Filking

 

I am covering this topic and these subjects in part as a follow-up to the discussions that I and others have been having for a couple of years now in the Filk community as part of the Meetup Filkpalooza forums. My goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of the scene and explain some of the differences between the hobby of Filking and more conventional film making communities. I am also breaking some ground as this is the first time I am writing about my fandom and I think I should provide at least a working definition of ‘filk’ before I get started. Hopefully this will not only enlighten those of you who do not understand fandom but give you a handy cheat sheet for my definition of the term in the future.

Fanaticism

One of the first terms I learned about the Filk community was ‘fanaticism’, which was the term used to describe the love many Filk fans had for the music and stories created by their favorite artists and performers. This devotion and loyalty seems to be more prevalent within the Filk scene than in the film making community. Another term used to describe the Filk fandom is ‘elitism’. All of these terms appear to describe the same thing, yet they give different meanings to those using them.

The phrase ‘fanaticism’ is used to describe someone who has devoted years of their life to the love of a single project or performer, and who is unable or unwilling to separate themselves from that project or performer no matter what. By any measure, fandom is a fantastic thing. Fans of a single show or author can enjoy hours of their favorite stories while taking part in various themed activities. Though they can meet up to make conventions and other happenings, fans usually do not engage in an in-depth form of collaboration, with the exception of members of fandom related message boards or related media. This level of cooperation and social interaction between fans is not as prominent within the Filk community. While fans of more mainstream musical or theatrical projects enjoy conferences, conventions, contests, and other events to bring together their friends and fellow fans, the majority of the Filk community is willing to separate their fan-bases in order to enjoy the community without the distraction of a passionate fan. This is also one of the reasons that the community as a whole is less formally organized and managed than the larger musical or theatrical projects of the genre, and it also means that the musical, theatrical, and fandom communities are not as affected by tragedy and other difficult or dangerous situations.

The term ‘elitism’ is a more perceptive and appropriate description for the work of the Filk community. This word describes a difference in outlook, goal, and lifestyle between the different types of people involved in the Filk scene. I would call this type of thinking an ‘artist’, since artists as a general term for a certain group of people are often described in the same way in the professional music world, literature, or theatre. It is the mindset that involves the idea that art and writing are creative endeavors which need to be perfected and tested before they are ‘good enough’ to be presented to the world. Anyone who enjoys their art too much or takes it too seriously will be seen as an amateur. Those who dedicate themselves to their art and pursue perfection will, like an artist, be shunned by others.

From this perspective, the Filk community is much more like a larger traditional musical or theatrical community.

Ultimately, filking is the hobby of the fans, and not the primary goal of the music and other creative media created by the practitioners.

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