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Baker St. Irregulars Put Their Foot Down
Feb. 21st, 2013 06:15 amQuick recap:
The Baker Street Irregulars may be a conservative canonical invite-only society, but its voice, the Baker Street Journal, has been loud and clear in acknowledging that the fresh blood in scions and the future of Holmesian fandom is in the hands of the enthusiastic influx of Ritchie- and BBC- influenced fans. In spring of 2012, the BSJ led off the year with an editorial aimed directly at the Ritchie and Sherlock BBC fans titled "Consider Yourself At Home." The general theme was "we don't care how you learned to love Sherlock, if you do, you're welcome."
As we all know, this has not sat well with some folks. If showing patient, long-term commitment in the face of lukewarm reception and politics was good enough for them, it is the only mark of a truly serious fan!Or what was all of their own effort and patience for?
Now the BSI is calling shennanigans on Will The Real Fan Stand Up and putting its foot down. While making no excuses for how their own club membership works, they are extremely clear on who's a Real Fan:
We deplore and condemn the idea that proper appreciation of the stories of Sherlock Holmes should be limited to a small, elite fandom. Sherlock Holmes belongs to the world, and we applaud all who share the devotion of The Baker Street Irregulars to the memory of the Master Detective, regardless of age, sex or the medium in which they express their views.
(And on a side note, there were at least two Sherlock cosplayers at Gally, and I convinced the jeweller who was making Who-based "Four Things and a Lizard" charm bracelets to let me make a "Four Clues and a Hound" bracelet instead... and there were plenty of Sherlock charms to choose from.)
The Baker Street Irregulars may be a conservative canonical invite-only society, but its voice, the Baker Street Journal, has been loud and clear in acknowledging that the fresh blood in scions and the future of Holmesian fandom is in the hands of the enthusiastic influx of Ritchie- and BBC- influenced fans. In spring of 2012, the BSJ led off the year with an editorial aimed directly at the Ritchie and Sherlock BBC fans titled "Consider Yourself At Home." The general theme was "we don't care how you learned to love Sherlock, if you do, you're welcome."
As we all know, this has not sat well with some folks. If showing patient, long-term commitment in the face of lukewarm reception and politics was good enough for them, it is the only mark of a truly serious fan!
Now the BSI is calling shennanigans on Will The Real Fan Stand Up and putting its foot down. While making no excuses for how their own club membership works, they are extremely clear on who's a Real Fan:
We deplore and condemn the idea that proper appreciation of the stories of Sherlock Holmes should be limited to a small, elite fandom. Sherlock Holmes belongs to the world, and we applaud all who share the devotion of The Baker Street Irregulars to the memory of the Master Detective, regardless of age, sex or the medium in which they express their views.
(And on a side note, there were at least two Sherlock cosplayers at Gally, and I convinced the jeweller who was making Who-based "Four Things and a Lizard" charm bracelets to let me make a "Four Clues and a Hound" bracelet instead... and there were plenty of Sherlock charms to choose from.)
