The SPN Mytharc and Ways of Being a Presence in Fictional Universes
bowtrunckle has posted a lovely, thoughtful and insightful SPN meta essay titled "Tension, Conflict, Motivation, and Plot: Why the Story is About Dean and We Do Know Sam". She makes a lot of fascinating points - not just about SPN but about constructing narratives and dramatic tension in general - and has a wonderful geeky chart, too. :-)
Her essay almost - but not quite - addresses an issue that has been making me uneasy about where the SPN mytharc might be going since S1. And so, because it was time, I finally committed SPN meta myself.
Vague mytharc spoilers up to 3x12, no spoilers for unaired episodes. I am unspoiled for any and all unaired eps and wish to remain so, so please, no spoilers in comments!
To my mind, there are different ways of being a presence in a fictional universe. "Plot time" - meaning involvement in and/or moving forward of the plot - is not identical with "importance within the fictional universe". It's the latter arena where I fear that SPN may turn lopsided in the future; it hasn't quite done so yet, IMO, but it has set up a lot of factors that make it seem like the mytharc is going there at full tilt.
Let me explain what I mean by citing one telling instance that exemplifies a trend woven throughout all of the mytharc plot threads: Dean's deal and the powerful, as yet anonymous demon who's holding the contract for his soul.
I have a feeling that in the end, this mysterious and powerful demon who wants Dean's soul so badly will turn out to want it not because of Dean himself - because he's killed Azazel, say, or because his hunting prowess makes him a threat, because Anonymous!Demon thinks he'd make an excellent weapon against other demons, because he chews with his mouth open or his wisecracking ways are just plain irritating or what have you - but rather because Dean is Sam's brother, and can be used to threaten, torture or influence Sam.
In other words: I fear that in this instance and in the fictional universe of SPN at large, Dean's importance not to the plot, but to the fictional world is derived solely from Sam's importance.
If this does turn out to be the case, that doesn't mean that Dean has (or will have) less plot than Sam in the sense of driving events, discovering key facts, occupying screen time and the like. It also doesn't mean that Dean holds - or is intended to hold - a lesser role in the actual story being told; the story has always been and will always be about Sam and Dean equally, and that won't change, no matter what the mytharc does.
But, again - it would mean that Dean's importance within the fictional universe is second-hand, a reflection of Sam's. This isn't something that will bother everyone, but it will most certainly bother me.
An imbalance of "worldly" importance doesn't bother me in every fictional world, because there are so many other factors that can come into play. But for me, the story of SPN is a straightforward action-oriented tale carried by a very closely intertwined duo of protagonists, and not possessed of additional layers of narrative meaning. In SPN, if one of the duo of protagonists is a creature of legendary, apocalyptic power who has been variously manipulated, hunted, stalked, revered and feared by demons and other legendary, apocalyptic powers for his entire life, and the other protagonist is his brother... then that's a radical imbalance that isn't balanced out by any other factor.
If Sam is The Antichrist, and Dean is Sam's Brother, then for me, that is A Problem.
But for many others, it isn't. It's a question of personal preference in the construction of narratives.
I received what I feel is a telling reply to a comment I made once about my apprehension that it will, in the end, turn out to be All About Sam. The fan I was speaking with told me: "If it is All About Sam, that's okay because Sam is all about Dean - so, see, it comes out even in the end". She doesn't perceive the chasm between the characters' relative importance within their world as a bothersome imbalance, because to her it's evened out by other factors.
De gustibus non est disputandum.
Which doesn't mean I'm not still holding out hope.
Her essay almost - but not quite - addresses an issue that has been making me uneasy about where the SPN mytharc might be going since S1. And so, because it was time, I finally committed SPN meta myself.
Vague mytharc spoilers up to 3x12, no spoilers for unaired episodes. I am unspoiled for any and all unaired eps and wish to remain so, so please, no spoilers in comments!
To my mind, there are different ways of being a presence in a fictional universe. "Plot time" - meaning involvement in and/or moving forward of the plot - is not identical with "importance within the fictional universe". It's the latter arena where I fear that SPN may turn lopsided in the future; it hasn't quite done so yet, IMO, but it has set up a lot of factors that make it seem like the mytharc is going there at full tilt.
Let me explain what I mean by citing one telling instance that exemplifies a trend woven throughout all of the mytharc plot threads: Dean's deal and the powerful, as yet anonymous demon who's holding the contract for his soul.
I have a feeling that in the end, this mysterious and powerful demon who wants Dean's soul so badly will turn out to want it not because of Dean himself - because he's killed Azazel, say, or because his hunting prowess makes him a threat, because Anonymous!Demon thinks he'd make an excellent weapon against other demons, because he chews with his mouth open or his wisecracking ways are just plain irritating or what have you - but rather because Dean is Sam's brother, and can be used to threaten, torture or influence Sam.
In other words: I fear that in this instance and in the fictional universe of SPN at large, Dean's importance not to the plot, but to the fictional world is derived solely from Sam's importance.
If this does turn out to be the case, that doesn't mean that Dean has (or will have) less plot than Sam in the sense of driving events, discovering key facts, occupying screen time and the like. It also doesn't mean that Dean holds - or is intended to hold - a lesser role in the actual story being told; the story has always been and will always be about Sam and Dean equally, and that won't change, no matter what the mytharc does.
But, again - it would mean that Dean's importance within the fictional universe is second-hand, a reflection of Sam's. This isn't something that will bother everyone, but it will most certainly bother me.
An imbalance of "worldly" importance doesn't bother me in every fictional world, because there are so many other factors that can come into play. But for me, the story of SPN is a straightforward action-oriented tale carried by a very closely intertwined duo of protagonists, and not possessed of additional layers of narrative meaning. In SPN, if one of the duo of protagonists is a creature of legendary, apocalyptic power who has been variously manipulated, hunted, stalked, revered and feared by demons and other legendary, apocalyptic powers for his entire life, and the other protagonist is his brother... then that's a radical imbalance that isn't balanced out by any other factor.
If Sam is The Antichrist, and Dean is Sam's Brother, then for me, that is A Problem.
But for many others, it isn't. It's a question of personal preference in the construction of narratives.
I received what I feel is a telling reply to a comment I made once about my apprehension that it will, in the end, turn out to be All About Sam. The fan I was speaking with told me: "If it is All About Sam, that's okay because Sam is all about Dean - so, see, it comes out even in the end". She doesn't perceive the chasm between the characters' relative importance within their world as a bothersome imbalance, because to her it's evened out by other factors.
De gustibus non est disputandum.
Which doesn't mean I'm not still holding out hope.