Fanzines beget blogs
Fanzines were mimeographed magazines that were circulated by mail among science fiction fans in the days before the internet. They still are, for all I know, although now they're generated by computer printers. I first learned about them in a 1950s issue of Amazing Stories and eagerly sent away 10 or 20 cents to Buck and Juanita Coulson in Indiana, whose Yandro was one of the best and longest-running of them all. Overnight, I was a fan, although not yet a BNF (big name fan). It was a thrill for me to have a LOC (letter of comment) published on such issues as the demise of BEMs (bug-eyed monsters), and soon I was publishing my own fanzine, named Stymie.
Then the university intervened, and I found myself publishing The Spectator (not precisely an original title), a weekly tabloid of arts and politics at the University of Illinois. I had become too busy for fandom, and found it wise to GAFIA (get away from it all). I have always been convinced that the culture of sf fanzines contributed heavily to the formative culture of the early Web, and generated models for web site and blogs. The very tone of the discourse is similar, and like fanzines, the Web took new word coinages, turned them into acronyms, and ran with them. Think about it. Science fiction fans in the decades before the internet were already interested in computers, big-time--first with the supercomputers of science fiction myth, and then with the earliest home-built models. Fans tended to be youngish, male, geeky, obsessed with popular culture, and compelled to circulate their ideas. In the reviews and criticism they ran, they slanted heavily toward expertise in narrow pop fields. The Star Trek phenomenon was predicted by their fascination years earlier with analysis of Captain Video, Superman, X minus One and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, and there were learned discussions about how Tarzan taught himself to read.
I was an eyewitness to one of the formative moments in the connection between computers and science fiction. I wrote earlier about going to a speech in Urbana given by Sir Arthur C. Clarke. He spoke about earth satellites, but the key element is: The speech was in Urbana. Years later, it was with tingles tangling on my spine that I heard HAL 9000 announce that he had been born in the computer lab at the University of Illinois in Urbana. So far as I know, Clarke had never been to Urbana and never returned, but I assume that while he was there he visited Illiac, one of the first big computers, and its gradually-developing successors. When he was writing the "2001" screenplay, the Urbana connection made itself.
That's been my theory. It didn't hold water with Clarke, however. In March of 1997 we held a birthday party for HAL 9000 at the University, called "Cyberfest," which also considered Artificial Intelligence in general. For the climax, we screened "2001" in 70mm, and had a cybercast interview with Sir Arthur via the net from Sri Lanka. He loomed for 20 feet above us, his image and voice dominating the room via a signal carried by one of the satellites he wrote so much about. Of course I asked him about the Urbana connection but alas he did not remember giving a speech in Urbana and doubted it had much to do with the movie.
That took the wind out of my sails. So did a message from Stanley Kubrick. Since HAL clearly says in the movie that he was born in 1992, we came up with the 1997 date because that's HAL's birthday in Clarke's novel. The 1992 date had passed largely ignored, and we were determined not to miss our second chance to gather a roomful of geeks singing him "Happy Birthday."
Him? She? It? "You'll have to ask HAL," Sir Arthur said. What Kubrick said was, if we didn't have a birthday for HAL in 1992, it was too late to have one now. How did the birthday get moved five years between book and movie? Maybe Clarke could see that progress on the A.I. front was moving more slowly than he anticipated. So was progress in general. As a comment to my Clarke item on this blog noted, Clarke often said he would be aboard the first passenger shuttle to the Moon. That date has been pushed >i< way >/i< back.
There are two heirs to Cyberfest, however. It inspired Ebertfest the following year. And the University is now the home of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. It houses "the Cave," a room whose walls, floor and ceiling are created by virtual reality. You can float through outer space. Clarke could have walked on the Moon there. I wish he had.
Comments
I believe your theory as to the Urbana connection is still quite likely correct, despite Mr. Clarke's denials. As a writer of stories and songs, I know I'm often guilty of forgetting the inspiration behind many of my themes; I need to keep a separate journal just to keep track of those!
