(no subject)
Anyway. A rant about the general degeneracy of culture… and don’t worry, I’m not conservative enough anymore for me to start complaining about the depravity of fangirls or our consumerist society or whatnot. XD
Why is it that selfishness is regarded as so sexy? I’ll be upfront and admit that I can be (am?) a self-centered, attention-seeking, whiny brat. I don’t expect anyoneto love and admire me for it - quite the contrary. And I have the same attitude towards other selfish people - I’ll never be the stereotypical Slytherin, because manipulation just makes me angry and ill.
Yet so many regard manipulation and selfishness as sexy. Oh, yes, and snapping, sneering, and generally screaming one’s head off is also regarded as sexy.
Funny, I thought that sort of behavior was called “abuse”. And it’s not sexy at all. I can’t comprehend why the sort of behavior that crops up in sociopaths and abusers has been fetishized in fandom. I really can’t. Having a control freak charging into a room, waving his arms around, and demanding in a high-pitched roar that everyone must do as he says, no matter how illogical it sounds - because he knows best -, is not at all a turn-on for me.
The cold-hearted antiheroes do not make me swoon. I don’t understand the mentality behind it at all. Is it the impossibility of ever attaining said character? Well, heck, you have that for any fictional character. XD (If you think otherwise, seek help. You may have Snapewife Syndrome.) More seriously… yeah, there’s lusting after what you know you can’t get. But actively fetishizing that it’s unattainable? That’s… a tad odd.
And besides, it doesn’t count, because there’s almost always a Mary-Sue heroine that gets the cold-hearted bastard. Is it the “Nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah, I can get him and no one else can!” factor? In that case… first, you’re an egotistical bitch, and second, in real life, that smacks of the bastard manipulating a naïve little girl into stumbling into his wide, friendly arms… and then, when he gets his claws firmly into her, the mask of “OMG, dear, I love you more than anyone else! You have melted my icy heart!” will come off.
All right, that’s my opinion on the cold-hearted antiheroes out of the way… I’d talk more about it, but the viewpoint is far too WTH for me to understand it. Now, I’m going to act severely confused on another matter.
Yes, fine, so your character is The Chosen One. That’s nice. Some of a superiority complex is understandable. However… there’s a line between “Well, I am special - I’m going to save the world!” and “Move out of my way, peons! I must have the BEST of everything, and I’m willing to fight to get it!”
As I said. I can be a self-centered brat. However, my parents (and, looooooooong in the past, the afterschool supervisors) raised me to have a sense of humility and fair play. My dad insisted that I not watch much television when I was young - and hey, I was a kid, I went along with it after (maybe? I can’t remember) a protest or two. In retrospect, I’m wondering if this was one of those things which he was right about. I’m not so sure my parents were entirely successful at keeping me from having a gigantic ego (XD), but I do play fair and I - as far as I can tell - have much less of an ego than Your Average Teen In The Media.
Fandom, as far as I can tell, reflects the culture of many teenagers, some young adults, and a few not-quite-young-anymore adults. I look into the scrying pool of fandom. And what I see is sickening. (Exaggerated for the sake of impact - some of it is quite good. :D But if you just look at fanfiction.net, the uncensored, unmoderated collection of fanfiction…)
I see girls obsessing solely over social interactions, dating hot boys, and looking sexy.
(I only really give a damn about one of those in real life, and even then have an Ogle-But-Don’t-Touch policy. Guess which one it is? |P)
I see boys… oh, gad, we all know what male Stuthors are like. We all know. All right, I’ll say it for those who don’t know. *borrows Capslock from Mrs. Weasley* THEY CRAVE POWER, LACK ALL EMPATHY, TREAT WOMEN AS FUCKTOYS AND NO BETTER THAN THAT, TORTURE, MANIPULATE, AND KILL WHILE GRINNING EAR-TO-EAR, AND IN GENERAL, ACT REALLY FUCKING CREEPY! *pants* Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. *hands back Capslock*
Most of all, I see people writing in self-inserts (or sometimes just plain Sues - there’s a difference, actually) wherein they are SPESHUL and PRETTY and POWERFUL and LOVED BY ALL and ALL SHALL LOVE THEM AND DESPAIR - and they get a hot guy, too! Sheesh. The values of kids nowadays. When I was writing rampant Sues and Stus in my head, they were POWERFUL and looked SPESHUL (I blame having nice crayons on hand and some meager drawing skills…) and had IQs off the freakin’ scale and were SPESHUL due to said powers and IQs… but they used all that FOR THE GREATER GOOD!
