Yet Another Fandom Rant
Mar. 4th, 2004 06:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lierdumoaBelow you will find an essay. It is an in depth look at QaF RPS -- an assessment of the fandom and the attitudes of it's writers, it's audience, and it's critics. This essay is highly opinionated. There is much conjecture and speculation. Interested? Then please, read on.
On the Genre of QaF RPS
It seems that a lot of people in the QaF fandom who have written RPS have faced a certain level of discrimination. They've been flamed. Badly. And as a result they've partially gone into hiding. I've only heard of this. I haven't seen the flames in action -- only their aftermath.
So a lot of the RPS is friends locked. People are afraid of being flamed. People are afraid of legal repercussions. The way I hear it (from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
queenofalostart) -- it used to be more like this with LOTRips, but the fandom grew out of that phase. And I really do think it's a phase. RPS starts out as very controvercial, but after a while, the idea begins to appeal to more people, and people stop putting up a fuss over it. It stops being a big deal.
So the way I hear it, a lot of people don't like RPS, but are accepting of it because they have friends who like it/write it. Some people, apparently, hate it enough to spew vitriol at anyone who dares to write it. I doubt there are that many people who think this way, but apparently there are enough around to scare writers into hiding their work behind friends locked posts.
Now, the whole idea of protecting myself from flames is extremely abhorrent to me. I know I'm not one to talk. I've never been flamed. I don't know how damaging flames can be to one's disposition. But I really don't like the idea of portraying myself as the member of some injured minority group. Fuck that shit. If anyone dared to attack me on the basis that RPS is EVOL, I have a number of friends who I know would immediately rise to my defense.
Perhaps that is the problem. Perhaps RPS-ers in this fandom haven't had anyone to defend them. Perhaps they don't believe RPS is something worthy of defending. Perhaps they just think of it as one of their more bizarre kinks. The truth is, despite what people seem to think, it's not any more 'out there' than slash. Ask anyone in the real world if they think it's weirder to write about romances between actors or to turn all the characters in a TV show gay, and they'd probably find the second option stranger than the first. So you combine the two. Big fucking deal.
Really, that's the attitude I seem to be gleaning off people. RPS as a guilty pleasure. I guess on some level, people like to think they're being weird and kinky and rebellious. They like to think that they're doing something 'bad' and so they make RPS into a guilty pleasure when it doesn't really have to be. Well, I disagree with this whole attitude. I write RPS, and I don't feel guilty in the least.
And all this talk of 'the special hell' that we're all supposedly going to? Well, I went to the HP fandom and read Snape/Firebolt pr0n. I went to the AtS fandom and read Spike/Puppet!Angel pr0n. I've written two posts over the past month on kink in fandom, one joking (see here) and one serious (see here), and RPS is one of the more insignificant and mainstream of the kinks. Honestly, this whole guilt complex just makes me scoff.
I mean, really. Those QaF RPS-ers. They think their hell is sooooo special.
Now for me, writing RPS is as close as a fanfiction writer can get to writing original fiction without actually writing original fiction. We know very little about the actors. We borrow their faces and their occupations and what little we've learned from them in interviews and basically use these tidbits to create original characters. Every time I read a Gale/Randy fic, the characters are different. They have different quirks and habits. They think differently and speak differently. They're never considered OOC because really, there is no solid canon for these people's personalities. We create personalities for them. RPS allows me to be creative in ways that regular fanfiction doesn't. Of course, I don't think it's *better* than regular fanfiction, but I can appreciate the differences.
So basically, I'm not going to run and hide with my RPS. If I get flamed, then I must be a lot more popular than I first assumed. Because we all know that flamers don't attack nobodys. They only attack people who have at least a fair number of fans.
Now as to the legal ramifications, are they really that big a deal? I mean, would actors really sue? It's not like we're writing RPS trying to convince people that what we write is real. Everyone who reads RPS knows that it's fiction. No one would claim that we've committed libel. And if someone did, well then that's what disclaimers are for. As for the actors -- I can't remember where I saw this quote, but it's worth repeating: "The hottest girl in high school knows all the boys masturbate thinking about her." RPS shouldn't be all that outrageous to actors. Honestly, why would they go to the trouble of suing us? It's not like we have money. As long as we don't freak them out at DVD signings by handing them printed copies of RPS pr0n, I don't think actors will particularly care what we do on the internet in our private time.
