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Tag: watership down

How furries resist a commercialized fandom (Part 3)

by Patch O'Furr

Furry fandom often has DIY ethics (intentional or not). That can mean nonprofit volunteer-led events, and directly supporting each other’s art instead of just consuming corporate products. A Daily Beast reporter asked about it and I shared lots of info that didn’t all make the news — so here’s a followup in 3 parts.

Part 1 looked at the roots of fandom, with fans being “fans of each other”. Stigma and undermining showed how the fandom didn’t just follow the path of least resistance, it broke out under pressure. A sense of outsiderness and self determination has stayed ever since.

Part 2 looked at conventions making a platform for industry and expression that keeps the group untamed. Relations with the media got better while making a certain fandom identity (instead of letting others make it). It can even connect to deeper identity of members, because it lets them be who they want to be.

Furries care about fandom identity with a kind of tribalism. When members say they’re prone to “furry drama,” it can come from conflict about who defines it or benefits from it. That’s how The Daily Beast noticed conflict about a luxury “designer fursuit” brand, which usually wouldn’t matter to anyone except furries.

I told the reporter: “I think it really struck a nerve. It really got to the root of this possessiveness that the subculture has about itself and what it built for itself.”

It’s a case for looking at resistance to commercialism. Backlash at the brand was provoked by tone-deaf marketing, where bringing a mainstream approach wasn’t workable with art based on unique personal identity. Also, luxury brands don’t get made from scratch when others go back 100 years. (Fans in-the-know could compare this with furry brand Hyena Agenda, whose stuff speaks for itself without rubbing the wrong way against a certain fandom identity.)

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How furries resist a commercialized fandom (Part 1)

by Patch O'Furr

Furry fandom often has DIY ethics (intentional or not). That can mean nonprofit volunteer-led events, and directly supporting each other’s art instead of just consuming corporate products. A Daily Beast reporter asked about it and I shared lots of info that didn’t all make the news — so here’s a followup in 3 parts.

Why is commercialism a topic for an often disparaged subculture? Compare furry fandom today to its roots. Times change, and hindsight can help to see why. Let’s look at how industry and media influenced the American roots in the 1970’s, how it grew, and changes that come with bigger scale than ever.

The 1970’s could be a hungry time for fans with a taste for comics and animation of the 1940’s-50’s Golden Age. As it faded, funny-animal comics died off while the business suffered under the Comics Code. In movies, the fall of the studio system contributed to a dark age of animation. Hanna-Barbera reigned on TV with cheap formulaic product. Disney’s feature studio almost went bankrupt with barely any new artists hired for a generation. Robin Hood (1973) spread the furry virus before it had a name, but the movie wasn’t well loved by the studio. Then a new wave of artists (such as Tim Burton and Don Bluth) came out of Disney while it had a rebirth, peaking with The Lion King (1994), which launched a thousand furry projects. But by the early 90’s the furry fandom was already fully fledged to take off on its own. It happened under the influence of the ups and downs of industry, but also in spite of it.

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Animation remakes: Watership Down, NIMH, DuckTales, Dumbo, more. Newsdump (3/11/15)

by Patch O'Furr

Headlines, links and little stories to make your tail wag.  Tips are always welcome. 

The Tufts Daily goes to a furry convention.

Anthro New England gets a good college news piece.  My Newsdump gathers links as news happens, but it’s interesting there’s no other media articles this time!

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Comics/animation: “who likes remakes?”

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I hope you like remakes, because it seems there’s no stopping the onslaught…

New images for Disney’s Zootopia.

i09 shares an update from what may be the new furriest movie ever, scheduled for 2016.  “Taken from the Disney Facebook page, these new Zootopia images reveal these animals have designed their buildings and bridges look like their own furry appendages.”

Hulu’s docuseries “Behind the Mask” stars pro mascots.

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Fangcon’s Draconis in hospital, Claw & Quill, Watership Down – furry Newsdump (11/18/14)

by Patch O'Furr

Here’s links, headlines and little bites of news to make your tail wag.  Story tips are always welcome.

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Around Furry Fandom

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Fangcon’s Draconis / Calamity Cougar recovering from heart attack suffered shortly after the con.

Shortly before Fangcon, Draconis submitted a tip for my article about it.  It was a shock to hear bad news in short order.  I’m happy to see his positive video response about recovering, performing like a pro and furry all the way.

Claw and Quill: regrouping.

Watts (Chipotle’s) online publication attracted much anticipation from readers seeking smart furry magazine content, but it hasn’t put much material out.  The “long-overdue” second magazine issue has been conspicuously absent.  Now comes good news – a recent update from Watts explains a change from webzine format to WordPress, allowing multiple contributors to add content.  (I’d sure love to see more than the handful of blogs like this.)

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DAWGTOWN interview part 2: Director talks about casting George Foreman

by Patch O'Furr

Interview series:  Artists, animation directors, DJ’s and event organizers, superfans, and more…

Continued from Part 1, here’s more from Justin Murphy, director and producer of Dawgtown. It’s an ambitious 2D animated, indie feature film in pre-production that just announced casting George Foreman as voice actor. Here’s part 2 of his thoughts about movie making and more.

DAWGTOWN’S CASTING:
Casting choices so far indicate confident directing. IMDB shows:
Mauler (voice) – Jason Beghe – “Trademark: Deep, gravelly voice”.
George Foreman is “Vicious Vic”- a dog with a warm personality behind the name. Foreman’s bio promises depth for such a character. He grew up from childhood poverty and constant trouble with the law, making a monumental rise to heavyweight boxing champion of the world and olympic gold medal winner. His retirement led to preaching for 10 years (not a bad credit for a voice actor). An unlikely boxing comeback re-captured a World Heavyweight Champion title at age 45, bringing a real underdog to the acting part.

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Q&A with director of DAWGTOWN animated movie – George Foreman announced for cast

by Patch O'Furr

Dogpatch Press interview series:  Artists, animation directors, DJ’s and event organizers, superfans, and more…

DTOWN POSTER1

Here’s a Q&A with Justin Murphy, director and producer of Dawgtown. It’s an ambitious 2D animated, indie feature film in pre-production. I’m excited to grill him about it, especially with this week’s big announcement that George Foreman has joined the cast as voice actor.

The movie synopsis promises action: “As a competitor in the most well funded pit-fighting organization in the world, a young Pitbull leads a revolt in a dangerous break for freedom.”

Justin’s award-winning production record promises action, too. Here’s part 1 for his thoughts on movie making, “talking animals”, and more. Part 2 is here.

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