Meta Links 2014/12/31 - 2015/1/7
Notices
If you have meta to submit or rec, please comment to this post or to the screened Submissions Post. If you'd like to give us blanket permission to link your meta please comment to the Blanket Permissions Post. If you have feedback or questions, check out our FAQ, Contact the Mods, or PM/email. If you'd like to volunteer to link-find or mod, please comment to the Volunteers Post.
General Fandom
You Can't Get Inside: Michael Arthur(blog) - "Furries are a little ridiculous. We have an understanding about that."
topic:fandom, topic furries
Tumblr Supernatural Fandom Pseuicides: A Grumpy Summary: snarp (DW) - "So. A bunch of Tumblr users recently pretended to attempt suicide due to "anonymous hate." They then either "miraculously recovered" or revealed that their "account was hacked.""
topic:fandom
What To Do When You Discover Your Co-Worker Writes Erotic Hulk Fanfic: Kiri Van Santen (blog) - "And now instead of thinking of her as Nancy, mummy of two adorable children, I think of her as Nancy, the filthy perv who gets off on Loki being fisted by the freaking Hulk."
topic:fandom, topic:fanfic
Brian K. Vaughan And The Ongoing Story of Post-9/11 America: John Parker (blog) - "But just as the long-term effects of September 11th are still palpable, Vaughan has continued to explore the anxieties of post-9/11 American throughout his work."
fandom:comics
Comics 201: Nobody Else Knows Either; Or, Why Comics Continuity Does and Doesn't Matter: Jordan West (blog) - "When your hero has been around for a decade or seven, there's bound to be a lot of history behind them. How much and which pieces of that history you need to know can vary wildly from one book to the next, and it might get completely cancelled out in the next issue, anyway."
fandom:comics
Fandom Does Not Use Technology. Technology Uses Fandom: morgandawn (DW) - "Fandom usually jumps into technologies, uses them, and then acts surprised when we realize that we have no clue what we're doing or how the use of the new tech has changed an aspect of our fandom culture."
topic:fandom, topic:technology
Creative Processes: zellieh (DW) - "Storytelling isn't some optional add-on, it's a core survival skill."
topic:writing, topic:fanfiction
Specific Fandom
Amistad
Amistad: Joseph Cinqué and All the Other Nameless Blacks: aelarsen (blog) - "Unfortunately, decisions that Spielberg made while editing the film produced a film that is much less about the Africans on the Amistad than the white Americans who helped them win their freedom."
fandom:amistad
Amistad: What It Gets Right: aelarsen (blog) - " I don't want to suggest that the film doesn't have any historical virtues, because it does. It offers a chilling cinematic depiction of the horrors of the Middle Passage."
fandom:amistad
Doctor Who
"The Moffat Era and Monikers: 'The Girl Who Waited' and 'The Impossible Girl' in Context,": tillthenexttimedoctor (blog) - "RTD era titles signified the final stage in constructing a character, whereas in the Moffat era they represent a character's beginning and serve as a place of deconstruction."
fandom:doctorwho
Doctor Who: a guide for the overwhelmed: Part One: the 1960s: londonkds (DW) - "This is for masqthphlsphr, who recently asked about the different eras of Doctor Who."
fandom:doctorwho, topic:history
Doctor Who: a guide for the overwhelmed: part 2: the 1970s: londonkds (DW) - "1970 saw a new Doctor, played by Jon Pertwee, a new showrunning team, Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks, the show being made in colour for the first time, and an entirely new concept."
fandom:doctorwho, topic:history
Doctor Who: a guide for the overwhelmed: part 3: the 1980s: londonkds (DW) - "This was only partly his fault, however, as the leadership of the BBC at the time were determined to finish the show off, as they thought that the BBC should be on one hand too artistically respectable, and on the other hand too hip, to make cheap crappy SF for an audience of pathetic semi-autistic basement dwellers."
fandom:doctorwho, topic:history
Doctor Who: a guide for the overwhelmed: part 4: the 21st century: londonkds (DW) - "In 2005, Russell T Davies managed to persuade the BBC to bring the Doctor back."
fandom:doctorwho, topic:history
Expanding on a comment in my big Who post: londonkds (DW) - "I don't think I've ever actually written in detail about my suspicions that the human villains of "Tomb of the Cybermen", Kaftan and Klieg, have anti-Semitic overtones."
fandom:doctorwho
Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy Tactics, entitlement and recognizing privlege: Nate Ewert-Krocker (blog) - "The last thing I expected, returning to FFT for my yearly playthrough, was to take away something new from the narrative."
