----- Original Message ----- From: Betty Ragan ragan@sdc.org
Butting in here yet *again*...
And here's me saying I'd give up on this thread :)...
I think it's worth pointing out that there *is* a definite visual grammar within the series for conveying bisexuality.
To which, I must admit, my reflex response is "So what?"
Well, the point I was making is that people were saying "it's not visually there so it can't be ruled out," and I was pointing out that it *is* visually there, just not for the characters under discussion.
Here's the 64,000 question, if you ask me. What do we mean whan we make a statement like "Avon and Blake are lovers" or "Blake is heterosexual"? I mean, obviously, there are no real people named Blake and Avon out there roaming around the galaxy blowing things up. So those questions aren't really the same as asking "Who is president of the United States?" or "What is the charge on an electron?" Those are factual questions about things that actually, physically exist in a way that Blake and Avon don't.
Correct-- but in B7, there are facts within the context of the show. Basically, there is a solid set of fictional material from which all the other material springs-- in B7, the 52 episodes which we both agree are the canon.
Approach #2: _Blake's 7_ is a fictional universe. (I like Tolkien's word "subcreation," personally.) The question "Are Blake and Avon lovers?" is approached by building up a model of that universe inside one's head -- consistent with canon as it appears on the screen,
Exactly. The thing is, if we do take the canon, divorced from all evidence about production, intent etc., the fact still remains that Avon and Blake do not show "loverly," flirtatious or potentially-attracted behaviour in the way that other characters do; they do not display behaviour consistent with that of the gay and bisexual characters in the series (cruisy looks, innuendo, pateki-cakes); and all the scenes we've been discussing (The Web, Duel, Redemption, etc.) have all turned out to have viable, simple explanations within the context.
disregarding its roots as a BBC production and adding inevitable layers of personal interpretation -- and then interrogating that model. Thus, "Are Blake and Avon lovers?" translates as "In the version of the _Blake's 7_ universe that I have built in my head, are Blake and Avon lovers?"
But this now gets into what I said right at the outset-- which is that slash is essentially an exercise in imagination. Which, as I said, is a fine and lovely activity-- but then claiming that this is somehow "there" on our screens is still basically a retconn.
The thing is, a person operating under Approach #2 may well look at that statement about visual grammar in utter bafflement, wondering how on earth that's relevant. Sure, it had an effect on how what's on the screen got there, but how does that matter? We're talking about the Blake's 7 universe, aren't we, not the BBC? Blake and Avon don't know they're bound by television dramatic conventions!
Right, they don't know it. But they are. Every thirteen episodes, a disaster happens. The characters speak with far too perfect diction. Somehow everybody fails to notice that Travis' face and accent change from one year to the next. No relationships between crew can develop outside of "pivotal" episodes. That's the show's grammar-- the internal conventions of the series. Which I think even somebody in Approach #2 is taking into account, even if that's not what they call it, if they're sticking to canon.... :)
Whereas I imagine somebody stuck firmly in Approach #1 is likely to find that response utterly bizarre.
Perhaps less than you might think. You see, I personally come down somewhere in the middle of those views-- I like fantasy, and I like canon, and IMO the two are not necessarily contradictory. E.g., knowing the visual grammar used within the series itself can help one to write creative and extrapolative fanfic which fits in with the canon, much as knowing the peculiarities of Georgian English can help one write an effective Jane Austen pastiche.
Fiona
The Posthumous Memoirs of Secretary Rontane Available for public perusal at http://nyder.r67.net
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