This might count as petty, but...
May. 25th, 2011 10:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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fail_fandomanon in a thread about "annoying fanon taken as canon":
Oh, in Sherlock fandom there's so much of that going on. A few examples:
- Sherlock being asexual.
- Sherlock being or having been a cocaine (or any drug) addict.
- Sherlock hating the way his own brain works ("too much noise" and the like; I blame wordstrings for this. She's very good writer, but I don't like her take on Sherlock, and I really don't like her take being accepted by large parts of fandom).
- Sherlock being a sociopath (yeah, I know he says so himself, but that doesn't make it true).
- Mycroft not really caring about his brother.
*forehead slap*
This is the Sherlock bit: anyone not interested, feel free to skip to the questions at the end!
First, I have to admit than I am a rabid Holmesian: not just the new BBC series, but the Arthur Conan Doyle novels and stories as well. (And several of the movies/tv series. And the BBC radio dramas. And various re-tellings/pastiches. Etc.) Therefore, a lot of my perceptions of the new series are most likely colored by the ACD canon, and the huge body of Holmes-related work that came before. HOWEVER:
1. "Sherlock being asexual."
Honestly, when I first read the thread title, I was tempted to respond "The notion in Sherlock fandom that Sherlock and John are most definitely a couple". On further thought, I realized I was overstating things a bit. It's true that a large portion of the fandom is interested in Sherlock/John slash. However, I don't think most fans actually believe they are or will be a couple in the series, or actually even care if that's the case or not. They just enjoy the idea of Sherlock and John as a couple, and I can't fault them for that: this is what fanfic is for.
As for Sherlock being asexual: it is pretty damn close to canon. No, he never comes out and says "I'm an asexual." He doesn't have a t-shirt or go to meetings. But he does pretty explicitly state that he's not interested in romantic relationships, and it's no big leap from there. Are other interpretations possible? Could he turn out to be gay/straight/bi? It's possible. But "Sherlock is asexual" is far from being pure fanon.
2. "Sherlock being or having been a cocaine (or any drug) addict."
This is most definitely canon. Look up the drugs bust scene on YouTube. If this doesn't meet the definition of canon, I don't know what to consider canon anymore.
3. "Sherlock hating the way his own brain works."
I'm pretty sure this a bleed over from the ACD canon, but I can see it easily transposed onto the BBC series (though I'm having trouble coming up with specific examples). No, it's true that Sherlock doesn't 'hate' the way his brain works: in fact, Sherlock thinks pretty highly of his own intellect in either canon. But to be honest, I don't think that what's being represented in fic (or in either canon) is Sherlock 'hating' the way his brain works; but he most certainly is tormented by his own genius.
4. "Sherlock being a sociopath (yeah, I know he says so himself, but that doesn't make it true)."
"I know he says so himself". Q.E.D.
No, I know: 'unreliable narrator', he could have been flippant, etc. etc. There's a million excuses to discount the veracity of his statement. BUT: there's also a lot to be argued for his complete candor. And he did say it without any obvious wink or nod, which makes this notion far from merely fanon. (I also wonder if there's some confusion as to what a 'sociopath' is?)
5. "Mycroft not really caring about his brother."
I have nothing to argue about this. It's canon that Mycroft 'cares' enough about his brother to spy on him and want to keep track of his movements. (Of course, that could have been a cover for his true reasons for wanting to spy on his brother, but anyway...)
What I do want to say is: where is this fanon? Granted, I've not been as deeply involved in the fandom as I once was, but most of the fic I've seen that deals with the Sherlock/Mycroft relationship portrays Mycroft caring much more than he shows in the series.
/end Sherlock-specific bit
All of this brings me to my topic for discussion: what is canon? How attached are you to the 'facts' of the media you enjoy? Do you like it when the source material mixes it up and plays with canon, or is a foolish consistency the hobgoblin of your little mind? (I know it is of mine...)
Where is the line between canon and fanon?
Also: Do you have bits of fanon you find annoying, or that you actually like better than canon?
As for my own personal favorite bit of fanon: see icon!
fail_fandomanon in a thread about "annoying fanon taken as canon":Oh, in Sherlock fandom there's so much of that going on. A few examples:
- Sherlock being asexual.
