Fanfiction vs. Canon?
Oct. 6th, 2009 11:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatI should go to bed, but all achey from personal trainer/gym and all restless from well personal trainer/gym. I am getting stronger - apparently. Was able to do exercises tonight that I couldn't the before - which is of the good. I'll be running in no time, well maybe another year or so...but still.
On reading fanfic...for years I was defensive about it, because so many people I've known both online and off look at fanfic with something akin to derision. Amusing that considering how many fanfics have actually made it into mainstream publishing, including one that won the National Book Award or was it the Pulitizer? My family is still derisive of it. Tried explaining the concept to my father - who was bewildered but not judgemental. When it comes to writing stories - my father is of the opinion the more the better. My mother is more judgemental but she is the critic in the family. I find bits of both in me. I don't speak of it to my brother...but then my brother and I don't speak about much of late. Offline friends and work colleagues? Forgetaboutit. No, it is just the people here on livejournal that know about it.
I read it now for much different reasons than I did back in 2001 when I first discovered it.
Or maybe not so different when I think about it. I read it to see another perspective and I read it to read another story about favorite characters - I want more story, and here it is.
Do I prefer canon over fanfic? Not really. Or it depends. Do I prefer fanfic over canon?
Not really, or it depends on well the fanfic. Of course, I don't look at canon the same way others do. My view is that there is the original work (the TV show or say the original novel) then there are derivative works, some legal and some illegal. The illegal ones are actually more fun to read to be honest, because they take more risks and do crazier things than the legal ones do. They also tend to be a bit more on the creative side. Annoying publishers and marketing people get in the way of wild creativity. Just saying.
example: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (original is a novel written in the 1800s)
Legal and/or Commercial and/or Traditionally Published/Copyrighted Derivative works (ie distributed for commerical and/or financial gain) include:
1. Numerous films - Merle Oberon and Laurence Oliver (1930s) and Keira Knightly (2000 or thereabouts)
2. Numerous tv productions - 1980s BBC version and the 1990s BBC version that appeared on A&E.
3. Numerous published novels depicting the on-going lives of Elizabeth Darcy's kids or their married life
4. PRide and Prejudice and Zombies - basically the original novel with zombies added into it, complete with art.
Illegal Derivative and/or non-traditionally published, and/or non-commercial works include (ie. cannot be or are not distributed for financial or commercial gain):
1. Buffy and Spike in the roles of Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth - or rather a gender flip.
2. A version in verse
3. A comic book
I'm sure there are others.
In the world Buffy fandom:
Original - the movie
Legal and/or Commercial and/or Traditionally Published/Copyrighted Derivative works (ie distributed for commerical and/or financial gain) include:
1. Novel based on the movie
2. The TV series
3. Books based on the tv series
4. Comic books based on the tv series
5. Spin-off of the TV series featuring supporting character of the TV series
Illegal Derivative and/or non-traditionally published, and/or non-commercial works include (ie. cannot be or are not distributed for financial or commercial gain):
1. Characters from the TV series portraying roles in novels such as Wuthering Heights (Buffy played Heathcliff and Spike played Cathy), Pride and Prejudice (see above), and Jane Eyre.
2. Characters from TV series play roles in modern everyone's human romance novels.
3. Radio play complete with fans auditioning for and voicing the roles - distributed online
4. Sing-a-long to TV episode
5. Vids of the series put to different songs
6. Buffy in Shakespearen Verse - I think they did it as Midsummer Nights Buffy
7. Fans saving the characters from the writers
8. Assorted fill in the gap fiction
9. Fan-art - including fan comics (some better drawn than Jeanty)
10. Collaborative stories with vids and verse and prose
11. Characters doing poetry
12. Diary and journal entries by the characters..
13. Role Playing Games - created by fans
14. Fan teleplays
I have to say the fanfiction is actually more interesting than the legal stuff. People for some reason or other are more creative and playful when they aren't trying to make money off of something or doing it for a commericial reason. The internet has just made this more possible.
So do I prefer canon to fanfiction? Uh. They are different. And it depends.
