metanews | Meta Links (23/05/13

Notices

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General Fandom

“‘We Have Always Fought’: Challenging the ‘Women, Cattle and Slaves’ Narrative”: Kameron Hurley (blog) - "when we choose to write stories, it’s not just an individual story we’re telling. It’s theirs. And yours. And ours. We all exist together. It all happens here. It’s muddy and complex and often tragic and terrifying. But ignoring half of it, and pretending there’s only one way a woman lives or has ever lived – in relation to the men that surround her – is not a single act of erasure, but a political erasure."

character: female, topic: writing, topic: representation, topic: feminism

Realism & Outliers: Foz Meadows (blog) - "asserting that, as the majority of soldiers are still male, it’s a fantasy to pretend that the female ones matter. And as this is an argument whose variants I’ve encountered a lot – not only in response to my PSA post, but generally elsewhere – it’s one I’d like to properly address."

character: female, topic: writing, topic: representation, topic: feminism

In defense of feels: mithen (LJ) - "I've seen, in a variety of places, decrying of what's sometimes called "Tumblr-speak," especially targeted toward the term "feels." "You should just say you feel something, not this ridiculous 'I have feels' thing," the argument goes. But today I wish to step up to the plate and give a light-hearted defense of "feels" for a moment--bear with me!"

topic: fandom

Warning: Spoilers, Tags, and Triggers in Fandom: Eleanor Musgrove (blog) - "warnings can be very important, and an integral part of looking out for your fellow fans. They also, of course, allow you to actually post spoilers or potential triggers without being afraid that you’ll ruin someone’s day"

topic: warnings

How to Write Canon Characters: Z McAspurren (blog) - "So, how do you write a canon character to seem like themselves? Read on, and (hopefully) be enlightened."

topic: fanfic, topic: writing, character: canon

Fandom As a Prompt: Eleanor Musgrove (blog) - "When you use your fandom as a basis for your creations, you have the unusual advantage of starting off with well-established characters you don’t have to think up from scratch yourself. "

topic: fanfic, topic: writing

Who Are You In Your Imaginarium: cupidsbow (DW) - "I read a lot of posts in which people say things like, "I'm waiting for the TARDIS to appear at the bottom of my garden; I have a knapsack packed and ready to go," or "I'm waiting for my Hogwarts letter," or "I always look in wardrobes for the secret door," or something along those lines. And I'm always bemused, you know. I always have this moment of, "Why would you dream that?" Not because they are bad dreams. Not at all"

fandom: Doctor Who, fandom: Harry Potter, topic: mary sue

Literary Influences, Reverse Influences and Complicated Connections: naraht (DW) - "This afternoon aedh and I had a long and fascinating conversation about the novels and other books that have influenced our writing. Short summary: they are surprisingly difficult to identify, at least in my case"

topic: writing

Why Yahoo can't buy fandom on Tumblr: Aja Romano (blog) - "You will never get a fan to care more about clothes, cars, shoes, or household products than they do about whether Sterek is going to happen on Teen Wolf."

topic: fandom, topic: social platforms

Amazon: Kindle Worlds

boy oh boy oh boy:meinterrupted (DW) - "So, unless you've been off the internet all day long, you probably already know that Amazon is pairing up with various companies to license (and pay the authors of) fanfic. I am less than thrilled, but overall, I don't think it will affect my life much, mostly because I don't expect any of my fandoms to hop on the pay-train."

topic: copyright, topic: creators

Amazon to Sell Self-Published Fanfiction Tie-Ins: SL Huang (blog) - "So, the corners of the Internet I frequent are blowing up this morning about Amazon’s announcement that they’re starting a marketplace called Kindle Worlds that is, essentially, a marketplace for fanfiction. The rights holders of the canon must opt-in, of course, and royalties will be split between the fanfiction writer and the original rights holder (and, of course, Amazon)."

topic: fanfiction, topic: copyright

Two really good reasons why Kindle Worlds is bullshit.: liviapenn (DW) - "So there's this new thing that Alloy Publishing is putting out called "Kindle Worlds" where they have licensed certain properties and they're going to allow people to basically write tie-in novels, sell them, and keep a certain amount of the profit (based on word length.)"

