I actually used to assume that everyone in the world had seen the LotR movies. But then I met a woman who hadn't seen the movies in the bathroom after a showing of Return of the King; she complained to me that it didn't make a lot of sense - what was the thing with the ring? why didn't the king end up with the blonde girl? I asked her how long it had been since she'd seen Fellowship and Two Towers, and she said she never had. She'd just assumed she'd be able to pick it up from the third one. And she hadn't read the books, either.
That really reformed my worldview, you know? Now I assume that any fandom could be totally unfamiliar to someone out there. And so, yes, all my links in FIHL will be chosen for their ability to lure in those unfamiliar with the canon. What we like to call fresh meat.
(For a while, I wanted to believe that there was no one like that woman I met in the bathroom actually in the fandom. Then I started reading stories with author disclaimers that said things like "I've never read the books but I just got back from seeing Felowship [sic] of Rings [sic] and OMG I had to write sumthin [sic] because Leggolas [sic] is so HOTTTTTTT [sic sic sic]!" And I realized that there was no depth so low that no one could sink to it. So, while I would like to believe that the minimum requirement for entry into the LotR fandom is familiarity with the movies, and that most fans have also read at least the basic books, I cannot. Sorrow. But I'm still assuming there's no one like that woman reading this blog. No, LotR newbies in this blog will be people who didn't see the movies because they were stuck in the Yukon while the movies were out, and didn't read the books because they prefer fiction written before 1900.)
no subject
That really reformed my worldview, you know? Now I assume that any fandom could be totally unfamiliar to someone out there. And so, yes, all my links in FIHL will be chosen for their ability to lure in those unfamiliar with the canon. What we like to call fresh meat.
(For a while, I wanted to believe that there was no one like that woman I met in the bathroom actually in the fandom. Then I started reading stories with author disclaimers that said things like "I've never read the books but I just got back from seeing Felowship [sic] of Rings [sic] and OMG I had to write sumthin [sic] because Leggolas [sic] is so HOTTTTTTT [sic sic sic]!" And I realized that there was no depth so low that no one could sink to it. So, while I would like to believe that the minimum requirement for entry into the LotR fandom is familiarity with the movies, and that most fans have also read at least the basic books, I cannot. Sorrow. But I'm still assuming there's no one like that woman reading this blog. No, LotR newbies in this blog will be people who didn't see the movies because they were stuck in the Yukon while the movies were out, and didn't read the books because they prefer fiction written before 1900.)