>>On the other side, I think fandom is deeply and historically Western, in ways that have led to incredible idiocies in the past (RaceFail, yo). <<
The most visible parts of it are. But the whole world is in there, and there is some deeply anticolonial fanfic out there. Not to mention one SF invasion series that I had to give up after a few episodes because it was too good for its own good, but damn the Native American subtext jokes had me laughing so hard I couldn't breathe.
If this is an issue you care a lot about, watch for the cons -- WorldCon and some of the other biggies -- that have a fund to bring foreign fans over. Check around, somebody might be doing one targeted at India or other specific countries. If not, launch it yourself. More diversity is good.
>>In part this is because the Global South doesn't do fanfic etc in the same ways<<
You should've seen me trying to explain African science fiction poetry to the SFPA. *facepalm*
>> legit temples I kid you not.<<
Now that I would love to see.
>> Every Indian fanwriter/artist I've found online has been middle-class and upwards, and found their way into fandom through a love of Western sources. <<
Yeah, from what I've seen there's still a tendency for the culture to break along caste lines, and in America that mixes in with socioeconomic class and makes some weird effects. The well-to-do ones are kind of a culture unto themselves.
It doesn't help that most canons are also very middle-class. One reason I liked Supernatural for a while is it was the exact opposite -- the main characters are nomads who hunt monsters and they never have much money.
>>One of the coolest remake-groups functions out of a tiny, ex-industrial town in Maharashtra, where they take Hollywood and Bollywood films and adapt them to their own circumstances: their best-known is a Superman adaptation.)<<
That is so awesome.
>>But also a space for fandom in other cultures and languages, <<
There are language clusters on Dreamwidth, I've seen them even though I don't frequent them. A handful of my fans post in languages other than English. Anyone can start a community here. By all means, try to get together a handful of ... Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil, or any of the several dozen minority languages? ... speakers. Even if you only rack up a handful of fanfic or meta, it'll make a big splash in a small pool.
Me, I do it with niche topics -- I have an autistic series, several asexual ones, etc. -- but I'm a big fan of languages too. One writer, or in crowdfunding one donor, can make a HUGE impact when there isn't much else out there. And India is such a rich source of inspiration itself, that would make a great cultural backdrop for fanfic. Heh, and now I'm thinking how awesome it would be to make iconic art of canon characters with multiple arms holding the symbols of their craft. Dr. Who with six different sonic screwdrivers. :D
Well ...
The most visible parts of it are. But the whole world is in there, and there is some deeply anticolonial fanfic out there. Not to mention one SF invasion series that I had to give up after a few episodes because it was too good for its own good, but damn the Native American subtext jokes had me laughing so hard I couldn't breathe.
If this is an issue you care a lot about, watch for the cons -- WorldCon and some of the other biggies -- that have a fund to bring foreign fans over. Check around, somebody might be doing one targeted at India or other specific countries. If not, launch it yourself. More diversity is good.
>>In part this is because the Global South doesn't do fanfic etc in the same ways<<
You should've seen me trying to explain African science fiction poetry to the SFPA. *facepalm*
>> legit temples I kid you not.<<
Now that I would love to see.
>> Every Indian fanwriter/artist I've found online has been middle-class and upwards, and found their way into fandom through a love of Western sources. <<
Yeah, from what I've seen there's still a tendency for the culture to break along caste lines, and in America that mixes in with socioeconomic class and makes some weird effects. The well-to-do ones are kind of a culture unto themselves.
It doesn't help that most canons are also very middle-class. One reason I liked Supernatural for a while is it was the exact opposite -- the main characters are nomads who hunt monsters and they never have much money.
>>One of the coolest remake-groups functions out of a tiny, ex-industrial town in Maharashtra, where they take Hollywood and Bollywood films and adapt them to their own circumstances: their best-known is a Superman adaptation.)<<
That is so awesome.
>>But also a space for fandom in other cultures and languages, <<
There are language clusters on Dreamwidth, I've seen them even though I don't frequent them. A handful of my fans post in languages other than English. Anyone can start a community here. By all means, try to get together a handful of ... Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil, or any of the several dozen minority languages? ... speakers. Even if you only rack up a handful of fanfic or meta, it'll make a big splash in a small pool.
Me, I do it with niche topics -- I have an autistic series, several asexual ones, etc. -- but I'm a big fan of languages too. One writer, or in crowdfunding one donor, can make a HUGE impact when there isn't much else out there. And India is such a rich source of inspiration itself, that would make a great cultural backdrop for fanfic. Heh, and now I'm thinking how awesome it would be to make iconic art of canon characters with multiple arms holding the symbols of their craft. Dr. Who with six different sonic screwdrivers. :D