My OperaFandom and Me. But mainly Amanda Tapping.
Friday, March 1, 2013 8:40:43 AM
Not many people understand fandom. I tried explaining it to my mum once. As soon as I mentioned 'fan' she cringed and looked at me sideways like I was the doormat capitalist media consumer whore she assumed I must have become. Trust me. I know how she thinks, even if she doesn't use words.
But at least she gave me a chance to explain it, which was a relief. I needed the one family member I possessed, the most sacred person in my life, to just listen and accept what it was that sent me soaring up to the stars above.
Many people have said many things about geeks, nerds, scifi fans,about themselves in these stereotypes, about what it means to have ones life completely turned around by the one person, or TV show, or whatever it was that makes them tick. Compared to so many downtrodden brothers and sisters, I never suffered from an eating disorder, or depression. Nor am I a lesbian, socially recluse, or a die-hard Trekkie whose sole life mission is to recreate fan-made episodes of the entire series. I'm just me. Single child of a passionate, obstinate (a trait we share), socialist activist, with whom I spent the first 8 years of my life traveling between spiritual retreats, Trade Union picket lines, dance and music lessons... and India. Those first eight years were the foundations of who I am now. A free thinker, book lover, performing artist, brought up in poverty and thankful for it.
So why fandom? What compelled me to convert to the dark side, the subculture that is sadly misunderstood and stereotyped by anyone who isn't a member? Face it. We didn't have a TV when I was growing up. Except when we lived at a Backpacker's motel for a year, half of which I spent watching the Sound of Music over and over as many times as mummy would let me. Picked on through high school for my passionate goals, unshaven legs and torn, second hand clothes, it wasn't until I ended up at Dance School in NZ, with my first boyfriend at the age of 20, that I watched my first science fiction. He was the one who introduced me to Stargate, and I was instantly hooked. Maybe that's why, after graduation, I married him. In those first three years before we married, I must have watched the series at least six times. But I didn't dive into the fandom ocean until, one day, I found amandatapping.com.
Uh oh.
I don't know what it was. Struck dumb in awe of this woman, this soldier, this actress who portrayed such unapologetic strength, such conviction in her own skills and knowledge, and such graceful femininity, I had come in search of more information on this mysterious blonde.
Instead, I unearthed an entire world, an entire village of people like and unlike myself. I discovered people who loved Amanda with a passion and enthusiasm that enveloped me warmly. I found (FINALLY) women, men, boys, girls, grandmothers, fathers, daughters, teenagers, students, nurses, lawyers, translators, teachers, paramedics, artists, Christians, Muslims, Roman Catholics, atheists, Buddhists, people from every corner of this earth, peacefully and lovingly cohabiting under the same URL. I found the family I didn't know I had missed. I found my brothers and sisters, REAL people, who were as passionate, as enthusiastic, as bat-shit crazy about the right kind of idea. The kind of idea that can change the world for centuries. The kind of idea that saves millions, inspires hope, forges love, and flings light into the darkest niches of our world. This incredible idea was love. Simple. Not the word, but the endless possibilities, the constant companionship and serenity that this word represents.
It's hard to believe that the innocent job of one woman can inspire so many. Hard, because it's not entirely true. A woman's work does not define who that woman is. No, SHE, only she, can shape her place in our hearts. It's not her paycheque that determines her place, it is the very soul, the every day thoughts and actions, the great passions and the proof of her fabric in the way she treats her fellow beings. It is the weight of her heart that she puts behind her every word, it is the shine of love and respect in her eyes, the selfless grace and crazy childlike goofiness. It's the embarrassed chipmunk laughter, the hysterical snorts, the twisted faces and silly jokes. It's the heartfelt smile plastered across her face, the beautiful serenity, the confident humility of a woman who gratefully accepts the love rippling around her, and returns it from the bottom of her soul.
It's very hard to find a handful of women in the written history of the world who have inspired such devotion. Mother Teresa was one of them. Call me biased, but I don't think a collection of all the life-walks in the world have ever united under one banner, for one idea, for one woman.
Amanda Tapping.
Don't get me wrong. We are not mindless neanderthals. We are not gullible pushovers. We're not drunk either (mostly). We are each free thinkers, with our own beliefs, and our own lives. Neither are we stargazers of Hollywood, so blinded by the dazzling diamonds that we can't see Amanda for who she really is.
The truth is, that we CAN see Amanda for who she truly is. We are intelligent and savvy people, capable of so much love and so much change, and Amanda has earned her place in our hearts.
For me, it isn't that she completely changed my life path. I haven't come back from my deathbed or any such miracle. It is the little things...like recapturing her smile, or the power of her words. It is remembering that in brief moments of loneliness or frustration, I always have a family to turn to. It is also remembering that in the midst of despairing for the plight of cruel humanity, there are so many possibilites, so many paths to take, so many children who will inherit our passions and our love.
This is what Amanda does. Every day we are reminded what an incredibly beautiful person she is, through no fault of her own. It is her every day actions that motivate our every day choices. It is her love that inspires us to give more of it, and it is her passion that unites us as brothers and sisters of all ages and all walks.
