in praise of unhappy endings
So, time for the first of my Unpopular Fannish Opinions. I thought I'd start with one of the least controversial, one I've mentioned before. (Plus, appropriate, since I'm working feverishly on my ds_team_angst story! Which may or may not have an unhappy ending.) Some ground rules, though, for this and subsequent UFO posts:
Okay! So let's start with this: I like unhappy endings and deathfic. (Think The End of the Road (dS) or No Happy Memories (HP)). Many people won't read a non-happy story, but I think that in the universe of stories, the unhappy ones are some of the most profound and interesting. Shakespeare's comedies are wonderful works, okay, but his tragedies are more moving and memorable. But most people, I think, read fanfiction for different reasons than they read original fiction, and I suspect that the reason that unhappy stories are avoided by many is that they don't satisfy those reasons.
A large part of the divide, it seems to me, is that between the OTPer and No-TPer. The people I know who are OTP-centric want to read stories about their OTP getting together, or being together, or facing crises that almost tear them apart or kill them but yet they overcome and their love triumphs. (Actually, I like reading these stories, too!) They are invested in a particular vision of these characters as a couple. And I think that in general, they view all the stories about this couple (say, John and Rodney) as being small variations on the potential that they see in canon.
(And, I mean, there's nothing wrong with that - if you love the idea of John and Rodney as a couple, of course you want to read stories about their relationship, in which they live happily ever after! Duh!)
I'm not an OTPer. I tend to the OTC (one true character - interested in the fandom mostly as centered around a particular character) but actually, don't even hold to that. It's a combination of the characters and the universe that interest me. I can accept wide variations of characterization, provided the author convinces me with internal consistency. And therefore, I view all the stories I read as being completely different options: here's a story where John ends up with Rodney, here's one where he ends up with Ronon, and here's one where he goes off in a jumper on a suicide mission (that actually, for a change, ends in his death). I can have them all in my head, no problem.
And for me there's something unbelievably poignant about the story where John and Rodney are on the verge of declaring their feelings to each other, and then John has to go off in a jumper on a suicide mission, because that's the only possible way to save Atlantis and his sense of duty will allow nothing less. It's a true tragedy. A good author will remorselessly show the developing relationship and the inevitably approaching calamity. My feelings are already bound up in these characters; I care about them so much that the unhappy ending rips my heart into itty bitty pieces.
"And you like that?" I hear you asking, incredulously. Well, yeah, I do. Because part of what makes a story good (to me) is its emotional draw - how strongly it brings me in to the story and makes me care about what happens, what happens next, what happens to these characters I love. Of course I love happy endings. But sometimes the unhappy ending makes a better story.
So John dies, or Geoffrey gets Alzheimer's disease, or Fraser and Ray turn out to have irreconcilable differences and part ways forever. And my heart is ripped into itty bitty pieces. I figure the next story I read will put it back together, maybe in an entirely different way. But I kind of like having these tragic versions of the characters living in my head along with the happy ones. Maybe it's got something to do with the famous Tolstoy quote: All happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Including tragedy expands the depth of these characters to me in some way, I think, and allows me to read a greater number of possible stories about them. And that makes me...happy.
- By "unpopular" I do not mean "uniquely mine." I also do not mean "which cause me to be oppressed by the majority." These are opinions I feel are in the minority, but yes, I know there are people who agree with me, so you don't have to tell me about them. Unless you're one and just want to chime in.
- By "fannish" I mean everything having to do with fandom, including not only fanfiction but also personal interaction, livejournal use, and anything else I can think of. Some of them are quite trivial. Some are bombshells, and I'm not entirely sure I've got the guts to post those.
- By "opinion" I mean that this is how I, personally feel, and you are not likely to change my mind by arguing with me or telling me why I'm wrong. You are welcome to politely disagree with my assumptions, or tell me why you, personally, draw different conclusions. But I'm still probably not going to change my mind. (I'm not expecting to change yours, either.)
Okay! So let's start with this: I like unhappy endings and deathfic. (Think The End of the Road (dS) or No Happy Memories (HP)). Many people won't read a non-happy story, but I think that in the universe of stories, the unhappy ones are some of the most profound and interesting. Shakespeare's comedies are wonderful works, okay, but his tragedies are more moving and memorable. But most people, I think, read fanfiction for different reasons than they read original fiction, and I suspect that the reason that unhappy stories are avoided by many is that they don't satisfy those reasons.
A large part of the divide, it seems to me, is that between the OTPer and No-TPer. The people I know who are OTP-centric want to read stories about their OTP getting together, or being together, or facing crises that almost tear them apart or kill them but yet they overcome and their love triumphs. (Actually, I like reading these stories, too!) They are invested in a particular vision of these characters as a couple. And I think that in general, they view all the stories about this couple (say, John and Rodney) as being small variations on the potential that they see in canon.
(And, I mean, there's nothing wrong with that - if you love the idea of John and Rodney as a couple, of course you want to read stories about their relationship, in which they live happily ever after! Duh!)
I'm not an OTPer. I tend to the OTC (one true character - interested in the fandom mostly as centered around a particular character) but actually, don't even hold to that. It's a combination of the characters and the universe that interest me. I can accept wide variations of characterization, provided the author convinces me with internal consistency. And therefore, I view all the stories I read as being completely different options: here's a story where John ends up with Rodney, here's one where he ends up with Ronon, and here's one where he goes off in a jumper on a suicide mission (that actually, for a change, ends in his death). I can have them all in my head, no problem.
And for me there's something unbelievably poignant about the story where John and Rodney are on the verge of declaring their feelings to each other, and then John has to go off in a jumper on a suicide mission, because that's the only possible way to save Atlantis and his sense of duty will allow nothing less. It's a true tragedy. A good author will remorselessly show the developing relationship and the inevitably approaching calamity. My feelings are already bound up in these characters; I care about them so much that the unhappy ending rips my heart into itty bitty pieces.
"And you like that?" I hear you asking, incredulously. Well, yeah, I do. Because part of what makes a story good (to me) is its emotional draw - how strongly it brings me in to the story and makes me care about what happens, what happens next, what happens to these characters I love. Of course I love happy endings. But sometimes the unhappy ending makes a better story.
So John dies, or Geoffrey gets Alzheimer's disease, or Fraser and Ray turn out to have irreconcilable differences and part ways forever. And my heart is ripped into itty bitty pieces. I figure the next story I read will put it back together, maybe in an entirely different way. But I kind of like having these tragic versions of the characters living in my head along with the happy ones. Maybe it's got something to do with the famous Tolstoy quote: All happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Including tragedy expands the depth of these characters to me in some way, I think, and allows me to read a greater number of possible stories about them. And that makes me...happy.