roseembolism (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
roseembolism) wrote2004-04-21 10:49 pm
roseembolism) wrote2004-04-21 10:49 pm
Technological devolution, or Dr Gonzo is an Old Codger
It is a sad thing.
What is a sad thing? The fact, that one of my first impressions of "Kill Bill 2" involved my thinking when a sword's inscription was read, "Oh crap, the fanfickers are going to have a field day with this one." I can see it now: "OMG, I have GOTTA do a Bill/Budd slashfic! Of course I'm going to change Bud from a white trash shitkicker into a wispy bishonen, and make Bill an angstful yaoi hero. And the Bride and all the other girls won't appear in the fic at all except to die horribly- I know, the Bride will die of some disease like, um, halitosis or something, and the sorrowing Bill flies into Budd's arms! And then I can torture them! YAY! LOL!" They're out there. I can feel the fangirls drooling onto their keyboards. The first slashfics have probably started creeping into fanfc.net like a sewage outflow.
The sad thing is, it didn't used to be so bad. I have it on good authority that fanfics used to be tougher to get published. They commonly required the author to understand the characters, the world they lived in, AND the stories had to be fit into continuity. Yes there were tons of Starsky/Hutch and Kirk/Spock fics out there, but by and large fanfics that made it out into the public (well, fannish) view at least required the basics of writing competence. The reason for this is that pre-internet, fanfics were generally circulated in APAs, which required one to actually type out a story on a manual typewriter, manually put it in an envelope, and then send it out to a central editor, who would manually copy and compile the fics to send to all the members of the APA. Not only did the physical act of having to write and send a story (and the postage costs involved) make people second-guess their efforts, but the editor, if she was on the ball, would screen the submitted stories. And then when the story was printed, the other APA members could give some honest critiques-- not this "positive comments only" bullhockey we see today, but useful critiques. Not to say that crappy fanficking didn't occur,- I just described the ideal situation, and the vast majority of fanfic written then was still crap. Mary Sue dates back to the early days of Trek fandom, and the first fanfic that caused me to laugh in the authors face was handed to me back in 1986. But it took more of an effort to write fanfic back then, and it was easier for budding professional writers to use it as a training ground.
Don't take me for a luddite, or someone looking back on the golden age of 1980. However, today the real problem with the advent of internet based fanfic, isn't just the lack of editing standards, or the pervasive cliquishness that breeds a contempt for criticism. It's the fact that it's so EASY to get published- just one click allows people to spew whatever random thought occurred out onto the internet for all to see. There's no one to act as a filter, to demand familiarity with grammar or punctuation, or to even point out that the plot made little sense. But it's too late turn the clock back, and technology marches on- we need to be prepared for the NEXT thing. Say, about five or six years down the road. When PDAs will have voice recognition systems, and automatic wireless internet hookups. That's right- fanfics will be posted in real time, just as the fans come up with them, wherever they are. So we'll have something like this showing up on fanfic.net:
Livepost from Kojifan5689:
Subject: Fanfic!!!
"So umm...err, he looked into his carbuncle- no, cerulean eyes, and whispered - oh poo, I just missed my exit! - Umm, 'There's no one else who will ever be for me' and 'umm, Koji whispered back 'take me my love, as he- drat, how can I get over there? as he removed his lion-- um, no, leopard-speckled briefs to reveal his umm, warning- low battery, please replace or charge- gee, his throbbing umm thing of l- don't honk at me, let me get over! manhood. Uhh, tenderly Ken laid err, lay? I dunno, on the bed, his tongue darting- OH MY GOD! IT'S RICKY MARTIN! I LOVE THAT SONG! TURN IT UP over his rapidly exciting body to GIRL YOU KNOW ITS TRUE umm, panting in growing excitement, Koji could see the rising tension THERE"S NOBODY ELSE BUT YOU Oh my god, that guy in that car over there's looking at me! What do I BABY BABY DON"T BE SO CRUEL umm, umm, taking Koji's phallus of love into his I'M ALWAYS GONNA BE YOUR LOVE FOOL Ken panted, feeling the Warning- Low Battery replace battery immediately- OOHOOH BABY BABY -CONNECTION LOST
and five seconds later will come the reply:
Livepost from Sojilover2178
Subject: RE: Fanfic!!!
OMG! That is the most moving fic I evar read! KUSUKUSU! OMG! LOL!
Its the future. Be prepared.
