Honestly, for a lot of people I think it is a recognition thing. Genfic doesn't get the same audience that ~romance does and shipping is a big deal in glee fandom in particular. (It is in all fandoms, really, but glee fandom seems to be driven by it.) Writing anything for glee is usually about covering the giant plotholes the writers leave behind; which does go both ways with gen and shippy fic, but I've always been a bit surprised at how little emphasis there is on friendships in glee fandom in particular. I suppose the show itself promotes it - I mean, I think it says something that we're four seasons in and we only just met one of the original pilot character's mother and that is the first time we've actually addressed the fact that he has a family. Glee doesn't put any emphasis on relationships that aren't romantic (unless you're the Hummels). The most time placed on a non-romantic relationship would probably be Will's teaching relationship with his students.
It's a weird situation because usually, if you don't get something out of the source material, you go out and create or find whatever is you want more of, which in a lot of cases it's romantic-centric things. But for Glee, I thought there would be a million friendship fics because that wasn't the focus at all in the show and I thought everyone else would think the same way. Instead, there's even less than the typical fandom. So maybe for most people, it isn't about filling in the blanks of what the source doesn't give you, maybe the source does inform the fandom, as you said. So I guess I've been doing it wrong the entire time hahaha
Well if you look at Supernatural fandom for example, the show is based around friendships and family. Family galore. Friendships galore. Romantic attachments are fleeting or die horribly - so in order to get the romantic angle fandom twists the family or friendship bonds into something romantic. There's a pattern there that they keep to. There's a higher quantity of friendship or family fic because that's what the show is focused on, but because it's fandom and romance wins out over all, the romantic fic in that fandom springs from family/friendship. They, for the most part, don't use those outside romantic parties because the show treats them as "unimportant
( ... )
Sighs. So very true. And another thing about SPN having more gen is the general issue of incest being one of the few viable options is something that not a lot of people are going to dig in the first place (like myself, for example).
Yeah Shelby mentioned earlier that the genfic is really ship-focused fic, which is terribly annoying.
Exactly. I mean - if you take Harry Potter as well - by nature of the source, most of the relationships are actually friendship or family. So while the fandom has a HUGE focus on shipping, there's also significantly more genfic as well because the source supports the friendships as being important.
Glee is a very young fandom, in a lot of ways I think, so there's a considerable amount of focus reflected in what the show feeds us and not as much critical thinking applied to the source. So when Glee tells you over and over again that friendships aren't important, the fandom definitely reflects that. (Honestly, glee continuously has their characters backstab each other or cheat on each other. So while there's enormous potential for friendships, fandom bypasses it almost entirely.)
It still blows my mind on how Glee doesn't care about friendships it's such a goldmine - you have all these interesting characters from different social circles coming together for this one extracurricular and you just...ignore all that?
I'm still baffled that they've written a show based in high school that has almost no focus on friendships. Once upon a time I thought that would have been impossible?
Admittedly, the new directions of season 4 have had SO MUCH MORE FOCUS on friendships it's almost mind blowing.
Haha I have the opposite problem, she keeps SHOWING UP in everything I write because I looove her. She's so great. Her scenes in the last episode pulled it out of the dark shithole of pain almost entirely on their own (the Rachel scenes could come too)
Definitely include her. it'll just make it more perfect.
I guess the source informs the fandom??
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Yeah Shelby mentioned earlier that the genfic is really ship-focused fic, which is terribly annoying.
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Glee is a very young fandom, in a lot of ways I think, so there's a considerable amount of focus reflected in what the show feeds us and not as much critical thinking applied to the source. So when Glee tells you over and over again that friendships aren't important, the fandom definitely reflects that. (Honestly, glee continuously has their characters backstab each other or cheat on each other. So while there's enormous potential for friendships, fandom bypasses it almost entirely.)
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Admittedly, the new directions of season 4 have had SO MUCH MORE FOCUS on friendships it's almost mind blowing.
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and
yet
no friendship fics.
Although I really shouldn't talk because I've overall taken a step back in fandom participation.
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(give me all the Kitty friendship fics though BECAUSE HER DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN STELLAR.)
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(ONE DAY I'LL WRITE BLAINE+KITTY ONE DAY)
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I have ideas. Ideas, I cry as I write nothing.
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Definitely include her. it'll just make it more perfect.
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but yes I need to add Kitty she is an angel
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