…It’s actually quite frightening to think that young-Grindelwald, minus his actions at Durmstrang and his Crucio episode (…though, to be honest, how is he worse than Harry, again? Who knows - perhaps Aberforth spit at Albus! It was GALLANT! -_-;;), would fit in quite well into My Original Character Stu Archetype. -_-;; Goodness knows, take young-Grindelwald-and-Dumbledore’s plans for world domination for the good of all, replace “Muggles” by “humans” and “wizards” by “dragons”, and you have a fairly good description of the ambitions of pre-sporking-job-and-multiple-reboots-of-backstory-until-the-Stu-essence-went-down-to-managable-levels!Roy. -_-;; Oh, well, at least MY Stus had a life plan, a work ethic, brilliance, and ambition. >:D My Stus would have taken over the worlds of your Stus and Sues FOR THE GREATER GOOD! XD
But… like I said, at least my Stus did something that affected their worlds. The average Sue or Stu doesn’t Fight the Power, they make love to it; they don’t fight discrimination, they merrily declare how pure their blood is; they don’t correct injustices, they make new ones. (By which I mean, they often ruin canon characters whom they hate.) It’s selfish. That’s the only word for it. All right, it’s selfish, uncaring, and complacent.
And the important (and horrifying) thing is that these works are not meant to reflect reality, in which case it would be a cynical commentary on the world and people in it. They’re meant to reflect an ideal reality for the writers. That is the terrifying part - that their ideals would include selfishness, lack of caring, and complacency.
And they don’t even work for it. I shall give traditional Slytherins a scrap of credit. They scheme for what they get, and that takes some effort. Snakes slither, but that requires muscle. These Sues and Stus have everything fall into their lap, and they do nothing with it save humiliate their foes. I mean, sure, my Stus had everything fall into their laps, but then they worked For The Greater Good with it. It’s a misguided attempt at good morals, but it’s at least an attempt. The Suethors don’t even attempt to show work or using it for something important - unless it’s scoring the boy of their dreams. Hey, it takes a ho some effort to walk them Hogwarts halls! (/sarcasm)
I still have some Sues and Stus today - well, they would have been Stus and Sues if I still agreed with their viewpoints. >_> But point is, the CURRENT borderline-ish “Sue” that I have A) is more than a little mental, and B) worked to get to her current position of obscene power. And her second-in-command helped a lot after he met her. Doesn’t quite fit the Sue or Stu model.
It’s the “entitlement society” ideal of getting everything and not working at all that creeps me out. I mean, ja, it would be nice if I just got everything without working. 8D However, I’d still do something. Do mathematics. Write fanfiction. Play video games. And my Stus and Sues desire to either save the world or change it for the better (from their POV. I think those they don’t value as much DON’T see it as a change for the better. -_-;;) These Sues do nothing outside of making everyone love them, dating a hot guy, and finish off the Big Bad not because of everything bad that the Big Bad has made happen to people the Sue does not PERSONALLY know and “love”, but because they stand in the way of - to borrow a phrase of Mervin and Hyde’s - the SUE’S “Happyland”. Understand the previous sentence to be also true for Stus, except you can replace “guy” by “girl” (or leave it as is XD).
…I just don’t understand how much of an ego and how much of a sense of entitlement you have to have to write your ideal hero or heroine as not doing ANYTHING except for clearing the way for THEIR OWN “Happyland”.
That’s…
Just…
…Oogh.
…So, end rant, I guess. I don’t have the skills to analyze the mentality behind the current state of Sues and Stus. *sighs and trudges off*
--
On an almost-completely unrelated note, I reread the Aberforth story in DH again, and a certain thing sickens me. No, not the actual story - I still praise the first paragraph for being one of the few passages in books that I’ve read that made me feel like I’d been punched in the gut the first time I read it, and still makes me feel like that after multiple rereads. But Harry’s reactions. Merlin! Look at them! He feels a “horrible mixture of pity and repulsion” at first, then “nothing but revulsion”. That damned repulsion! It turns up in King’s Cross, and it turns up here too!