- Sherlock being or having been a cocaine (or any drug) addict.
- Sherlock hating the way his own brain works ("too much noise" and the like; I blame wordstrings for this. She's very good writer, but I don't like her take on Sherlock, and I really don't like her take being accepted by large parts of fandom).
- Sherlock being a sociopath (yeah, I know he says so himself, but that doesn't make it true).
- Mycroft not really caring about his brother.
*forehead slap*
This is the Sherlock bit: anyone not interested, feel free to skip to the questions at the end!
First, I have to admit than I am a rabid Holmesian: not just the new BBC series, but the Arthur Conan Doyle novels and stories as well. (And several of the movies/tv series. And the BBC radio dramas. And various re-tellings/pastiches. Etc.) Therefore, a lot of my perceptions of the new series are most likely colored by the ACD canon, and the huge body of Holmes-related work that came before. HOWEVER:
1. "Sherlock being asexual."
Honestly, when I first read the thread title, I was tempted to respond "The notion in Sherlock fandom that Sherlock and John are most definitely a couple". On further thought, I realized I was overstating things a bit. It's true that a large portion of the fandom is interested in Sherlock/John slash. However, I don't think most fans actually believe they are or will be a couple in the series, or actually even care if that's the case or not. They just enjoy the idea of Sherlock and John as a couple, and I can't fault them for that: this is what fanfic is for.
As for Sherlock being asexual: it is pretty damn close to canon. No, he never comes out and says "I'm an asexual." He doesn't have a t-shirt or go to meetings. But he does pretty explicitly state that he's not interested in romantic relationships, and it's no big leap from there. Are other interpretations possible? Could he turn out to be gay/straight/bi? It's possible. But "Sherlock is asexual" is far from being pure fanon.
2. "Sherlock being or having been a cocaine (or any drug) addict."
This is most definitely canon. Look up the drugs bust scene on YouTube. If this doesn't meet the definition of canon, I don't know what to consider canon anymore.
3. "Sherlock hating the way his own brain works."
I'm pretty sure this a bleed over from the ACD canon, but I can see it easily transposed onto the BBC series (though I'm having trouble coming up with specific examples). No, it's true that Sherlock doesn't 'hate' the way his brain works: in fact, Sherlock thinks pretty highly of his own intellect in either canon. But to be honest, I don't think that what's being represented in fic (or in either canon) is Sherlock 'hating' the way his brain works; but he most certainly is tormented by his own genius.
4. "Sherlock being a sociopath (yeah, I know he says so himself, but that doesn't make it true)."
"I know he says so himself". Q.E.D.
No, I know: 'unreliable narrator', he could have been flippant, etc. etc. There's a million excuses to discount the veracity of his statement. BUT: there's also a lot to be argued for his complete candor. And he did say it without any obvious wink or nod, which makes this notion far from merely fanon. (I also wonder if there's some confusion as to what a 'sociopath' is?)
5. "Mycroft not really caring about his brother."
I have nothing to argue about this. It's canon that Mycroft 'cares' enough about his brother to spy on him and want to keep track of his movements. (Of course, that could have been a cover for his true reasons for wanting to spy on his brother, but anyway...)
What I do want to say is: where is this fanon? Granted, I've not been as deeply involved in the fandom as I once was, but most of the fic I've seen that deals with the Sherlock/Mycroft relationship portrays Mycroft caring much more than he shows in the series.
/end Sherlock-specific bit
All of this brings me to my topic for discussion: what is canon? How attached are you to the 'facts' of the media you enjoy? Do you like it when the source material mixes it up and plays with canon, or is a foolish consistency the hobgoblin of your little mind? (I know it is of mine...)
Where is the line between canon and fanon?
Also: Do you have bits of fanon you find annoying, or that you actually like better than canon?
As for my own personal favorite bit of fanon: see icon!
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no subject
Date: 2011-05-28 04:14 pm (UTC)Until I write for Doctor Who.So.I think the poster's arguments are mostly a case of "Your fanon is not as right as my fanon." Because with Sherlock we have a grand total of, what, 4.5 hours of canon? And almost none of that is actual backstory... so there's not much source material to go to, unless you go to the source (which obviously we're not meant to do, since that's pretty much where 2 and 3 came from. Then again, 1 and 4 come from the show itself, so I'm inclined to diagnose this as a case of My Fanon is the Only Canon You Will Know.)
