Meta Links 2014/07/10-2014/07/16

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General Fandom

chead said: hey what's up with the "!" in fandoms? i.e. "fat!" just curious thaxxx <3: cavalaxis (tumblr) - ""Bang paths" (! is called a "bang"when not used for emphasis) were the first addressing scheme for email, before modern automatic routing was set up."

topic:fandom

Can we agree on spoiler rules for the internet?: Michelle Jaworski (blog) - "Despite how often we attempt to figure it out, no set of spoilers rules has ever really stuck, but PBS Idea Channel’s Mike Rugnetta tried to crowdsource some guidelines of his own."

topic:spoilers

The censorship problems faced by anime and manga fans: Nele Noppe (blog) - "The ball got rolling when early in June, the Japanese House of Representatives approved a long-overdue law banning the possession of child pornography."

topic:censorship, fandom:anime, topic:law

Who Died and Made You Khaleesi? Privilege, White Saviors, and the Elusive Male Feminist Who Doesn’t Suck: Arthur Chu (blog) - "Oh my, oh dear. Haven’t we seen this exact trope before, and, err, isn’t it supposed to be a bad thing now? Haven’t we condemned the idea of a white person installing themselves as the leader of a whole non-white civilization? Aren’t we supposed to have moved past this?"

topic:race, topic:privilege

Sexualized Saturdays: Who Will Watch the Watchmen? or The Unfortunate Case of Ubiquitous Male Oversight: polyglotpisces (blog) - "I was planning to write about how skeevy it is that literally all the clones on Orphan Black are/were in relationships with their monitors (don’t worry, I’ll get to that in a sec), but thinking about this brought me to an unpleasant realization: just how common it is for shows with main female protagonists to have a system of male oversight/regulation above them. If that wasn’t bad enough, we never see an inverse parallel where women oversee/regulate men, nor even situations of matriarchal oversight for female characters."

topic:gender, topic:sexism

Oh, My Pop Culture Devil: Prince of Lies, Speaker of Truth?: polyglotpisces (blog) - "These scenes got me thinking about an extremely common plot device in demonic/spirit possession stories: when possessing a body and in general wreaking chaos in the lives of those around the possessed, a demon loves to ruin everyone’s day by… telling the truth."

topic:psychology

Why Authentic Representation Matters: Black Women in Science Fiction: stinekey (blog) - "In order to dive into these questions a little more deeply, let’s take a look at how one group, Black women, are represented in geek media."

topic:representation, topic:race, topic:sexism

Fan Fiction is More Than Words - It’s About Worlds: Caroline Starks (blog) - "The truth is that there’s far more than just that to reading fan fiction. There’s a whole universe of possibilities to explore, and reading (and writing) fan fiction is something that can not only help you explore your own fandom, but can help you understand different perspectives of the story or character."

topic:fanfic

Dashcon Disaster: gehayi (tumblr) - "Intro summary of Dashcon debacle"

topic:fandom, topic:conventions

Dashcon masterpostand corrections: hythe (tumblr) - "DashCon is a first-year fandom convention for Tumblr users. It is happening this weekend and turning into possibly the largest convention kerfuffle anyone has ever seen."

topic:fandom, topic:conventions

I was at Dashcon: An Unnecessary Q&A with myself: markdoesstuff (tumblr) - " I assure you, I have been to way worse cons as a panelist. I think it’s important to understand that while my experience was not horrific, it probably was for others. But I am tired of reading about how everyone who went hated it and was scammed and is a fool for not bailing immediately. "

topic:fandom, topic:conventions

I’m sorry for coining the phrase "Manic Pixie Dream Girl": Nathan Rabin (blog) - "In 2007, I invented the term in a review. Then I watched in queasy disbelief as it seemed to take over pop culture"

topic:fandom, topic:sexism

Specific Fandoms

Avatar: The Legend of Korra
Korra, Airbenders, and What Makes a People: attackfish (LJ) - "This situation asks us as an audience to consider what makes a people. This is a question that most people probably never ask themselves. Even many fantasy writers, who create fictional peoples to populate their fictional worlds as a matter of course often don’t seem to ask themselves this question. Yet it’s been one I’ve been asking myself a lot lately, both as a writer, and also because of my own messy feelings and connections to my ethnic heritage."

fandom:legendofkorra, topic:culture

Captain America
why i, as a millenial, love cap2 (it’s for many of the same reasons i loved pacific rim): actualmenacebuckybarnes (tumblr) - "It’s a movie about IDENTITY, questioning your own definition of self and starting over"

fandom:mcu

Untitled: ellidfics (tumblr) - " I keep reading about Bucky as the ladies man: all sexed up and such. It’s a bit baffling to me, as this is a very modern way of thinking. Dating - or courtship - was…"

fandom:mcu

Untitled: fandomshatewomen (tumblr) - "Ficcers rarely write about Steve having trouble finding a job or being brought up by a single mother. And I’ve never ever seen anyone write about what being Irish or not having co workers and bosses not take him seriously because he’s a scrawny little dude would bring to him. All of these are more interesting ways to write about how hard poor skinny Stevie had it, but we always write Rejection Lady in a different dress being rude to him and that’s because we believe men are owed women."

fandom:mcu

Captain America (comics)
We Need All Voices in Comics (Or I Started the #FireRickRemender Hashtag and I’m Only Kind of Sorry About It): Jackie (blog) - "Wednesday evening, following my first read of Rick Remender’s Captain America #22, I posted a series of entries to my blog reiterating my distaste for his work, and my renewed (and long-held) belief that he should no longer be writing it."

