Media
Parisot, D. Galaxy Quest. Hollywood Calif.: DreamWorks Pictures, 1999. (Available via NYU Stream)
Geek of the Week
- Alison
- Community Season 4 Episode 3: “Conventions of Space and Time” (Available through NYU Stream)
- A group of misfits come together at Greendale Community College to expand their knowledge and discover themselves. Abed, one of the members of the Greendale study group, is obsessed with a fictional science fiction series called Inspector SpaceTime (this constructed show is a play on the long-running sci-fi series Doctor Who, which has aired on the BBC for over forty seasons).
- “Fantastic Voyage,” Emily Nussbaum. The New Yorker, June 4 & 11 2012 .
- Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci , “Once You’re a Jedi You’re a Jedi All the Way,” in Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd, ed. Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci (New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2010). (Pages 1-3 on This Site)
- Adam Wescott, “How A Piece Of Fan Fiction Became A Full-Fledged Star Trek Movie,” Slashfilm, March 17, 2022.
- Community Season 4 Episode 3: “Conventions of Space and Time” (Available through NYU Stream)
Theory and Commentary
Geraghty, Lincoln. 2005. “Creating and Comparing Myth in Twentieth-Century Science Fiction: Star Wars and Star Trek.” Literature/Film Quarterly.
Jenkins, Henry. 2006. Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture. New York: NYU Press.
- Excerpts from “Matt Hills Interviews Henry Jenkins” (9-36)
- Star Trek Rerun, Rewritten: Fan Writing as Textual Poaching (37-60)
- “Out of the Closet and into the Universe”: Queers and Star Trek (89-112)
1) What/who is the target audience for Science Fiction today?
2) How is fan-fiction accepted in the sci-fi world?
3) How do you think Sci-Fi culture will change in the future?
1. Is a fan of a piece of media able to analyze it objectively?
2. Is love of a piece of media enough to bring people together who have nothing else in common?
3. What responsibility do the actors and creators of cult classic shows have to engage with their fans?
1. How to deal with copyright issues of fanfictions?
2. Is a sense of belonging the major reason why people enjoy fan communities?
3. How to deal with issues of responsibilities of fanfictions when the original sci-fi work is misused? For instance, some works may be adapted to promote racism.
1. As a fanfiction writer for years, I feel that, at least in mainland China, writing fanfiction and making one’s favorite characters into a CP (a couple with a love relationship) is a form of expressing the youth group’s own culture, a subversion and reorganization of the established textual order. It is not what the text itself matters most, but the expression of one’s emotions being the main reason for satisfaction. I wonder if science fiction and fanfiction are similar in this respect, that is, to break the inherent order, to create a new order, and to solve the problems writers care about.
2. Fanfiction originated in the US and Europe, and I wonder if fanfiction is still the mainstream female subculture in the US and Europe today? Since this is the case in mainland China, I think this is because of whether or not homosexuality is legalized?
3. In what way can sci-fi be called a “culture”?
1. Scifi and Cults; discuss.
2. Has there ever been a fanfiction work that superseeded the “original”
3. How can subculture/fan culture be “authentic”?
1. Fanfiction often got a poor rep when I was younger, but is now becoming more mainstream. In my opinion this is a good thing because it allows community access towards achieving popularity as a writer. What do you think the future of fanfiction holds?
2. Doctor Who is often one of the first science fiction shows that young people get into as a gateway to a love of science fiction. What do you think it is about Doctor Who that draws so many people into its storytelling?
3. Do you think a hierarchy exists in “acceptably consumed” fanfiction just like how a hierarchy exists in the kind of literature that makes one look intelligent if they read it vs something like reading YA/romance?
1. Why are fan-fictions mostly written by females? what does it say about the original works of science-fictions?
2. What is the difference between religious cults and some of the extreme contemporary sci-fi cults? Is science-fiction becoming another religion?
3. Is the ability of sci-fi fan-fiction of providing the consumer with endless possibilities a good thing ?
1. Is Sigourney Weaver’s character really a parody or is she following the same patterns? Or if she is following the same patterns, what makes her a parody?
2. Why is breaking the fourth wall so popular in general?
3. Should one give the audience what they want or what they need? How can one tell what an audience need? Is the current system efficient at gaging what an audience needs or is it just feeding them what makes the most money? Or is general success a good indicator of quality?
1. How does time and space affect the fandom of a cult favorite series?
2. Who has ownership over a series or concept once fandom takes over?
3. Many SciFi narratives strike the perfect balance between historical realism and myth- What tools do fans use to rewrite narrative? And how far off balance can a SciFi narrative be pushed before it loses effect?