From:
“Marguerite Nightingale”
To:
“The Mother Ship”
Dear
Honorable Commander of the Mother Ship:
Please
find enclosed Report J8834U9 regarding the human particular known as “Fan
Fiction,” or, to quote the vernacular, “fanfic.” I have been successful in
integrating myself into the more technologically-inclined portions of human
society, passing myself off as a female of the geek subculture. As part of this
process, I recently began writing a column for a more popular “website,” and
was thus able to conduct my most recent study.
Hiding
behind the vehicle of my persona, I began to browse the ‘net, exploring the phenomena
known as fan fiction. I spent countless hours reading through well-written,
poorly-written, and downright freakish stories, hopping from one website to the
next, developing a basis for my report.
However,
not being either human nor a ‘fic writer myself, I soon concluded that I would
have to interact with these beings through the backwards mediums of either
e-mail or instant messaging. But with whom to speak? I reread a number of
“posts,” and concluded that my time would best be spent conversing with the
more prolific writers who, in addition to quantity, also focused on
high-quality work, with an attention to detail, including grammar, that even
the Hive Ruler might admire.
So
it was that I contacted Echo,
the Web Wench, Houses, Devil Doll, and was later
contacted by CinnamonGrrl.
I also attempted to enlist administrators at Twisting the Hellmouth, but my inquiry
came at a time when the site was experiencing technical difficulties, and so I
was unsuccessful in my attempts. Trying to reach administrators at
fanfiction.net, I can only conclude them to be highly incompetent, as there is
no direct e-mail link to the web master, and those who do have e-mail links on
the site do not respond to requests for information.
As
is usual in these cases, I began my study with a preliminary hypothesis, which,
as you will see, was later proved wrong:
Hypothesis
Fan-written
fiction, which is fiction based off of the original works and characters of
other creators, is a shallow attempt at fleeing reality, and is written only by
lonely males of the species, often of the subgenre “geek,” for the purposes of
providing sexual fantasies, or mental masturbation.
Methods of Research
As
stated above, while posing as a geek, I contacted a number of reputable authors
and site administrators, and asked them a series of predetermined questions. In
the case of interviews conduced via instant messaging, I was able to ask more
detailed questions for more in-depth coverage of the topic at hand.
I
also read a number of other articles on fanfic, but for the most part, found
them to be tediously one-sided: “Fanfic is a manifestation
of the feminist movement.” “Fanfic is a violation of copyright, and must be
stopped!” “Authors who ban fanfic are being unreasonable!” And so on.
Findings
Motive
Eager
to understand the writers of fanfic, one of my first questions was usually “Why
do you write fanfic?” or, in the case of site administrators, “Why do you
maintain a site dedicated to fanfic?” Rather than receiving a united answer, I
received a variety: Some write fanfic for their own pleasure; others write to
improve their skills; some maintain sites so that others can continue to explore
ideas not presented in the original worlds.
Romance
One
of the paramount differences I initially noticed between fanfic and the works
from which said fic derives, is the differences in romantic pairings. Through
the medium of the novel, many writers explore romance, sexuality, and gender,
as well as the effects of friendship and families, particularly children, on a
couple. Television shows and movies in the science-fiction genre, however, tend
to rely more on formulistic pairings, male-female, generally between younger,
child-free humans. In contrast, fan-fiction authors often take these same
characters from television and movies and explore the depths of their
personality by inserting them into new worlds and situations and allowing them
to interact with a wider variety of experiences.
This
observation made, I sought to validate this view by asking the authors why they
believed such non-conventional, or “non-cannon” pairings to be so popular. In
essence, it seems that such pairings are popular for several reasons: One,
humans are more complex that either we, or the producers of shows, gave them
credit for, desiring more than archetype, stereotype, or rote allows. Secondly, I was informed that non-cannon
pairings offer more of a challenge to a writer, and more interest to the
readers. Thirdly, it seems that unexpected pairings do indeed reveal more of
characters personality than otherwise might be the case. Fourth, in the case of
using a supporting, rather than a main, character or a character from another
“’verse,” the entire universe of the ‘fic is expanded.
Ethics
Much
fanfic is based off of copyrighted works. When I asked the panel of experts for
their reactions to this fact, I received a wide variety of answers: including
that fanfic was not a violation of copyright since no profit was made from it;
that it was ethical as long as disclaimers were posted; and that, in fact, some
authors were flattered by the proliferation of such works. Unfortunately, I was
unable to come up with a unified theory given the irritant of human diversity.
It
also appears that this community is governed by a set of unwritten laws. With
the exception of the original multiverses in which the writers “play in,” plagiarism
is not allowed. It is
viewed as the cardinal sin, and can include archiving without permission, not
giving credit for ideas, and taking original characters without notice. As
unforgivable, more ever, is bringing fiction or the author of fiction to the
notice of the authorities. It seems a fragile, shadow world, and people jeopardizing
its safety risk being shunned.
Also
frowned upon is “character rape,” in which a character acts in a manner
completely out of sync with their original portrayal in their original world,
without rhyme, reason, or explanation. Such works serve only to prove my original
hypothesis.
In
a side note of the notion of character rape, in my research I also encountered
‘fics in which there were no females of the species, which strikes me as
disturbingly misogynistic. This feeling of distress was amplified for me when I
encountered such work by female authors, since it seems to imply a type of
self-loathing.
Finally,
to return to the original topic of ethics, utilizing “Mary Sue,” types of original
characters meets with a distinct lack of respect. My sources tell me that a
Mary Sue is an original character inserted for the sole enjoyment of the author:
Mary Sue is based off of the writer, is the most beautiful woman in the story,
gets the guy, gets laid, is the smartest, etc. It should be noted, however,
that not all original characters are Mary Sues, which is unfortunate, since
such a case would have proven my theory.
Hierarchy
Given,
of course, the original purpose behind this study, I did not hesitate to ask
the humans if a hierarchy existed among this group. It seems that while more
prolific and better authors are respected, there is no formal hierarchy for us
to exploit.
Conclusions
It
would appear that my original hypothesis was incorrect, as were the majority of
articles that I read on the subject of fan fiction. As with most other human
activities, there is no typical author, reader, or collector of the works, and
the motives behind its creation are even more complex than I can credit here.
Agent
98QH29
Post
Script: Please send more supplies at the earliest possible convenience.
Marguerite is a geek extraordinaire who has grown up on HBI, Computers, Gaming, and Science Fiction.
to send her your comments.
