More fandom musings
Jan. 9th, 2003 03:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
inteligrrlYou know it's quite interesting to notice the differences between fandoms. One would think that writing is writing and it wouldn't change on anything other than an individuals' writing style. Yet for some reason certain fandoms seem to have very distinctive trends that hold throughout the entirety of their fic realm. The differences easiest to observe is the treatment of sex in writing.
I've pondered this phenomenon before, but my most recent excursion brought the topic back to the forefront of the theoretical piece of my brain. Now, I've really not read any StarTrek fics, slash or otherwise up until a few weeks ago. The Slash Advent got me started reading Picard/Q fics, and while I like the pairing and consider the authors to be of a relatively good caliber I find myself growing weary of the sex! Every three minutes Picard or Q feel an extreme longing to be immersed in the joys of the flesh. As the powers of Q are considered more than fair game the characters will go through three or four scenarios before returning to the plot line! The plot lines are usually very relationship driven and would be a delight to read if only the two could stop channeling the entire galaxies' rabbit population. (Example)
Pop-Slash, especially that of N*Sync, on the other-hand (yes, I do read it and I attribute the fact that I do to the little known fact that "the right author, with the right fic, can hook you on anything.") seems to treat sex as something that further shows the emotional aspect, while shying away from describing the act itself with any explicitly. (Example) **Note: I'm not commenting on the het stuff as it is invariably Mary Sue-ish crap. I refuse to read it, so I have no real basis for classifying it.
Anime tends to be all about the "Bigger, Bolder, Uncut". If it's smut it's gonna be the grinding, bulging, throbbing, screaming, spurting kind. And that holds true for het, slash and tentacles. (Example)
X-Files was quite relationship driven, but also very involved in the physical aspect. I think one of the reasons it had such an overall balance to it is the fact that it was the first mass gathering place for the mature fanfiction writers. I saw fewer flame wars and prima donna acts in the X-Files fandom than I have seen in any other. These were mature, intelligent people who were interesting in seeing mature intelligent stories. Even their PWP's were well written and plot driven. The Gossamer Archive is proof of that, considering the fact that it is one of the largest archives in fandom and the overall quality of the work is extremely high. (Example)
The Beekeeper's Apprentice is quite unique as there is almost no sex to be found in the fandom. The sexual relationships are alluded to, but the authors seem to feel that it isn't something they need to explore, which is somewhat refreshing. (Example)
Jane Austen smut is usually written in a very light and fluffy way. It isn't something that consumes the story, but many of the longer fics could use a scene or six less. (Example)
Harry Potter is by far the most varied of all the fandoms I've been involved in. In the recent influx of anime fan girls there's a lot of crap in the slash side, and there's always been a lot of crap in the het side. If you look at the good slash though there's the people who use the sex as a mind trip, the people who use it as the emotional/physical connection, and the people who just use it as... a lot of sex. The only thing that does stand out in particular is the fact that it isn't often you will find an author who glosses over sex in the manner of PopSlash. Most your slashers like sex and like to write the whole kit and caboodle, but don't go overboard in the manner of Picard/Q, also they keep magical interference to a minimum most the time, which is a good thing.
Right, well enough babbling, I'm gonna go look for more slash.
**End Note: I am admittedly rather selective, so if you've had different experiences I can only say that I probably didn't read that particular fic/archive/mailing list.
I've pondered this phenomenon before, but my most recent excursion brought the topic back to the forefront of the theoretical piece of my brain. Now, I've really not read any StarTrek fics, slash or otherwise up until a few weeks ago. The Slash Advent got me started reading Picard/Q fics, and while I like the pairing and consider the authors to be of a relatively good caliber I find myself growing weary of the sex! Every three minutes Picard or Q feel an extreme longing to be immersed in the joys of the flesh. As the powers of Q are considered more than fair game the characters will go through three or four scenarios before returning to the plot line! The plot lines are usually very relationship driven and would be a delight to read if only the two could stop channeling the entire galaxies' rabbit population. (Example)
Pop-Slash, especially that of N*Sync, on the other-hand (yes, I do read it and I attribute the fact that I do to the little known fact that "the right author, with the right fic, can hook you on anything.") seems to treat sex as something that further shows the emotional aspect, while shying away from describing the act itself with any explicitly. (Example) **Note: I'm not commenting on the het stuff as it is invariably Mary Sue-ish crap. I refuse to read it, so I have no real basis for classifying it.
Anime tends to be all about the "Bigger, Bolder, Uncut". If it's smut it's gonna be the grinding, bulging, throbbing, screaming, spurting kind. And that holds true for het, slash and tentacles. (Example)
X-Files was quite relationship driven, but also very involved in the physical aspect. I think one of the reasons it had such an overall balance to it is the fact that it was the first mass gathering place for the mature fanfiction writers. I saw fewer flame wars and prima donna acts in the X-Files fandom than I have seen in any other. These were mature, intelligent people who were interesting in seeing mature intelligent stories. Even their PWP's were well written and plot driven. The Gossamer Archive is proof of that, considering the fact that it is one of the largest archives in fandom and the overall quality of the work is extremely high. (Example)
The Beekeeper's Apprentice is quite unique as there is almost no sex to be found in the fandom. The sexual relationships are alluded to, but the authors seem to feel that it isn't something they need to explore, which is somewhat refreshing. (Example)
Jane Austen smut is usually written in a very light and fluffy way. It isn't something that consumes the story, but many of the longer fics could use a scene or six less. (Example)
Harry Potter is by far the most varied of all the fandoms I've been involved in. In the recent influx of anime fan girls there's a lot of crap in the slash side, and there's always been a lot of crap in the het side. If you look at the good slash though there's the people who use the sex as a mind trip, the people who use it as the emotional/physical connection, and the people who just use it as... a lot of sex. The only thing that does stand out in particular is the fact that it isn't often you will find an author who glosses over sex in the manner of PopSlash. Most your slashers like sex and like to write the whole kit and caboodle, but don't go overboard in the manner of Picard/Q, also they keep magical interference to a minimum most the time, which is a good thing.
Right, well enough babbling, I'm gonna go look for more slash.
**End Note: I am admittedly rather selective, so if you've had different experiences I can only say that I probably didn't read that particular fic/archive/mailing list.
