tired: transformative fandom
wired: prosumer fandom
sometimes I think about how nearly all discourse about the cultural role of fandom and transformative work is a distortionary byproduct of the runaway cultual enclosure effected by the modern IP regime and has no actual relevance outside this topic that it resists engaging with directly and then I get sad
This seems…overbroad.
1) A “sane”-but-not-radically-liberal IP regime would involve usage of new works still being restricted, and most active fandoms actually do center on new stuff. It’s true that we wouldn’t be doing this weird thing where resurrecting old successful IPs (superhero comics, LotR, Star Wars, etc.) was the surest road to a smash-hit “new” IP, and that would have reasonably big effects in the relevant culture, but seems like a different sort of issue.
2) I suspect that, even without IP restrictions, the concept of canon would develop spontaneously in modern fandoms. It’s really hard to be able to communicate meaningfully with kindred spirits about the awesomeness of Harry Potter if there’s no real way to agree on who Harry Potter is. And once you have a canon, you have the canon/fanwork distinction, and we’re off to the races.