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tinpraThe Crumbling of the Fourth Wall: Why fandom shouldn't hide anymore
by Aja Romano
"The fourth wall is like the Berlin wall at this point. It's only a matter of time." —iaddedarainbow
In the world of theater, the term "fourth wall" refers to the invisible wall that divides the characters from the audience. In the untamed, sprawling, creative world of fandom, the fourth wall refers to the invisible line of cover that shields fans from the outside world. The fourth wall is what we think of as our security: a battlement of protection keeping our wild, pioneering settlement safe—right up until it fails to protect us.
Even after four decades of steady production, the idea of fanfiction, fan-art, slash, and fans otherwise doing whatever they/we want with other people’s characters still shocks and scandalizes many. The fourth wall is what insulates us, protecting us from their often harsh judgment, and sometimes even from real-life repercussions. A mix of Fight Club-like codes of silence (the first rule of fandom: do not talk about fandom) and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell-level feigned ignorance, this imaginary wall is what creates an impregnable barrier between fandom and everybody else.
Except that it doesn’t. Not even a little bit.
Because of the current stigma that all fanfiction is either porn, plagiarism, or otherwise creepy and gross, many fans don’t enjoy the privilege of owning their own fan activities. We fear that being "outed" as a fanfic writer or fanartist may result in being fired, getting kicked out of our community or religious groups, having our Internet access taken away, or seeing our friendships end. This isn't melodrama; each of these things has happened to people I know. Being outed as a writer of fanfiction can have serious consequences. I say this having experienced many of the items on that list firsthand myself.
Read the rest at the Daily Dot
Aja is part of fandom and, from what I can tell, and is the Daily Dot's fandom writer. You want news on LJ, fests, and the craziness of fandom-meets-nonfandom, she's the one you're going to be reading.
Anywho, what do you guys think of the op-ed and her opinion? Should we, as a body, "come out" and break the "fourth wall"? Are you (as individuals) hiding behind said wall for the reasons that she gives? Are you hiding at all? The handful of comments are worth reading as well.
by Aja Romano
"The fourth wall is like the Berlin wall at this point. It's only a matter of time." —iaddedarainbow
In the world of theater, the term "fourth wall" refers to the invisible wall that divides the characters from the audience. In the untamed, sprawling, creative world of fandom, the fourth wall refers to the invisible line of cover that shields fans from the outside world. The fourth wall is what we think of as our security: a battlement of protection keeping our wild, pioneering settlement safe—right up until it fails to protect us.
Even after four decades of steady production, the idea of fanfiction, fan-art, slash, and fans otherwise doing whatever they/we want with other people’s characters still shocks and scandalizes many. The fourth wall is what insulates us, protecting us from their often harsh judgment, and sometimes even from real-life repercussions. A mix of Fight Club-like codes of silence (the first rule of fandom: do not talk about fandom) and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell-level feigned ignorance, this imaginary wall is what creates an impregnable barrier between fandom and everybody else.
Except that it doesn’t. Not even a little bit.
Because of the current stigma that all fanfiction is either porn, plagiarism, or otherwise creepy and gross, many fans don’t enjoy the privilege of owning their own fan activities. We fear that being "outed" as a fanfic writer or fanartist may result in being fired, getting kicked out of our community or religious groups, having our Internet access taken away, or seeing our friendships end. This isn't melodrama; each of these things has happened to people I know. Being outed as a writer of fanfiction can have serious consequences. I say this having experienced many of the items on that list firsthand myself.
Read the rest at the Daily Dot
Aja is part of fandom and, from what I can tell, and is the Daily Dot's fandom writer. You want news on LJ, fests, and the craziness of fandom-meets-nonfandom, she's the one you're going to be reading.
Anywho, what do you guys think of the op-ed and her opinion? Should we, as a body, "come out" and break the "fourth wall"? Are you (as individuals) hiding behind said wall for the reasons that she gives? Are you hiding at all? The handful of comments are worth reading as well.
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no subject
Date: 2013-01-11 08:53 pm (UTC)I do use a pen-name, but if you know my real name and google it, some of my fics will show up linked to it, and from there, it's not hard to find the rest of them.
The other thing is, most of my writing is in a comics fandom. I've gone up to the head of DC Comics at a convention and mentioned what I do (the context was asking if I adapted one of my stories to script format, could he look at it? The answer was that they won't. He later said on a panel, that they would look at any previously published work, print or online and I broached the subject of fanfic for a different fandom. He said that they actually could do that.) Bottom line, he said that while they won't read DC fanfic they know it's out there and as long as it's not for money, they really don't care. The other fandoms I write for either have the endorsement (Tamora Pierce) or tacit okay (as in not on the "verboten" list at ff.net) of the creators.
I'm not writing Anne Rice or Archie fic. I'm not writing porn. And I'm currently trying to break into freelance editing. When people want to know details on my experience, I mention that I've been a fanfic beta-reader for almost eight years. I have a fanfic sample in my writing portfolio (G-rated).
In my case, there's really minimal risk. But that's me. I'm not about to tell anyone else that they should be out there if they don't want to be.