The universal fandom taboo?
Mar. 2nd, 2011 02:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
apple_pathwaysBashfic / Character bashing.
It's banned from nearly every fic exchange. It's against the rules in most communities. If you want to speak ill of a show or its characters, you're going to have to start your own comm dedicated specifically for that purpose. Fans are so scared of the ramifications for speaking negatively about a fandom's characters or canon, they retreat to memes where they can bitch about the things they don't like under the cover of anonymity. You'll see "character bashing" listed as a squick alongside cannibalism, incest, and noncon.
Why such a strong reaction?
Of course, despite the overall fandom agreement that character bashing is bad, people can and do bash. It seems like there's at least one dedicated basher in every circle or comm: that person who feels the need to rail against Character X every time their name is mentioned, even if it's only mentioned in passing. That sort of broken record bashing in pernicious and irritating, for sure: in a discussion about fans' enjoyment of Character X, it's grating to have to constantly bat away the vitriol and bile of one or two grudgetastic fans.
But what about the bashing that doesn't happen in the public view? The rants that people post to their own journals, or the fics they write that can be easily skipped if you don't like the writing? I've seen some fans insist character bashing is something they'd like to see warned for, but is that really necessary? After all, I doubt the people writing it admit to themselves that it's bash!fic: one fan's character assassination is another's creative interpretation, after all.
What has me perplexed is not that people dislike character bashing: I don't like to see my favorite characters trampled any more than the next fan. What astounds me is the general opinion (and correct me if I'm misinterpreting it) that character bashing shouldn't exist, or should somehow be contained in radioactive bunkers where it won't risk contaminating the rest of fandom. With all of the unusual/out-there/or edgy ideas that fandoms more or less embrace as a normal and healthy part of the fan experience, why is character bashing so universally loathed? Why does the general fandom rule of "Don't Like, Don't Read" not apply?
Right now, you might be thinking, "What is she going on about? If it's so universally loathed, then why do I see it everywhere?" I would put that down to "Bashing is in the eye of the beholder"; or, put simpler: you can't recognize your own stink. While talking about a character you don't like is simply a critical examination of the canon, the same discussion about your favorite character is bashing. While negative discussion of specific characters/canons/*cough*showrunners might be kosher in one comm, the members will generally agree that "character bashing" (as it pertains to the fandom darlings) is off-limits.
I understand the urge to identify, even overidentify, with the characters in a show. For me, it's part of that murky line that divides the shows/books/movies I enjoy, and those I am a fan of, and it's an enormous part of what makes fandom so enjoyable. I have, in my life, disliked fictional characters enough that the idea of writing a story that punishes them and highlights the aspects of their personality I dislike seems incredibly satisfying. I don't do it, because I make a conscious choice not to focus on the negatives of the canon; I get much more pleasure from the parts I do enjoy. However, I recognize that this is a line I draw for myself, and not a standard that need apply to everyone. You wanna bash? Go for it--I can scroll!
Nearly everyone can agree that the Negative Nellys who just can't resist the urge to slip in a snide remark everytime their least favorite character is mentioned are annoying. But what about the fans who need to "defend" a character's virtue everytime they detect a real or imagined slight? Some fans just cannot psychologically deal with people who disagree with them about how the canon should be interpreted, and the general fandom opinion seems to be that they shouldn't have to. And what I want to know is: why shouldn't they?
(Or am I totally off the mark, and most fans' negative view of character bashing attaches to the wank that it eventually stirs up and not the bashing itself?)
It's banned from nearly every fic exchange. It's against the rules in most communities. If you want to speak ill of a show or its characters, you're going to have to start your own comm dedicated specifically for that purpose. Fans are so scared of the ramifications for speaking negatively about a fandom's characters or canon, they retreat to memes where they can bitch about the things they don't like under the cover of anonymity. You'll see "character bashing" listed as a squick alongside cannibalism, incest, and noncon.
Why such a strong reaction?
Of course, despite the overall fandom agreement that character bashing is bad, people can and do bash. It seems like there's at least one dedicated basher in every circle or comm: that person who feels the need to rail against Character X every time their name is mentioned, even if it's only mentioned in passing. That sort of broken record bashing in pernicious and irritating, for sure: in a discussion about fans' enjoyment of Character X, it's grating to have to constantly bat away the vitriol and bile of one or two grudgetastic fans.
But what about the bashing that doesn't happen in the public view? The rants that people post to their own journals, or the fics they write that can be easily skipped if you don't like the writing? I've seen some fans insist character bashing is something they'd like to see warned for, but is that really necessary? After all, I doubt the people writing it admit to themselves that it's bash!fic: one fan's character assassination is another's creative interpretation, after all.