I think I've said all I have to say. I feel better.
My next post will be a recap of the last episode of The OC. Mad squeeage ahead.
On the Genre of QaF RPS
It seems that a lot of people in the QaF fandom who have written RPS have faced a certain level of discrimination. They've been flamed. Badly. And as a result they've partially gone into hiding. I've only heard of this. I haven't seen the flames in action -- only their aftermath.
So a lot of the RPS is friends locked. People are afraid of being flamed. People are afraid of legal repercussions. The way I hear it (from
queenofalostart) -- it used to be more like this with LOTRips, but the fandom grew out of that phase. And I really do think it's a phase. RPS starts out as very controvercial, but after a while, the idea begins to appeal to more people, and people stop putting up a fuss over it. It stops being a big deal.So the way I hear it, a lot of people don't like RPS, but are accepting of it because they have friends who like it/write it. Some people, apparently, hate it enough to spew vitriol at anyone who dares to write it. I doubt there are that many people who think this way, but apparently there are enough around to scare writers into hiding their work behind friends locked posts.
Now, the whole idea of protecting myself from flames is extremely abhorrent to me. I know I'm not one to talk. I've never been flamed. I don't know how damaging flames can be to one's disposition. But I really don't like the idea of portraying myself as the member of some injured minority group. Fuck that shit. If anyone dared to attack me on the basis that RPS is EVOL, I have a number of friends who I know would immediately rise to my defense.
Perhaps that is the problem. Perhaps RPS-ers in this fandom haven't had anyone to defend them. Perhaps they don't believe RPS is something worthy of defending. Perhaps they just think of it as one of their more bizarre kinks. The truth is, despite what people seem to think, it's not any more 'out there' than slash. Ask anyone in the real world if they think it's weirder to write about romances between actors or to turn all the characters in a TV show gay, and they'd probably find the second option stranger than the first. So you combine the two. Big fucking deal.
Really, that's the attitude I seem to be gleaning off people. RPS as a guilty pleasure. I guess on some level, people like to think they're being weird and kinky and rebellious. They like to think that they're doing something 'bad' and so they make RPS into a guilty pleasure when it doesn't really have to be. Well, I disagree with this whole attitude. I write RPS, and I don't feel guilty in the least.
And all this talk of 'the special hell' that we're all supposedly going to? Well, I went to the HP fandom and read Snape/Firebolt pr0n. I went to the AtS fandom and read Spike/Puppet!Angel pr0n. I've written two posts over the past month on kink in fandom, one joking (see here) and one serious (see here), and RPS is one of the more insignificant and mainstream of the kinks. Honestly, this whole guilt complex just makes me scoff.
I mean, really. Those QaF RPS-ers. They think their hell is sooooo special.
Now for me, writing RPS is as close as a fanfiction writer can get to writing original fiction without actually writing original fiction. We know very little about the actors. We borrow their faces and their occupations and what little we've learned from them in interviews and basically use these tidbits to create original characters. Every time I read a Gale/Randy fic, the characters are different. They have different quirks and habits. They think differently and speak differently. They're never considered OOC because really, there is no solid canon for these people's personalities. We create personalities for them. RPS allows me to be creative in ways that regular fanfiction doesn't. Of course, I don't think it's *better* than regular fanfiction, but I can appreciate the differences.
So basically, I'm not going to run and hide with my RPS. If I get flamed, then I must be a lot more popular than I first assumed. Because we all know that flamers don't attack nobodys. They only attack people who have at least a fair number of fans.
Now as to the legal ramifications, are they really that big a deal? I mean, would actors really sue? It's not like we're writing RPS trying to convince people that what we write is real. Everyone who reads RPS knows that it's fiction. No one would claim that we've committed libel. And if someone did, well then that's what disclaimers are for. As for the actors -- I can't remember where I saw this quote, but it's worth repeating: "The hottest girl in high school knows all the boys masturbate thinking about her." RPS shouldn't be all that outrageous to actors. Honestly, why would they go to the trouble of suing us? It's not like we have money. As long as we don't freak them out at DVD signings by handing them printed copies of RPS pr0n, I don't think actors will particularly care what we do on the internet in our private time.
