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| Two fans show off at the Napoleon Dynamite festival, staged annually in Preston, Idaho. Courtesy of Preston Chamber of Commerce |
Lights ... Camera ... Obsession!
Fan conventions aren't just for sci-fi buffs anymore. Films such as 'The Big Lebowski' and 'Napoleon Dynamite' are inspiring off-line communities, too.
from the August 31, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
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"It's a gathering of like-minded people," says Tom Esterline. From his well-used headband and utility vest to the coffee-can-turned-make-shift-urn, Mr. Esterline, veteran of seven Lebowski Fests, looks convincingly like Walter Sobchak (John Goodman). The landscaper says that an appreciation of "laziness" – the defining characteristic of The Dude – is the common trait that bonds Lebowski die-hards.
As participatory fan networks develop, they sometimes take the values espoused in their favorite text and try to use them in the real world. For Stephen Asthon, who performs as "Elwood" in a Blues Brothers tribute band in Tasmania, Australia, his love of the film goes beyond its entertainment value. The plot begins when a nun dispatches Jake and Elwood Blues to raise money for their childhood orphanage. Staying true to that spirit, Mr. Ashton's band performs at least two concerts a year to benefit children's charities.
"It's not just re-creating the music from the movie and that sort of era," says Ashton in his thick Australian accent, which he keeps even when performing as Elwood, a native Chicagoan. "We try to keep the same passion and what the movie was all about."
A segment of J.K. Rowlings fans have taken on an even more ambitious agenda for social change with the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA). "Did you ever wish that Harry Potter was real? Well, it kind of is. After all, both our worlds face 'dark and difficult times,' " says the HPA website.
The fan group draws parallels between issues and events in the book series and major political issues currently facing the real world – genocide, discrimination, global warming, poverty, torture, and more. "[T]he HP Alliance is dedicated to bringing together Harry Potter fans from everywhere to spread love and fight the Dark Arts in the real world," explains the group's website.
Professor Jenkins from MIT argues that the way fans engage a film or text has provided something of a model for how they become involved in politics. "These are very interesting moments where the world of participatory culture is starting to blur over into the world of participatory democracy," says Jenkins.
Back at Lebowski Fest, while fans are decidedly apolitical, many have embraced one of the movie's catch phrases as a way to make it through the turbulent times: The Dude Abides.
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