And I know I'm late to the party, but on a more personal note I just want to say how delighted I am that you've started this journal, Roger. Now, instead of waking up to you on my TV on Sunday morning, I get to enjoy a cup of coffee whilst reading your latest entries on the web. Same pleasure, different medium. You've come full circle here - still a fanzine writer after all these years, albeit of a different sort.
You know, I really wish more of my heroes had blogs - next time you're in communication with Tim Robbins, please tell him to start one!
Posted by: JJ | May 4, 2008 10:23 AM
Fanzines were before my time, but I agree with your central thesis. The energy of these "marginal" communities devoted to esoteric topics drove the popularity of CompuServe, IRC, dial-up bulletin board services (BBS), listservs, USENET, today's ubiquitous discussion forums, and increasingly, comment streams on blogs like this.
More amazingly, it is now possible for enthusiasts to connect with giants in their fields of interest. What a privilege it is to be able to read these intimate musings on your journal and respond!
Posted by: StevenC | May 4, 2008 02:19 PM
Steven C...
I believe Roger was on the internet and part of those "marginal" communities on Compuserve. I seem to remember excitedly finding out he had reviews posted there, and he might have possibly hosted chats back then, although I'm not sure on that last part. I am not surprised to hear he has has been seeking others who shared his interests through fanzines.
Fanzines are moving into podcasts. Lost, Battlestar Galactica, and Heros are the ones people tend to flock to now. The wealth of podcasts dedicated to Disney is just stunning. I've "met" quite a few internet friends though them.
For a long time now there have been rumors that Cave technology would be coming to theme parks. We truly are not too far from holodecks.
EBERT RESPONDS: Yes, I had a section of the ShowBiz Forum in the early 1980s
Posted by: Eric L | May 4, 2008 03:17 PM
Fanzines have been a part of science fiction for a long time now, and even with the changes in technology they seem to remain. I, like you, had my own little fanzine for a short time as well as participating in two APAs (amateur press associations), where I would send my contributions to the editor and they'd be all compiled together.
I also remember quite well areas on GEnie, CompuServe and Delphi where fans and professionals alike would hang out in the science fiction community. And was it only 10 years ago when J. Michael Straczynsky was carrying on a running conversation with his audience while being in the middle of producing Babylon 5 on the Internet?
Today's new fans have it a little easier, with blogs, Usenet, and social areas online. Now a fan can write an observation and receive feedback almost immediately instead of having to wait weeks for the mail. And while the fun of meeting in person still exists at conventions (where I once heard Juanita Coulson singing filksongs), it seems the convention is slowly moving into virtual space. A fan can go onto a community area like Second Life, dress up as an avatar of a Lensman, Star Wars, or some anime character and interact with others with similar tastes.
Still, there was something to be said about finding that big manilla envelope in the mailbox from Los Angeles or Toronto and read what other fellow fans had to say about your last column.
EBERT RESPONDS: I know you speak from truth because you know Juanita called them "filksongs."
Posted by: Raymond Lang | May 4, 2008 04:38 PM
Zines and filking haven't died in their original forms, but fandom has branched out into not just blogs and Usenet but also LiveJournal (especially popular among female fen), mailing lists, podcasts, and Facebook.
Sometimes it seems as if fandom is everywhere.
Posted by: Charlene | May 4, 2008 09:25 PM
Mr. Ebert, nice to see you are blogging. Who knew, we are both Mac fans and SF fans. I have my own blog that no one reads, but hey, maybe it will happen sooner rather than later. I am a member of the LASFS (Los Angeles Science Fiction Society) and have participated in APAs, 'zines and clubs since my teens. Hope you get better soon and maybe I will have something more profound to write when the shock of finding that my favorite critic's voice has not been stilled.
Posted by: Steve Smyth | May 5, 2008 01:07 AM
As a new blogger who only started reading them in December 2007 — thanks to the election — I hadn't thought much about the cultural predecessors. Your theory is very interesting. I'd add, as a resident of the DC area, that the DIY music scene of the late 70s, 80s and early 90s with its own widely read zines might also have played a role. As late as the 90s, groups like RiotGrrrl — counting bands and fans as it's unofficial members — cranked out fanzines for a cause in living rooms of group houses and in kids' bedrooms around the country. I missed that era of DIY publication, but I enjoy the idea of democratized design and journalism. It's good to know that those kids and young adults were likely inspired by the sf fanzines that came before. As with your insight into film, this insight is invaluable.
