The Evolution of Fandom Revenge
I'm a vicious defendant of the fandom interpretations I write behind, be it fanfic or roleplay.
People know this, though I'll also be the first to admit anyone that's interacted with me for more than twenty minutes probably already knows my fannish dislikes, each of them, in alphabetical order, and in precision detail. I'll also be the first to admit I like the sound of my own typing, so here goes.
I'm going to talk about the new Star Trek movie briefly as an example, or more accurately, the myriad of reviews I've heard in the past few weeks. (And before that, because before viewing Joe couldn't stop frothing at the monitor in waxing and waning spurts of fanboyish delight and revulsion. Thankfully the final review from Ensign Pickypants was good, as I have an unnatural obsession with Karl Urban and would go see anything up to and including 2001: A Space Odyssey if he was in it.)
Abrams has constructed a re-imagination, apparently tied into the original canon through a literary device I like to call Pink Negatachyons. It's a lame super-science or mystical super-powered phenomenon of some sort to allow a villain to get away with something seemingly impossible. I generally attribute it to writers being lazy because I feel all things can be made plausible with the proper application, effort, and love. Anyway, it was a relatively minor device used briefly, only as setup to a generally enjoyable flick. Some fans don't seem to share my views, even further that an opinion as such couldn't possibly be a fan. To which I disagree; though it's true I'm not a Trekkie and couldn't even tell you which Enterprise was which without massive descriptors, I am a fan.
I'm an Emma Frost fan, too, and I won't be going to see the new X-Men movie because of it. I don't enjoy the re-imagination of Emma Frost as diamond-powered, but at the same time, I have to give it credit where credit is due. The addition of this power and Emma's spotlight into the X-Men both as a good guy and as Scott's partner re-launched the character into popularity. Admittedly, I have not enjoyed much of the product of her new popularity, but perhaps someday. In the end, I'm content that when I speak to passing fans of the Marvel universe, they won't go “Who?” when I tell them I'm an Emma Frost fan. More people know who she is now, and because of that, Emma's gained a little more longevity in literary history.
The re-imagination doesn't invalidate or hurt my interpretation, and in truth, whether I think it's stupid or not is inconsequential. I'd laugh at anyone egotistical enough to think they could “ruin” something I love, as their love or hate of said thing bares absolutely no weight on my own. This applies the same for them creating things from their interpretation. I may not want it in my backyard of the universe, but fandom is a big damn backyard.
I have plenty of evidence behind why I think the secondary mutation storyline in Marvel was stupid, why I hate the new definition of Emma, and a myriad of other things I have canon on that can be interpreted to support me. The problem with evidence in literary mediums, however, even “cold, hard facts”, is interpretation. This is a backbone of most of my arguments in fandom, and why many have considered me to be so contradictory and confusing that it's better not to deal with me. I can see where they're coming from, mostly because I am always arguing a larger view of things than the smaller one, but I like to think this issue is the bridge between both that is so often forgotten.
While I may have good counter arguments to my vision of the character, for fandom to survive, someone has to carry it on. Inevitably, people will reinvent the original. It is the heart and soul of fandom, and why those things we love can survive the ages. We are giving it immortality by allowing, yes, even crazy pairing nuts that make no sense, to carry it on to others.
Do not undersell fandom's ability to find the backstory and make their own decisions. While this is truth, despite and for this reason, there is rarely any “true” canon that CAN be recognized in fandom because the continuity is free to the whims of its populace; it MUST be. Even further, this lends credence to my belief that there is room for everyone, and all ideas, tangents, retcons, and interpretations, but not everywhere. Know where you are in the universe, and know when to move on. You wouldn't start spouting a Jewish prayer in the middle of a Christian church's sermon. Likely you will find some people that are more accepting of your ideas... and likely if the folks you diverge from are acting like immature brats over your decision, they're idiots anyway.
(Any further than that and we're just to discussing a thing for all places, and a place for all things, and that's not an argument I'm willing to engage in pretty much anywhere because it's very much perspective-based, and always turns out to be an exercise in politics and aggression.)
