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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
08/08/97
By Page W2
COMMENTARY
An actual section about IAXS! States we have "set a new standard in fandom", it is "well-written", and money never exchanged hands! Author Ellis states his pride in being mentioned in an article in WHOOSH ["The Curse of Baywatch" by Kym Taborn] and quotes where he is mentioned. Uses the old WHOOSH url.EXCERPT
[snip] Fans of Xena: Warrior Princess who have computer access are well aware of the multitude of Web sites dedicated to the show and its star, Lucy Lawless. But one has set a new standard in fandom. The International Association of Xena Studies is a group of serious Xena fans who publish an online, well-written journal called Whoosh! Yes, they are rather obsessive, but this bunch has a real spirit of fun about what they do. Whoosh! got its name from the sound Xena's chakram (or circle thingie, as one character called it) makes flying through the air. I really got a kick out of the July issue. There was a good, chatty interview with Kevin Smith (who plays Ares, the god of war) and an insightful chat with Robert Field, one of the show's editors. Then there was an article titled "The Curse of Baywatch." Whoosh! editor Kym Masera Taborn (who also edits the Xena Media Review), explored the media's "mass hallucination" that Xena is Baywatch set in mythological times. Taborn enumerates the stories and publications that followed and how they built on the stereotype. Then came the graph that really got my attention: "The first mainstream defense of Xena: Warrior Princess from the pestilent Baywatch association was in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (11-17-95) ... by Ellis Widner ... [he] averred that Xena was fundamentally different because of content ... that Xena: Warrior Princess and Baywatch were not different breeds of the same animal; rather, Xena was as different to Baywatch as a cat was to a dog." Later, she refers to my comments as a "lofty" defense. Goodness. Xena isn't Bullfinch's Mythology. But this entertaining show might lead people to Bullfinch's and the writings of Joseph Campbell. I e-mailed the editor, and got a nicely written reply. "You should be proud of your place in Xena media history," Taborn wrote. You know what? I am. You can find Whoosh! at: http://www.thirdstory.com/whoosh/ Now, bring on the new season, I'm ready!
Click here to return to the WHOOSH! IN THE NEWS page.
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