fandom:finalfantasy, topic:gaming
Gotham
Just a Phase: Why Barbara Kean is Gotham's Most Problematic Character: Sam Riedel (blog) - "Many of these aspects of the show had some potential, but nearly all were squandered-and none more so than the sad tale of Barbara Kean, the latest in a long line of bisexual characters thrown under the bus by network TV."
fandom:gotham
The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale and Bad Slavery Comparisons: Noah Berlatsky (blog) - "In fact, the novel's horror is basically a nightmare vision in which white, college-educated women like Atwood are forced to undergo the experiences of women of color."
fandom:atwoodmargaret, topic:race, topic:sexism
Harry Potter
Dealing With Anxiety: Psychology Lessons from Harry Potter: Dr. Janina Scarlet (blog) - "Anyone who's read the Harry Potter series and/or watched the movies will probably agree that, throughout their years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry and his friends come face-to-face with some of their biggest fears on numerous occasions."
fandom:harrypotter
Hilda comics
Learning and Inspiring in Luke Pearson's 'Hilda' Comics: Janelle Asselin (blog) - "Charming all-ages comics that teach important lessons about gender - while not actually being about gender at all - are a unique and powerful thing. Luke Pearson's Hilda books from Nobrow Press/Flying Eye Books are stories about a young girl named Hilda. She could have been any gender at all within the framework of the plots, but the choice to have a female lead in these stories serves a powerful purpose that extends beyond the page."
fandom:comics, topic:femalecharacter
The Interview/Team America
Hard and Soft Power in Pyongyang: The Foreign Policy of "The Interview" and "Team America: World Police": Mark Lee (blog) - ""
fandom:theinterview, fandom:teamamerica
Sherlock BBC
"Difference and the Critical Possibility of Sherlock," : abrae/acafanmom (blog) - "Series three gives us a new perspective - Sherlock's. For the first time, we're invited to identify with him, to see through his eyes, and one of the most striking differences between his and John's point of view turns out to be the very different ways each understands Sherlock's place in the world. "
fandom:bbcsherlock
A Song of Ice and Fire
CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER ANALYSIS: JON III, ACOK: racefortheironthrone (blog) - "Jon III is an engaging mystery story, an agonizing moral struggle about how to balance the needs of a terrified young woman fighting for her son's life and the needs of an entire army, and a critical stage in Jon's growth."
fandom:asoiaf
The World Is Not Enough: msunyata (blog) - "Two prequel novellas and, of course, a world book - 2014 has come in as a rather substantial one for A Song of Ice and Fire fans, giving enthusiasts much and more to chew on and consider. How do these new releases impact the sum total of our knowledge and understanding of the mythology - and, what's more, can they be trusted in the same way that everything that came before was? And do they represent a new level of greediness on the part of either George R.R. Martin or his publishers?"
fandom:asoiaf
The Worst Man in Westeros: The Slavers: Jim McGeehin (blog) - "In the second part of this series, Jim offers an analysis of the slave trade in Planetos and puts an economic eye on the cities of Slaver's Bay."
fandom:asoiaf
Spider-man
I Still Like 'Spider-Man 3,' Even if Sam Raimi Doesn't: Matt Singer (blog) - "For any movie, rock bottom comes when its own director turns on it. For the much-maligned 2007 film 'Spider-Man 3,' rock bottom arrived earlier this week when its director, Sam Raimi, publicly admitted his dislike for his own film."
fandom:spiderman
Star Wars
Who Is Fulcrum? Speculating on Star Wars Rebels: Kay (blog) - "In the fifth episode of the first season of Star Wars Rebels, we are introduced to a character called Fulcrum by way of a voice who has information for our heroes."
fandom:starwars
Teen Wolf
He's a real boy now: Aunt Pol (Willow2013) (AO3) - "Character study on Jackson Whitmore, his thoughts and motivations in seasons 1 & 2."
fandom:teenwolf
The Bite is a Gift: Aunt Pol (Willow2013) (AO3) - "Meta thoughts on why Derek Hale sees the 'bite' as a gift."
fandom:teenwolf
White Collar
Why I was quite disappointed by the White Collar series finale (a vidder's perspective): luvtheheaven (AO3) - "So I was just re-watching the only full-length White Collar fanvideo I've ever made: Peter & Neal - ["Mr. Jones" by Counting Crows] and a few of the voiceovers I'd chosen to include back in 2012 when I made the vid reminded me, painfully, of exactly why the White Collar finale disappointed me."
fandom:whitecollar, topic:vidding, topic:canon
If you have meta to submit or rec, please comment to this post or to the screened Submissions Post. If you'd like to give us blanket permission to link your meta please comment to the Blanket Permissions Post. If you have feedback or questions, check out our FAQ, Contact the Mods, or PM/email. If you'd like to volunteer to link-find or mod, please comment to the Volunteers Post.
