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Brainflash
I just had a brainflash, so I dropped my breakfast plate (well, not literally) and hurried to make this entry.
Well, what do we do in fanfic? Mostly, we write about interpersonal relationships. Friendships, enemy-ships, unrequited-ships, random-ships, anything we can think of. No one wants to read plotty fanfic if there's no character interaction, right?
Now. This actually came to me while I was thinking about David Tennant (I DO THINK OF OTHER THINGS! Occasionally.) talking about the time he was sharing a place with Arabella Weir:
"She would shock me with the things she would say, but she finds it harder to shock me now. She probably corrupted me, but I probably needed corrupting a little bit. It sounds like we were lovers or something. We weren't. It was more she led me into the murky world of London.[...]"
And I wondered, why weren't they lovers? I mean, it'd have been only natural, no? If this had been a fanfic, they'd have so had sex and a relationship and would have ended up either as soul mates or desperate star-crossed lovers, always depending on the kinks of the author. So, why didn't they?
Because, well, this is real life. Duh. Doesn't work that way in real life. Because in real life, there are all those issues. Maybe she was in a relationship. Or maybe he was in a relationship. Maybe she didn't want to start anything with a green kid from Scotland (if so, DEFINITELY HER LOSS!). Maybe he was too intimidated by her forcefulness to dare to take the first step. Etcetera.
There are a thousand reasons why a friendship doesn't turn into a relationship, even if the two people who are in it love each other enough to be not generally opposed to the idea of having sex (not saying that was the case with DT and AW, I've no real idea what their relationship is like now, or was then, even).
I read in an article once (if I can find it again I'll link it) that slash is what happens when you take the glass away. This referred to the scene from Star Trek II, where Spock is dying in that chamber that's flooded with radiation and Kirk is outside, saying goodbye to his friend.
There, that glass in between them. That's all the issues that exist in real life that are the reason why two men who love each other, maybe even more than they love their respective spouses, are not in an intimate relationship. At least that's what the article said (I think. It's been a while since I read it. It it a good metaphor, though, if you ask me.).
I think it's more than that, though. I think that there's not only a glass to be taken away in slash, I think it's there in het, and of course femslash, too. I firmly believe that things like homosexuality, heterosexuality and bisexuality are mostly (please note: mostly) an invention of society. Society is putting every person in a neat little glass cage of issues, and that cage has only a limited numbers of doors and connects only to the cages of a certain type of other people - it's like House says in No Reason. Eights don't marry Fives. The cage of an Eight would never connect to that of a Five. The two of them might talk on the phone, might even like one another a lot, but society would never allow them to share actual physical contact. Keep your distance, you're a different class.
In fanfiction, what happens is that we let the people out of their cages. Not only the men, but everyone. Overweight women suddenly have the right to feel sexy. Gay men don't have to be afraid of getting punched in the face when they try to find a date (or maybe they do, if they're in an H/C fic, but at least they will get tons of comfort and most probably more than a date afterwards xD). Everybody is free to do whatever they want with whoever they want. And now, if you take into consideration the nature of people, what does this lead to? Exactly, an orgy!
And that's exactly what happens in fanfic, right? Every other fic is about people having sex. And that's good! That's IC for the nature of people. It's what would happen if society let us out of our cages. Now, I'm not saying that I think that's what should happen in real life. The cages do exist for a reason, even though personally, I think that society should equip every member with a glass cutter, so that if someone is willing to go to the effort, it won't be impossible for them to break out.
But no cages in a fictional 'verse? I think it's the best thing that was ever invented. It's inspiring, freeing, and stimulating. It widens your horizon, and for some, it might be the first indication for them to realize that, hey, wait, they are caught in a glass cage. It's the ultimate playground for a person's imagination, because anything can happen. Good things and bad things alike. It might be a way for people to realize that yeah, the glass cages are annoying, but some are there for a reason.
In conclusion, it's the best thing I ever found in my life.
ETA: Found the article here at Henry Jenkins' blog.
Well, what do we do in fanfic? Mostly, we write about interpersonal relationships. Friendships, enemy-ships, unrequited-ships, random-ships, anything we can think of. No one wants to read plotty fanfic if there's no character interaction, right?
Now. This actually came to me while I was thinking about David Tennant (I DO THINK OF OTHER THINGS! Occasionally.) talking about the time he was sharing a place with Arabella Weir:
"She would shock me with the things she would say, but she finds it harder to shock me now. She probably corrupted me, but I probably needed corrupting a little bit. It sounds like we were lovers or something. We weren't. It was more she led me into the murky world of London.[...]"