I don't know about you, but I couldn't custom order a better family. For All Eternity...
But at least she gave me a chance to explain it, which was a relief. I needed the one family member I possessed, the most sacred person in my life, to just listen and accept what it was that sent me soaring up to the stars above.
Many people have said many things about geeks, nerds, scifi fans,about themselves in these stereotypes, about what it means to have ones life completely turned around by the one person, or TV show, or whatever it was that makes them tick. Compared to so many downtrodden brothers and sisters, I never suffered from an eating disorder, or depression. Nor am I a lesbian, socially recluse, or a die-hard Trekkie whose sole life mission is to recreate fan-made episodes of the entire series. I'm just me. Single child of a passionate, obstinate (a trait we share), socialist activist, with whom I spent the first 8 years of my life traveling between spiritual retreats, Trade Union picket lines, dance and music lessons... and India. Those first eight years were the foundations of who I am now. A free thinker, book lover, performing artist, brought up in poverty and thankful for it.
So why fandom? What compelled me to convert to the dark side, the subculture that is sadly misunderstood and stereotyped by anyone who isn't a member? Face it. We didn't have a TV when I was growing up. Except when we lived at a Backpacker's motel for a year, half of which I spent watching the Sound of Music over and over as many times as mummy would let me. Picked on through high school for my passionate goals, unshaven legs and torn, second hand clothes, it wasn't until I ended up at Dance School in NZ, with my first boyfriend at the age of 20, that I watched my first science fiction. He was the one who introduced me to Stargate, and I was instantly hooked. Maybe that's why, after graduation, I married him. In those first three years before we married, I must have watched the series at least six times. But I didn't dive into the fandom ocean until, one day, I found amandatapping.com.
Uh oh.
I don't know what it was. Struck dumb in awe of this woman, this soldier, this actress who portrayed such unapologetic strength, such conviction in her own skills and knowledge, and such graceful femininity, I had come in search of more information on this mysterious blonde.
Instead, I unearthed an entire world, an entire village of people like and unlike myself. I discovered people who loved Amanda with a passion and enthusiasm that enveloped me warmly. I found (FINALLY) women, men, boys, girls, grandmothers, fathers, daughters, teenagers, students, nurses, lawyers, translators, teachers, paramedics, artists, Christians, Muslims, Roman Catholics, atheists, Buddhists, people from every corner of this earth, peacefully and lovingly cohabiting under the same URL. I found the family I didn't know I had missed. I found my brothers and sisters, REAL people, who were as passionate, as enthusiastic, as bat-shit crazy about the right kind of idea. The kind of idea that can change the world for centuries. The kind of idea that saves millions, inspires hope, forges love, and flings light into the darkest niches of our world. This incredible idea was love. Simple. Not the word, but the endless possibilities, the constant companionship and serenity that this word represents.
It's hard to believe that the innocent job of one woman can inspire so many. Hard, because it's not entirely true. A woman's work does not define who that woman is. No, SHE, only she, can shape her place in our hearts. It's not her paycheque that determines her place, it is the very soul, the every day thoughts and actions, the great passions and the proof of her fabric in the way she treats her fellow beings. It is the weight of her heart that she puts behind her every word, it is the shine of love and respect in her eyes, the selfless grace and crazy childlike goofiness. It's the embarrassed chipmunk laughter, the hysterical snorts, the twisted faces and silly jokes. It's the heartfelt smile plastered across her face, the beautiful serenity, the confident humility of a woman who gratefully accepts the love rippling around her, and returns it from the bottom of her soul.
It's very hard to find a handful of women in the written history of the world who have inspired such devotion. Mother Teresa was one of them. Call me biased, but I don't think a collection of all the life-walks in the world have ever united under one banner, for one idea, for one woman.
Amanda Tapping.
Don't get me wrong. We are not mindless neanderthals. We are not gullible pushovers. We're not drunk either (mostly). We are each free thinkers, with our own beliefs, and our own lives. Neither are we stargazers of Hollywood, so blinded by the dazzling diamonds that we can't see Amanda for who she really is.
The truth is, that we CAN see Amanda for who she truly is. We are intelligent and savvy people, capable of so much love and so much change, and Amanda has earned her place in our hearts.
For me, it isn't that she completely changed my life path. I haven't come back from my deathbed or any such miracle. It is the little things...like recapturing her smile, or the power of her words. It is remembering that in brief moments of loneliness or frustration, I always have a family to turn to. It is also remembering that in the midst of despairing for the plight of cruel humanity, there are so many possibilites, so many paths to take, so many children who will inherit our passions and our love.
This is what Amanda does. Every day we are reminded what an incredibly beautiful person she is, through no fault of her own. It is her every day actions that motivate our every day choices. It is her love that inspires us to give more of it, and it is her passion that unites us as brothers and sisters of all ages and all walks.
I don't know about you, but I couldn't custom order a better family. For All Eternity...
michellemcg # Friday, March 1, 2013 10:21:20 PM
I've ALWAYS claimed that Amanda Tapping is being EXTRAORDINARY by being this ordinary!
Thank you for putting into words, what many of us feel & think!
(@michellemcg - Twitter)