topic: fanfiction

ALERT ALERT ALERT: (LJ) - "Ironically, I think the ban on porn is why this will not (might not?) work. Not just because fanfic is largely made of porn--often, "what happened next" or "what if it happened this way instead" fantasies inspired by mainstream works and straight from the id, which tend to run in that direction--but because erotica is such a huge and expanding market right now. "

topic: fanfiction

Tis the End Times: morgandawn (DW) - "News: kindle/amazon license deal allowing you to sell your fan fiction"

topic: fanfiction

Cats & Dogs Living Together: A Response to the Kindle Worlds Announcement: saathi1013 (tumblr) - "Okay, so I woke up today to the news that Amazon is now launching Kindle Worlds. I have spent the entire day trying to come up with a coherent response. It’s such a massive topic that I don’t know where to begin - but coming on the heels of yesterday’s post about publishing & fanfiction (which was specifically about fanfic that gets the ‘serial numbers filed off’ before publishing), I felt an obligation to write a follow-up in the light of Amazon’s announcement.You should probably read those links before you freak right the fuck out, because it’s totally okay to get outraged, here, but probably not for the reasons you think."

topic: fanfiction

Specific Fandoms

Doctor Who

The Name of the Doctor: It’s not a Ghost Story, It’s a Love Story : elisi (LJ) - "However, I feel Clara's story is not done yet. Yes we know who she is, but it's not like River's story was over once we knew who she was. "

fandom: doctor who

The Fate of All is Always Dust: lonewytch(LJ) - "In which the use of words, and names are very important; there is a big difference between knowledge/information/wisdom/myth; the Akashic Records, the Astral Plane and the Golden Ratio make a mystical appearance; there is a lot to say about form/emptiness, what the soul is made of and how things are more than the sum of their parts; the Doctor can never escape his shadow; the Tardis is the castle at the heart of the enchanted forest; and the Doctor himself becomes the World Tree. "

fandom: doctor who

Iron Man 3/Star Trek Into Darkness
warning: spoilers

‘Iron Man 3,’ ‘Star Trek Into Darkness,’ And Summer Movies’ Villain Problem: Alyssa Rosenberg (blog) - "We’re still early in the rollout of this summer’s blockbusters, so it’s a bit early to say this is a trend. But I was struck by a problem that Iron Man 3 and Star Trek Into Darkness, both movies with very long second acts, and short, action-heavy conclusions had in common, and that marred their action sequences: bad villain design."

fandom: iron man, fandom: star trek, character: villain

A Few Good Starfleet Officers: Ben Adams (blog) - "There’s an inherent tension in movies that that have an explicit message of “War is bad”, and an implicit message that “War is RAD: Buy our toys!”"

fandom: avengers, fandom: iron man, fandom: star trek, topic: war

Star Trek Into Darkness
warning: spoilers

Star Trek Into Dumbness, Sadly: liviapenn (DW) - "Okay so here are some nice things that I liked about Trek Into Darkness

fandom: Star Trek

Obligatory Star Trek Reaction Post: Warning Angry: greywash (DW) - "And, an additional note, outside the cut: I wasn't "spoiled" for this movie, and I wish I had been, on one specific point. I use quotes because what specifically frosts me is that the specific thing I wish I had been "spoiled" for was not in any meaningful way a spoiler; but because of how the movie's publicity machine treated it during and after production, it has been (and in fact has to be) handled by fannish communities as a spoiler, even though I think that the handling of it (by the people who made the movie) was dishonest, unethical, and wrong."

fandom: Star Trek, topic: spoilers

MY VERY SPOILERY THOUGHTS ON THE LATEST STAR TREK VILLAIN.: twenty_rooks (DW) - "I've been watching the discussion these past days, and I'd like to offer a different perspective; I propose that: 1) It was a good thing that they lifted the "ethnic" symbols from Khan because the way the character was originally written was racist, and 2) They did it already in The Wrath of Khan back in 1982."

fandom: star trek

These Are Not The Continuing Voyages Of The Starship Enterprise: oliviacirce (DW) - "So I went to see Star Trek Into Darkness, and I have some really mixed feelings about it -- which I understand is sort of par for the course with fandom opinions? I have read very few reviews, fannish or otherwise, but my feelings are definitely mixed: I hated a lot of it, I loved a lot of it, and I sort of don't know -- which is part of the problem -- how much of my frustration is me, and how much of it really is shit that is wrong with the movie. I am fundamentally (and problematically) unsure who the audience of that movie was supposed to be. Also, am I actually a member of that audience? Does the movie want me to be? "

fandom: Star Trek

Star Trek Into Darkness (again): daasgrrl(LJ) - "Saw Star Trek Into Darkness for a second time.[...] It did enable me to get a better handle on the things I enjoyed and despised about the film, whereas the first time around it was basically Waiting For Cumberbatch. "

fandom: Star Trek

Star Trek Into Darknss This TIme with More Rant and Many Links: SL Huang(blog) - "The more I think about it, the more I think that it might not even be a good movie, and as far as being a Trek movie goes, it’s rapidly devolving in my head to “practically a desecration.”"

