Fanmail of Various Stripes.

[quinara]

I've never really written fanmail, and yet over the last week I've written two whole emails that could qualify as such. The first was to the band Chik Budo, who I mentioned a couple of entries ago (because I think their new song really is that good) - and they got back to me! Sent me an mp3 and thanked me for my encouragement. (And very kindly, in response to my comment that 'I'm not very good at doing the whole squealing fan bit', said that they didn't detect any squealing - which I think was nice. :D ) Need to reply, because they asked a couple of questions.

I also, possibly more relevantly, just sent an email this evening to Scott Allie, after reading his response to moscow_watcher. I couldn't keep it in any longer, though I'm not sure I was a very good representative of LJ (Spike/Spuffy) fandom as a whole:

Your Exchange with Elena and the whole S8 fiasco-rama.

Dear Scott,

Hello! I was reading your email to Elena (Moscow Watcher) and found myself wanting to get in contact with you myself. It feels a bit strange to be doing so, since I only ever lurk on message boards and would be surprised if you recognised my name, though I've read a lot of what you've been saying about S8 over the past few years. I'm Quinara on LiveJournal, and probably best identified as one of the unhappy Spuffy legion, though we're a diverse group so I don't know how much the label is worth.

The main impression I received from your letter was a sense of dismay over the amount of people willing to follow Joss's work, but nevertheless disparage his motives at every turn. You asked whether 'he really deserves to be reduced to such petty agendas', and I suppose this is how I want to reply: I respect Joss, because he's produced some amazing television that I adore on multiple levels. I cannot however trust Joss because, to put it bluntly, he exploits my emotions for a living. For the most part I enjoy that and am happy to sign up to it, yet on several occasions I have not enjoyed being upset the way he has upset me. In order to avoid that I have grown cautious about emotionally investing in new work he produces, and want to analyse as many aspects of the production as possible to work out whether it is worthwhile putting my trust in a particular venture and thus engaging in/enjoying the art. This is not me trying to excuse fans mocking and ridiculing people they don't know, but this this why I (and I imagine many others) engage in what probably seems like a very cynical analysis of what the worst-case scenario would be in terms of your collective creative motivation and how the plot might turn out. It can become quite galling, being told to trust that things will turn out OK, when previous experience has told you it's quite possible that they won't.

That's all I really wanted to say. I could talk about my disagreement with your views on characters etc., but I'm not sure that would be worthwhile. (Though, er, as someone from the UK who has enjoyed the German rail system on a number of occasions, I think you and the team should maybe come to Europe at some point. And, really, you see Buffy as selfish? This bewilders me... But never mind!)

Anyway, I should definitely say thank you for engaging with us fans over the last few years. Whatever my personal response, you've given up a lot of your time to us and I'm very grateful for that.

Cheers!

[Me]. (Quinara.) :)

I didn't really want to get into all my issues with stuff he's said, because in the end I'm friends with a lot of people who have very divergent opinions, and as much as he's representing the franchise and so, you would hope, more inclined to be tactful rather than feeding the venom from some quarters, there didn't seem much point taking him to task over it. Who knows if he'll reply? Considering how much of a randomer I am it seems unreasonable to expect a response. *shrugs*

Comments

[evilawyer]

Uhm...I don't follow the Buffy comics, even though Josh sanctioned them as canon, mostly because I think he wrote a definite end for Buffy with the TV series and because, frankly, I always got the impression he had never really liked Buffy herself all that much --- he always went for portraying her as an immature little responsibility-shirking bimbette who was only interested in which boy was hottest (and brawniest, for the most part) whenever he could get away with it. I appreciated the former; the latter, well, it was okay when Buffy was a young girl, started getting old as she got into Seasons 4 and 5, was downright depressing in Season 6, lead us to witness that weird General Buffy in Season 7 and was something I concluded was going to destroy the character completely once the world was full of Slayers (and no, I didn't trust Joss to not continue doing it in the comics). So, I'm not sure what's going on, but am I the only one that isn't impressed with this Scott guy's letter-writing skills? Petulant defensiveness worthy of a five year old (which is something I do not think a professional writer or professional editor has the right to be) and disjointed sentence structure are all I come away with from his response. Also, does he truly think he's being persuasive when he says it's cynical of fans to assume that the comic team is commercially motivated? His job, and Joss' job, are to sell comics to make money. There is nothing and no one that can make me think otherwise, and if the guy who's job it is to make money tells me that he (or his boss) isn't taking commercial considerations into account in his editorial decisions, I'm going to (1) assume he's a liar, which isn't all that bad in the greater scheme of things, and (2) assume he thinks I'm stupid, which is much, much worse than his simply massaging the truth and means I'm really not going to believe anything he says. Ever.

My two cents, applicable to any fandom.

You're e-mail was very well put and non-threatening. I'd be very interested in any response he gives you.

[quinara]

It's funny you should mention Joss's Buffy, because I think I agree with you to some extent - by the end of S7 Buffy in Joss-written episodes seems (to me at least) to have diverged quite strongly from the general line of Buffy-characterisation built up by the other writers. It's only a fraction, I think (I quite like General Buffy, though I think she got the short end of an already short stick), but it's weird.

o, I'm not sure what's going on, but am I the only one that isn't impressed with this Scott guy's letter-writing skills?

For an editor, I can't say I'm overly impressed by his English on all occasions. But, in his defence, I think he sees these emails as chatty back-and-forth rather than formal correspondence - of course, as the person with the power that's kind of his prerogative... ;) He does come across pretty petulant though.

There is nothing and no one that can make me think otherwise, and if the guy who's job it is to make money tells me that he (or his boss) isn't taking commercial considerations into account in his editorial decisions

Yes, exactly! As someone very sensibly pointed out, if you're selling a 'Vampire Defence Kit' giftset on your website, covered in B/A S3 promo shots, that contains a Claddagh ring along with holy water and stuff, it would be damn foolish not to consider how you're painting B/A in your main comic.

You're e-mail was very well put and non-threatening. I'd be very interested in any response he gives you.

Thank you. I'll be interested as well, though I'm not expecting anything.

[evilawyer]

, I think he sees these emails as chatty back-and-forth rather than formal correspondence - of course, as the person with the power that's kind of his prerogative... ;)

Ah! If only we little people could get away with that kind of perception --- every businessperson I know understands and accepts that e-mails are just like letters and can come back to bite you on the ass just are much as letter can. With big, sharp, pointy teeth!