I totally hear you about joining with something larger than yourself. Do you know who does also? Peter Berger. In his book "The Sacred Canopy" he discusses this need in humans, in almost the exact same terms you use, and relates it to religion and politics. Technology being what it is, and this book being written in the 70's, I think he would have no problem apply his theory to fanfic as it is another medium through which large numbers of people can join in something greater than themselves-- I'd tell you what that theory is, but I don't want to ruin the surprise for you. I have a copy of the book if you want to borrow it sometime.
Ho. Ly. Shit. There's someone who theorizes about this stuff? This exact stuff? And someone from the 70s? (Not to be a huge dork, but I think they did some superb theorizing in the 70s, like Theodore Roszak and The Making of a Counterculture, which I read when I was doing my humanities project, o remember the days, and it knocked my socks off. People really noticing the world and thinking about why humans do what they do! EEEEEE
( ... )
The thing about writing a bandom AU--any AU fanfic, really, and I guess I need to disclaim by adding 'how I personally write them'--is the challenge of creating a world and a history that reflects the real world and real history of these people. Reflects and maybe highlights certain things. Especially in RPS I also find it easier to go AU, since then I don't have to go to Jersey and dig through their garbage to find out The Truth or whatever.
Reading these stories without previous knowledge of canon events is (apparently) possible and even enjoyable, but I think what a lot of people might find especially appealing is finding the familiar in the new setting.
Etcetera, etcetera. This isn't a particularly extreme, AU, of course, but I think it applies to the more zany ones, too. Shalott's Master & Commander AUs spring to mind. (Here--the five things that never happened stories.)
I think what a lot of people might find especially appealing is finding the familiar in the new setting.Yeah, I'm starting to understand what "canon" might mean for bandom, which I was clueless about before. As I've read more/listened more/learned more about MCR, I'm recognizing things from your stories that draw from what band members reveal about themselves in real life/what fans notice and appreciate about them/the personae that they create in their songs or on stage . . . like Elena and her importance to Gerard, Frank's annoying laugh, "I remember when you broke your foot," etc. And the interplay of all these things is really interesting to watch, because I'm used to the stricter canon/fanon/AU delineations of writing in a book- or movie-based fandom. So it's fascinating to watch what you do, and to imagine where the inspirations might have come from. (I watched the old school video of "I'm Not Okay" and was like "OMG! It's basement!Gerard!" So now I have this whole other set of images that, for me, inform the world of your
( ... )
The line between canon and fanon can get pretty blurred, because a lot of canon 'facts' are hearsay from fans who talked to the guys, or from friends of the guys posting on the internet... or from the guys themselves posting on the internet (cue tons of annoyingly oblique emo posts with bad punctuation from Pete Wentz...) or from their bitter ex-girlfriends talking shit about them in locked MySpace posts that get leaked by the bitter ex-girlfriends' backstabbing scene friends.
I don't know about the age range thing as such. They appeal to teenagers because of the I'm Not OK video, and because teenagers love angst and woe and boys in eyeliner, but they didn't start out as a band that aimed for a teenage demographic, and they weren't a young band even at the beginning (Gerard was 24 at the time, and they tend to get asked about this because it's a pretty advanced age to be starting your first band.)
Then again, they do have a lot of really loud teenie fans. I'm just here trying to explain away that cause I'm older than all of them.
(cue tons of annoyingly oblique emo posts with bad punctuation from Pete Wentz...) Oh, help! This sounds really funny!
I'm just here trying to explain away that cause I'm older than all of them.
Um, yeah. I totally hear you on the need to explain. I'm struggling with it myself. But, of course, you're completely right about their roots and the "not for a teen demographic" background, which I forget because their look seems such the teenage style right now and my mind just rolls all of it together and then I feel old. So thanks for reminding. (I believe I'll be making the same argument when I try to get my husband and friends to come with me to see them in April.)
But honestly, part of what I love is the teenaged outlook--"teenaged" insofar as it has all this fierce passion and disillusionment and idealism that our culture associates primarily with teenagers. The type of stuff that made you feel that life was somehow more vibrant when you were in high school with all your friends than it is now . . .
Comments 7
Reply
Reply
Reading these stories without previous knowledge of canon events is (apparently) possible and even enjoyable, but I think what a lot of people might find especially appealing is finding the familiar in the new setting.
Etcetera, etcetera. This isn't a particularly extreme, AU, of course, but I think it applies to the more zany ones, too. Shalott's Master & Commander AUs spring to mind. (Here--the five things that never happened stories.)
Reply
Reply
I don't know about the age range thing as such. They appeal to teenagers because of the I'm Not OK video, and because teenagers love angst and woe and boys in eyeliner, but they didn't start out as a band that aimed for a teenage demographic, and they weren't a young band even at the beginning (Gerard was 24 at the time, and they tend to get asked about this because it's a pretty advanced age to be starting your first band.)
Then again, they do have a lot of really loud teenie fans. I'm just here trying to explain away that cause I'm older than all of them.
Reply
Oh, help! This sounds really funny!
I'm just here trying to explain away that cause I'm older than all of them.
Um, yeah. I totally hear you on the need to explain. I'm struggling with it myself. But, of course, you're completely right about their roots and the "not for a teen demographic" background, which I forget because their look seems such the teenage style right now and my mind just rolls all of it together and then I feel old. So thanks for reminding. (I believe I'll be making the same argument when I try to get my husband and friends to come with me to see them in April.)
But honestly, part of what I love is the teenaged outlook--"teenaged" insofar as it has all this fierce passion and disillusionment and idealism that our culture associates primarily with teenagers. The type of stuff that made you feel that life was somehow more vibrant when you were in high school with all your friends than it is now . . .
Reply
Leave a comment