This, in my honest opinion, is the clearest scene in DH that shows why Ron is better than Harry. Look at the three of them. Ron is almost as pale as Aberforth - he empathizes with Aberforth, although I imagine it’s not a pleasant experience. Hermione is oddly weepy and sensitive in DH, I notice, which seems rather OOC for the girl who used to be uptight and quick-thinking… in fact, I’m tempted to wonder if pre-OOTP!Ginny managed to sneak back into canon by possessing DH!Hermione… And ended up having to deal with PMS hormones. Perhaps I’m being wanky, but she seems really odd when you pay close attention to her reactions compared to pre-HBP!Hermione (and perhaps pre-OOTP!Hermione)…
Now, look at our hero. HARREH POTTEH. His pity soon vanishes in favor of revulsion. Sympathy? Hell no, that’s for Ron the Inferior and Hermione the Sensitive! The Boy-Who-Lived has so much innate love and compassion that he doesn’t even need to feel any! *is severely ill and - yes - repulsed*
Oh, I’m sure JKR says it’s the Horcrux acting up or something. But the fact is - what is Harry without his Horcrux? He gives dramatic speeches, reports to Dumbledore-who-art-in-Portraits, survives by sheer luck and illogic, finally gets around to hollow angsting about Fred, Lupin, and Tonks, and wonders if he can get a sandwich. I’d like to see where his selflessness and love appear there. Yeah, there’s the hollow angsting, but for all we know it could just be the pain of having A BLOODY PIECE OF HIS SOUL RIPPED OUT. Voldemort’s soul, you say? Well, it was rather entangled with his soul, wasn’t it? I didn’t see Harry bitching about his scar every time he used Parseltongue or even notice he felt funny, so it didn’t count as something “alien”. Consistency/JKR = OTH (One True Hate).
Harry has no empathy for Aberforth - when Aberforth has just bitterly explained the True Story of Albus Dumbledore and is just stating facts (hey, Dumbledore WAS free with Ariana dead!), Harry cuts in and starts wildly defending Albus. And by the way, JKR? If only Aberforth was Cruciated and they weren’t sure who killed Ariana (my personal fanon holds that she blew herself up by accident - when she didn’t want to attack anyone but had still let loose her magic, it searched for some target, and she hadn’t thought far enough ahead to think about it turning on her), why is he screaming “Don’t hurt them”? He should be screaming “Don’t hurt him”.
And damnit! In the next paragraph, Harry says “he thought he was watching Grindelwald hurting you and Ariana” (emphasis mine, as always unless otherwise noted) - bloody hell WHAT JKR?! You keep telling us that Albus was never sure who did it! Don’t you think, maybe, he would have suspected Grindelwald did it if he saw Grindelwald hurt Ariana? And if the excuse is “worst fear”, I would think that would be Albus killing Ariana. If he fears his boyfriend killing his sister more than he fears he killed his sister… Eh-hem… err… I’m almost certain that contradicts implied canon - yes! It does! STATED canon! Page 718, American Edition, King’s Cross - “I dreaded beyond all things the knowledge that […] I actually struck the blow that snuffed out her life”. So she contradicts her canon and logic within about 150 pages…. Good grief, that’s a lot of pages. The point is, Harry’s a moron.
Let’s slowly go over what Harry does next. When Aberforth asks him a simple question, one Harry was asking earlier, Harry is at first defended by Hermione, then Harry says that “Sometimes you’ve got to think about the greater good!”. Wonderful, Harry my boy. Did you miss that Aberforth’s beloved little sister died as a consequence of the entire messing around with The Greater Good? Did you miss that Grindelwald’s slogan, even as he conquered Europe, was For the Greater Good? Did you miss that Aberforth is not fond of the entire Greater Good idea!?
