The universal fandom taboo?

[apple_pathways]

Bashfic / 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?)

Comments

[ravelled-ribbon.livejournal.com]

I would like people to warn for bashing in fics because I want to know if its in there so I can avoid reading it. Not because I think its oh so terrible but because I have no desire to read it. Its different with origonal fiction because you generally read origonal fiction and fanfiction for different reasons. For one thing, unless already in a series, you don't know the charactors and so don't have a pre-existing emotional relationship with them. And if it is a series and you do, then whatever the author does is canon and you have to accept that. They aren't doing it out of malice directed at a fictional charactor, they don't want to start internet drama and
if you think they have lost track of what they're doing and its no longer fun you stop reading.

I read fanfiction because I love the charactors and want to read more about them having run out of official matierials. Its about self gratification. This is why a lot of people do it and they don't want to have to get involved with charactor bashing because it isn't fun for them and they have enough serious unpleasent stuff going on in their real lives that they don't want to get involved ith something that will spoil their fun in their down time. I don't want to read a Gundam Wing fic say, only to discover halfway through that the author has made Trowa the bad guy in a way that is totally out of charactor because they virulently hate Trowa and want to write a charactor assasination. Because I won't enjoy it at all and then I have lost half my hour of free alone time for the evening.

I don't think its bad, I think if you don't like it don't read but that in order to be able to do that you need to be warned its in there in the first place. I also really hate it when other people push their charactor bashing on other people because, again, it spoiled their fun.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with you about what people get out of fanfiction vs. what they get out of original fiction. I'm in the same boat as you! I'm here for fun, and I don't need petty squabbles about fictional characters casting a shadow over my already-complicated life.

I would approve of people warning for character bashing, because I don't particularly want to read it, either. I think the problem is expecting authors to be able to identify the bashing in their fics, especially if they don't consider it bashing. What if the Gundam Wing author in your example wrote that same story, but this time it wasn't because virulently hate Trowa and want to assassinate their character, but because they like bad guys; or they wanted to write an AU; or they wanted to explore the character's "dark side". You would dislike the story just as much, but in that case, the author didn't mean any harm. (And how are you to know what an author's thinking when they write something?)

Anyway, food for thought! I'd like fandom to be a more positive place in general, but in the meantime, I'll just keep scrolling on by the wank.

[ravelled-ribbon.livejournal.com]

Actually no I wouldn't. There's an entire community dedicated to Trowa dark fic, where he's written as a bad guy or an asshole etc and its quite a lot of fun. (Just keeping the Trowa example going here) But in it they warn what kind of dark side they're giving the guy and you can skip portrayels you won't like. Similarly in an AU if you're writing a charactor our of charactor you notice, and so you can warn for it. I once read one where Wu Fei was written as a thug and a rapist and it was an ok fic and I still enjoyed it because it came with the warning. And there was another one where Heero was a closeted homosexual engaged in a public relationship with Relena and a seriously abusive private one with Duo. But it worked because it was a plausible charactor developement and wasn't just set up to destroy the charactor. Plus with bashing it feels different. Because a fic set up to bash a character revolves around making that charactor look like shit, or even if it doesn't all the interactions with that charactor are set up that way. And that's no fun.