Let's Talk January: Conflicting Headcanon!

[mithen]

Meicdon13 asked about when fans' head canon disagrees with mine. I'm a real fan of "Live and let live" when it comes to fannish readings of canon, but I admit sometimes it can put me to the test. Recently I've been trying my hand at making gifsets, particularly of the 1980s Sherlock Holmes series with Jeremy Brett. The funny thing is I'll make gifsets of

Comments

[ilovetobefree]

If they think they're awful but still put them into the pairing with the other character I love...well, that's back-button-and-brain-bleach time, usually followed by ranting at my long-suffering husband for a while.

:lol This made me smile. Anyway, I think I can relate. I'm the same case (mostly ranting at my poor son though :D).

Oh and I didn't see Sherlock being uncomfortable and wishing it being over in that scene with him Mrs. Hudson. I think his smile was nice. :)

[mithen]

Oh and I didn't see Sherlock being uncomfortable and wishing it being over in that scene with him Mrs. Hudson. I think his smile was nice. :)

He seems to me like one of those people who doesn't usually smile when they're happy (Dan is similar) so it always kind of surprises them a bit when they do. :)

[eve_k]

For example, I hate the idea that Bruce was abusive or cruel to Dick when he was Robin. But there's no denying there are moments across the decades and decades of titles showing their interaction that could well be classified as cruel treatment. In fact, if you piled them all together, you could well have what would look like years of misery.Well, perception is what we make of it, right

[mithen]

Even in the famous post-Crisis issues by Starlin I would have a hard time seeing anything in Batman´s actions towards Nightwing that could be interpreted as malice.

Totally agreed that a LOT of people bring their daddy issues to the character! Sometimes I think they forget he's not simply a father figure, he's training young people to be in situations where not only their lives, but the lives of innocent people, might end if they do something wrong. It's not cruel to make someone practice throwing a batarang until they ALWAYS hit a target even when blindfolded, it's necessary. It's only like your father making you redo your homework until it's 100% perfect if your grammar errors might get you and others killed.

So yeah, some of it is a surplus of canon, but also some of it is the lens with which we view that canon...

[tygati]

I can't really speak for Superman and Batman because you pretty much instigated and shaped the way I see that particular pairing, but your Sherlock Holmes gifs definite struck me.

His expression, the awkwardness, that is exactly how I react in those same situations. It's a matter of never knowing quite how you're expected to react in moments like that but by gosh you're still going to try for the sake of the other person. One can still care a great deal about other people even while exhibiting socially awkward behavior.

[mithen]

His expression, the awkwardness, that is exactly how I react in those same situations. It's a matter of never knowing quite how you're expected to react in moments like that but by gosh you're still going to try for the sake of the other person. One can still care a great deal about other people even while exhibiting socially awkward behavior.

Sherlock Holmes is so wonderful for that mix of affection and total awkwardness, I think! I like your description, that sort of "Must...hug...sincerely..." :)

[queen0fcups]

I find myself eternally relying on the wise words of Adam Savage: "I reject your reality and substitute my own."

*hug* YOu can always come rant to me if the brain-bleach calls to you.

[mithen]

I actually really enjoy the challenge of constructing a version of characters that have Too Much Canon! Part of what's galling about the New 52 is the feeling that all that work is undone...it isn't, not really, but damnnnn.

[navaan]

I always find it interesting how differently people can see characters and situations. We all interpret canon in very personal ways, bringing with us our own experiences and preferences and thus can draw very different conclusions about what we see and read. It's why, like you, I have a very high tolerance for other people reading canon moments differently than I do. (I don't have much patience for someone telling other people how they should read canon moments though.)

I also enjoy when there are different adaptions for the same original canon material, like we have now with Sherlock, the RDJ movies and Elementary; all of them going different routes and interpreting things differently. Fandom inevitably starts arguing for their favorites, but I usually just stay out of it and have fun with whatever I like and ignore what I don't. :P

I read both scenes in the gifs in the way you're reading them. But it's even easier to argue about snap shots like gifs when much of the context is missing.

Because of this, I have come to find it

[mithen]

I also enjoy when there are different adaptions for the same original canon material, like we have now with Sherlock, the RDJ movies and Elementary; all of them going different routes and interpreting things differently. Fandom inevitably starts arguing for their favorites, but I usually just stay out of it and have fun with whatever I like and ignore what I don't. :P

*grin* Absolutely! I love that there's so much to choose from, and I can totally see reasons for any of them being someone's favorites...as long as they let other people have their favorites as well...

Tumblr is so weird because you lose SO much context. I just saw that image of "Batman" yelling "I am a model of mental health!" go by AGAIN and as usual I thought "Should I reblog to tell people that's actually Hugo Strange dressed up as Batman?...Nah, people want to believe it's Bruce and so they generally will... *sigh*"

I also hate Bruce written as being abusive towards any of the kids he's taken in. I can see them having disagreements and him being uncomfortably

[navaan]

Tumblr is so weird because you lose SO much context. I just saw that image of "Batman" yelling "I am a model of mental health!" go by AGAIN and as usual I thought "Should I reblog to tell people that's actually Hugo Strange dressed up as Batman?...Nah, people want to believe it's Bruce and so they generally will... *sigh*"

Yeah, although that's something I saw happening on paces like facebook even before that. Images and snap shots like these are just so easy to misunderstand, especially when many of the people who do the reblogging and ranting right out say they never read that part of canon, never saw the full episode etc. And like you say some people just want to believe what they want to believe, so it's probably best not to engage.

Like eve_k points out above, some of that also depends on how you define "abusive"!Of course, it does, and our definitions probably tie back into our own experiences and views in general. So I really won't argue against the interpretation, because I understand that some people just interpret some scenes