Art is amazing.

[momebie]

You know, it is a matter of personal opinion as to whether or not you like fan fiction. You are allowed to think it's loser-ish and creepy. That's fine. We don't have any control over that. I have real life friends who have let me know in no uncertain terms how they feel about what I do on the internet. Which is also fine. I'm not asking them to read or enjoy it. We as a fandom are not asking the authors to read and enjoy our efforts based on their works, either. There may be a few people who want that attention, but please treat them on a case by case basis. There is no group on the planet that can speak for every one of its individual members.

What it is not okay to do, is decide that fan fiction is tantamount to any kind of rape. Because it's not. Rape is about power and control and inflicting pain on another person. Fan fiction is about creativity and excitement and wanting to explore a text. What you are doing by suggesting that people who write fan fiction are raping your mind or creativity, is trying to beg sympathy for yourself on an issue where you feel shaky in your moral justification. It's the same tactic politicians use when they get people to focus on abortion or god instead of actual issues at hand.

And the thing about art. The very best thing about art. Is that it never stays the same. Once it leaves your pen or your brush or your digital audio file creator thingamajig, it becomes a part of the world. It is out there to be manipulated and analyzed. And good art will be. Art that makes people think something or feel something will be taken and turned over and studied and changed. It's why people enjoy parody novels and media tie in novels. It's why people enjoy songs that are remixed and covered. It's why people try to paint after the style of a certain painter. It happens. It's amazing. It is not harmful to you or your work. You have already said what you have to say. Let the art speak for itself now. Let the people speak for how they feel about the art.

Also. I make my living mucking about in copyright and determining when we can get around it. COPYRIGHT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY.

*ahem* *kicks away soap box*

This post is unlocked.

Comments

[momebie.livejournal.com]

I've actually seen it done several times, and every time it frustrates and angers me. But alas, I am not important because I write fan fiction and therefore am a rapist myself. May god have mercy on my soul. (The thing that's got me annoyed today though, is this post (http://voyagesoftheartemis.blogspot.com/2010/05/fan-fiction-and-moral-conundrums.html).)

That discrimination of one group over another is what has me confused about her real motive in arguing this. She states in her post that it's okay to write and make money off of fan fiction based on works in the public domain. If your argument is that fan fiction is IMMORAL, then how is it less so simply because the author is dead. You're still defiling his legacy. If your argument is that you're LOSING MONEY because of fan fiction and it's STEALING (as she's stated), then you need to fucking come out and say it and not hide behind some sort of fake superiority. But she can't, because odds are she is making money rather than losing money because of fic, no matter how well it's written.

[elessar.livejournal.com]

Oh brother, a lot of fanfic authors concede that they are participating in a somewhat illegal activity, hence why so many places require disclaimers. I feel like this particular author is so very much missing the point of fanfiction and why so many people use it. It's not an attempt to rip off authors of their own creative works, but it's a lot of times a homage or a way to practice their own writing by adapting the scenery and/or characters of others. Most of the people admit that their work is fanfiction and give credit to the author or artist that they're borrowing from. The ones who try to play everything off as their own are the ones most at fault, but really now, she has far too many generalizations all up in that post.

I'm glad some people are calling her out on it. I was equally elated that someone brought up Creative Commons and a don't ask, don't tell policy. I feel like that is the most effective way of dealing with the issue.

Also, I'm a little bit miffed that she is attacking someone who is writing fanfic for a good cause. It's one thing if the person were trying to make a profit, but really? Just let it go; the person means well and isn't harming you or your reputation at all.

[momebie.livejournal.com]

Fan fiction in and of itself is not illegal. Presenting yourself as someone you're not is where I think it gets really tricky, which is also why so many people use disclaimers. Also, RPF can be viewed as slander if the people involved aren't game for it. For the most part, I don't think famous people care what is said about them on the internet. If they did it would drive them insane. And then there are those who just eat that shit up anyway. Regardless, you're very unlikely to be attacked or have legal action taken against you just for writing fic.

That's also why the lack of fourth wall made me back away from bandom a bit.

And yeah, she's set herself up to look wonderful in doing that. I think that's why she used all the generalizations and triggering examples that she did, to get people good and riled up at these awful, wrong fan fic writers, so they wouldn't call her out on it.

[elessar.livejournal.com]

Very true, the legality of fanfiction has always been something that has intrigued me. At one point I wanted to dive into law because with the introduction of the internet, the world of the law has expanded in ways that make it a lot less black and white. Alas, I could not keep myself interested in it enough to actually attend law school.

She really did a good job of making it sound over the top and ridiculous, which is probably why I couldn't take her seriously. It's a shame she couldn't present her opinion in a much more straightforward and logical manner. I give people more props for being able to post and discuss a subject that they have strong opinions about without resorting to this sort of tactic.