Shane Little wrote:
It's not as boring as it might sound-- some of the best fiction is both good entertainment _and_ full of literary merit.
Well, of course it is. But that doesn't mean we have to limit ourselves only to that. My favorites in fiction run the gamut from literary classics to pulp (I'm a Doc Savage fan from way back); I make no apologies for reading some stuff of lesser literary merit, simply because I happen to enjoy it. I spend a great deal of time in intellectually challenging activities -- there is nothing wrong with some pure mind candy for relaxation purposes. My stack of current reading includes a book on history, one each on physics, cognitive science, and software, an SF short story anthology, and a Ngaio Marsh mystery. Somehow I doubt my brain is going to rot because I stoop to the occasional formulaic mystery, pulp novel, or frivolous bit of fanfic (slash or otherwise).
Where do you think the phrase "sexual politics" comes from?
Dunno, but I tend to run when I hear it.
So basically then, you read slash for _unrealistic_ relationships?
Well, you're starting to get the idea, I think. Not just slash, however; that applies to most of the fiction I read for pleasure. It's not that I'm looking for "unrealistic"; I'm looking for *what I like* -- which often happens not to be especially realistic. (Not everything unrealistic is what I like, but much of what I like is unrealistic -- does that make sense, or is it getting murkier?)
correct me if I'm wrong but you're not talking about the "realistic" genre of slash here are you?
Er, I don't know -- I'm not sure what you're calling the "realistic" genre of slash.
I think I'm getting a little confused here. Let me get this straight, you like to read fanfic about unrealistic characters in unrealistic situations, but they have to be believable in the context of the characters as you see them.
That's correct. I want internal coherence -- the characters in the fanfic need to match fairly closely the characters I perceive in the original -- but I don't regard those characters themselves as being particularly realistic.
Does this mean then you only read fanfic that you write?
No; I don't write fiction. However, there are a sufficient number of fans who write, and who see the characters similarly to the way I do, that I can find fanfic I enjoy reading. There's also a lot of it that I *don't* enjoy reading, because the characterizations are so far from the way I see them -- but those characterizations presumably match some other people's perceptions quite well.
I've come to like and respect a lot of pro-slash people-- but trying to read it back onto the series is the fastest way to stop me taking what you have to say seriously.
I don't understand what you mean by "read it back onto the series". I got my perceptions of the characters from *watching* the series; I'm not certain how else you would expect me to get them.
I am not suggesting anything, I am telling you that if you want to write, or read slash, then go ahead.
Thank you for your permission.
Read and write as much slash as you like, but don't then try and tell me that Avon, Vila, Tarrant and all, were written and played as gay.
I'm hardly likely to, since I *don't* think any such thing, nor have I ever stated or implied that I do.
If that's true then don't reply to this e-mail.
Well, darn; I wish you'd said that back up at the start, and not then asked a number of questions which I thought it would be impolite not to answer, since I assumed you were asking for clarification or information... I'm not wasting the typing, so into the modem it goes. Feel free to delete, if you prefer.
- Lisa
-- Lisa Williams: lcw@dallas.net or lwilliams@raytheon.com Lisa's Video Frame Capture Library: http://framecaplib.com/ From Eroica With Love: http://eroicafans.org/