General Fandom
You Can't Get Inside: Michael Arthur(blog) - "Furries are a little ridiculous. We have an understanding about that."
topic:fandom, topic furries
Tumblr Supernatural Fandom Pseuicides: A Grumpy Summary: snarp (DW) - "So. A bunch of Tumblr users recently pretended to attempt suicide due to "anonymous hate." They then either "miraculously recovered" or revealed that their "account was hacked.""
topic:fandom
What To Do When You Discover Your Co-Worker Writes Erotic Hulk Fanfic: Kiri Van Santen (blog) - "And now instead of thinking of her as Nancy, mummy of two adorable children, I think of her as Nancy, the filthy perv who gets off on Loki being fisted by the freaking Hulk."
topic:fandom, topic:fanfic
Brian K. Vaughan And The Ongoing Story of Post-9/11 America: John Parker (blog) - "But just as the long-term effects of September 11th are still palpable, Vaughan has continued to explore the anxieties of post-9/11 American throughout his work."
fandom:comics
Comics 201: Nobody Else Knows Either; Or, Why Comics Continuity Does and Doesn't Matter: Jordan West (blog) - "When your hero has been around for a decade or seven, there's bound to be a lot of history behind them. How much and which pieces of that history you need to know can vary wildly from one book to the next, and it might get completely cancelled out in the next issue, anyway."
fandom:comics
Fandom Does Not Use Technology. Technology Uses Fandom: morgandawn (DW) - "Fandom usually jumps into technologies, uses them, and then acts surprised when we realize that we have no clue what we're doing or how the use of the new tech has changed an aspect of our fandom culture."
topic:fandom, topic:technology
Creative Processes: zellieh (DW) - "Storytelling isn't some optional add-on, it's a core survival skill."
topic:writing, topic:fanfiction
Specific Fandom
Amistad
Amistad: Joseph Cinqué and All the Other Nameless Blacks: aelarsen (blog) - "Unfortunately, decisions that Spielberg made while editing the film produced a film that is much less about the Africans on the Amistad than the white Americans who helped them win their freedom."
fandom:amistad
Amistad: What It Gets Right: aelarsen (blog) - " I don't want to suggest that the film doesn't have any historical virtues, because it does. It offers a chilling cinematic depiction of the horrors of the Middle Passage."
fandom:amistad
Doctor Who
"The Moffat Era and Monikers: 'The Girl Who Waited' and 'The Impossible Girl' in Context,": tillthenexttimedoctor (blog) - "RTD era titles signified the final stage in constructing a character, whereas in the Moffat era they represent a character's beginning and serve as a place of deconstruction."
fandom:doctorwho
Doctor Who: a guide for the overwhelmed: Part One: the 1960s: londonkds (DW) - "This is for masqthphlsphr, who recently asked about the different eras of Doctor Who."
fandom:doctorwho, topic:history
Doctor Who: a guide for the overwhelmed: part 2: the 1970s: londonkds (DW) - "1970 saw a new Doctor, played by Jon Pertwee, a new showrunning team, Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks, the show being made in colour for the first time, and an entirely new concept."
fandom:doctorwho, topic:history
Doctor Who: a guide for the overwhelmed: part 3: the 1980s: londonkds (DW) - "This was only partly his fault, however, as the leadership of the BBC at the time were determined to finish the show off, as they thought that the BBC should be on one hand too artistically respectable, and on the other hand too hip, to make cheap crappy SF for an audience of pathetic semi-autistic basement dwellers."
fandom:doctorwho, topic:history
Doctor Who: a guide for the overwhelmed: part 4: the 21st century: londonkds (DW) - "In 2005, Russell T Davies managed to persuade the BBC to bring the Doctor back."
fandom:doctorwho, topic:history
Expanding on a comment in my big Who post: londonkds (DW) - "I don't think I've ever actually written in detail about my suspicions that the human villains of "Tomb of the Cybermen", Kaftan and Klieg, have anti-Semitic overtones."
fandom:doctorwho
Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy Tactics, entitlement and recognizing privlege: Nate Ewert-Krocker (blog) - "The last thing I expected, returning to FFT for my yearly playthrough, was to take away something new from the narrative."
