hello friendslist, I've got an opinion (and some run-on sentences!)

[sapote]

I shouldn't post first thing in the morning. Oh well. Up it stays.

You know, one of the things that I find interesting about fanfiction as cultural artifact is the sheer level of informed consent the fanfiction community, for the most part, believes is necessary to read a story. This is something that doesn't happen with other media. The MPAA assumes the right to tell you whether something is appropriate for your age group (and penalizes sex much more heavily than violence, which, eck.). Printed books assume that if you're literate, you can probably figure it out for yourself. I've been reading Samuel Delany recently, and I've really been enjoying his work, but while I'm reading it often occurs to me what a long, long list of warnings his books would carry if they were published as fanfiction.

I like this informed-consent thing we've got going on. For me, suspension of disbelief is a fairly personal thing, and I tend to read fic with my finger hovering over the back button just in case. I really like the idea that we have a right to be offered a choice about what we let into our brains recreationally. Especially when it comes to Teh Porn.

And to me, this has something to do with the hello, Jensen! We write Wincest! thing. I'm not in that fandom (much), so this is completely me shooting off at the mouth: but if someone decides to go looking for fanfic about themselves, that's his/her lookout. That's consenting to know about something. Making them deal with that information in a situation where they can't hit the back button, so to speak? Not so consenty. I wonder if part of the (somewhat lackadaisical, for-heaven's-sakes-we've-already-discussed-this-flavored) pileon over that one question is part of this idea we've got going that fanfiction requires informed consent. Is all.

(I'm actually not meaning to a) complain about people who don't post warnings b) say anything new about Don't Tell the Actors. No, I just rolled out of bed this sunny May morning and thought, you know what I want to do this morning? I want to muse. Let's have some musing.)

Comments

[rydra_wong]

I have nothing intelligent to say here, I merely wish to share the Delany love.

*points at username*

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

Oh!
I actually hadn't made that connection.
Yay!

[lavilleperdue.livejournal.com]

I don't have anything more constructive to add other than that I agree with you, but honestly, I don't understand why people feel the need to tell actors these kinds of things. *mind boggles*

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

I mean, I would be as tickled as anyone else if an actor brought it up spontaneously (assuming they were pro-fanfic or neutral. If they were firmly anti it would make me kind of sad). And I'm not sure mentioning the entire concept of fanfiction to an actor is completely outside the realm of acceptable behavior (as opposed to mentioning porny fanfiction, specifically. That is not okay.) But still. To be honest, I think the best response to a Real Live Actor spontaneously mentioning Wincest would have been
::dead silence::
::awkward cough::
::shifty glances among entire audience::

"SO! What's the new season got in store?"

As in, yes, the entire internet has imagined you naked, but we're just too classy to tell you to your face.

[lavilleperdue.livejournal.com]

Yes, I agree with you on being pro-fanfic or neutral -- I glee'd a little when I heard that David Nykl was apparently In The Know on the whole fanfic phenomenon. *g* I remember that there was a whole debate awhile ago about sharing fanfiction with actors at all because of the pesky copyright and liability thing, but I sincerely doubt that any actor is going to say that he just had to know FOR SURE that fans on the internet have imagined him naked. Really now, people.

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

::wants to call this the Pete Wentz defense, because it rhymes, but has heard the Pete Wentz defense is to make naked t-shirts, so doesn't::

::likes to put whole paragraphs in action brackets::

[lavilleperdue.livejournal.com]

I had to google Pete Wentz, but ha. *g*