People know this, though I'll also be the first to admit anyone that's interacted with me for more than twenty minutes probably already knows my fannish dislikes, each of them, in alphabetical order, and in precision detail. I'll also be the first to admit I like the sound of my own typing, so here goes.
I'm going to talk about the new Star Trek movie briefly as an example, or more accurately, the myriad of reviews I've heard in the past few weeks. (And before that, because before viewing Joe couldn't stop frothing at the monitor in waxing and waning spurts of fanboyish delight and revulsion. Thankfully the final review from Ensign Pickypants was good, as I have an unnatural obsession with Karl Urban and would go see anything up to and including 2001: A Space Odyssey if he was in it.)
Abrams has constructed a re-imagination, apparently tied into the original canon through a literary device I like to call Pink Negatachyons. It's a lame super-science or mystical super-powered phenomenon of some sort to allow a villain to get away with something seemingly impossible. I generally attribute it to writers being lazy because I feel all things can be made plausible with the proper application, effort, and love. Anyway, it was a relatively minor device used briefly, only as setup to a generally enjoyable flick. Some fans don't seem to share my views, even further that an opinion as such couldn't possibly be a fan. To which I disagree; though it's true I'm not a Trekkie and couldn't even tell you which Enterprise was which without massive descriptors, I am a fan.
I'm an Emma Frost fan, too, and I won't be going to see the new X-Men movie because of it. I don't enjoy the re-imagination of Emma Frost as diamond-powered, but at the same time, I have to give it credit where credit is due. The addition of this power and Emma's spotlight into the X-Men both as a good guy and as Scott's partner re-launched the character into popularity. Admittedly, I have not enjoyed much of the product of her new popularity, but perhaps someday. In the end, I'm content that when I speak to passing fans of the Marvel universe, they won't go “Who?” when I tell them I'm an Emma Frost fan. More people know who she is now, and because of that, Emma's gained a little more longevity in literary history.
The re-imagination doesn't invalidate or hurt my interpretation, and in truth, whether I think it's stupid or not is inconsequential. I'd laugh at anyone egotistical enough to think they could “ruin” something I love, as their love or hate of said thing bares absolutely no weight on my own. This applies the same for them creating things from their interpretation. I may not want it in my backyard of the universe, but fandom is a big damn backyard.
I have plenty of evidence behind why I think the secondary mutation storyline in Marvel was stupid, why I hate the new definition of Emma, and a myriad of other things I have canon on that can be interpreted to support me. The problem with evidence in literary mediums, however, even “cold, hard facts”, is interpretation. This is a backbone of most of my arguments in fandom, and why many have considered me to be so contradictory and confusing that it's better not to deal with me. I can see where they're coming from, mostly because I am always arguing a larger view of things than the smaller one, but I like to think this issue is the bridge between both that is so often forgotten.
While I may have good counter arguments to my vision of the character, for fandom to survive, someone has to carry it on. Inevitably, people will reinvent the original. It is the heart and soul of fandom, and why those things we love can survive the ages. We are giving it immortality by allowing, yes, even crazy pairing nuts that make no sense, to carry it on to others.
Do not undersell fandom's ability to find the backstory and make their own decisions. While this is truth, despite and for this reason, there is rarely any “true” canon that CAN be recognized in fandom because the continuity is free to the whims of its populace; it MUST be. Even further, this lends credence to my belief that there is room for everyone, and all ideas, tangents, retcons, and interpretations, but not everywhere. Know where you are in the universe, and know when to move on. You wouldn't start spouting a Jewish prayer in the middle of a Christian church's sermon. Likely you will find some people that are more accepting of your ideas... and likely if the folks you diverge from are acting like immature brats over your decision, they're idiots anyway.
(Any further than that and we're just to discussing a thing for all places, and a place for all things, and that's not an argument I'm willing to engage in pretty much anywhere because it's very much perspective-based, and always turns out to be an exercise in politics and aggression.)