Issue 9 - Yipe!

ate mediaeval versions of thekataginu so we could go picnicwith her at them occasionally.I watch a lot less anime thesedays, but I see plenty of amazingJapanese pop culture-inspiredcostumes and cosplayon display at conventions.Perhaps it is time to go reviewTenchi Muyo! and buildthat Jurai court costume…CYouDamnKidsBeing a bitterand half-drunkentirade againstbitter fandomby Jason Schachat“The Graying of Fandom.”This is a term we’ve tossedaround for a while, now. Itseems like every day sees itused more and more. You goto a major science fiction convention,and the majority ofattendees are middle aged orbetter. Younger fans are usuallythe demented offspring ofsaid attendees (a traditionaltruism) and to a greater degreethan ever before.Any time you have an age gapof twenty years at a con, youknow you’re not reaching outto every generation.But I think this gets to myproblem with the argumentsthat fandom is getting olderand no new fans have risenfrom the ashes of prior generations.I realize that I, myself,can be considered a youngerfan, but this seems like theworst possible hyperbole todescribe the present situation.The problem isn’t that fandom’sgetting old. The problemis that old fandom has rejectedyoung fandom.A bold statement, true, butlet’s stand firmly behind itbefore riddling it with bullets.Young fans are out there.There are far more of themthan ‘the rest of us’. The problemisn’t that they don’t haveany interest in science fictionand fantasy. The problem isfandom’s shown little interest