fic is what happens when ...
Wow. Some lively discussion here (in comments) on the legalities, definitions, worth, and morality of fanfiction.
I'm so glad I've made a little rule to myself about not jumping into such discussions off LJ. My 'it's not for you!' cries would make me look like a lunatic, I'm sure.
However, it's always interesting for me to see what points non-fen make about fic, either for or against the practice. It's also interesting when I realize that so much of how I see fandom and fic relies heavily on the culture and community we have built.
Fanfiction can be commentary, it can be feminist, it can be queer, it can be a highly creative endeavor, and it can be all of the above.
But to me, it is very hard to separate fanfiction from fandom. Taking the practice and looking at it singularly and out of the context of the fan community is virtually impossible. Because fic is what happens when two friends get together and chat about what kind of cat Spencer Smith would be if he transformed. Fic is what happens when someone is having a bad day and someone on her flist writes John/Rodney tickling because that'll cheer her up. Fic is what happens when there's a throwaway line in an episode or an interview about homoeroticism and thirty fangirls squee in a LJ thread and then there's comment porn based on that throwaway line.
Fic is what happens when an abused housewife has nothing good going for her at all except a random Spike-centric bulletin board she found while trying to escape a horrible reality, just for a little while. Fic is what happens when someone feels included and accepted for the first time in her life. It's friendship and sometimes it's family.
And sure, fic can be and is all kinds of sophisticated academic words and explanations, and fandom itself can be and is all sorts of anthropological critiques, but fic and fandom are also so much more to me, and it's odd sometimes to see people discussing something I hold so dear and love so much while missing such a huge part of what it is for so many people.
eta: unlocked! 6 years later and I feel the same way.
I'm so glad I've made a little rule to myself about not jumping into such discussions off LJ. My 'it's not for you!' cries would make me look like a lunatic, I'm sure.
However, it's always interesting for me to see what points non-fen make about fic, either for or against the practice. It's also interesting when I realize that so much of how I see fandom and fic relies heavily on the culture and community we have built.
Fanfiction can be commentary, it can be feminist, it can be queer, it can be a highly creative endeavor, and it can be all of the above.
But to me, it is very hard to separate fanfiction from fandom. Taking the practice and looking at it singularly and out of the context of the fan community is virtually impossible. Because fic is what happens when two friends get together and chat about what kind of cat Spencer Smith would be if he transformed. Fic is what happens when someone is having a bad day and someone on her flist writes John/Rodney tickling because that'll cheer her up. Fic is what happens when there's a throwaway line in an episode or an interview about homoeroticism and thirty fangirls squee in a LJ thread and then there's comment porn based on that throwaway line.
Fic is what happens when an abused housewife has nothing good going for her at all except a random Spike-centric bulletin board she found while trying to escape a horrible reality, just for a little while. Fic is what happens when someone feels included and accepted for the first time in her life. It's friendship and sometimes it's family.
And sure, fic can be and is all kinds of sophisticated academic words and explanations, and fandom itself can be and is all sorts of anthropological critiques, but fic and fandom are also so much more to me, and it's odd sometimes to see people discussing something I hold so dear and love so much while missing such a huge part of what it is for so many people.
eta: unlocked! 6 years later and I feel the same way.