What is a sad thing? The fact, that one of my first impressions of "Kill Bill 2" involved my thinking when a sword's inscription was read, "Oh crap, the fanfickers are going to have a field day with this one." I can see it now: "OMG, I have GOTTA do a Bill/Budd slashfic! Of course I'm going to change Bud from a white trash shitkicker into a wispy bishonen, and make Bill an angstful yaoi hero. And the Bride and all the other girls won't appear in the fic at all except to die horribly- I know, the Bride will die of some disease like, um, halitosis or something, and the sorrowing Bill flies into Budd's arms! And then I can torture them! YAY! LOL!" They're out there. I can feel the fangirls drooling onto their keyboards. The first slashfics have probably started creeping into fanfc.net like a sewage outflow.
The sad thing is, it didn't used to be so bad. I have it on good authority that fanfics used to be tougher to get published. They commonly required the author to understand the characters, the world they lived in, AND the stories had to be fit into continuity. Yes there were tons of Starsky/Hutch and Kirk/Spock fics out there, but by and large fanfics that made it out into the public (well, fannish) view at least required the basics of writing competence. The reason for this is that pre-internet, fanfics were generally circulated in APAs, which required one to actually type out a story on a manual typewriter, manually put it in an envelope, and then send it out to a central editor, who would manually copy and compile the fics to send to all the members of the APA. Not only did the physical act of having to write and send a story (and the postage costs involved) make people second-guess their efforts, but the editor, if she was on the ball, would screen the submitted stories. And then when the story was printed, the other APA members could give some honest critiques-- not this "positive comments only" bullhockey we see today, but useful critiques. Not to say that crappy fanficking didn't occur,- I just described the ideal situation, and the vast majority of fanfic written then was still crap. Mary Sue dates back to the early days of Trek fandom, and the first fanfic that caused me to laugh in the authors face was handed to me back in 1986. But it took more of an effort to write fanfic back then, and it was easier for budding professional writers to use it as a training ground.
Don't take me for a luddite, or someone looking back on the golden age of 1980. However, today the real problem with the advent of internet based fanfic, isn't just the lack of editing standards, or the pervasive cliquishness that breeds a contempt for criticism. It's the fact that it's so EASY to get published- just one click allows people to spew whatever random thought occurred out onto the internet for all to see. There's no one to act as a filter, to demand familiarity with grammar or punctuation, or to even point out that the plot made little sense. But it's too late turn the clock back, and technology marches on- we need to be prepared for the NEXT thing. Say, about five or six years down the road. When PDAs will have voice recognition systems, and automatic wireless internet hookups. That's right- fanfics will be posted in real time, just as the fans come up with them, wherever they are. So we'll have something like this showing up on fanfic.net:
Livepost from Kojifan5689:
Subject: Fanfic!!!
"So umm...err, he looked into his carbuncle- no, cerulean eyes, and whispered - oh poo, I just missed my exit! - Umm, 'There's no one else who will ever be for me' and 'umm, Koji whispered back 'take me my love, as he- drat, how can I get over there? as he removed his lion-- um, no, leopard-speckled briefs to reveal his umm, warning- low battery, please replace or charge- gee, his throbbing umm thing of l- don't honk at me, let me get over! manhood. Uhh, tenderly Ken laid err, lay? I dunno, on the bed, his tongue darting- OH MY GOD! IT'S RICKY MARTIN! I LOVE THAT SONG! TURN IT UP over his rapidly exciting body to GIRL YOU KNOW ITS TRUE umm, panting in growing excitement, Koji could see the rising tension THERE"S NOBODY ELSE BUT YOU Oh my god, that guy in that car over there's looking at me! What do I BABY BABY DON"T BE SO CRUEL umm, umm, taking Koji's phallus of love into his I'M ALWAYS GONNA BE YOUR LOVE FOOL Ken panted, feeling the Warning- Low Battery replace battery immediately- OOHOOH BABY BABY -CONNECTION LOST
and five seconds later will come the reply:
Livepost from Sojilover2178
Subject: RE: Fanfic!!!
OMG! That is the most moving fic I evar read! KUSUKUSU! OMG! LOL!
Its the future. Be prepared.
no subject
*ahem* Joking aside, I hate to say it, but I've seen fics posted to ff.net already that are pretty close to your vision of the future. Only they have worse grammar and spelling. Maybe voice recognition software could prove a boon? Make it sufficiently advanced, and it may be able to punctutate properly. Which is more than I can say about a lot of the fanficers out there.