Today,
Plan9Crunch blogs is thrilled with the opportunity to interview Clark West, who
runs the Noonan’s Sci-Fi Club Facebook page. Recently nominated for a Rondo
Award, Noonan’s is just a fascinating, cerebral journey into all things fantasy
and horror … and more. I’m addicted to it and love to share observations,
clips, art, blog posts and more. Ed Wood, vintage horror, grindhouse, TV
sci-fi, Godzilla and pals including Hedorah, I’m a frequent poster to Noonan’s.
It’s just a great, valuable genre site, and we now talk with its founder, who
lives in Osaka, Japan.
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Plan9Crunch: Welcome Clark! You have this very
interesting Facebook page that tackles some cult genres, and has a steady
stream of followers and conversation. Tell us about your past, and how you
developed an interest in these genres?
West: I
got an early start. Really early! My older sisters and dad were Trekkies, so I
cannot even remember the first time I saw STAR TREK, but I am fairly certain my
first glimpse of the Gorn required a diaper change. My earliest memory of ANY
movie was James Whale’s 1931 FRANKENSTEIN. I learned how to tell time because
my sister Joy came home from school one day exclaiming how there was going to
be a really awesome movie called KING KONG on at 8pm that night. I sat and
watched the clock on the kitchen wall for what seemed hours, and very well
could have been, waiting for the fat hand to reach eight and the long hand
twelve! Shortly after that, my sister introduced me to Godzilla via the
infamous NBC 60 minute broadcast of GODZILLA VS MEGALON, hosted by John Belushi
in a Godzilla suit! That hooked me on not just Kaiju but ALL things Japanese.
Anime, Kurosawa, Hello Kitty… you name it. Almost a half century later, here I
am in Osaka, lamenting that I cannot, for at least now, watch THE TWILIGHT ZONE
or DOCTOR WHO, the latter of which I was hooked on since I was a 5 year old,
and I’ve been a TZ fanatic since I was seven, so why not devote my spare time
to creating a Facebook Group celebrating all this stuff! I was born in Oklahoma
but ran away as fast as I could.”
West: All
the peeps I refer to as the “Founding Noonans”, and I, belonged to a really fun
Facebook Group more than half a decade ago called “The Science Fiction
Multiverse.” (It was) really fun, except for the person who ran the group. One
day the group’s “Overlord,” as he liked to call himself, had a meltdown and
closed shop on our dear old “SFM.” So a few days later, Noonan’s Sci-Fi Fun
Club was born. I didn’t do it all alone though. A super fan named Perry
Williams, our senior admin, as it were, was a huge help, even rewriting the
Group Intro into something more presentable. And Andrew Gaska, now an
award-winning professional writer of roleplay games and various things, talked
me out of calling the place “Richard’s Sci-Fi Fun Club”, telling me “You can’t
have a more Sci-Fi name than Noonan!” I am forever in their debt! And I owe a
debt to my late friend Richard Noonan, in whose memory the page was named.
Plan9Crunch: What drives you to think about new ideas,
and how do you keep the enthusiasm to maintain an atmosphere where new ideas
can be discussed?
West: Perry
Williams clearly states in our Group Intro, “And Everything Else Geeks and
Nerds Love.” So I take that as cart-blanche. Just about anything goes! From
Silent Movies to Baby Sloths! I often post about interesting things in
Japan, and our Welsh Administrator often shares facts about his country. I
really want Noonan’s Sci-Fi Fun Club to appeal to the Renaissance Nerd, the
Anorak who is all over the place, the Otaku who does not where to curb their
enthusiasm. Basically, people like me!
Plan9Crunch: You place an emphasis on hashtags. I try to
make hashtags. I think it's an intriguing idea within the page. How do the
hashtags increase the impact of the page?
West: The
Hashtag idea was introduced to me by a former admin, David Cho, and I am
forever in his debt! I was slow to pick up on the idea myself, but then I
realized, it was genius! Especially if you come from a Message Board
Background, the hashtags enable you to actually organize your Facebook Group’s
content, making it easier to browse, and in my thinking, more conducive to the
sort of fan scholarship I try to encourage in the group. The average Facebook
Groups I am sad to say are ephemeral wastelands. Hashtags lend your post some
immortality. It is a hard sell though. None of the Admins and Mods in Group
understand the benefit. Except for our hashtag hero, Alex Pass! A new member
Marcie Carpenter has also been a big help of late. I think the hashtags are
FINALLY starting to catch on!
