June Something Day 4 (and 3, and 2...)
Jun. 18th, 2023 01:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
verushka70Well, as I feared, RL got in the way of participating in the June Something... So I'll have to play catch-up today, in reverse chronological order.
Day 4: What's your most treasured piece of fandom merch?
I don't actually have a lot of fandom merch because I'm not a big con-goer. I consider my love of Headstones (the band) fannish. (I say this only because the term "bandom" did not exist when I first entered fandom in the early 90s - or if it did, I was completely unaware of it, and I never saw it on the 'net until the late 90s/early aughts). I came to Headstones fandom via due South fandom: Headstones' song "Cubically Contained" (some of it) played in a due South ep... When I heard it, I needed to hear the rest of that song. I tracked down the song, listened to it, then bought the album it was on, listened to it, then bought their entire catalog of albums up to that point. And I've bought every album they've put out since then. I've seen them in concert (I had to travel to Buffalo, NY by myself for that; that's the only USA locale they ever seem to play, probably because it's so close to Kingston, Ontario, Headstones' birthplace). And although they broke up not long after I first got into them, they reunited about a decade later, and have put out their best albums, imo, since they reunited.
So one thing I really treasure is my Headstones T-shirt collection. Not so much that I don't wear them -- hell, I wear them all the time; I've bought TWO of some T-shirts, knowing I will wear one out from wearing it too much. I've bought every T-shirt they've sold that I could find in my size, and even some not in my size (for example, to dress the rather girly (for me; I was a tomboy) stuffed (plot) bunny gift I got from Ride_Forever.
I also have a dS RCW 139: 25th anniversary convention You Must Remember This T-shirt I really like (though I'm contemplating it dyeing it a color other than white) And a dS lapel pin. And a bunch of Headstones pins. But the Headstones T-shirts are probably my most treasured merch.
Not sure this qualifies (it's not for a specific fandom), but I have a collection of concert ticket stubs going back to the very first rock concerts I went to. See, from even before I was born, us kids in my family were not allowed to listen to rock 'n roll or popular music. Our father was a strict authoritarian and music instructor. He played violin, piano, and could pick up and play many other instruments. He would not permit us to listen to anything but classical symphonic and opera music. Anything else - including the Brat Pack! Swing music! -- was music by and for degenerates, perverts, alcoholics, and druggies.
Everyone thinks things like the religious parents and ban on rock music in movies like Footloose are harsh or silly -- who does that, right? They have no. fucking. idea. My dad once ripped in half a paperback book I had bought about the Beatles (and I thought I had hidden it, but he found it). Ripped it. In half.
You could take the man out of the steel mills, but you could not take the steel mills out of the man. We were terrified of him growing up, walking on eggshells all the time.
That's why one of the major bummers about eTickets, for me, is that you don't get a ticket stub anymore.
Day 3: What question would you like to see in The June Something?
I would want to ask:
1) What movie or series would you NEVER want rebooted?
And
B. If there's a fandom you left for reasons other than just moving on to a new fandom, what fandom did you leave, and why?
with bonus question:
What is the greatest distance you have traveled for any fandom reason? (e.g. to attend a fan con, attend a bandom concert, visit a fannish friend, visit or tour filming locations, etc)
and follow-up bonus question:
Have you done that trip (from the previous question) more than once? If so, how many times have you made it?
Day 2: What show or movie would you like rebooted? Same premise and storylines, but all new actors, showrunners, writers, technology, and social awareness?
As I commented on squidgie's June Something Day 2 post, I couldn't think of anything I really love that I would want to see rebooted, so I needed to think about it... probably because I have a kneejerk "No!" or "Oh, god, again?" reaction to reboots because the vast majority have been bad compared to the source material (and there have been way too many, like originality flew the coop).I am old so I am tired of seeing second and third sucky reboots appear, often for things that themselves originally sucked too, imo.
Two days later, in between RL demands, I've thought about it a lot... The only thing I really wouldn't mind seeing rebooted is The Prisoner. It was so weird in it's time (which included a lot of other trippy, weird series, and TV series that had some really trippy, weird eps *side-eyes The Avengers: Steed and Mrs. Peel, not MCU* that it's one of the few reboots I'd be interested in seeing. You could do so much more with it now, special effects-wise and technology concepts-wises - but the core idea would totally still work.