Okay, grabbing an aleve then off to bed. Really don't want to deal with work tomorrow. Lots of filing and archiving - which I despise, particularly when I'm achey.
[Edited above for clarification purposes]
On reading fanfic...for years I was defensive about it, because so many people I've known both online and off look at fanfic with something akin to derision. Amusing that considering how many fanfics have actually made it into mainstream publishing, including one that won the National Book Award or was it the Pulitizer? My family is still derisive of it. Tried explaining the concept to my father - who was bewildered but not judgemental. When it comes to writing stories - my father is of the opinion the more the better. My mother is more judgemental but she is the critic in the family. I find bits of both in me. I don't speak of it to my brother...but then my brother and I don't speak about much of late. Offline friends and work colleagues? Forgetaboutit. No, it is just the people here on livejournal that know about it.
I read it now for much different reasons than I did back in 2001 when I first discovered it.
Or maybe not so different when I think about it. I read it to see another perspective and I read it to read another story about favorite characters - I want more story, and here it is.
Do I prefer canon over fanfic? Not really. Or it depends. Do I prefer fanfic over canon?
Not really, or it depends on well the fanfic. Of course, I don't look at canon the same way others do. My view is that there is the original work (the TV show or say the original novel) then there are derivative works, some legal and some illegal. The illegal ones are actually more fun to read to be honest, because they take more risks and do crazier things than the legal ones do. They also tend to be a bit more on the creative side. Annoying publishers and marketing people get in the way of wild creativity. Just saying.
example: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (original is a novel written in the 1800s)
Legal and/or Commercial and/or Traditionally Published/Copyrighted Derivative works (ie distributed for commerical and/or financial gain) include:
1. Numerous films - Merle Oberon and Laurence Oliver (1930s) and Keira Knightly (2000 or thereabouts)
2. Numerous tv productions - 1980s BBC version and the 1990s BBC version that appeared on A&E.
3. Numerous published novels depicting the on-going lives of Elizabeth Darcy's kids or their married life
4. PRide and Prejudice and Zombies - basically the original novel with zombies added into it, complete with art.
Illegal Derivative and/or non-traditionally published, and/or non-commercial works include (ie. cannot be or are not distributed for financial or commercial gain):
1. Buffy and Spike in the roles of Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth - or rather a gender flip.
2. A version in verse
3. A comic book
I'm sure there are others.
In the world Buffy fandom:
Original - the movie
Legal and/or Commercial and/or Traditionally Published/Copyrighted Derivative works (ie distributed for commerical and/or financial gain) include:
1. Novel based on the movie
2. The TV series
3. Books based on the tv series
4. Comic books based on the tv series
5. Spin-off of the TV series featuring supporting character of the TV series
Illegal Derivative and/or non-traditionally published, and/or non-commercial works include (ie. cannot be or are not distributed for financial or commercial gain):
1. Characters from the TV series portraying roles in novels such as Wuthering Heights (Buffy played Heathcliff and Spike played Cathy), Pride and Prejudice (see above), and Jane Eyre.
2. Characters from TV series play roles in modern everyone's human romance novels.
3. Radio play complete with fans auditioning for and voicing the roles - distributed online
4. Sing-a-long to TV episode
5. Vids of the series put to different songs
6. Buffy in Shakespearen Verse - I think they did it as Midsummer Nights Buffy
7. Fans saving the characters from the writers
8. Assorted fill in the gap fiction
9. Fan-art - including fan comics (some better drawn than Jeanty)
10. Collaborative stories with vids and verse and prose
11. Characters doing poetry
12. Diary and journal entries by the characters..
13. Role Playing Games - created by fans
14. Fan teleplays
I have to say the fanfiction is actually more interesting than the legal stuff. People for some reason or other are more creative and playful when they aren't trying to make money off of something or doing it for a commericial reason. The internet has just made this more possible.
So do I prefer canon to fanfiction? Uh. They are different. And it depends.
Okay, grabbing an aleve then off to bed. Really don't want to deal with work tomorrow. Lots of filing and archiving - which I despise, particularly when I'm achey.
[Edited above for clarification purposes]
