which the original story tellers have left dangling. And this is a pretty thriving undertaking in the case of The Walking Dead. The single site Fanfiction.net alone has over 2000 fanfictions stories inspired by The Walking Dead. And that is very much just scraping the surface of what is available.
Probably the most common theme in the Walking Dead fanfiction is the deeper exploration of the biography and psychology of characters. Daryl and Andrea are popular choices for such attention. Others though look out over the mountains from Munchkin Land, as it were, and discover the lives of their own characters, facing the same world as Rick Grimes' crew, but far from the lenses of the AMC cameras. In some cases, this is purely fictive, though, in others, one suspects, the authors have simply parachuted themselves in, imagining how they would respond to the challenges of the world of The Walking Dead. And then there's some far out adventures, such as exploring whether the zombies might have thoughts. And if so what they might be like.
There is a great resource here, in the form of The Walking Dead fanfiction, to look more deeply into the possibilities imminent in the various unexplored pathways of the official narrative. Doing that exploration is the mission of a fan base inspired by the world of the TV show that so intrigues them. And, it's just a whole bunch of fun. A question though does come to mind when considering this fascinating world of fanfiction and indeed the general popularity of The Walking Dead.
Does it say something about our world in a way that resonates, even if we don't realize it? Check out our thoughts on that at Pretty Much Dead Already
However, this time, as the munchkins and witches and so forth all went about their well rehearsed business in the foreground, somehow my attention was riveted on the background. These cheesy painted studio backgrounds of distant mountains had me transfixed. I couldn't help wondering, yes, yes, I know all about the Yellow Brick Road and the Emerald City and all that. But what the heck is on the other side of those mountains?
This I think it's fair to say is the impulse that inspires the phenomenon of fanfiction. Fanfiction is the art form by which a fan of a pre-established work of art tells a tale within the context of the world created by the original. Though a very old practice, it became something of a pop culture (subculture) phenomenon in the 60s when a major fanfiction cottage industry grew up around The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Star Trek. The fans took this as an opportunity to see things, which the original show didn't, wouldn't or couldn't provide: from a Klingon conquered universe to Kirk and Spock as homosexual lovers. Fanfiction truly did provide the opportunity for fans to boldly go where no staff writer had gone before.
Originally the fiction was produced in fanzines, which were mimeographed and stapled collections mailed out to subscribers within a narrow clique of aficionados and conference attendees. The rise of the Internet and particularly the World Wide Web in the early 90s changed all that and has allowed for a great blossoming of fanfiction of all kinds. In recent years, the proliferation of a vast inventory of video material available to be manipulated, edited and reinterpreted has taken fanfiction away from the written word into the YouTube editing room of any fan's bedroom. What remains consistent through it all though is the desire to see what lay beyond those distant mountains - to speak metaphorically.
In any original show, like The Walking Dead, there are always doors not entered, streets not followed, choices not made and thoughts not expressed. The original story follows only one narrative thread; in the process it inevitably opens the possibility of countless others. The writers of fanfiction are the explorers of these tantalizing possibilities which the original story tellers have left dangling. And this is a pretty thriving undertaking in the case of The Walking Dead. The single site Fanfiction.net alone has over 2000 fanfictions stories inspired by The Walking Dead. And that is very much just scraping the surface of what is available.
Probably the most common theme in the Walking Dead fanfiction is the deeper exploration of the biography and psychology of characters. Daryl and Andrea are popular choices for such attention. Others though look out over the mountains from Munchkin Land, as it were, and discover the lives of their own characters, facing the same world as Rick Grimes' crew, but far from the lenses of the AMC cameras. In some cases, this is purely fictive, though, in others, one suspects, the authors have simply parachuted themselves in, imagining how they would respond to the challenges of the world of The Walking Dead. And then there's some far out adventures, such as exploring whether the zombies might have thoughts. And if so what they might be like.
There is a great resource here, in the form of The Walking Dead fanfiction, to look more deeply into the possibilities imminent in the various unexplored pathways of the official narrative. Doing that exploration is the mission of a fan base inspired by the world of the TV show that so intrigues them. And, it's just a whole bunch of fun. A question though does come to mind when considering this fascinating world of fanfiction and indeed the general popularity of The Walking Dead.
Does it say something about our world in a way that resonates, even if we don't realize it? Check out our thoughts on that at Pretty Much Dead Already
About the Author:
Mickey Jhonny also writes at the Mad Men celebration site, The Don Draper Haircut. His controversial piece on the reasons behind the success of the Mad Men TV show is a must read.
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