And I wondered, why weren't they lovers? I mean, it'd have been only natural, no? If this had been a fanfic, they'd have so had sex and a relationship and would have ended up either as soul mates or desperate star-crossed lovers, always depending on the kinks of the author. So, why didn't they?
Because, well, this is real life. Duh. Doesn't work that way in real life. Because in real life, there are all those issues. Maybe she was in a relationship. Or maybe he was in a relationship. Maybe she didn't want to start anything with a green kid from Scotland (if so, DEFINITELY HER LOSS!). Maybe he was too intimidated by her forcefulness to dare to take the first step. Etcetera.
There are a thousand reasons why a friendship doesn't turn into a relationship, even if the two people who are in it love each other enough to be not generally opposed to the idea of having sex (not saying that was the case with DT and AW, I've no real idea what their relationship is like now, or was then, even).
I read in an article once (if I can find it again I'll link it) that slash is what happens when you take the glass away. This referred to the scene from Star Trek II, where Spock is dying in that chamber that's flooded with radiation and Kirk is outside, saying goodbye to his friend.
There, that glass in between them. That's all the issues that exist in real life that are the reason why two men who love each other, maybe even more than they love their respective spouses, are not in an intimate relationship. At least that's what the article said (I think. It's been a while since I read it. It it a good metaphor, though, if you ask me.).
I think it's more than that, though. I think that there's not only a glass to be taken away in slash, I think it's there in het, and of course femslash, too. I firmly believe that things like homosexuality, heterosexuality and bisexuality are mostly (please note: mostly) an invention of society. Society is putting every person in a neat little glass cage of issues, and that cage has only a limited numbers of doors and connects only to the cages of a certain type of other people - it's like House says in No Reason. Eights don't marry Fives. The cage of an Eight would never connect to that of a Five. The two of them might talk on the phone, might even like one another a lot, but society would never allow them to share actual physical contact. Keep your distance, you're a different class.
In fanfiction, what happens is that we let the people out of their cages. Not only the men, but everyone. Overweight women suddenly have the right to feel sexy. Gay men don't have to be afraid of getting punched in the face when they try to find a date (or maybe they do, if they're in an H/C fic, but at least they will get tons of comfort and most probably more than a date afterwards xD). Everybody is free to do whatever they want with whoever they want. And now, if you take into consideration the nature of people, what does this lead to? Exactly, an orgy!
And that's exactly what happens in fanfic, right? Every other fic is about people having sex. And that's good! That's IC for the nature of people. It's what would happen if society let us out of our cages. Now, I'm not saying that I think that's what should happen in real life. The cages do exist for a reason, even though personally, I think that society should equip every member with a glass cutter, so that if someone is willing to go to the effort, it won't be impossible for them to break out.
But no cages in a fictional 'verse? I think it's the best thing that was ever invented. It's inspiring, freeing, and stimulating. It widens your horizon, and for some, it might be the first indication for them to realize that, hey, wait, they are caught in a glass cage. It's the ultimate playground for a person's imagination, because anything can happen. Good things and bad things alike. It might be a way for people to realize that yeah, the glass cages are annoying, but some are there for a reason.
In conclusion, it's the best thing I ever found in my life.
ETA: Found the article here at Henry Jenkins' blog.
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And you are right: It´s really a wonderful and great thing.
You describe it in a really good way.
And hey your sentence: I DO THINK OF OTHER THINGS! let me think that:
*lol* Sure, you do that! We believe you!
Hug you.
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Thank you. I know I don't always give you reason to. (There are other things to talk about than David Tennant? Srsly? Like what? John Barrowman? xD)
*hugs* back. Thanks for the comment! I'm glad you liked what I had to share with you :).
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That's a quote from the book Textual Poachers by Henry Jenkins (which EVERYONE should read!)
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It was here.
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So, this tells you how much I love and agree with that entry. You are absolutely right. :-)
Thinking about it, I wonder if it is (my)an inability to conceive of/see/accept these glass-cages that makes it so hard to fit into society in a lot of cases?
But this was certainly worth the dropping of the plate. Hope you picked it up again and had some real food later. :-)
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I think it's an aversion to acknowledging them. I have that aversion, and it makes life a lot harder. But I wouldn't have it any other way! *feels rebellious* xD
Yeah, I did get food, afterwards, lol xD. Don't worry, I won't starve. Not as long I have the ability to type one-handedly. Lol xD.
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But anyway, it does make life harder, but you are right. I wouldn't want to be a 'circle person', not for a million dollars. (Well, maybe for a million dollars - *dwells on it* - naaaaah, not even for a million dollars.)
*waves Rebellion-Banner and shouts "Climb out of your holes people!!"*
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http://archive.salon.com/ent/feature/2001/06/30/gay_trek/print.html
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