Though I think nothing could be as scary as Rover was to me when I was a child. *shudder*
Day 4: What's your most treasured piece of fandom merch?
I don't actually have a lot of fandom merch because I'm not a big con-goer. I consider my love of Headstones (the band) fannish. (I say this only because the term "bandom" did not exist when I first entered fandom in the early 90s - or if it did, I was completely unaware of it, and I never saw it on the 'net until the late 90s/early aughts). I came to Headstones fandom via due South fandom: Headstones' song "Cubically Contained" (some of it) played in a due South ep... When I heard it, I needed to hear the rest of that song. I tracked down the song, listened to it, then bought the album it was on, listened to it, then bought their entire catalog of albums up to that point. And I've bought every album they've put out since then. I've seen them in concert (I had to travel to Buffalo, NY by myself for that; that's the only USA locale they ever seem to play, probably because it's so close to Kingston, Ontario, Headstones' birthplace). And although they broke up not long after I first got into them, they reunited about a decade later, and have put out their best albums, imo, since they reunited.
So one thing I really treasure is my Headstones T-shirt collection. Not so much that I don't wear them -- hell, I wear them all the time; I've bought TWO of some T-shirts, knowing I will wear one out from wearing it too much. I've bought every T-shirt they've sold that I could find in my size, and even some not in my size (for example, to dress the rather girly (for me; I was a tomboy) stuffed (plot) bunny gift I got from Ride_Forever.
I also have a dS RCW 139: 25th anniversary convention You Must Remember This T-shirt I really like (though I'm contemplating it dyeing it a color other than white) And a dS lapel pin. And a bunch of Headstones pins. But the Headstones T-shirts are probably my most treasured merch.
Not sure this qualifies (it's not for a specific fandom), but I have a collection of concert ticket stubs going back to the very first rock concerts I went to. See, from even before I was born, us kids in my family were not allowed to listen to rock 'n roll or popular music. Our father was a strict authoritarian and music instructor. He played violin, piano, and could pick up and play many other instruments. He would not permit us to listen to anything but classical symphonic and opera music. Anything else - including the Brat Pack! Swing music! -- was music by and for degenerates, perverts, alcoholics, and druggies.
Everyone thinks things like the religious parents and ban on rock music in movies like Footloose are harsh or silly -- who does that, right? They have no. fucking. idea. My dad once ripped in half a paperback book I had bought about the Beatles (and I thought I had hidden it, but he found it). Ripped it. In half.
You could take the man out of the steel mills, but you could not take the steel mills out of the man. We were terrified of him growing up, walking on eggshells all the time.
That's why one of the major bummers about eTickets, for me, is that you don't get a ticket stub anymore.
Day 3: What question would you like to see in The June Something?
I would want to ask:
1) What movie or series would you NEVER want rebooted?
And
B. If there's a fandom you left for reasons other than just moving on to a new fandom, what fandom did you leave, and why?
with bonus question:
What is the greatest distance you have traveled for any fandom reason? (e.g. to attend a fan con, attend a bandom concert, visit a fannish friend, visit or tour filming locations, etc)
and follow-up bonus question:
Have you done that trip (from the previous question) more than once? If so, how many times have you made it?
Day 2: What show or movie would you like rebooted? Same premise and storylines, but all new actors, showrunners, writers, technology, and social awareness?
As I commented on squidgie's June Something Day 2 post, I couldn't think of anything I really love that I would want to see rebooted, so I needed to think about it... probably because I have a kneejerk "No!" or "Oh, god, again?" reaction to reboots because the vast majority have been bad compared to the source material (and there have been way too many, like originality flew the coop).I am old so I am tired of seeing second and third sucky reboots appear, often for things that themselves originally sucked too, imo.
Two days later, in between RL demands, I've thought about it a lot... The only thing I really wouldn't mind seeing rebooted is The Prisoner. It was so weird in it's time (which included a lot of other trippy, weird series, and TV series that had some really trippy, weird eps *side-eyes The Avengers: Steed and Mrs. Peel, not MCU* that it's one of the few reboots I'd be interested in seeing. You could do so much more with it now, special effects-wise and technology concepts-wises - but the core idea would totally still work.
