Comments | miss_morland: Les beaux hommes sans merci

miss_morland

Les beaux hommes sans merci

Feb 10, 2013 19:42

I swear, Valjean/Javert is going to be the death of me. It's been ages since a fandom/pairing gave me so many ~ feels (as the Tumblr people say) and it's a bit too intense to be entirely pleasant. The Les Mis kink meme is both helping and not helping, and it's moving so fast. /slightly overwhelmed

( In which I try to come to terms with my internalised snobbery )

recs, jane austen, les miserables

Comments 14

taiyou_to_tsuki February 10 2013, 19:46:26 UTC

That sort of participation culture in fandom is... fairly fascinating, frequently frustrating (alliteration!) as well as understandable. I've always ended up on the Before It Was Cool side, and I regret to say that it's too easy to feel annoyed when something you appreciate is suddenly overrun by people excited about something that's not quite the same, and often overlook what you think made that thing so awesome in the first place...

(Then there's the fact that my main fandom is Doctor Who, which isn't even one fandom at this point despite the new series being a continuation of the old one. Which makes for a quite unique scenario, really.)

But, as for Les Misérables - aren't the book and musical already very different? In that case, there could be a... triplefold fandom divide. Oh dear. :'D

miss_morland February 10 2013, 20:05:12 UTC

Doctor Who is fascinating and (to me) a bit terrifying -- to me it seems like it has to be the most complicated fandom in the world. :-P Isn't it even difficult to define what's canon, what with the different series and spin-off novels and all?

But, as for Les Misérables - aren't the book and musical already very different?

They are, and the new movie mixes elements from both. I don't think there's a fandom divide as such -- there are lots of people who are book/musical/movie fans at once, and it's my impression that they hang out in the same fannish spaces. I think the issue is that I'm being judgemental of myself, if that makes sense; because I too am used to being at the Before It Was Cool side, and now I'm feeling a bit like I'm jumping on the bandwagon, so to speak; like, it's my inner hipster coming out to harsh my squee. I'll do my best to get over myself, though. *g*

taiyou_to_tsuki February 10 2013, 20:30:30 UTC

The first rule of Doctor Who canon is: there is no canon. Or, well, what's in the TV series usually takes precedence, but the show contradicts itself an immense number of time due to the many years it's been running (and sometimes shoddy writing). We don't tend to read everything as gospel though; in a way the ridiculous amount of spin-off media is liberating, because most fans tend to approach it as a smörgåsbord of possibilities. So you get to pick and choose, basically. Doctors or companions who suffered from weak writing in the series have many times been redeemed through paracanon; to some fans the spin-offs are essential to our understanding of the characters. Not to mention that to some fans, the books/comics/audios was the Who they grew up with while the show was on hiatus - for a long time the books were canon, later only challenged by the audio range.

Ah, I can understand that. You never want to be the person others find annoying, after all. :'D

miss_morland February 10 2013, 20:36:45 UTC

Oh, I see. *strokes chin* Not too different from quite a few comics canons, then?

Haha! I guess not, though nobody can ever be sure they don't get on anyone's nerves -- that's just life. *g*

Thread 10

halotolerant February 11 2013, 11:49:42 UTC

I do have a feeling of arriving late to a more sophisticated party with only really knowing the movie, but on the other hand I don't think it ought to matter. I mean, I prefer book!Narnia to the movie, and didn't always want the characterisations that movie fans wrote, but it didn't bother me and didn't feel they were doing anything wrong! I think particularly in a world with a canon with several adpations, the variation in how people think the characters look will be so great, that changes a lot.

And yes, Valjean/Javert FEELS, I am with you on this *g*

miss_morland February 11 2013, 11:59:40 UTC

I prefer book!Narnia to the movie, and didn't always want the characterisations that movie fans wrote, but it didn't bother me and didn't feel they were doing anything wrong!

Agreed, and that applies to Tintin fandom as well! I think my conflicted LM feelings are just the result of my inner hipster being obnoxious and making me angst -- but I'm almost over it already. *g*

Ooof, so many FEELS. I'll have to watch the movie again soon...

ysilme February 12 2013, 09:04:55 UTC

I don't know Les Misérables yet in the least; the movie will be my one and probably only exposure to the subject. I'm not a musical fan, I never wanted to read Hugo much, even if the original version wouldn't be a problem, but I totally see your point. In all the fannish love and activity I've been involved over the years, I knew the books first and while I love the movies usually quite a lot, it'll always be the book canon first for me by personal preference. But this separation inside a fandom happens more or less intense any time, depending on where in fandom you dwell. My first common fandom experience like this was with the Potterverse, where I observed some Very Weird Happenings in the German-speaking Snape-centered fandom corner I started. I still have my eyebrows disappearing into my hairline when I think back ( ... )

miss_morland February 12 2013, 09:50:16 UTC

In all the fannish love and activity I've been involved over the years, I knew the books first and while I love the movies usually quite a lot, it'll always be the book canon first for me by personal preference.

This is the case for me as well, which is probably why I'm having these conflicting feelings now. *g* As I said to taiyou_to_tsuki above, Les Mis fandom doesn't really come across as all that divided to me, at least not along the book vs. adaptations lines -- I suppose because so many people were introduced to the story via the musical (this was the case for me). So it's more of a case of my inner hipster judging me, for what that's worth. *g*

I suppose I don't have to explain what differences in book- versus movie fandom there can be experienced

Indeed! I think it makes sense to be fannish about the Hobbit movie rather than the book -- not because it's better, but because of all the added stuff that you get to play with.

In the Tolkienverse fandom, you get an accolade-by-default if you've read The Lord of the Rings at least once and ( ... )