I totally get what you're saying here, and I would never disagree that most non-fans are terrible at reading vids or that fans new to vids do better with some vids than others. (I spent the first VVC thinking "But I don't CARE that the floppy-haired guy with glasses just walked into a shiny thing, more Buffy now please!" I can only imagine what that Premieres show was like for people who didn't like Buffy OR Stargate.)
But part of the reason I think we need to write about a wider range of vids is that when I look at the kinds of vids that YOU first understood... those are not at all the vids that *I* first understood. (And, actually, I'm laughing a little because this explains some things about the differences in our vid tastes even now.) I love a vid with a clear thesis statement, but those were not actually my gateway drugs.
It's not that I'm looking for us (collectively) to write about different stuff instead, just MORE stuff, you know? And, as you said to Ian elsewhere in the thread, I think we're finally getting to the point where we can do that, because we don't have to begin at the beginning every single time; we're building up enough of a body of work that we can cite the key stuff for people who need to catch up, but our own essays can actually do more BUILDING on that stuff because we don't have to spend half the essay recapitulating it.
Which is one of the reasons I am so freaking grateful that the TWC special issue exists in the first place: so much stuff in one place, and because it's TWC people can actually READ it. \o/
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2012-03-17 09:12 pm (UTC)But part of the reason I think we need to write about a wider range of vids is that when I look at the kinds of vids that YOU first understood... those are not at all the vids that *I* first understood. (And, actually, I'm laughing a little because this explains some things about the differences in our vid tastes even now.) I love a vid with a clear thesis statement, but those were not actually my gateway drugs.
It's not that I'm looking for us (collectively) to write about different stuff instead, just MORE stuff, you know? And, as you said to Ian elsewhere in the thread, I think we're finally getting to the point where we can do that, because we don't have to begin at the beginning every single time; we're building up enough of a body of work that we can cite the key stuff for people who need to catch up, but our own essays can actually do more BUILDING on that stuff because we don't have to spend half the essay recapitulating it.
Which is one of the reasons I am so freaking grateful that the TWC special issue exists in the first place: so much stuff in one place, and because it's TWC people can actually READ it. \o/