Actually... hmm... now you've got me thinking about the Buddy Cop trope. Where does something stop being Generic and become an interesting exploration of the source universe? (Which, of course, is all personal preference, but anyway... curiosity.) I'm thinking "Sherlock and John... AS COPS. WHO ARE FRIENDS WHO KICK ASS" would fall under the generic category, since it shoves S&J into that particular trope, whereas "Lestrade and Donovan were badass before Sherlock showed up and ruined everything by solving things before they got to kick down doors" would probably be interesting enough to be worth the buddy cop trope (since, for one, we don't have much of a template in canon already for Lestrade and Donovan, so we don't necessarily already know what'll happen).
(Also, yes, it's totally Homestuck. I'm starting to think that a significant percentage of my continuing interest in that comic is the interplay between Hussie and his fandom. It's kind of fascinating.)
no subject
Date: 2011-05-28 08:23 pm (UTC)that's pretty much where 2 and 3 came from. Then again, 1 and 4 come from the show itself
#2 was pretty directly addressed on the show, too. They didn't specifically mention cocaine in the drugs bust scene, but there was a definite implication that Sherlock was a drug user. (Maybe the quibble comes from the difference in 'drug user' vs. 'drug addict'?)
Honestly, I think Sherlock and Watson plugged into the Generic Buddy Cop trope would make for an excellent fic! But that's just it: they still have to be Sherlock and Watson, otherwise what relation does it have to the show? (Sherlock kicking ass and taking names while Watson stands off the side and delivers caustic one-liners would be endlessly amusing.)
For me, I'm less attached to the particulars of the scene/setting/set-up of a show than I am to the particulars of characterization. Especially in a show like Sherlock, where the characters are the premise. As long as a story has the characters behaving as I imagine they would, I'm not too picky about what else the author changes.
Lestrade and Donovan as buddy cops would be pretty epic. I can imagine the fun times they had before Sherlock came along... :P
(Also, yes, it's totally Homestuck. I'm starting to think that a significant percentage of my continuing interest in that comic is the interplay between Hussie and his fandom. It's kind of fascinating.)
What, exactly, about the fandom for his show has got his knickers in a twist? Or do you think it's a case of him just enjoying toying with the fanbase for his own kicks?
no subject
Date: 2011-05-28 10:07 pm (UTC)I think Hussie's issues (if you can call them that) with the fandom basically boil down to their completely different interests re: the story he's telling. He seems to absolutely love the whole build a character up for a big fall/death gambit, he loves making things kind of twisty and dark, plus he is (or puts on a very effective air of being) just incorrigibly un-serious about everything (I'm pretty sure a good portion of this is a facade, because he can't be as un-serious as he seems about things and still maintain the level of plotting he pulls off. But I'm pretty sure he does revel in breaking people's hearts). Whereas the fans have really taken to his characters, and are (oh noes!) emotionally invested in them, and because of the (original, though since abandoned) interactive nature of the story, feel like they have some say in what happens to them. So they wig out when he kills someone, or ruins a relationship, or in some other way makes it so what everyone thought was going on wasn't actually going on. I don't think he particularly hates the fandom, but I think recently the expectations that he cater the story to them, rather than going where he wants to go with it, has kind of grinded on him a bit. Right now we're stuck in something akin to the second disc of Xenogears, where all the plot action is happening in summary by a character that already knows what's going to happen. He's definitely been aware of all the fandom flouncing and drama, and while I think it made him feel powerful at first, I think he's kind of had enough of it and is trying to hurry past the parts he knows people are going to be really upset about so he can get to the part he actually wants to write with as little strife as possible. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he came back later and wrote this part properly, but I also think it's more likely to come as part of the universe-reset that's been hinted at for the last few months.
So, I guess in short, what kind of mesmerizes me is that he has this fandom that cropped up largely because he started out writing what amounted to a choose-your-own adventure story, taking suggestions on the forums, so people feel like the characters are partially theirs in the first place, even though it's been more than a year since anyone besides him has contributed anything more than fanart to the story. The whole thing is kind of a fanworks chimera that's now piloted entirely by the original creator.