Shipper? Gen? Semi-shipper? What are you?

[moonshayde]

I've been thinking about shipping*.

I'm starting to think I'm not your typical shipper, or if I am, I belong to a group that isn't very vocal.  Though, to be honest, I don't really like to be labeled that either. Maybe it's that I don't like labels.

I won't deny that I like romance. I do. I love romance. However, I'm the type of person that doesn't like romance as the lead story. I like romance as a subplot. Most of the time, anyway. There are always exceptions. Also, if it doesn't fit into the overall story, I don't want it at all. So I'm gen for some shows. I ship on others but don't want to see it realized, and I'm fine with other stories.

So, if a show feels like it's more of an ensemble/team show, I'm not likely to actively ship, aside from some fanfic in fandom. I'll be gen for this show. The perfect exmaple is SG-1. I love the team dynamic so much that I feel any pairing, even ones I may like, take away from that important aspect of the show. So while I may be able to happily ship or slash in the fandom, even in a contridictory way, it doesn't reflect what I want or feel suits the show best on screen.

Another example is Supernatural. I am gen for this show. The show was set up as a story about a family and their struggles. I find that romance does distract or take away from this show. It's possible that it could be done if done right, but so far most of the attempts have fallen flat. I wouldn't be adverse to it if done right. Yet, really at the end of the day this story was sold to me as a story about family, in particular about brothers, and that is what I expect to watch.

Lost is hit or miss. Some of the romances on Lost work well as subplots and others don't. This is a perfect exmaple where I find charcter comes first. If you bend the characters to suit the pairing or the romance, it's going to backfire. If you don't give a character much of a purpose aside from romance, that character is going to lack strength. Especially on a show like this.

If the show has an overall story where romance would suit it nicely - I feel that Pirates of the Carribean is a good example - then I favor the romance. In this case, I enjoyed Will/Elizabeth in all its classic and cliche goodness.

Farscape romance didn't bother me in the context of the show either.
 
Here's the catch: most of the time, I don't want to see this romance on screen. For the shows where I do have a pairing, but where I feel the pairing could hinder or change the show, I would rather see it stay at the UST level. X-Files Mulder/Scully is a good example. There is no denying I shipped them and shipped them hard. I squeed at the UST. I went nuts for the little hints and moments and always craved more. But I never wanted them to get together until the very end.

Smallville works in this fashion too, but for different reasons. I love Lois/Clark. I have shipped that pairing since I was little. It's such an important part of the Superman story. But for SV, the story of a pre-Superman, I do not feel that Clois is necessary. I squee when I see the UST. I am always craving more. But I don't want to see them get together. I don't need them to be a couple. For me, the hints and the forehsadowing, the flirting and the denial is enough. It fits into the ever-growing mythos for me and stays true to the central iconic core of the characters. So unlike many of my fellow shippers, I don't need to see it fully realized on screen. It's not the right time in terms of the story.

Again, that doesn't mean I am some prude or rigid. I do have all the porny thoughts going through my mind. I am human ;) And I do like to see on screen romance realized. It truly depends on what kind of story the writers are trying to tell.

This is what it boils down to for me: character and plot first, romance second. But really, it's all about context. Some stories are meant to have romance as the lead story. I'm not talking about those. However, I do believe that no matter what story you're trying to tell that everything will fall into place if you're true to the characters and the plot.

But that's my writing philosophy so who is to say it is right ;)

So I don't know what I am. What are you?

*Shipping in this case can be defined as het or slash because either one works in this context as far as I'm concerned despite that my examples are mainly het. I also was lazy and wanted to use a broad term instead of ship/slash or het/slash all the time.
 

Comments

[lierina.livejournal.com]

I'm not a shipper at all.
If a pairing is actually part of a show - means: canon - I might "ship" it, yes (in "" because I just don't like the word "ship" and because I never would be fanatic about it). In a tv show or also in good romantic movies, for example (which I absolutely adore because I'm female and emotional and a sucker for happy endings with happy smiling people and couples). And I also enjoy if a tv show includes little hints or tension between characters (I'm talking about "real" hints, not these "hints" some fans see even though there aren't any).
However as for tv shows and their fandoms most people ship pairings that never were, never are and never will be part of the show. And I can't understand it. Each to their own, of course, but I do watch a show because I like the characters - as they are portrayed in the show -, or the plot, or the issues the show deals with. It doesn't make any sense to love a show and then to turn their characters, the relationships and plots upside down, does it? It's like people are not able to appreciate things in (fandom?) life or on TV apart from sexual relationships.

Sex and love ARE a part of life and therefore also a part of many tv shows and movies - but some people in fandoms turn EVERYTHING into a shipping thing and I can't relate to it.

character and plot first, romance second (...) that everything will fall into place if you're true to the characters and the plot
Very well said.

[nialla]

It doesn't make any sense to love a show and then to turn their characters, the relationships and plots upside down, does it? It's like people are not able to appreciate things in (fandom?) life or on TV apart from sexual relationships.