topic:comics, topic:sexism, warning:non-con, fandom:marvelcomics

When Having Opinions Brings Rape Threats: A Captain America Story: C. Rhodes (croguesberg) (blog) - "For those who don't know (because there are quite a few...let's be honest, not everyone reads comic books) Captain America #22 came out last week, and there was a bit of an uproar on social media that resulted in calls to fire the author, Rick Remender."

topic:comics, topic:sexism, warning:non-con, fandom:marvelcomics

IN YOUR FACE JAM: Dissent & Respect: Learning From the #FireRickRemender Uproar: Brett White (blog) - " I kept waiting for anyone that was not a white male to chime in with their thoughts."

topic:comics, topic:sexism, warning:non-con, fandom:marvelcomics

Untitled: subtextsays (tumblr) - "Hi! So, um, I haven't read Remender's Cap, I'd like to know what he did to him. Can you tell me? Thank you."

topic:comics, topic:sexism, warning:non-con, fandom:marvelcomics

Constantine
Has NBC ruined ‘Constantine’ by straightwashing its protagonist?: Gavia Baker-Whitelaw (blog) - "Now, showrunner Daniel Cerone has also confirmed that Constantine won’t be bisexual either. This has less to do with NBC guidelines and more to do with the show’s writers having decided that Constantine’s sexuality is an unimportant facet of his character."

fandom:constantine, topic:sexuality

Fresh Off the Boat
Dropping Anchor: The Racialicious Review of The Fresh Off the Boat Pilot: Kevin Wong (blog) - "The plot for Fresh off the Boat is a classic "fish out of water" scenario."

fandom:freshofftheboat, topic:race, topic:racism

Harry Potter
It’s time for J.K. Rowling to let Harry Potter go: Dominick Mayer (blog) - "But ever since the launch of the interactive and incredibly elaborate fansite Pottermore two years ago, the question has further been raised: how much is too much?"

fandom:harrypotter, topic:canon

A Beginner's Guide To Hogwarts: SheFlooLikeAMadman (AO3) - "A guide for writers of Hogwarts-set fic who want to know where everything is, it’s a first-person walk-through of Hogwarts, written as if I was a Prefect handing out pamphlets to all the poor ickle firsties!"

fandom:harrypotter

Homestuck
Hyperflexible Mythology: Classpects, Fandom, and Fanfiction: Sam Keeper (blog) - "One of the many game-inspired parts of Homestuck is its use of what are called Mythological Roles for each character."

fandom:homestuck

Labyrinth
Labyrinth: Second thoughts: Jeremy (blog) - "Like Sarah, for me enjoying this film was about learning to not take things for granted. "

fandom:labyrinth

Leverage
Leverage Sunday: Splitting Up Is Hard To Do: Jennifer Crusie (blog) - "As I think I’ve mentioned before, I’ve figured out why the last season of Leverage is my least favorite even though it has wonderful episodes: Each story moved the team closer to splitting up."

fandom:leverage

Otomen
Putting the "Oh (Shit)" in Otomen: How Not to Write Abuse and Its Effects On a Narrative: Tsunderin (blog) - "I mentioned two points in my previous post that I plan to shed a brighter light on. One, that Asuka’s mother has an illness and two, that the manga slips into something closer to horror than shoujo in some sections."

fandom:otomen, topic:abuse

Putting the "En(d)" in Otomen: Queerbaiting and the Loss of LGBTQ+ Stories: Tsunderin (blog) - "It saddens me to say this, too, because starting out I really thought this series was going to be progressive in that sense. However, much like most media here in the States, a lot of the queer plot points are left to subtext and essentially ignored in favor of giving everyone heterosexual relationships."

fandom:otomen, topic:sexuality, topic:gender, topic:queerbaiting

Planet of the Apes
What is the Ape to Man?: Chris Gavaler (blog) - "Or I should say its most immediate predecessor. The original Planet of the Apes was released in 1968 (with a quaint budget under $6M and gross of $26M). It was based on Pierre Boulle’s 1963 French novel La Planète des singes, but that’s not where the evolutionary ladder begins either."

fandom:planetoftheapes

Queer As Folk
Discovering Brian - A Minute-by-Minute Exploration: Frayach (AO3) - " I can't get enough of talking about Brian Kinney, and I can't get enoughof watching the show."

fandom:queerasfolk

Star Ocean
Magical Mondays: The Last Hope and the Virgin Sacrifice: MadameAce (blog) - "It’s been a while since I’ve played Star Ocean: The Last Hope, and to make a long story short, I was significantly unimpressed with the game. Although the game does boast many female characters—more playable women than men, even—it does deal in several offensive stereotypes. And those stereotypes are hard to ignore."

fandom:gaming, topic:sexism

Supernatural
Okay, so about Dean’s new love interest: selfihateyouithink (tumblr) - "What 9x03 taught me is that the erasure is somewhat less, if not unimportant, of a worry than rape, in this show."

fandom:supernatural

Welcome to Night Vale
Untitled: soleminisanction (tumblr) - "So, I am like 98% certain the Earl’s re-appearance isn’t going to result in a love triangle, for lots of reasons."

fandom:welcometonightvale

Untitled: soleminisanction (tumblr) - "I wonder if Cecil added that aside about Carlos being a hero because some people in town think Carlos abandoned him."

fandom:welcometonightvale

X-Files
Humbug!: X-Files, "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas": PlaidAdder (AO3) - "In which, while talking about what this episode suggests about the darker side of the Mulder/Scully partnership, I cannot stop myself from going on a few little rants, chiefly about the persistent depiction of the single life as a lonely and empty wasteland full of isolation and despair."

fandom:x-files