I think I've said all I have to say. I feel better.
My next post will be a recap of the last episode of The OC. Mad squeeage ahead.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-03-04 04:56 am (UTC)But I do support your right to write RPS. Keep on ficcing!
no subject
Date: 2004-03-04 05:06 am (UTC):D
no subject
Date: 2004-03-04 09:08 am (UTC)no subject
*cough*
no subject
Date: 2004-03-04 11:18 am (UTC)Scroll down the page. The links are in there somewhere.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-04 07:02 pm (UTC)Laughed til I ached. Thanks for the links.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-04 11:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-04 03:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-04 05:01 pm (UTC);o)
no subject
Date: 2004-03-04 04:12 pm (UTC)The line between RPS and RL is further blurred because Randy's gay in RL and because there've been various rumors (both credible and incredible) floating around about the relationship practically since Day One.
I enjoy RPS a lot - if it's well written. And by and large, the G/R RPS on LJ is very well written. I don't think it harms anybody. I think we all know the difference between fantasy and fiction. I can't imagine the actors or TPTB going after writers of RPS. Somehow I doubt that's really the issue, though.
In fandom, as in everywhere else, there are those who want everyone to do and think as they do. And some of those people will go to extraordinary lengths to ensure that happens. I can totally understand and sympathize with RPS writers who limit access to their work, but I applaud those who refuse to be intimidated by flames or threats. No apologies, no regrets!
no subject
Date: 2004-03-04 04:58 pm (UTC)You bring up an interesting point. I hadn't thought of it that way. Being brand new to the fandom, I have never been involved in the shipper wars. I guess there's a lot behind this anti-RPS attitude that I just don't understand because I'm too new to the fandom to really get where a lot of these opinions are coming from.
G/R RPS has frequently been cited as "proof" that B/J fans are incapable of distinguishing between the actors and the characters they play.
Huh. Really. Well, anyone who's actually *read* RPS would know that this isn't true. Gale and Randy, as they are characterized in RPS, don't even remotely resemble Brian and Justin, personality wise. But of course I didn't need to tell you that.
I can't imagine the actors or TPTB going after writers of RPS. Somehow I doubt that's really the issue, though.
Yeah, I figured. I think that author's aren't afraid of the actors or TPTBs so much as they are afraid of their critics. And it seems to me like these critics are just bullies. What special brand of troll would walk into your personal online journal and tell you what what you should and shouldn't write?
Now me, if someone flamed me I might tell them off, or I might just not bother. I know a few of my friends who I'm almost positive would tell them off *for* me without my asking.
And I think that was part of the problem with the early RPS writers in this fandom. They felt they were too much on the fringe to dare to tell their critics, "Frankly, you're full of shit."
Now I think that the RPS in this fandom is on the verge of coming out of it's closet. It may have been rare in the beginning, but it seems to me like a lot more people are becoming accepting of it. More people are willing to defend it. And bullies only go after the defenceless.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-04 06:26 pm (UTC)This is exactly how I distinguish what I call 'good' G/R fan fiction, as you write, from the stuff that is really just B/J with the names changed. The dynamics of both relationships are totally different...
no subject
Date: 2004-03-04 06:37 pm (UTC)And something about actors appearing like their characters just grates at me. I read some RPS recently where Gale and Randy seemed fine, but Peter ended up exactly like Emmet, and it annoyed me no end. I've seen an interview with Peter, and he's not Emmet. He's just not.
It's interesting, though. I was watching some OC cast interviews. The guy who plays Ryan sounded completely different from his character, whereas the girl who plays Summer was practically interchangeable with her.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-06 05:08 am (UTC)This is so true. And on that note, here's an article that I scanned from The Halifax Chronicle Herald last Wednesday!
http://www.geocities.com/juliamarie58/OC-BM.html
no subject
Date: 2004-03-06 05:13 am (UTC)GOOD FOR YOU!!!!! :)
Date: 2004-03-04 05:38 pm (UTC)BRAVO from me! And you and ALL the RPS writers have my full support!!!!
Thanks again!