fandom: star trek

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS GOES, AND GOES, JUST NOT VERY BOLDLY: Zoe Chevat (blog) - "Into Darkness, that colon-less second installment of New Trek kicking off the summer season is a lot of things, including plentifully humorous, bombastic, well-designed, and confused about its purpose. Like the villain that menaced us from all those teaser posters, Into Darkness makes us wonder what, ultimately, it’s up to."

fandom: star trek

In Defense Of Darkness: cymbalism (DW) - "I spent most of the day yesterday reading fan and critical reactions to Into Darkness and some of the negative ones sent me into a little bit of a funk. There have been some very pointed critiques of the movie, and I felt the need to shore myself up in the face of them"

fandom: Star Trek, topic: reviews

Elementary

butawhiteman cantbekhan: crossedwires (DW) - "It feels very white and artificial to me, too, despite how much I like Joan (and even Sherlock). Like, yes, the show is inclusive in casting POC, but it’s not invested in anti-racism, so it still ends up perpetuating a lot of racism (the point about NYPD) and is super white gazey, because these things are not neutral."

fandom: elementary, topic: diversity

Les Miserables

Untitled: skygiants (DW) - "So I keep wondering why Enjolras expects Marius to show up and be helpful in the Barriere du Maine scene; after all, we're told that after the Great Napoleon Debacle, Marius essentially storms off in a huff and never goes back to revolutionland again. Also, he is Marius. Myself, I can think of about four reasons:"

fandom: les miserables

crossposting: Waterloo: elsane (DW) - "for my sanity when named characters hove into view. So I’m going to start out by talking about the year 1817, because this is where Hugo lights the fuse, and the barricades is where all of the oh dear god what are you on about now discursions come together after their long fuse has burned through Waterloo and argot down to the powder."

fandom: les miserables

Homestuck

Trolls - Xenobiology Headcanons: anon on homesmut (DW) - "I'd love to hear any headcanons you have for troll biology, whether indepth or offhand speculation! "

fandom: homestuck

Xenoculture Headcanons
: anon on homesmut (DW) - "So, on the subject of trolls and pity. Two common tropes I keep seeing in fanfic are "pitiful = the epitome of hotness" and "pity = earth human love". And sure, that's one way to interpret the idea of romantic pity, but that...isn't really how I see it?!"

fandom: homestuck

Game of Thrones

Meta Monday: Dentistry: justadram (tumblr) - "Today’s topic—dentistry—is one that I end up pondering a great deal, while reading ASOIAF. The television adaptation largely has spared us the true disfiguration of our leads, but knocking a few teeth out is one of GRRM’s favorite ways to ugly up his characters. Likewise, his world is populated with brown, crooked, rotting teeth. If Westeros and the lands beyond are anything like medieval Europe, what kind of dental care might our characters hope to receive and were all mouths cesspools of rot?"

fandom: game of thrones

Stargate

Weaving the Web 3: worldbuilding : bethinexile(LJ) - "Within the Stargate franchise, worldbuilding got incredibly short shrift. I don’t actually have too much of an issue (in this case) with the trope of the monocultural world: my take on most of the planetary cultures is that the Goa’uld slave worlds were mostly started from a single ‘seeder’ group, abductees from a specific geographic location and time in history. Under Goa’uld domination, a given colony isn’t free to expand naturally, so most worlds of this type will have small, homogeneous populations, centred in the area close to the Stargate (unless there’s a very good reason for them to have relocated elsewhere)."

fandom: stargate, topic: race, topic: worldbuilding

Supernatural

Fandom is Canon, Dammit (Or How Season 8 brought back the original OTP: Jalu2(LJ) - "
After Sacrifice (ep 8.23) all the feels come to light, and I've decided to waste my time with rants (well, at least to some) about why or why not pairings work...or something like that. Also helps to jazz up my journal a bit from the monotony of fics. Season 8 spoilers, just FYI. And wincest. all the wincest!
"

fandom: supernatural, topic: shipping

James Bond

Silva’s counterpart is not Bond, or, why Silva chose the wrong opponent for his endgame.: marlowe- tops (tumblr) - "It’s a very blatant recurring theme that Silva thinks that Bond is his counterpart. In fact, everyone else in the entire film seems to take this for granted, except for Bond (who does not identify with Silva, ever) and Q (who does identify with Silva, and no one around him except possibly Bond notices). Q/Silva is an undercurrent throughout the film that you don’t notice at all until you tug one end of the thread and the whole tapestry picks up with it. "

