An Auteur in the Age of the Internet: JMS, Babylon 5, and the Net

"An Auteur in the Age of the Internet: JMS, Babylon 5, and the Net" is a 19-page chapter by Alan Wexelblat in the book Hop On Pop: The Politics and Pleasures of Popular Culture (edited by Henry Jenkins, Tara McPherson, Jane Shattuc).
The topic was J. Michael Straczynski and how his presence in Internet fan forums affected Babylon 5's fandom and the show itself.
==Some Topics Discussed==
* how the presence of JMS on Usenet affected fanworks, fan relationships with each other, fannish politics, discussion, and ultimately, perhaps the show itself
* ego
* the Internet and the speed and information dissemination
* the centrality of the authorial myth to fan interpretation
* the ability of an author/creator to have real time, back and forth conversations with fans and what that looks like in the formation of a source text (the show)
* authorial intent, author-reader relations
* JMS deeply steeped in science fiction community and a savvy consumer who was "acutely aware of the place that Babylon 5 might have in the history of science fiction fandom" and knew that he needed to cultivate an active fanbase
* JMS's belief that his show was going to be ground-breaking and special
* JMS's role as an auteur (along the lines of David Lynch and Chris Carter), a stage performer, and that Babylon 5 was a special, groundbreaking show and better than the ones that came before it "In the final analysis, I think we've made a little history with this show, . . . had an effect on how SF " Television will he done henceforth, and brought a "screw 'em, let's go for broke" philosophy back to the genre, which (personal opinion) had grown, in TV, a bit on the stuffy side. Bar fights, main characters who lie, bad guys who do good things and good guys who do had things, bathrooms, fasten/rip and lessons in Centauri anatomy, we've broken some of the taboos, and I think that's a positive thing." -- a post by JMS to Genie computer network, August 19, 1994This statement by JMS has the tone of something Harlan Ellison would say. Coincidentally, Ellison was a creative contributor to Babylon 5.
* the fans JMS was communicating with were literate, social elite because those were the fans who had the financial requirements for net access and "written text remains the primary means of communication in the new media."
* the importance of the auteur/authorship, especially in shows that rely on a fanbase, and in turn, encourages fan construction of an author
* because JMS was so intensely entwined with the show personally and professionally, it was impossible for fans to draw stronger boundaries between the creator and the product
* The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5, a fan Web site, one of the first
* Babcom, a website that was created, controlled, and maintained by Warner Bros., the show's producing parent Is this true? This site had fanfiction, at least in the earliest days. 
* JMS's rewarding, and slapping down, of fans who find clues in the show to his creative vision/storytelling: he wanted to encourage fan interest and curiosity, but ultimately had to maintain his role as the sole source of wisdom, and that fans could not be seen outguessing him
* JMS's derivative use of previous texts
* fans turning on each other to "protect" JMS and their access to him on Usenet and elsewhere
* charges of racism or tokenism in the show
* JMS's departure from rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5 on November 27, 1995: how it happened, some thoughts on why it happened, the theory that he left Usenet (free and open) to focus his attention on AOL disscussions (controlled, access was for subscribers only)
* expectations that JMS have a thicker skin and a better control of his remarks
* "JMS's interpretation of the situation was incredibly paternalistic. JMS seemed to see fans as needing his protection in their discussions, just as they needed his help to keep Babylon 5 on the air in their local community."
* initially, JMS read Usenet himself in real time, but after August 1994 and a public statement about JMS having to deal with a fan's accusation that JMS had used a story idea of his for the show, a fan group called the "Rangers" "interceded and removed messages that could be construed as story ideas." This was apparently in a version that JMS read, not all messages (?)
* fans' hurt feelings that after JMS left rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5, other fans left to: "Are the rest of us chopped liver? Are you just looking for a Q&A session? I hope that many of the folks who've posted here will continue to do .so; I enjoy reading much of what is written, and hope that some of you like some of my posts as well.William Huber, post at , December 1, 1995
* JMS left on November 27, 1995, but returned on December 5, 1995 to read a pre-chewed version "via some (unspecified) mechanism"—perhaps administered by the Rangers
==Some Direct Quotes by JMS and Fans Cited in the Article==
==Excerpts==
==References==
Category:Babylon 5
Category:2002 Academic Commentary