Fandom ... one must love it... really ...
Firstly: yes, I'm backing everything up (which I haven't done in a few months). But, I don't think LJ is going anywhere that quickly. If you read various posts by people within the IT industry, you'll be reassured that LJ won't collapse overnight. These types of sites can run for months with minimal oversight (absent a major server failure). What
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This really is one of my problems with the AcaFen 'movement' - it takes the source and dissects it so much, making extremely arbitrary judgements about the values demonstrated by characters and plots. Fiction, in books or tv/movies, isn't supposed to be educational or a morality lay. Most fiction is utterly and completely outside my own real life experience - and that's why I partake of it!
Yes, we could create a show or book series about a wonderful family unit with 2 gay men, a POC lesbian, 2 straight men who aren't misogynist and open to their own potential romantic possibilities, and an adopted family to rival Brad and Angie's, who go around the world raising consciousness. But I'd bet dollars to donuts that people would eventually say "who ARE these people? They're so perfect that they're BORING?"
I'll tell you something else that all these posts involved in this meta discussion seem to include: the idea that 2 men in a show (i.e. Supernatural) shouldn't behave like they do - that their lack of homo-friendly behavior is wrong. NEWSFLASH: straight men don't tend to think of each other in gay terms. That's why they're STRAIGHT. Not doing so doesn't make them homophobic. It makes them STRAIGHT.
I mean, look, I'm bisexual. I like real gay fiction. (real as in the characters actually ARE gay) And this, to me, is a problem created by the preponderance of slash fiction - manipulating any relationship between 2 men or women into a gay relationship. It devalues heteronormative friendship, almost implying that it can't exist without there being an element of sexual attraction.
This is deeply troubling to me. I consider some of my non-sexual relationships to be the most precious in my life. They are not less important because there is no element of sex in them.
OK, I've gone off on a semi-OT rant there ;) Reeling it back in now!
Sidenote: it's funny - I really tend to avoid aca-fen discussions, finding them very insular and pretentious. Often, they seem to me to be nothing more than a demonstration of "I know more about academic analysis than you!" I've had people say to me that the reason that I avoid them is because I'm not capable of "keeping up with it." Errr, no. Not really. I've got both the academic background and the requisite gray matter. I just find it rather mastubatory, and judgemental! And it's things like the original issue here that reinforce that for me :D
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If people want to dissect TV shows on their PCness and historical accuracy, and write long learnt articles about them, that's great. What annoys me though is when these people get on a high horse vs those like me who are in fandom because it's a distraction from RL, rather than a mirror of it. I'm in it for the shiny and the boytoys, that's fandom for me, and I object to people wanting me to feel bad about that.
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I adore movies/tv about the Tudor era. Elizabeth? WONDERFUL. The Tudors? SUCH FUN.
I know the historical accuracy is, at best, dubious. The Tudors? They eliminated an entire sibling of Henry VIII. The way they've done it, Mary Queen of Scots wouldn't exist! But it's FUN.
I know the history. I read TONS of history books. But I'm able to divorce that knowledge from fluff ;)
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Girlka, you know my feelings mirror yours. Fandom is my break from the realities and responsibilities of RL.
And, if we asked Captain Jack his preference, I'm inclined to think that he would say -- oggle the shiny (and preferably oiled) boytoys!!!
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To borrow a much used phrase, "amen".
I'll tell you something else that all these posts involved in this meta discussion seem to include: the idea that 2 men in a show (i.e. Supernatural) shouldn't behave like they do - that their lack of homo-friendly behavior is wrong. NEWSFLASH: straight men don't tend to think of each other in gay terms. That's why they're STRAIGHT. Not doing so doesn't make them homophobic. It makes them STRAIGHT.
Oh dear. You nearly made me choke while I was laughing. Does this mean I have a cause of action against you? There's causality, isn't there?
Touche though. And it's actually fascinating talking to a non-fan about a particular programme and their view on it; that's when you realize how ... influenced we can be by fandom alone. And how easy it is to get caught up in the non-canon sexual relationships. On that point, as an example, I've read some wonderful SGA fics which explore the incredible friendships between the team members. I've been reduced to tears because of the depth of devotion and love the team has for each other.
And in response to your sidenote, I've had people say to me that the reason that I avoid them is because I'm not capable of "keeping up with it." I just had a flashback to an Avenue Q moment where Trekkie Monster is telling Kate Monster that "Ooooh, you have no idea." M'dear -- you could talk them into the stocks if you so wished -- I have no doubt about that!
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"And it's actually fascinating talking to a non-fan about a particular programme and their view on it; that's when you realize how ... influenced we can be by fandom alone."
DUDE. OK, see, I don't watch any of the SG universe regularly. I catch an ep here and there, but there's only so much time, and I have a LOT of things I like to watch, sooo, yeah. Maybe someday I'll get the DVDs, marathon, and love.
But Scott watches them all, regularly. And almost died when I told him about all the fic, especially the slash. Scott is NOT homophobic, he's just hugely STRAIGHT. He reads fiction with gay characters, enjoys it, etc yadda and so forth. When the characters ARE gay. But when he heard about all the slash pairings, he said "Geez, imagine what they'd do if Marty and I were characters in a show?" See, Marty's a good friend of his - very close friend. They're both VERY STRAIGHT men - no deviation on Kinsey scale, etc. They love women. (And, as the woman who is loved by one of them, I say YAY!) But if they were characters, slashers would have them in An Epic Romance, with Much Sex. Because they love each other. But it's not THAT kind of love!
"M'dear -- you could talk them into the stocks if you so wished -- I have no doubt about that! "
*blush* and THANK YOU.
I get accused of being vastly trivial, at times. Honestly, I can be. But I have Deep Thoughts, too! And the capability of expressing them. And I do love talking about it, at cons, over drinks, etc! I just feel that many times, these academic fans lose the forest for the trees, if you follow me. If it's only about dissecting, digressing, and often, ultimately disparaging, where's the FUN?
Daily life is full of enough drama, angst and woe. Just LOOK at the world! War, famine, economic recession, Prop 8, etc etc etc. Fandom is my refuge from all of that.
Jack and Ianto agree with me. *icon*
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"And how easy it is to get caught up in the non-canon sexual relationships. "
There's another pitfall in this - fans read/fangirl those non-canon relationships, and then are disappointed when the original source material doesn't deliver on that. They forget that it was never set up to do so!
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Wot? You'ze mean Artur and Merlin won't be happy ever'after?
::slaps my own wrist::
Seriously though, I'm flabbergasted by the fans who truly believe that TPTB will write their boys/girls (whatever combination) into a happily ever after.
The only time I've seen it remotely intimated was in the final ep of dueSouth. That was ... remarkable actually.
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Well there was Xena ;)
And oh, Willow/Tara, I remember when people were like 'Oh noes, that's so not going to happen' when the subtext started, and to me it was so damn obvious.
Then Whedon made it canon, and I was in squee-land. Also, Spike/Angel is fairly canon as well, but not in the lovey/dovey way some fans would like.
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