Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Fan Fiction & Poetry
Open Discussion of RPS Stories in Light of Heath's Death
louisev:
I think what sneaks up on actors is the sudden rush of fame after laboring in relative obscurity. Percentagewise, very few actors ever become big stars or celebrities, so no one is really prepared for it. And the loss of privacy, after laboring for recognition and publicity, must be a great shock.
RouxB:
I have avoided this thread like the plague, have pretty much avoided most threads around here lately. Emotions, mine included, are just too high. I have started and stopped this post a few times and finally figured out what I have to say:
I am a Heathen. While I am not in danger of doing harm to myself, I still cry every single day. I go to bed everynight chanting to myself "tomorrow would be a good day to start Jan. 22nd over". I have made my bargains with every higher power out there, mine and everyone else's. I am sad and depressed and putting on an "everything is ok" face to my world that can't even begin to understand what I'm feeling. I barely understand what I'm feeling (but I do). The reason for this preambleramble is that I can't imagine anyone having more respect, admiration, appreciation for Heath Ledger than I. He anchors my BbM experience and the hole that is left in my life and my heart has, on occasion, left me in total dispair.
So, to the point, I think we all need to be really really really careful about how we sermonize on the "morality" of RPS (or most anything). To say that RPS is "immoral" in one breath and then turn around and say you aren't calling the writer immoral, and the reader by extention- is pretty sketchy at best and a lot more than sketchy at worst. Being the morality police for others-and I'm talking morality, not legality-is a big job and everyone needs to check their resumes before they apply for it. And, we need to be equally careful about speaking for others. I don't know what Heath thought of fan fiction or any other crap that he didn't mention in an interview. He might have hated it, he might have thought it was
hi-larious, he might not have given 1 giant squat about it. I don't know-and neither do you. The same goes for Jake and Michelle and his parents and Reese's dogs. Every person here who does not have direct knowledge of the opinions/thoughts/wishes/reactions of others are simply projecting their own on to them. That isn't necessarily a bad thing as long as you recognize the truth of that. Empathy is what keeps us human so I respect following that path if you think it is disrespectful. Just know it is you, not necessarily them.
Where do I stand on the issue? I don't know. I was a reader of Heath/Jake, my opinion is that it is not disrespectful, and that doesn't make me any more or less "bad" than anyone else. Will I continue to read it now-can't say. My entire BbM world has shifted such that I can't say where I'll be, or if I'll be, in Brokiehood when this fog starts to lift. What I can say is that I respect each reader'/writer's/lurker's/Joker's right to follow his or her own heart. I would no more beg a writer who has chosen to discontinue writing RPS to finish than I would beg one who has chosen to continue writing to stop. I am not God because if I was, there would be no need for this discussion.
Before you condemn anyone, just know it could very easily just be a poor, heart shattered Heathen-like me.
blacktears:
So well said. You said it better than I ever could have. It breaks my heart to be called immoral and slandered as a disrespectful person when I too, am just a broken hearted Heathen finding joy and comfort in fictional words. You just never know what is behind a person and its so wrong to assume otherwise.
Thank you. *hugs*
souxi:
For the record Roux, I have NEVER said anyone is immoral for continuing to write RPS about Heath, I have merely said that IMO it is wrong, now that he has died. And yes I do think it,s disrespctful, I,ve said it before and I,ll say it again. We are all entitled to our opinions and mine is that continuing to write RPS about Heath in sexual situations now that he has died is wrong, and it won,t change. No maybe Michelle and Heaths family will never read RPS about their son, maybe they,ve never heard of it, I don,t know. It,s simply the principal of the thing. I can,t stop writers writing about Heath having sex, even though he,s dead now, sadly that is beyond my control, but I sure as hell don,t have to read it and I won,t. I stand by everything I have said, and if some people don,t like it then thats, just too bad I,m afraid.
louisev:
--- Quote from: blacktears on February 05, 2008, 02:17:30 am ---So well said. You said it better than I ever could have. It breaks my heart to be called immoral and slandered as a disrespectful person when I too, am just a broken hearted Heathen finding joy and comfort in fictional words. You just never know what is behind a person and its so wrong to assume otherwise.
Thank you. *hugs*
--- End quote ---
there have been no personal attacks made on this forum and no slander has been done. If you are finding the expression of general opinions regarding the writing of RPS too upsetting then you may wish to avoid this discussion. For your clarification, the judgement that real person fiction stories are questionable at best and immoral at worst is widely held in publishing circles, and are banned in many fan areas on the internet for this reason.
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