ALAA Hall of Fame inaugurated at Rainfurrest 2012
The Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association (ALAA) has inaugurated its Hall of Fame with its first three inductees, announced tonight at a ceremony at the Rainfurrest 2012 convention in Seattle.
The ALAA Hall of Fame is intended to honor those so prestigious that it is impossible to imagine the field of anthropomorphics without them. A person - a character - a book - a film - a comic strip - a Hall of Fame honoree is as well known to the general public as Sherlock Holmes, Superman, or William Shakespeare.
The inductees to the ALAA Hall of Fame are chosen by a vote of the fifteen members of the ALAA Committee during July, with runoffs extending into August if necessary. There are many potential honorees, and those outvoted in one year may be renominated in future years.
In 2012, three inductees have been chosen:
- Bugs Bunny (character)
- Walt Disney (person)
- Watership Down (novel)
Their importance to anthropomorphism should need no explanation.
In closing, we would like to call attention to the fact that during the past couple of days, there has apparently been some confusion between the ALAA Hall of Fame and the Furry Hall of Fame, awarded annually by Melbourne’s MiDFur convention. The purpose of the ALAA Hall of Fame is to honor the creators and “stars” of anthropomorphism. The purpose of the Furry Hall of Fame is to honor the creators and “stars” of Furry Fandom. There is no overlap, and the two awards should not be mistaken for each other
About the author
Fred Patten — read stories — contact (login required)a retired former librarian from North Hollywood, California, interested in general anthropomorphics
Comments
Rabbits are doing well so far! It's ironic to see Walt with them, since a rabbit gave him so much trouble in the late 1920s.
(As a bonus, the random featured article for me when I loaded the page was 'Do rabbits need a reason?')
Since the inductees arguably don't need our honour, being relatively well-known both among fans and in the wider world, I'm a little curious about what the purpose of the Hall is - beyond an intent to brand what furry fans (or anthropomorphics fans?) are fans of. I'm guessing there weren't any inductee representatives on hand; will there be a website listing them?
With this and the ALAA’s Choice Award, I see a trend towards juries. Has the ALAA decided that popular voting is too much trouble - or is too unpredictable? Will ALAA committee members be picked more with an eye for ensuring diverse representation of all segments of the fandom?
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is a definite contender for a future ALAA Hall of Fame honoree.
The purpose is partly to acknowledge the icons that anthropomorphism would not exist without, and partly to make the point that Furry Fandom does acknowledge them. Too many people think that Furry Fandom is just for Furry lifestylers and Fursuiters of the present, and that we have no interest in or knowledge of anthropomorphics' past.
We plan to add a page to the ALAA Hall of Fame on the UMA website, but not a separate website.
Another purpose is so that the ALAA, or its administrators, can do something besides administer the Ursa Major Awards and the annual Anthropomorphics Recommended Reading List. Popular voting is sometimes frustrating but never too much trouble!
The ALAA -- the committee that administers the awards -- is always open to really interested volunteers. It is a lot of work, and we do want to represent all segments of fandom.
Fred Patten
Considering I don't think there's a single culture in the world that hasn't had anthropomorphism I think that's stating things a little strong. Anthropomorphism is a deep part of our psychology, not the product of some or other icon.
"If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind."
~John Stuart Mill~
You may be right, but "the icons of 20th-21st-century Anglo-American popular anthropomorphism" is too longwinded and clunky. Such characters as Reynard the fox and Sun Wu-kung, the Monkey King, and Japanese cartoonist Osamu Tezuka are potential future honorees.
Fred Patten
I definitely appreciated the Gorillaz version of Monkey/Journey to the West used during the Beijing Olympics.
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