(no subject)
Nov. 9th, 2016 12:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Philcon's fanfic panel this year:
Where is Fanfiction Going that Mainstream Media Still Fears to Tread?
What common themes in fanfic rarely appear in published works, and why? Is it a matter of publishers and producers only willing to put out stories based on formulas they know will sell, or is it the pros who are choosing to stick to more limited spheres? Fic archives are full of stories exploring sexuality, gender, unusual romances, and those used as a means to see the racial, religious, and abled diversity that published works aren't providing. There's clearly a huge desire for these kinds of stories, so why do we rarely see them in bookstores or on TV?
It is part of a continued trend of improvement in the Philcon fanfic programming, but it is still a somewhat frustrating panel spec. I saw the first draft of this when I was at Vividcon and got into a nice rant with some people who understood why. One of the reasons Vividcon was great was that it was full of people like that.
As is typical for Philcon fanfic panels, it's misguided in both directions.
A)It undersells published fiction by focusing on 'mainstream media' as the direct comparison, ignoring the fact that huge volumes of 'original' published fiction that transgresses mainstream norms is published, by small presses or by presses catering to niche audiences or by art presses. There is a lot of 'original' fiction exploring sexuality, gender, etc... and making minority identities visible. And I don't think we benefit from praising fanfiction by bashing published fiction, particularly by discounting the work done at the margins. Because fanfiction, too, is at the margins, no matter how much more visible it is today than it was.
B)It undersells fanfiction by acting like fanfiction is driven by some transgressive impulse, when the reality is most people writing fanfic just want Harry and Draco to bone. And you might say that that's not an undersell, that's an oversell, because it is a claim that fanfiction is more serious than a lot of people think it is. Usually saying that fanfic is just a bunch of people who want Harry and Draco to bone is the thing I'm fighting against, the thing people say when they want to dismiss fanfiction. But I think we've won that battle, or at least I'm no longer interested in arguing with people who dismiss fanfiction on those grounds. And so what I'm interested in fighting for now is the thesis that it's okay and important to our community to write fanfic that isn't trying to transgress mainstream norms, just as it's okay and important to our community to write fanfic that is transgressive along various axes. That the body of work that I once termed 'affirmational fanfiction' should not be discounted.
That said, there's a lot in this topic that I'm looking forward to talking about. And it is so, so much better than Fanfiction: Stepping Stone or Cul de Sac?
Edit For reference, my past posts on this subject:
2015: Fanworks that Deserve a Medal
2014: The Value of Transformative Works
2013: Fan Fiction: Stepping Stone or Cul De Sac?
Where is Fanfiction Going that Mainstream Media Still Fears to Tread?
What common themes in fanfic rarely appear in published works, and why? Is it a matter of publishers and producers only willing to put out stories based on formulas they know will sell, or is it the pros who are choosing to stick to more limited spheres? Fic archives are full of stories exploring sexuality, gender, unusual romances, and those used as a means to see the racial, religious, and abled diversity that published works aren't providing. There's clearly a huge desire for these kinds of stories, so why do we rarely see them in bookstores or on TV?
It is part of a continued trend of improvement in the Philcon fanfic programming, but it is still a somewhat frustrating panel spec. I saw the first draft of this when I was at Vividcon and got into a nice rant with some people who understood why. One of the reasons Vividcon was great was that it was full of people like that.
As is typical for Philcon fanfic panels, it's misguided in both directions.
A)It undersells published fiction by focusing on 'mainstream media' as the direct comparison, ignoring the fact that huge volumes of 'original' published fiction that transgresses mainstream norms is published, by small presses or by presses catering to niche audiences or by art presses. There is a lot of 'original' fiction exploring sexuality, gender, etc... and making minority identities visible. And I don't think we benefit from praising fanfiction by bashing published fiction, particularly by discounting the work done at the margins. Because fanfiction, too, is at the margins, no matter how much more visible it is today than it was.
B)It undersells fanfiction by acting like fanfiction is driven by some transgressive impulse, when the reality is most people writing fanfic just want Harry and Draco to bone. And you might say that that's not an undersell, that's an oversell, because it is a claim that fanfiction is more serious than a lot of people think it is. Usually saying that fanfic is just a bunch of people who want Harry and Draco to bone is the thing I'm fighting against, the thing people say when they want to dismiss fanfiction. But I think we've won that battle, or at least I'm no longer interested in arguing with people who dismiss fanfiction on those grounds. And so what I'm interested in fighting for now is the thesis that it's okay and important to our community to write fanfic that isn't trying to transgress mainstream norms, just as it's okay and important to our community to write fanfic that is transgressive along various axes. That the body of work that I once termed 'affirmational fanfiction' should not be discounted.
That said, there's a lot in this topic that I'm looking forward to talking about. And it is so, so much better than Fanfiction: Stepping Stone or Cul de Sac?
Edit For reference, my past posts on this subject:
2015: Fanworks that Deserve a Medal
2014: The Value of Transformative Works
2013: Fan Fiction: Stepping Stone or Cul De Sac?
(no subject)
Date: 2016-11-09 05:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-11-09 07:19 pm (UTC)