Over in another discussion, the allegation was made that:
In the interest of full disclosure, I took that fairly well the first time it came up but when somebody else joined the conversation and it came up again, I handed the poster hir head.
Now, the idea of JMS fans being 'worshippers' is hardly new. JMS himself has always said that he's wary of fostering a Cult of Personality. I happen to disagree strongly that there is one in B5 or JMS fandom in general, but let's take a look at it.
First off, let's make sure that we all have the same understanding of what it is we're discussing. Since we all should have access to Wikipedia, let's look at their definition:
Emphasis added by me.
Some questions for examination:
Does there actually exist a cult of personality around JMS or are there just fervent fans of his work?
If so, has JMS fostered that cult? If not, has he done enough to discourage it?
If the enthusiasm is for his work can it actually be considered a cult of personality?
At what point does fandom or general acceptance of what he does become adulation and whose place is it to make that judgement?
Those are the discussion points I can think of at the moment and it should be enough to open the discussion if people are interested. I'm going to post my responses in a different post so that this one resembles an editorial at least a little bit less.
Jan
I can't quite help getting the impression that finding oneself in disagreement with anything JMS does is considered just short of a sacrilege on this particular board.
Now, the idea of JMS fans being 'worshippers' is hardly new. JMS himself has always said that he's wary of fostering a Cult of Personality. I happen to disagree strongly that there is one in B5 or JMS fandom in general, but let's take a look at it.
First off, let's make sure that we all have the same understanding of what it is we're discussing. Since we all should have access to Wikipedia, let's look at their definition:
A cult of personality or personality cult arises when a country's leader uses mass media to create a heroic public image through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are often found in dictatorships but can be found in some democracies as well.
A cult of personality is similar to general hero worship except that it is created specifically for political leaders. However, the term may be applied by analogy to refer to adulation of non-political leaders.
A cult of personality is similar to general hero worship except that it is created specifically for political leaders. However, the term may be applied by analogy to refer to adulation of non-political leaders.
Some questions for examination:
Does there actually exist a cult of personality around JMS or are there just fervent fans of his work?
If so, has JMS fostered that cult? If not, has he done enough to discourage it?
If the enthusiasm is for his work can it actually be considered a cult of personality?
At what point does fandom or general acceptance of what he does become adulation and whose place is it to make that judgement?
Those are the discussion points I can think of at the moment and it should be enough to open the discussion if people are interested. I'm going to post my responses in a different post so that this one resembles an editorial at least a little bit less.

Jan
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