It’s like the following (made-up) dialogue exchange:
Aberforth: …And so, that’s how I got tortured and my sister died due to a botched exorcism performed by my brother and his “devoted absolutely-platonic friend”. Perhaps you should reconsider following a religious fanatic to the grave. (And perhaps, Potter, you should consider that I’m not exactly going to be attending church every Sunday.)
Harry: Honestly, he regretted it. Really, take my word for it, and I am not at all biased because of all my private meetings with Bishop Dumbledore. I’m a good, pure altar boy who loves a woman as he should, I swear.
Aberforth: And what makes you think you won’t just be another martyr to his God?
Harry: Because, sometimes, you HAVE to think beyond your earthy shell! Sometiemes you HAVE to follow the will of God! THIS - IS - JIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHAD!
Aberforth: …Ariana, give me strength…
Let “heretics” be defined as “Slytherin House”, let “Satan” be defined as “Voldemort”, let “God” be defined as “the Greater Good”, and let “the true believers” be defined as “Gryffindors”. Dumbledore, I suppose, is “Jesus” in this model - after all, did he not die for the sins of the utterly unworthy Draco Malfoy?
Hooray, suddenly Harry is a Jesus-fanatic who drives out heretics and defeats Satan by the power of his own innate goodness.
I wonder if I could make a Harry Potter Chick Tract.
Actually, that wouldn’t be too hard…
(DISCLAIMER: I do not intend to imply DH is as foul as the Chick Tracts. It doesn’t cause holy water to start boiling over, for one. XD But Harry’s morals are… oogh.)
Sketch:
Panel 1:
Harry: I am doubting Dumbledore. Damn him! What did the old bastard ever do for me, ay?
Hermione: Harry, Dumbledore loved you.
Panel 2:
Harry: *snorts, has a snotty expression on his face* I doubt it.
Panel 3:
(Narrative boxes) Harry didn’t know what to do. Without Dumbledore, what was left for him?
*image of Harry looking grouchy*
Panel 4:
(Narrative boxes) Fortunately, a friend was on the way.
*image of naked Harry and sopping-wet Ron*
Harry: How did you find your way back?!
Ron: Dumbledore’s Deluminator. Amazing thing -
Harry: That reminds me, you should kill this thing for me.
Ron: Do I have to?
Harry: The power of Gryffindor compels you!
Panel 5:
(Narrative box) Ronald was able to overcome temptation…
*image of Ron standing around with a sword*
Harry: Ron, kill it already! What’s taking you so long?!
Ron’s thought bubble: Kill the Stu, kill the Horcrux. Kill the Stu, kill the Horcrux. Damn! How am I supposed to choose?!
*image of Ron bringing the sword down on the Locket*
(Narrative box) …And destroy the unholy relic [*].
Panel 6:
Harry: Huh, Dumbledore knew he would leave… and come back….
Panel 7:
(Narrative box) With divine intervention, they escaped Malfoy Manor and arrived at Shell Cottage.
Harry: *on his knees, before Dobby’s grave* I trust in Dumbledore again! Thy word be done, Headmaster!
Panel 8:
(Narrative box) With the aid of a money-hoarding, greedy, big-nosed creature, they broke into the enemy’s pile of undoubtedly undeserved goods and took the Unholy Grail…
Hermione: *looking back at Griphook* Do you ever wonder if this series uses unpleasant racial stereotypes?
Harry: Heretic!
Panel 9:
(Narrative box) …And headed back to the Holy Land of Hogwarts.
*image of Neville, despite his injuries, looking eagerly at Harry, while Harry looks distracted*
Neville: Our savior! You have returned to us! I have been keeping the faith!
Harry: Oh, that’s nice… now, where’d he put that Horcrux?
(Narrative box) While a lesser man might become distracted by Longbottom’s state, Harry knew his mission from Dumbledore came first.
Panel 10:
Harry: CRUCIO!
McGonagall: “Potter, I - that was very - very gallant of you -” [**]
Harry: You can do anything you want if you do it For the Greater Good -
(Underbar: Page 594 American edition!)
Panel 11:
*image of Harry looking authoritative while McGonagall gazes at him with a “look of dawning wonder” *
Harry: That reminds me - “Professor, I’m acting on Dumbledore’s orders -”
McGonagall: “You’re acting on Dumbledore’s orders?”[***] May I wash your feet, Lord?