Though I think nothing could be as scary as Rover was to me when I was a child. *shudder*
no subject
Date: 2023-06-18 10:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-06-19 02:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-06-19 12:14 am (UTC)WHAT?? Did he want to ensure the absolute undeniable coolness of the Beatles was forever seared into your brain??
no subject
Date: 2023-06-19 03:08 pm (UTC)I ended up breaking and burning my brand new record in our back yard (my little sister helped me) & then stuffed the broken, melted pieces into another house's garbage bins. That's how terrified I was that my father would come home, find it (because there was no place I could hide it that he wouldn't search), and beat me. (My little sister was similarly terrified, and we shared a room and his wrath - that's why she helped.)
See, he despised - loathed - rock n roll music; that's why we were forbidden to listen to it or anything close to it. (We couldn't even watch the show "Happy Days" because the opening sequence started with a jukebox playing a rock n roll song.) And we got hit for anything (or nothing). So it wasn't a stretch to think he'd beat the shit out of me for buying a rock n roll record - the thing he hated most.
Of course, now I realize how sad and insane that is for a child to do. But at the time it felt like I had to do it, because I didn't want to get beaten - and if I didn't get rid of the "evidence," my father was going to destroy the record anyway.
But, you're sort of correct... Instead of enshrining the Beatles (though I still love them, I moved on), all that did was make me hate the only music we were allowed/forced to listen to: classical music. Once I didn't have to listen to it, I didn't listen to classical for years. Decades, really. I rarely do. I know it's not the music's fault... but being force fed anything to the complete exclusion of another thing, tends to make the excluded thing a desirable symbol of the freedom from being force fed... and builds hate & resentment of what you're force fed. A lot of classical music had really bad associations for me for a long time. He pretty much ruined it for me, forever. The little classical music that I do like (mostly opera overtures), I like in spite of him - not because of him.
no subject
Date: 2023-06-19 06:54 pm (UTC)IDK, it sounds his plan didn't work super well if you bought the Peter Gabriel only a few years later! It's so sad that you had to do that or have your own property destroyed, though. It's amazing how a fucked up parent can warp a totally normal thing.
no subject
Date: 2023-06-19 11:58 pm (UTC)Yeah. Sucked. But, no, you didn't dredge anything up. Some things that happened when I was a kid (that my siblings or mom told me about) were so traumatic, I can't remember them at all. But my dad ripping up my Beatles paperback (ironically, they'd already been broken up for years when I bought it!) & me destroying my own first rock n roll record before he could, though, are two things I never forgot. So it's not like they were dredged up from anywhere particularly deep -- just my usual "la la la, blah blah blah - oh, shit, I remember when x happened; man, that SUCKED... la la la, blah blah blah..." internal monologue.
Some people just shouldn't be parents, you know? My father was one of them. In my thirties I learned some stuff about how my father himself grew up - though not from him, from friends of his from "the old neighborhood," who we considered (and called) Uncles. It was grim. I saw how he became the father he was.
Don't get me wrong -- that doesn't excuse his behaviour; tons of men his age, who also lived through The Great Depression and were raised by immigrant parents as if they were still in "the old country," didn't parent like my dad did: they made conscious choices not to raise their kids like they had been raised. He made choices to perpetuate how he was raised.
But I started to see how for many like my father, Life is just a giant game of "pass it around" from generation to generation -- where "it" = "how bad could it be? we lived through it, and we're fine" for a bunch of people who are most definitely not fine at all (and are often alcoholics, addicts, institutionalized, homeless, suicides, teen pregnancies/shotgun weddings to get the hell out of their parents' house -- out of the frying pan into the fire -- all of which happened on that side of the family with most of my cousins).
Now, of course, we know that's called intergenerational trauma and Adverse Childhood Events. Sigh. But you have to be able to stop, look at how it truly was, and realize that it was really bad, in order to end it. If you can't acknowledge or face that it was as bad and brutal as it truly was... you'll just repeat it. As my father and so many of his cousins did.
no subject
Date: 2023-06-20 01:17 pm (UTC)