Round Table ...

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

There are a lot of birthdays today on Lj, and it got me thinking. We are in a fandom that has passed the fifty year mark, and the objects of our affections remain eternally 30ish while we continue to age. Does fandom activity keep you young? Are you still that dewey eyed girl when you put your attentions on Solo and Kuryakin.
I know for me, the idea of lusting over young McCallum is a tad embarrassing, although it doesn't stop me from doing it. I am transported back to my youth but with all of the wisdom and experience of my life firmly in place. I want them to remain as they were, even if I can't.
What about you? Is this a romantic dream, a childhood crush, or simply a guilty pleasure? Perhaps none of those describes your fangirl life. Tell us about it.

Comments

[vysila.livejournal.com]

It's definitely a pleasure for me, although not a guilty one! It's just something I enjoy, and I definitely do think that fandom helps keep one young. Fandom is so much more than 'just a hobby', it helps keep me mentally alert, expands my creativity, pushes me to learn new skills, and most of all, introduces me to people all over the world who then become dear friends!

[reapermum.livejournal.com]

I think fandom can help keep you young, it's one of the brain excercises we keep being told to do.

And no I don't lust after the boys as they were, my tastes have changed over the years and I prefer a more mature object for my lust. Not Waverley as he was either, but Ducky is another matter.

[bonniejean1953.livejournal.com]

It's definitely a joy for me, as it has introduced me to so many people who now add more depth to my life tapestry. My definition of friends has broadened and I am exposed to all of their talents, ideas, wishes, sorrows. It's truly a treasure I never expected.
As for lusting after young DMC, I will admit I'd take him in any form he showed up... just saying....

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Oh definitely keeps you young and perhaps for some of us ...keeps our libido awake. (giggle)
They'll always be forever young thanks the medium of television. Both men are still good looking and have aged well, really considering the amount of plastic surgery that goes around in their chosen profession.

We need to enjoy their presence both in the past and in the now as we don't know how much longer we'll have either of them around. That's a sad reality I think we'd all like to avoid.

As Vysila said, fandom is so much more than a hobby; it does keep us young at heart I think and yes, its opened the door to so many wonderful friendships! All because of a television show, and its actors from the 1960's. Wow...

[alynwa.livejournal.com]

Napoleon and Illya are forever young and men to lust after (my guilty pleasure) while the men who portrayed them have aged well and my view of them has matured (I think).

I told St. Crispins when we met at the Rio that there was a time I wanted DMC to father my children. Now, I wish he would adopt me so I could benefit from hearing all of his life experiences and get hugs and fatherly kisses from him.

And yes, participating in the MFU fandom has given me friends I otherwise wouldn't have. The funny thing is: I write in four different fandoms, but MFU is the only one in which I have become part of a network of writers. I feel a part of something bigger in this fandom. I haven't connected at all with other writers of The Blacklist or NCIS and sadly, if you look at Boston Legal sites here and on AO3 and ff.net, most of the latest fiction seems to be mine and I have no idea how to grow interest.

[redqueen88.livejournal.com]

I had just turned 10 when the show started and would watch with my older brother. But instead of my 61-year-old self lusting after the 30-something Illya, I find it's my inner 20- to 30-something old self lusting after him. My current self would be very content with just a friendship with Ducky or even an older Illya.

The fan fics help keep me young by allowing me to regress back to my younger self but with the experience and maturity of my current self - in some ways the best of both worlds (although my aches & pains would disagree). Since seeking this fandom last year and re-watching the DVD set (how much I'd forgotten in 50 years - I didn't see it in syndication), I find myself thinking younger. Fanfic also brings a greater depth to the more simplistic way the TV show, necessarily, was presented - a deeper way to experience and appreciate what the show offered on the surface. I'm amazed and humbled by all the talent I see in the fandom.

In Harry Potter, Dumbledore points out something to the effect that while the youth only have the experiences of youth, the elderly have the experience of time and maturity while still retaining the memories of what it was to be young. That's where I find myself - with the memories of youth but the maturity of my experiences by which to filter and categorize those memories. I'm one of those who wouldn't want to trade my knowledge and experiences for youth without them.

I don't see Ducky as an older version of Illya or vice versa. David has definitely made each unique as a character. But I'm enjoying watching each character in his own right and in his own time and age.

We wouldn't have the MFU show we know and love if it were filmed today with the standards of NCIS and in the world of today; but on the other hand, how much of MFU and its ideals led us to our current world? MFU, as well as the culture and history of the 60's that it represents, had much to do with shaping our psyches and expectations that led to who and what we are today.

Thank you for a thought-provoking question.