Acafandom on the Expansion of Canons

[ancarett]

Over on Henry Jenkins' blog, there's a dialogue between academics Bob Rehak and Suzanne Scott all about RDM, Mrs. Ron and authorial power in BSG (read it in full here or subscribe to the feed via LJ's syndication here). And what really tweaked my interest was the identification of expanded canon (and the authorial control this implies) through new

Comments

[curtana]

Very interesting. Like you, I haven't listened to any of the BSG podcasts, nor do I typically listen to director's commentaries on DVDs (unless they're especially amusing!). I do sometimes read mainstream interviews (such as a few of Rowling's post-HP7 statements), but I don't integrate them into my personal canon unless they happen to jive with what I already feel is right ;) Because I'm not in the midst of fandom, but off on the side doing my own thing for the amusement of myself and a few friends, I don't expect to face any resistance to this decision. I imagine it's quite different for anyone who is deeply enmeshed in any given fan community, though

[curtana]

Oh, and I also meant to add - it seems possible that the expanding canon is really just an excuse for bad, lazy, or inadequate writing/directing/acting/whatever. Not saying this is the case with the podcasts, as I haven't watched them, but it does strike me somewhat with Rowling's interviews. If it was important enough to you-the-creator to be worth mentioning in supplementary material, maybe it should have just made it into the book, eh? (This is not getting into instances when supplementary stuff contradicts itself, which just.. arg.) Ditto with directors telling us what a character's motivation "really" was in a given scene - if it doesn't come across from the actor's portrayal, then maybe it's not so real after all

[ancarett]

Your comments are great! I agree with you that I'm sometimes worried whether all this off-the-cuff information outside of the shows and books is just an indictment of poor writing. Not so much with people asking JKR what happened after the epilogue but more with explanations about character motivations or off-screen events. If I have to be told, maybe you didn't do that good a job, eh?

[muccamukk]

(I've been out of school too long, and didn't understand half of what they said -g-)

I think for me, it really depends on the fandom. I've always ignored Tolkien, for example, when it comes to what he actually wanted to do with his texts. I think it's because there's just so many versions out there, that I can just pick and choose which I like best, or make up my own.

With more modern stuff, I sometimes watch extras. I listened to the BSG podcasts in season one, and the directors commentary for Pirates of the Caribbean. But my policy if it didn't happen on screen/page in the actual text, it's not canon. I'll sometimes play with ideas from outside content if I like them, but otherwise, I don't give a shit about authorial intent. Watching the actors be goofy in extras is fun though.

When canon contradicts my idea of what it should be, I sometimes have issues, especially if I find the original canon credible or believable. I can dismiss a lot of what happens on Stargate because it's a light-hearted show for the most part, and there's

[ancarett]

Sometimes I had to stop and scratch my head to follow along, too.

Like you, I sometimes adore commentaries. The Tolkien movies with the actors commentaries are great for listening to with a beer (or three). I should probably give the BSG podcasts a whirl, I know some of them are supposed to be great fun, but I'm still reluctant.

Like you, I think it's the prospect of ret-conning a serious and thoughtful show with all sorts of backstory I don't understand or which just plain seems to contradict the rest of what's shown -- it's painful to contemplate!

[zorb]

Conflicted. I'm more concerned when what's said only in the expanded canon has direct consequences for the presented canon.

I disagree with a lot of what they say about the BSG podcasts, though. Personally, I adore the 'casts (and I usually find Mrs. Ron's interruptions to be intrusive or over-explanatory of the obvious, heh). For me, it's a way to get insight into the creative process.

I think the degree to which a person is affected by these extras depends on how fixed their notion of a canon is, and whether they see it more as a "work in progress" or something complete from conception. There's merits to both views, and it's a scale, but today's close audience ties with creators opens the WIP end up more, which isn't always a comfortable thing for people to see.

[ancarett]

I will try and give some of the podcasts a try, especially if I do end up doing some more serious writing on the series. And if I get a suitable cable, I can run them from my MP3 player to the car stereo on my endless chauffeuring drives, eh?

[ancarett]

Yes! I love the long arcs (and the lack of episode-ending reset buttons). I love the thought that this all works together and that the intelligent reader can be left to think about how to fill in the rest without it all being spoonfed in novelizations or other media that rarely match the magic of the first.