By Mickey Jhonny
I visited a midnight showing of the Wizard of Oz with friends during my misspent teenage years. Callow youth that we were, I expect we might have been under the influence of some controlled substance. That's all a bit vague. What is crystal clear, though, is the memory of sitting in the theater, watching this movie I'd seen so many times previously -- watching as it unfolded, yet again.
However, this viewing of the movie was strangely different from all those childhood occasions. I knew the munchkins and witches and all their stories and was aware of them playing out their parts in the foreground. My interest though was completely preoccupied with the background. There were these completely cheesy, painted studio backgrounds of distant mountains. And I couldn't take my eyes off of them. I knew all about the Emerald City and the Yellow Brick Road. What I wanted to know was what the heck was over those mountains.
This we may say is the inspiration for that experience known as fanfiction. It is a DIY art through which fans tell their own story within the larger framework of the world created by an established work of art and entertainment. This is nothing new; it's been going on for ages. In the sixties though it did become something of a subcultural phenomenon. Both The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Star Trek became the sources for all kinds of creative fanfiction efforts. They reimagined the stories in ways that were beyond the scope, inclination or legal ability of the original show: Klingons could conquer the universe or Kirk and Spock could be gay lovers. This was indeed boldly going where no staff writer had gone before.
Originally the fiction was produced in fanzines, which were mimeographed and stapled collections mailed out to subscribers within a narrow clique of aficionados and conference attendees. The rise of the Internet and particularly the World Wide Web in the early 90s changed all that and has allowed for a great blossoming of fanfiction of all kinds. In recent years, the proliferation of a vast inventory of video material available to be manipulated, edited and reinterpreted has taken fanfiction away from the written word into the YouTube editing room of any fan's bedroom. What remains consistent through it all though is the desire to see what lay beyond those distant mountains - to speak metaphorically.
The shows upon which the fan creators based their efforts always left passages unexplored. There were rooms never seen, alleys next entered, action never taken, hopes never spoken. The original show can only wind through but a single plot line. In doing so, though, countless other portals to new possibilities are left open, unexplored. It is these that the fanfiction creators explore. In the case of The Walking Dead this has been a pretty fertile undertaking. Fanfiction.net to cite just one case has over two thousand stories within the world of the walkers. And that's just skimming the surface of what is out there.
There are recurring themes in the Walking Dead fanfiction. One of the most popular is to delve more deeply into the background or makeup of one or more of the characters -- to understand better where they come from and where they're coming from (if you follow the distinction). Andrea and Daryl have been popular topics for this kind of writing. Others are more interested in getting beyond those mountains off in the distance. They look to tell a story of people that Rick Grimes and crew may never meet, but who are dealing with the same challenges of this walker infested world. In some cases it seems likely that the creators in fact are transparently putting themselves into this world of the Walking Dead. Pondering how they would rise to its challenges. How would they respond?
There is a great resource here, in the form of The Walking Dead fanfiction, to look more deeply into the possibilities imminent in the various unexplored pathways of the official narrative. Doing that exploration is the mission of a fan base inspired by the world of the TV show that so intrigues them. And, it's just a whole bunch of fun. A question though does come to mind when considering this fascinating world of fanfiction and indeed the general popularity of The Walking Dead.
Maybe the great popularity of The Walking Dead says more about us and our society than seems immediately obvious. If you'd like to know more about that prospect, have a look at another piece we have at Pretty Much Dead Already.
However, this viewing of the movie was strangely different from all those childhood occasions. I knew the munchkins and witches and all their stories and was aware of them playing out their parts in the foreground. My interest though was completely preoccupied with the background. There were these completely cheesy, painted studio backgrounds of distant mountains. And I couldn't take my eyes off of them. I knew all about the Emerald City and the Yellow Brick Road. What I wanted to know was what the heck was over those mountains.
This we may say is the inspiration for that experience known as fanfiction. It is a DIY art through which fans tell their own story within the larger framework of the world created by an established work of art and entertainment. This is nothing new; it's been going on for ages. In the sixties though it did become something of a subcultural phenomenon. Both The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Star Trek became the sources for all kinds of creative fanfiction efforts. They reimagined the stories in ways that were beyond the scope, inclination or legal ability of the original show: Klingons could conquer the universe or Kirk and Spock could be gay lovers. This was indeed boldly going where no staff writer had gone before.
Originally the fiction was produced in fanzines, which were mimeographed and stapled collections mailed out to subscribers within a narrow clique of aficionados and conference attendees. The rise of the Internet and particularly the World Wide Web in the early 90s changed all that and has allowed for a great blossoming of fanfiction of all kinds. In recent years, the proliferation of a vast inventory of video material available to be manipulated, edited and reinterpreted has taken fanfiction away from the written word into the YouTube editing room of any fan's bedroom. What remains consistent through it all though is the desire to see what lay beyond those distant mountains - to speak metaphorically.
The shows upon which the fan creators based their efforts always left passages unexplored. There were rooms never seen, alleys next entered, action never taken, hopes never spoken. The original show can only wind through but a single plot line. In doing so, though, countless other portals to new possibilities are left open, unexplored. It is these that the fanfiction creators explore. In the case of The Walking Dead this has been a pretty fertile undertaking. Fanfiction.net to cite just one case has over two thousand stories within the world of the walkers. And that's just skimming the surface of what is out there.
There are recurring themes in the Walking Dead fanfiction. One of the most popular is to delve more deeply into the background or makeup of one or more of the characters -- to understand better where they come from and where they're coming from (if you follow the distinction). Andrea and Daryl have been popular topics for this kind of writing. Others are more interested in getting beyond those mountains off in the distance. They look to tell a story of people that Rick Grimes and crew may never meet, but who are dealing with the same challenges of this walker infested world. In some cases it seems likely that the creators in fact are transparently putting themselves into this world of the Walking Dead. Pondering how they would rise to its challenges. How would they respond?
There is a great resource here, in the form of The Walking Dead fanfiction, to look more deeply into the possibilities imminent in the various unexplored pathways of the official narrative. Doing that exploration is the mission of a fan base inspired by the world of the TV show that so intrigues them. And, it's just a whole bunch of fun. A question though does come to mind when considering this fascinating world of fanfiction and indeed the general popularity of The Walking Dead.
Maybe the great popularity of The Walking Dead says more about us and our society than seems immediately obvious. If you'd like to know more about that prospect, have a look at another piece we have at Pretty Much Dead Already.
About the Author:
Mickey Jhonny is lead writer at The Walking Dead celebration site Pretty Much Dead Already. See his quirky first installment on the Walking Dead actors .