fandom:finalfantasy, topic:gaming
Gotham
Just a Phase: Why Barbara Kean is Gotham's Most Problematic Character: Sam Riedel (blog) - "Many of these aspects of the show had some potential, but nearly all were squandered-and none more so than the sad tale of Barbara Kean, the latest in a long line of bisexual characters thrown under the bus by network TV."
fandom:gotham
The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale and Bad Slavery Comparisons: Noah Berlatsky (blog) - "In fact, the novel's horror is basically a nightmare vision in which white, college-educated women like Atwood are forced to undergo the experiences of women of color."
fandom:atwoodmargaret, topic:race, topic:sexism
Harry Potter
Dealing With Anxiety: Psychology Lessons from Harry Potter: Dr. Janina Scarlet (blog) - "Anyone who's read the Harry Potter series and/or watched the movies will probably agree that, throughout their years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry and his friends come face-to-face with some of their biggest fears on numerous occasions."
fandom:harrypotter
Hilda comics
Learning and Inspiring in Luke Pearson's 'Hilda' Comics: Janelle Asselin (blog) - "Charming all-ages comics that teach important lessons about gender - while not actually being about gender at all - are a unique and powerful thing. Luke Pearson's Hilda books from Nobrow Press/Flying Eye Books are stories about a young girl named Hilda. She could have been any gender at all within the framework of the plots, but the choice to have a female lead in these stories serves a powerful purpose that extends beyond the page."
fandom:comics, topic:femalecharacter
The Interview/Team America
Hard and Soft Power in Pyongyang: The Foreign Policy of "The Interview" and "Team America: World Police": Mark Lee (blog) - ""
fandom:theinterview, fandom:teamamerica
Sherlock BBC
"Difference and the Critical Possibility of Sherlock," : abrae/acafanmom (blog) - "Series three gives us a new perspective - Sherlock's. For the first time, we're invited to identify with him, to see through his eyes, and one of the most striking differences between his and John's point of view turns out to be the very different ways each understands Sherlock's place in the world. "
fandom:bbcsherlock
A Song of Ice and Fire
CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER ANALYSIS: JON III, ACOK: racefortheironthrone (blog) - "Jon III is an engaging mystery story, an agonizing moral struggle about how to balance the needs of a terrified young woman fighting for her son's life and the needs of an entire army, and a critical stage in Jon's growth."
fandom:asoiaf
The World Is Not Enough: msunyata (blog) - "Two prequel novellas and, of course, a world book - 2014 has come in as a rather substantial one for A Song of Ice and Fire fans, giving enthusiasts much and more to chew on and consider. How do these new releases impact the sum total of our knowledge and understanding of the mythology - and, what's more, can they be trusted in the same way that everything that came before was? And do they represent a new level of greediness on the part of either George R.R. Martin or his publishers?"
fandom:asoiaf
The Worst Man in Westeros: The Slavers: Jim McGeehin (blog) - "In the second part of this series, Jim offers an analysis of the slave trade in Planetos and puts an economic eye on the cities of Slaver's Bay."
fandom:asoiaf
Spider-man
I Still Like 'Spider-Man 3,' Even if Sam Raimi Doesn't: Matt Singer (blog) - "For any movie, rock bottom comes when its own director turns on it. For the much-maligned 2007 film 'Spider-Man 3,' rock bottom arrived earlier this week when its director, Sam Raimi, publicly admitted his dislike for his own film."
fandom:spiderman
Star Wars
Who Is Fulcrum? Speculating on Star Wars Rebels: Kay (blog) - "In the fifth episode of the first season of Star Wars Rebels, we are introduced to a character called Fulcrum by way of a voice who has information for our heroes."
fandom:starwars
Teen Wolf
He's a real boy now: Aunt Pol (Willow2013) (AO3) - "Character study on Jackson Whitmore, his thoughts and motivations in seasons 1 & 2."
fandom:teenwolf
The Bite is a Gift: Aunt Pol (Willow2013) (AO3) - "Meta thoughts on why Derek Hale sees the 'bite' as a gift."
fandom:teenwolf
White Collar
Why I was quite disappointed by the White Collar series finale (a vidder's perspective): luvtheheaven (AO3) - "So I was just re-watching the only full-length White Collar fanvideo I've ever made: Peter & Neal - ["Mr. Jones" by Counting Crows] and a few of the voiceovers I'd chosen to include back in 2012 when I made the vid reminded me, painfully, of exactly why the White Collar finale disappointed me."
fandom:whitecollar, topic:vidding, topic:canon