Linda
Can't wait for any new GR RPS you might have. ;)
Re: GOOD FOR YOU!!!!! :)
Date: 2004-03-04 06:04 pm (UTC)I'm used to being around really, really open minded people. I have friends who've been reading Popslash for years. I've always felt like no matter what I wrote, plenty of my friends would have written stuff that's even more outrageous. I've always considered myself part of mainstream fandom, as opposed to someone on the fringe.
So I developed a sort of attitude that "This is the internet. I can write whatever I want, and no one will care." No one ever *has* cared. And now that it seemes I'm in a fandom where people *do* care -- well it's too late to change my attitude. I'm not going to suddenly start being ashamed of what I write when I never had reason to be before. My mind just doesn't work that way.
I'm glad you've liked my fic so far. I hope I'll have time to write more RPS soon.
Re: GOOD FOR YOU!!!!! :)
Date: 2004-03-04 06:21 pm (UTC)So don't feel too bad. This fandom is actually pretty good. :) And I used to write some RPS in the other fandom and it was MUCH MUCH more hidden...I never posted it ANYWHERE...word of mouth was how I got my story to them. They'd e-mail me and my writing partner and we would send it to them. Crazy huh? I'm just glad this fandom is more open.
Like you said, the ones who are upset and being rude are probably very few. This fandom is VERY liberal compared to where I used to be. :p
Glad you feel better letting out your thoughts. :) I totally agree with you!
Continue to write ANYTHING you want. :) If people don't like it, then they don't have to read it!
Keep on!
Linda
Re: GOOD FOR YOU!!!!! :)
Date: 2004-03-04 06:41 pm (UTC)Re: GOOD FOR YOU!!!!! :)
Date: 2004-03-04 07:35 pm (UTC)It was the series "Roswell" that was first on the WB and then on UPN. First the creator and the writer's ruined the show, and then the fanatic fans ruined the stories. :p
Linda
The times they are changing
Date: 2004-03-06 03:27 am (UTC)That is so true. A couple of years ago, if someone even dared inquire about G/R fics, they would get slammed down in any groups, or forums, they happen to have made the inquiry. Even if the list owner or moderator was OK with the subject, they would ask members not to mention RSP on the list, and for anyone that wished to answer the post about G/R fics, to do so off line. Then every single posts with making mention of G/R RPS would be deleted from the list. Regardless of the moderators' feeling on the subject, it's something that they had to do, or else the level of vitriol on list would just escalate. There are QAF fans out there that get down right vicious when the subject is brought up.
The funny thing is, after one such incident, the list owner e-mailed me asking how to join to the G/R believers groups. A group btw, which had to go into hiding. And one can't join unless a member can vouch for you to the owner. Said owner who has come under attacked so many times, that you have to admire the her for sticking it out, and keeping the group going, instead of just deleting the whole damn thing. If one could keep track of whom has been on the receiving end of hate mail in the QAF fandom, she'd probably be on the top ten list.
Now, G/R fics are popping up all over the LJ's, and I haven't heard any contrary comments about it in any of the groups I keep track of. Gael has never hidden her G/R stories, and as far as I know, no one has never bitch to her about them, and she wrote the first one well over a year ago.
About a week ago, Tonya, the owner of the BJfic yahoo group, said that unless the members objected, that writers could post their G/R fics to the group. All she asked was that [G/R] be in the header. A year ago? unthinkable. Last week? Not a peep.
Re: The times they are changing
Date: 2004-03-06 03:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-06 08:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-06 08:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-06 08:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-06 08:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-06 08:53 pm (UTC)Are you in college? If so, what do you plan to work in, in the future? (Just curious. You seem like you might be good in politics.)
no subject
Date: 2004-03-06 09:36 pm (UTC)I was considering physics or creative writing (really different majors, I know). I don't actually have to choose a major until next year, so I'm not sure yet.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-06 10:00 pm (UTC)Good luck with whichever you go into (keep us posted, if you do a non-fandom related post)! I've never taken physics (I don't plan to either; it's Chemistry Regents next year and AP Biology senior year), but it sounds interesting. Writing, however, is especially commended. I respect anyone who wants to go into that field highly because of criticism and competition in the literary realm. Take care.