Icon extremely fucking relevant
Oh shit, talking about Mary Sues is fashionable right now, I need to get in on this.
First let me say that I think the people who are saying that anyone who uses the term Mary-Sue is a self-hating misogynist fangirl are batty, but so are the people who say that those who write or can appreciate Mary Sues are destined to be shitty writers and they are only reinforcing feminine ideals to which no woman can ever live up to. I'd also like to say that anyone who didn't realize My Immortal is a sublime trollfic should not even be participating in this discussion.
WITH ALL THAT SAID, I do think that Mary Sue hate has gender issues tied into it but that when you cut to the heart of the matter its more about fitting in in fandom. Kind of like how everyone feels the compulsive need to make fun of hipsters/furries/emo kids/girly girls/preps/freshmen/etc.? Hating on Mary Sues is just another way to "belong" and also verify that you are A Good And Serious Writer. Kind of like the rejection of pink once all of your friends start to tell you that pink is a stupid colour.
Likewise I think it's something that you grow out of, and I think anybody who says that a Mary Sue phase is just indicative of a bad writer is full of shit and has possibly never read or watched anything ever. You do not spring from the uterus knowing how to create a subtle, fleshed out and completely human character, and the majority of stories are built to revolve around a handful of "special" characters (and work perfectly as intended in doing so). I tend to think the people who are still hating on Mary Sues well past the point where they ought to are just going to be churning out characters that are mindnumbingly boring, created with timidity, and also probably include the words "slightly chubby" somewhere in the physical description as some kind of absurd buffer against criticism.
Which isn't to say we need some kind of "Mary Sue Celebration," unless by that you mean a Bayonetta marathon in which case I'm totally in, but. Everyone needs to chill out and read more badfic and learn to laugh behind their hand about it rather than heading over to fanficrants to make an obnoxiously flabbergasted post with cringingly unfunny commentary stuck between copy-pasted lines.
First let me say that I think the people who are saying that anyone who uses the term Mary-Sue is a self-hating misogynist fangirl are batty, but so are the people who say that those who write or can appreciate Mary Sues are destined to be shitty writers and they are only reinforcing feminine ideals to which no woman can ever live up to. I'd also like to say that anyone who didn't realize My Immortal is a sublime trollfic should not even be participating in this discussion.
WITH ALL THAT SAID, I do think that Mary Sue hate has gender issues tied into it but that when you cut to the heart of the matter its more about fitting in in fandom. Kind of like how everyone feels the compulsive need to make fun of hipsters/furries/emo kids/girly girls/preps/freshmen/etc.? Hating on Mary Sues is just another way to "belong" and also verify that you are A Good And Serious Writer. Kind of like the rejection of pink once all of your friends start to tell you that pink is a stupid colour.
Likewise I think it's something that you grow out of, and I think anybody who says that a Mary Sue phase is just indicative of a bad writer is full of shit and has possibly never read or watched anything ever. You do not spring from the uterus knowing how to create a subtle, fleshed out and completely human character, and the majority of stories are built to revolve around a handful of "special" characters (and work perfectly as intended in doing so). I tend to think the people who are still hating on Mary Sues well past the point where they ought to are just going to be churning out characters that are mindnumbingly boring, created with timidity, and also probably include the words "slightly chubby" somewhere in the physical description as some kind of absurd buffer against criticism.
Which isn't to say we need some kind of "Mary Sue Celebration," unless by that you mean a Bayonetta marathon in which case I'm totally in, but. Everyone needs to chill out and read more badfic and learn to laugh behind their hand about it rather than heading over to fanficrants to make an obnoxiously flabbergasted post with cringingly unfunny commentary stuck between copy-pasted lines.