What has me perplexed is not that people dislike character bashing: I don't like to see my favorite characters trampled any more than the next fan. What astounds me is the general opinion (and correct me if I'm misinterpreting it) that character bashing shouldn't exist, or should somehow be contained in radioactive bunkers where it won't risk contaminating the rest of fandom. With all of the unusual/out-there/or edgy ideas that fandoms more or less embrace as a normal and healthy part of the fan experience, why is character bashing so universally loathed? Why does the general fandom rule of "Don't Like, Don't Read" not apply?
Right now, you might be thinking, "What is she going on about? If it's so universally loathed, then why do I see it everywhere?" I would put that down to "Bashing is in the eye of the beholder"; or, put simpler: you can't recognize your own stink. While talking about a character you don't like is simply a critical examination of the canon, the same discussion about your favorite character is bashing. While negative discussion of specific characters/canons/*cough*showrunners might be kosher in one comm, the members will generally agree that "character bashing" (as it pertains to the fandom darlings) is off-limits.
I understand the urge to identify, even overidentify, with the characters in a show. For me, it's part of that murky line that divides the shows/books/movies I enjoy, and those I am a fan of, and it's an enormous part of what makes fandom so enjoyable. I have, in my life, disliked fictional characters enough that the idea of writing a story that punishes them and highlights the aspects of their personality I dislike seems incredibly satisfying. I don't do it, because I make a conscious choice not to focus on the negatives of the canon; I get much more pleasure from the parts I do enjoy. However, I recognize that this is a line I draw for myself, and not a standard that need apply to everyone. You wanna bash? Go for it--I can scroll!
Nearly everyone can agree that the Negative Nellys who just can't resist the urge to slip in a snide remark everytime their least favorite character is mentioned are annoying. But what about the fans who need to "defend" a character's virtue everytime they detect a real or imagined slight? Some fans just cannot psychologically deal with people who disagree with them about how the canon should be interpreted, and the general fandom opinion seems to be that they shouldn't have to. And what I want to know is: why shouldn't they?
(Or am I totally off the mark, and most fans' negative view of character bashing attaches to the wank that it eventually stirs up and not the bashing itself?)
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no subject
Date: 2011-03-02 08:45 pm (UTC)Interestingly, I've been having a discussion about character bashing elsewhere, on a fandom-specific board, and the consensus there was character bashing was a big faux pas primarily because there are better ways to get across the fact that a particular character was not subjectively worthy of the writer's affection.
My view is that if fanfiction is commentary on the source material--meta, if you will--then character bashing (or the flipside, i.e. character praising) is a subset of that. Instead of commenting on the entire fannish universe, the commentary is limited to that single character. I don't see it as having less value (or more value, for that matter) than fics that are friendly to that character.
As for warnings, I feel like you can never warn too much. I mean, granted, you shouldn't have to warn for some things, i.e. same-sex relationships, political viewpoints, etc. But on the other hand, one writer's neat expository device is another writer's horrible trigger.
And yes, of course, we all have the ability to scroll past what we don't like. But there are things that I can't even be bothered to click on, and knowing that up front saves me time. Does that make sense?
no subject
Date: 2011-03-03 01:45 am (UTC)I suppose I would agree that you "can't warn too much", unless you're giving away key elements of the plot. (Which has happened to me: "If I warn for this, that gives away the whole ending to my story!") However, I think the expectations of what should be warned for are problematic. The notion that you can identify and warn for everything that might conceivably upset someone is just impossible and fallacious. You can't! Trust me: I am a person with very strange, and very specific squicks. If I could get people to warn for anthropomorphism, I would! :P
Of course, a line has to be drawn about what should and shouldn't be warned for. Most people can agree that rape, violence, suicide, etc. should be warned for, but character bashing? I once saw the Who anon meme get all up in arms and cry "character bashing" because an author did not mention a character they knew she disliked! If not mentioning a character can be called bashing, how could a protocol for warning for it be devised?
no subject
Date: 2011-03-03 09:27 pm (UTC)Thing is she can't warn bashing or OOC because she doesn't think they are but she can warn dark!Sirius or whatever, because people do warn for that.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-04 01:22 am (UTC)Anyway. I think being courteous to your fellow fans should be a given. If there's something in your fic that's likely to upset people, it's a nice thing to do to warn for it. However, the people who write the sort of character-bashing you're talking about probably aren't likely to warn for it.