Plan9Crunch: Your Facebook page was nominated for a
Rondo. That must have been gratifying. Who do you credit besides yourself for
the nomination?
West: Just
being nominated for a Rondo, that will always be worn by the group as a badge
of honor! David Colton’s Classic Horror Film Board is what I am striving for
with Noonan’s Sci-Fi Fun Club! That level of fun, yet serious, scholarly
analysis, and discussion of the things we love. Who do I credit for the
nomination? All the fantastic members of course! They are the ones who helped
us come close to that goal this year!
Plan9Crunch: What new ideas are in the planning stage?
West: My
wife is very insistent I make something called “money”, so now that I appear to
have a recognizable brand name, even if to a limited crowd … expect Noonan’s
Sci-Fi Fun Club, the Pod Cast, to come soon. I have also have been trying off
and on to encourage members to create local, physical chapters of the Club. All
of that was before Covid-19 hit. As the world recovers, or at least gets used
to the new conditions, I plan to continue that push. We have an Osaka Chapter,
with a Meet Up page and everything, but with only three members!.
Plan9Crunch: I think it's a great idea to have page
followers vote occasionally. Although Noonan's Sci-Fi Fun Club encompasses many
genres, what is your favorite cult genre?
West: I
try to make everyone feel they have a voice! They too are playing a major part
in the Group. So I usually put the bigger decisions up to a poll. I want
everyone to feel included! I am not sure I can reveal my favorite cult genre
though! Noonan’s Sci-FI Fun Club covers so many things precisely because I love
so many things with a deep passion! I love the movies of Studio Ghibli founders
Hayao Miyazaki and Issao Takahata. I consider Miyazaki the greatest living
director of our times. I also have a huge soft spot for pre-code Hollywood,
especially the Horror Movies and Comedies. I deeply love DOCTOR WHO, at least
from the Hartnell era up to the end of David Tennant. I can’t wait to see what
the returning Russell T Davis has in store for us next year. It really depends
on my mood. I deeply love so many different things!
Plan9Crunch: Expound on the reason for the name of the
page Noonan's Sci-Fi Fun Club?
West: Richard
Noonan was a sweet, elderly man in the previously mentioned Science Fiction
Multiverse. He got banned for posting too many “Off Topic” posts, and I led the
charge to convince “The Overlord” to re-instate him as a member. He would send
me video Christmas Cards of him singing “Amazing Grace” every year. With no
near family, he spent his final few days after the heart attack in a hospice. I
was text messaging with the kindly lady who sat vigil over him at the moment he
died. I want Noonan’s Sci-Fi Fun club to be a tribute to him. (It’s) a place
full of compassion, love, and understanding.
Plan9Crunch: It might be interesting to know the
advantages and challenges, of following these cult genres living in Japan.
West: Since
I am a pre-code Hollywood kind of guy, it hasn’t been too much of a problem. I
trust the members to bring me news from the outside world! Here in Japan, we
get the Marvel Movies the same date as their American releases, and Netflix and
Amazon Prime have me fixed for TREK. I do miss DOCTOR WHO though. The show had
a huge following amongst Japanese women for a while, the idea of a handsome
foreigner taking you away on a life of travel appeals greatly to them. Sad to
say the current Doctor, Jodie Whittaker, destroyed that fantasy. But Japan and
the US are the same Blu-Ray region, so I just need to make money and buy
American Blu-Rays of DOCTOR WHO and the Classic Horrors and Comedies I miss so!
I have many pots on the fire. I’m doing various English lessons, working on
starting my own English school, and of course, I want to launch Noonan’s Sci-Fi
Fun Club: The Pod Cast! Perhaps then, I can interview you? Thank you so much
for this opportunity!
Thank
you very much. This was a fascinating interview. You have a unique, creative
mind.
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