Posted by: Garrett C | May 5, 2008 12:43 PM
Has there ever been a definitive or at least "attempted definitive" history of the zine ever written?
That history probably moved along the lines of sci-fi zines begat comic book zines begat music zines begat the massive zine underground of the '80s and '90s. And zines TOTALLY moved online. I miss those zine days of pouring over each new issue of "Factsheet 5" to see what new weirdness there was to buy through the mail.
P.S. I saw a 70mm print of "2001" about a month ago at the American Cinematheque. Man, that's the best way to experience that film.
Posted by: badMike | May 5, 2008 06:54 PM
Heck, 'zines are still everywhere. They branched from sf fandom into music, politics, personal writings. There are 'zine conventions and distros throughout the US and in many other countries. Long live diy print media!
Posted by: Hank | May 6, 2008 02:48 PM
I'm working on developing a similar argument in the book I'm currently writing for Rutgers UP (it'll be out about a year from now). There is definitely a clear line from fanzines to blogs, and even the language of the blogosphere, with its acronyms and jargon, recall the subcultures associated with 'zines.
And as someone who taught (very briefly) at the University of Illinois, I'm very intrigued by the HAL-Urbana connection. That's just cool.
Posted by: Chuck | May 8, 2008 04:30 PM
I agree with what other commentators have said. Podcasts are quickly becoming the new blog, zine, etc. They are generally a lot more intimate than blogs as most of my best zine memories were.
Posted by: Erin | May 8, 2008 11:00 PM
I was living in the Pennsylvania Avenue Residence Halls as a freshman at U of I in 1992.
"Did you know today's HAL 9000's birthday? And he was born in Urbana?" a guy from down the hall asked.
"No and yes," I answered.
"That's freaking cool," he said. I agreed.
That was the sum total of HAL's 1992 birthday celebration in Urbana. Of course, online activity at that time pretty much consisted of two engineering students inter-relay chatting with each other while sitting 10 feet apart. Man, I wish I was there for Cyberfest.
Posted by: Brent | May 9, 2008 11:02 AM
Interesting article, but before it becomes accepted historical fact, can I just take you up on "Fans tended to be youngish, male, geeky, obsessed with popular culture..." Male??? Not the ones writing and circulating fanfiction zines! There's a whole not-quite-separate but largely female subculture of fanfic which started in the zines but is now all over the net writing and critiquing stories. I know you know that, but in a hundred years time I don't want some historian pontificating that the internet was largely youngish and male.
Posted by: Chris Venn | May 10, 2008 01:37 AM
I don't think there was a direct link between fanzines and the origin of blogs, but one of the first two large scale email mailing lists was SF-LOVERS, which started on the ARPANet (the direct precursor to the Internet) around 1977. It was recognized with a special award at the 1989 Worldcon for being the starting point of online fandom.
And I had the honor of presenting the Best Fan Writer Hugo last year at Worldcon in Yokohama. My remarks then, as follow, did note how fan writing has transited in large part to blogs and the like, although there still are hardcopy fanzines out there;
"The writer Samuel Johnson once said "No man but a blockhead ever wrote but for money". The Best Fan Writer Hugo honors our most talented blockheads.
While the first Best Fan Writer Hugo was awarded only 40 years ago, science fiction fan writing began in the 1930s when jetpacks, flying cars, and lunar bases were predicted to be commonplace in the early 21st century. Today, none of those is commonplace...except for fan writing, now often in the form of blogs about what one has read, seen, or been to, events in one's life, cartoons, and, of course, silly captions on cat pictures.
Personally, compared to the cat pictures and captions, I'd prefer a jetpack...excuse me, I meant to say "I can haz jetpack?".
As for the rest, however, Samuel Johnson also said, "The only end of writing is to enable the readers better to enjoy life, or better to endure it". Our distinguished blockheads who last year best helped us do that are the nominees for the 2007 Best Fan Writer Hugo:"
Posted by: Tom Galloway | May 11, 2008 01:51 PM