moonshayde (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
moonshayde) wrote2007-12-20 07:49 pm
moonshayde) wrote2007-12-20 07:49 pm
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What It All Boils Down To...
I'm talking about ships.
I've noticed that in multiple fandoms (Smallville, Stargate, X-Files, and Harry Potter for example) there may be discussions about plot, character, themes, and story, but in the end it all seems to boil down to ship. (Defining ship here in the broad sense - het or slash.) Sure, there are people in fandom that are there just for characters and plot. But those that are mainly focused on shipping is by far the majority. Once you weed through the hearty discussion of character arcs and plot, you'll see that people are arguing for "who ends up with who." Out of everything, this becomes the main focus and the most passionate for fans.
Take a look at any forum or discussion area. Doesn't matter which fandom. Most of them mirror each other.
So, I ask why? Why do we (in general) abandon everything else about the story, making it secondary to the ship? Why is it so vital to have the end goal be "so and so ends up with Clark" or "so and so ends up with Mulder" or "so and so ends up with Jack?" Why does that becoming the most defining attribute of the story or the characters? Why are we defining them by their romantic entanglements? Why are we defining them by their prize at the end of the day?
And is it the woman who is the prize in the end? Or the man? I've seen this go back and forth and it may depend on the fandom.
It happens across fandoms. I've noticed it a lot lately. As![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
stargazercmc mentioned, is this something inate or does fandom perpetuate it? I wonder does this feed some basic human need or is something else going on here?
I've noticed that in multiple fandoms (Smallville, Stargate, X-Files, and Harry Potter for example) there may be discussions about plot, character, themes, and story, but in the end it all seems to boil down to ship. (Defining ship here in the broad sense - het or slash.) Sure, there are people in fandom that are there just for characters and plot. But those that are mainly focused on shipping is by far the majority. Once you weed through the hearty discussion of character arcs and plot, you'll see that people are arguing for "who ends up with who." Out of everything, this becomes the main focus and the most passionate for fans.
Take a look at any forum or discussion area. Doesn't matter which fandom. Most of them mirror each other.
So, I ask why? Why do we (in general) abandon everything else about the story, making it secondary to the ship? Why is it so vital to have the end goal be "so and so ends up with Clark" or "so and so ends up with Mulder" or "so and so ends up with Jack?" Why does that becoming the most defining attribute of the story or the characters? Why are we defining them by their romantic entanglements? Why are we defining them by their prize at the end of the day?
And is it the woman who is the prize in the end? Or the man? I've seen this go back and forth and it may depend on the fandom.
It happens across fandoms. I've noticed it a lot lately. As
stargazercmc mentioned, is this something inate or does fandom perpetuate it? I wonder does this feed some basic human need or is something else going on here?
no subject
For some shows, I'm all about seeing a OTP. Jane Austen is my favorite author, and the theme of her books was ALL about the romance. But I read mysteries too where it's all about what happened and how the characters react or develop, or other stories.
And some shows I'll think two people are cute together or not cute together, but if there's other side characters or issues that are intriguing enough, I'll be happy to follow the writers down that path as well.
And I'm probably skewed by my own "gen" perspective of SG-1 as much as ship/slash people are skewed by theirs. But it's true, I can see similar themes in fandoms I don't even follow. The names change, but the issues remain the same.
I like watching and discussing all aspects of the meta and relationships (And I mean that in the broadest sense of parent/child; sibling; friend; teammate/coworker; lover; enemy, etc.) To me focusing on just one pairing is too limiting.
I do think the tunnel vision feeds on itself. Someone likes a pairing in a show, meets other people who like that pairing. They compare notes, squee over moments, create fanfic, etc, and some people take that to the next level...as there is a spectrum in every kind of fanatic activity. (people watch a game, people wear the team colors, people know every statistic, people paint their bodies). In show fandom, it goes into looking for more of the pairing they like, and for some people, can go into viewing everything from the perspective of how it relates to that pairing.
Love Teal'c/Sam, but this episode is about Jack? Then that colors the perception of the show. And then that reaction influences the perception either in agreement or in reaction to it among other fans in all parts of the spectrum.
no subject
But as a wise woman once told me, characization does not equal romance. That is just once facet, one method of showing character. There are many ways to do this.
I expect a show/movie/book to be fairly consist. A horror should provide me horror. A romance -romance. An action film action. That doesn't mean these genres can't overlap. But the primary theme/plot should stay consistent throughout the story while the subplot prop it up. This is a story fundementals here.
So when I find that fans, whether it's me this around or you next time or anyone, take a romantic subplot and make it the main plot knowing that the theme of the story is not romance, it fascinates me. I wonder why :)