Ed Smith, John D. Berry, and Dan Steffan, to name some of the luminaries), than the Brooklyn bunch. Fan for fan, few groups rival Falls Church for sheer talent.
If Terry Carr was our Burbee, then surely Ted White inherited the mantle of Francis Towner Laney. Ted's Trufannishness is incontestable, but he also shares FTL's strong streak of Communicationism. Despite many examples of Ted's satiric humor and vorpal character studies, he is better known for fearless articulation of his view of fandom. He is the greatest Insurgent theoretician, and his essays and reviews are a compelling statement of Insurgent devotion to fandom's ideals and standards.
Despite occasional inter-club friction, together these two groups re-asserted fannishness. Brooklyn and Falls Church led fanzine fandom away from discussionzines. Yet the Communicationist impulse persisted as a bias toward the combativeness of Insurgentism versus the relative passivity of Trufannishness.
Fanzines on Fire
Insurgentish fanzines like Pong (edited by Ted White and Dan Steffan) took the lead when fanzine fandom from its late-1970s down turn. Plain-speaking came into vogue as never before with ensmalled genzines and perzines.
No philosophy caused Topic A/Bergeron Wars. Insurgentism and Communicationism may have help create a climate in which fans felt free to vent their opinions and ire without restraint,
This battle, which consumed the active core of fanzine fandom, arose primarily from lifestyle collision and personal animosity, not philosophical debate.
TAFF War One, an offshoot of the original fracas, had more basis in clashing theories than the other components of the mid-1980s mess. The strongest opponents of Martha Beck's candidacy professed no personal dislike. They wanted to maintain what they felt were the traditional TAFF criteria. Most Beck backers championed fannish egalitarianism. Of course, long-standing antipathy between the fanzine and con-running segments of fandom and hard feelings created by Topic A had a lot to do with TAFF War One, too. |
The Re-Enchantment
When Topic A smoldered to an exhausted cease-fire, many survivors took a step back from fandom. The philosophies that emphasized its value all suffered.
Insurgentism was out, because no one wanted to fight, Fans had no energy to do the writing and publishing or the stomach for the hostility.
Communicationism wasn't very popular, either. Years of incendiary arguments cooled many fans' ardor for extended debate. Besides, fanzine discussions need publishing continuity, and there weren't many good, frequent fanzines in the 1986-1990 period.
Trufannishness was in decline. Who could trust concepts like the brotherhood of fandom with the bloodshed so fresh in memory? (Answer: Joyce and Arnie Katz, who had been out of fandom during the fanwar, and British fans, who stayed somewhat aloof from the worst of the fighting.)
That left Trufannishness. The return to activity of Walt Willis, Chuch Harris, and Viną Clarke provided an initial punch. Idea and Folly showed there were kindred souls in American fandom, too. Assured, however temporarily, of a pleasant experience, a few others began writing and publishing fanzines, too. The renaissance of the early 90s was a tide of familial feelings and essentially innocuous subject matter.
A Matter of Perspective
I've learned one lesson from greater fanhistorians: it's dangerous to analyze too close to the present. Historical analysis demands perspective, and perspective requires time.
I hope other fans will critique the Philosophical Theory of Fandom and find other ways to apply it to our hobby's story. An examination of the mid-1990s, TAFF War Two and the rest of the current scene may be best postponed to after the millennium.
-- Arnie Katz |