Actually, you'll find many who appreciate the show as is. Fandom interpretation is just a bonus, a way to explore the show in ways that can't be done on tv, even if it means taking the characters and plopping them into a different scenario.

Fandom interpretations don't always revolve around relationships and/or sex either. Even if it does involve those things, it can often be a "what if" scenario exploring the characters in ways that can't be done on screen (and no, not because of the ratings *g*).

Some of my favorite fanfic are about "tag scenes" which are basically just about what a fan felt was a missing scene from an episode, often dealing with emotional fallout. And who knows? With the way shows are edited, it's possible something along those lines was intended, but either never filmed or cut if it were. Emotional scenes are often cut in favor of keeping the more expensive action sequences.

If you think about it, fanfic (i.e. fan reinterpretation) has been around for a lot longer than most would expect. The various bardic stories about Robin Hood and King Arthur are part of that tradition. Many versions of the stories contradict each other, but it's because the story was told and retold with changes as it spread over the years, often picking up local flavor. Not much different than fanfic really, except fanfic can happen a lot faster.

You might want to read "Textual Poachers" by Jenkins to get a better idea about why fans "appropriate" text for their own purposes. It's very dated now (early 90s, before the Internet was as established), but is still used in a lot of media courses. The author is a media professor at MIT.

The only problem I ever have with perennial shippers is those who have their One True Ship, whether it's portrayed on the show in canon, hints or not really at all, and insist everyone else must see it that way. I'm more into the "whatever stirs your coffee" camp myself.

[lierina.livejournal.com]

Oh, I wasn't referring to thing like "tag scenes" or "missing scenes". Besides I also can understand that fans take their characters and put them into different situations. The wish to explore the characters and the show but still preserving the essential of them - that's something I can understand. It doesn't destroy the show but expands it. I've been writing fanfiction myself and I still enjoy exploring "my" characters and describing feelings that only have been hinted in the show. I love interpretations - including those that differ from my own point of view - because it makes me discover things I might have missed in the show, because it make me see things from a different angle and because I love to learn about the characters - and also what other fans think about them.

Perhaps I didn't express myself clear enough (or it's a question of my bad language skills). My "rant" above was rather about the - as you called it - "One True Shipper", those people who can't talk about an episode or a scene without associating it to their favorite ship. Those people who can't distinguish fandom from canon. Or people who make their fandom canon and don't stick to the bases, show and the characters, AT ALL.

Perhaps I should add that my main fandom is SPN. One fandom (among others) which is quite known for its - well - passionate and particular shippers. I'm afraid I'm getting a little worked up about some fanatics every once in a while.

You might want to read "Textual Poachers" by Jenkins to get a better idea
I'm afraid this might exceed my English skills but I'll google it and try. Thanks for the advice!

[nialla]

Yes, I read "turn their characters, the relationships and plots upside down" in the literal sense, not just related to shipping or even One True Shipping. Part of the fun is doing exactly that sort of thing in fanfic, but when folks think their fanfic world should be reflected in the rest of fandom, and better yet, the show itself... um, no. Just... no.

Don't worry about the mix-up in meanings. It's often difficult to get across exact meanings sometimes, even within the same fandom. You often have a particular example in mind, but without taking up pages to explain it, the meaning it gives to your post doesn't always carry the same weight.

It gets especially fun when you use one show to illustrate something done well and another to illustrate something done poorly, but don't use specific show names and people think you're talking out of both sides of your mouth (i.e. lying or trying to say two different things are true when by default they can't be). That happened to me recently and no matter what I said to clarify, all that mattered was the original post I made that was misunderstood.

I've been in fandom for over 20 years, and I've always managed to keep the canon and fanon lines clear, even when TPTB themselves are feeding the fanon quite nicely. There's even a few shows now where I don't really follow canon at all (no longer watch the show because I don't like how it's going), but enjoy the fanfic view of things.

I also think sometimes it's often difficult to understand "in-jokes" within a fandom, which can make things seem off in a discussion. I make jokes about slashy scenes and the like, but that doesn't mean I think TPTB are deliberately trying to put slash into a show, or that they should. Usually, it's more likely they're trying to make a gay joke and it backfired into pure slashy goodness. *g*

"Textual Poachers" can get a bit academic at times, because, well, that was the intent, but I think there are a lot of excerpts online that get the idea across.

[lierina.livejournal.com]

You often have a particular example in mind, but without taking up pages to explain it, the meaning it gives to your post doesn't always carry the same weight.
Exactly. And I'm afraid that kind of thing happens in rl, too ;)

I've been in fandom for over 20 years,
That's a little longer than me (I'm only 28). My first "real" fandom was NCIS, then SPN. I love other shows/movies, too, but I'm kinda averse to join another fandom. Dealing with two or three at the same time is enough for me...

I think there are a lot of excerpts online that get the idea across.
Yep, there are excerpts. I'll have a look at them :)

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

I think you make a good point about tone of a show or a movie. Like in a romantic movie, you would expect a happy ending. So you go in with those expectations. In a show that might be about family or about horror, I don't think one would expect everything to sunshine and rainbows.