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NA 2001 Statement |
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Title: Nalaholics Anonymous in the new Millennium. |
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It seems amazing to me that Nalaholics Anonymous is four years old. In all honesty, I am surprised and delighted that it lasted this long. NA has seen many changes, both in philosophy and design. Many of the original Nalaholics (ie: from about 1-20) may recall a very different Nalanon. In fact, the name Nalanon didn't even come up until the move to lionking.org. I took a look through the various essays and whatnot and came to notice that not many have been posted of late. This is not, by nature, the fault of anyone, as feelings tend to come and go with time. However, the last official essays are beginning to show age. A new statement needed to be put forth to give Nalanon more of a direction, as well as give some kind of structure to the subculture that is being built around Nala. The Nala subculture as it related to Nalaholics Anonymous is comprised predominantly of three parts. There is the canon part, fan influences, and interfan communication. The canon part is supplied by Disney. This is where Nalanon really started, with a collection of images that featured the character of Nala from the original movie. Nala displayed an extraordinary amount of personality for a round character. This is in part because we had the unique chance to see the cub version and the adult version of Nala in the same film. Several people have asked me why I have not attempted to designate the screen shots found on the site as belonging to 'Nalanon' (because people are taking them and using them on their own sites). The primary reason is that those screen shots are not property of Nalaholics Anonymous. They were not made by NA, but instead donated or discovered. As a result, it would be unwise and unfair to claim them as property of NA. Disney has demonstrated an exceptional tolerance to the presence of the online TLK fandom, and since NA is an extension of that, we also must give credit to the creators. Enough about that. Fan influences comprise the largest portion of Nalaholics Anonymous. With almost seven years past since its release, TLK has created its own society and an incredibly complex series of legends and speculation based on the characters. It is a true credit that the movie has spawned a world of its own. Like many of the major characters, Nala has spawned a significant series of legends as well. She seems so complete, but at the same time very mysterious due to some questions that are left unanswered. Who IS Nala's father? We may never know outside of rumor and speculation. But with the number of fans dedicated to making up stories, we'll have plenty of options to choose from. Interfan communication is, perhaps the sketchiest part of Nalanon. In an effort to stoke communication amongst Nalaholics, NA started out with a listing of names that provided email addresses. Late incarnations incorporated an ICQ listing to provide ICQ numbers for Nalaholics to meet. Nonetheless, this part of Nalaholics Anonymous has remained predominantly quiet. The reasons for this are not entirely clear. Ironically, the majority of Nalaholics claim to have a strong desire to 'come out' in their love for Nala, though once joined are rarely heard from. Interfan communication is not just through ICQ or AIM, or emailing each other. It also takes form in interpretive stories, fan art, and fan creations that show their appreciation. Nalaholics Anonymous in the new millennium is going to depend a great deal on the Nalaholics. In one of the low times during NA history, Nalaholics Anonymous was almost closed down due to lack of interest and participation. There were less than a third as many Nalaholics then as there are now, and that amount of participation is still waning. It's time to get involved! Decide today that you will make an impact on the future of Nalanon by contributing creative works. There's no time like the present to get involved. |