fandom: james bond

Hannibal

Hannibal Lecter and the subversion of the Male Gaze: noonturnsmidnight (tumblr) - "Let’s talk Hannibal and feminism for a second.
Specifically, let’s talk about what makes Lecter’s character so appealing to a female audience and why that makes so many people uncomfortable. "

fandom: hannibal, character: villain

Will & Hannibal’s body language in ‘Fromage’
: vaeltaa (tumblr) - "I wanted to juxtapose the two scenes that take place in Hannibal’s office from Fromage, because I have a need to really compare them for a sec and ramble a bit about Hannibal and Will’s body language in these two specific scenes, and how the core of their physical interactions have evolved since the pilot."

fandom: hannibal

Chasing Mirrors: Hannibal’s Friendship and the Du Maurier Effect: okayohphelia (tumblr) - "A long-ass meta that chronologically goes through the connective tissues that run through scenes in 1.07 and 1.08. These two episodes are basically a duad exploring Hannibal and Will’s respective states of mind as the boundaries between them begin to disintegrate. This meta is focused on Hannibal’s side of that, on the development of Hannibal’s growing understanding of just why he is so fascinated by Will and no-one else, as clarified through the objective lens of Dr Du Maurier, and the narrative pressure of Tobias bearing down on the status quo. "

fandom: hannibal

WILL GRAHAM’S EYES; OR, WHY “HANNIBAL” IS NOT GRATUITOUS MURDER PORN: elucipher (tumblr) - "I want to argue that Hannibal not only boasts a fantastic cast and beautiful visuals, but is also neither exploitative nor gratuitous, and that it’s a must-watch even—and especially—if you’re not a fan of horror. "

fandom: hannibal, warning: spoilers,

Orphan Black

biology is not destiny: the anti-essentialist (anti-sexist, pro-queer) message of Orphan Black: mswyrr (DW) - "Okay, so we all know what essentialism is, right? In its simplest form, it’s the whole “men are from mars, women are from venus” thing that gets thrown around, saying that (a) there is such a thing as an inherently female or male body (b) all people are either female or male (c) and the biology of their bodies determines their personality/characteristics/abilities. "

fandom: orphan black, warning: spoilers

The Mindy Project

The Mindy Project Is Subversive & Sexy: Arikia Millikan (blog) - "despite my watch-twice-to-laugh-again-at-the-jokes-that-were-overshadowed-by-other-jokes viewing habits, I only realized recently just how deliciously subversive it is."

fandom: the mindy project, topic: sexuality, character: female

The Great Gatsby

Amitabh Bachchan In The Great Gatsby: Is Desi The New Jewish?
: (blog) - "The parallel between Jewish and South Asian fears was called “recycled anti-Semitism” in an article by Abdul-Azim Ahmed from the journal South Asian Popular Culture. He was discussing the BBC show, Citizen Khan, but the same idea can be applied to the use of Bachchan in Gatsby. "

fandom: the great gatsby

Harry Potter

Ever so slightly longer but not quite as thick: Toward a quantitative literary sexology of Harry Potter fanfiction: blythely, Circe_Tigana(AO3) - "Discussion regarding fanfiction tropes produced the observation that in one subset of Harry Potter fanfiction, "Harry/Draco slash" [HDS], Harry has a short, thick dick, while Draco's penis is long and thin. We tested the hypothesis that there was a consistent difference in how these two characters' genitalia were described. Additionally, we tested the hypothesis that slash fiction authors in this subset of fandom did not place equal emphasis on the description of testicles as compared with penii. We surveyed 100 HDS stories in online fanfiction archives and collected data on sexual description and content. Here we present the first quantitative test of fanon stereotypes and show that these explicitly sexual stories contain low levels of visual/sensory genital descriptions. Qualitative comparisons demonstrate trends in support of both hypotheses, although sample sizes prevent statistical significance. We use these findings to discuss how fanon may develop despite the incorrect assumption of perceived ubiquity."

fandom: harry potter

Teen Wolf

Cherry Picking Blame For The Kanima: cupidsbow (DW) - "One of the things that makes my eyes cross is when I see people debating which character is most guilty in Teen Wolf. The most extreme version of this I've seen is when people are arguing about Scott and Derek's actions regarding the Kanima -- it too often devolves into, "Scott is good and Derek is evil" or the opposite, with no concession that both made mistakes (and usually no reference to Jackson either)."

fandom: teen wolf