(Underbar: All quotes from p. 595 American edition!)
Panel 12:
(Narrative box) Harry learned that he had to die for all of Hogwarts, and overcame his doubts so that he could give himself to the Dark Lord to save us all.
Voldemort: Why are you slumping your head forward and holding your arms outstretched? And why are there lightning bolts in the background? And why are we suddenly on a cliff?
Harry: Do you doubt the special effects powers of the Headmaster? Out! Out, Slytherin!
Panel 13:
*Harry and Dumbledore sit in King’s Cross*
Dumbledore: You amazing, selfless boy, the loving protection of Lily has saved you once again.
Harry: You were the best teacher I ever had, sir.
Flayed Baby: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Huck - huck - unh…
Panel 14:
Harry: Say, what is that thing?
Flayed Baby: Eeeeeeeeeeeeee… Hunh… Waaaaaah….
Dumbledore: He did not accept his chance at redemption. We can’t help him.
Panel 15:
*picture of fading King’s Cross*
Harry: Makes sense. So, what now?
Dumbledore: You can go on, or bring the light that shines out of your arse of hope to the world again.
Harry: I suppose I don’t have much of a choice. I must save them!
Panel 16:
*image of very annoyed Voldemort and cheering crowd*
Ron: He has risen!
Hermione: Hallelujah!
Ginny: Our savior! Hurrah!
Miscellanous: Glorrrrrrrrrrrryyyyy, glorrrrrrrrrrrryyyy, to DUMBLEDORRRRRRRE -
Voldemort: BE SILENT! Why will you not be silenced?
Panel 17:
*image of Harry. For some reason, someone has scribbled on his picture, but instead of adding devil horns, they’ve added shoulder-length hair and a perfectly trimmed beard. Oh, yes, and a halo.*
Harry: Because I am protecting them! Now, listen to my Gospel of the Elder Wand!
Voldemort: Let’s face it, Potter. You haven’t ever escaped me out of your own skill, but through Dumbledorian intervention and the like. Grindelwald would have used you for a shoe-polisher when he was your age - you don’t have any magical competence. You’re a fool and a blithering idiot.
Panel 18:
*image of Harry pointing his wand and roaring; a large bolt of energy has erupted from his wand and a burst of light has slammed into Voldemort’s chest*
Harry: I cast you out! EXPELLIARMUS!
(Narrative Box) Voldy’s gone moldy, hooray!
Panel 19:
*A literally gigantic large-chested figure sits next to a table of Harry Potter books and glares down at Voldemort - although it is faceless, the intent is obvious. In the background one can see a picture of all of Hogwarts rejoicing.*
Voldemort: Who are you?
Shining figure: I am Jayker, the One True Author! You rejected My offers of redemption and blasphemed against My Literary Son Harry Potter!
Panel 20:
*she points down at Voldemort*
Jayker: Your name is not in the Book of Who Is Good! I cast you into the Pit of Everlasting Fanfiction forever!
Voldemort: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Panel 21:
*image of a ferret-faced Malfoy*
Don’t be like Voldemort or the Slytherins, who rejected Harry Potter and Dumbledore and so were cast into the Pit of Everlasting Fanfiction. All you have to do is say this simple prayer:
*shows Ron kneeling*
Ron: Oh Dumbledore, I accept Harry’s sacrifice for me. Please take me into your heart and shower me with your everlasting grace forever. A-men.
Panel 22:
Get started reading the Harry Potter books and incorporating the Greater Good into your everyday life TODAY!
END TRACT
[*]
You mean the Stu?
No. Who is this?
Prisoner-of-Azkaban-Harry.
Oh… well, pity, Harry…
I’m just stalling for time until I can kill it and bring the real Harry in, right?
…Who are you?
Prisoner-of-Azkaban-Ron. That is what I’m doing, right?
…Um….
Don’t be silly, Ron, of course you are! You’re not stupid enough for it to be the alternative!
Are you calling me stupid?
No! Hmph! Boys! *scowls*
*scowls back*
Um… hello… I’m Goblet-of-Fire Ginny…
Oh dear. This isn’t going to be pleasant…