Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Fan Fiction & Poetry
Open Discussion of RPS Stories in Light of Heath's Death
ENEN:
--- Quote from: el_wing on January 30, 2008, 05:19:43 pm ---I don't know about other people, but I don't think I'd be writing fan fiction about Ennis and Jack if it weren't for Heath and Jake's portrayal of them. We are essentially fantasizing about the actors, not Jack and Ennis. If you'd only read Annie's story in the New Yorker, would we be having this discussion?
--- End quote ---
I guess that's where we differ. I read and fell in love with Jack and Ennisthrough the story first. And it is the idea of Jack and Ennis I love. I don't know Heath and Jake. But I appreciate their perfomance in the film.
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: el_wing on January 30, 2008, 05:19:43 pm ---I don't know about other people, but I don't think I'd be writing fan fiction about Ennis and Jack if it weren't for Heath and Jake's portrayal of them. We are essentially fantasizing about the actors, not Jack and Ennis. If you'd only read Annie's story in the New Yorker, would we be having this discussion?
--- End quote ---
Bingo! ;D
I don't think I'd have written a word if Ennis and Jack had been played by, say, Luke Wilson and Vince Vaughan. ;D
louisev:
To me the root of the RPS issue lies in our beliefs about whether a) we have the right to write about real people as characters in our stories and b) whether they or their families would be offended or object or be upset about them.
With regard to a), it is clear that the law leans strongly against us, the tests El Wing mentions notwithstanding. If someone writes a story that claims something that did not happen, the law states that this is a form of defamation. The fact that the prima facie case for defamation is so easy to make, and that it can cause harm whether we wish that harm or not (claiming a homosexual relationship between two known people when one of them is happily married to someone else can cause mental distress, for example). Whether the harm could be proven, whether anyone makes these claims in court or goes to the bother, does not address the prima facie case of defamation. Why would we want to write something that nominally fits the description of invasion of privacy, or of defamation of character?
b) I was told in private by someone who is friends with an actor about whom RPS stories were written. That person saw and read some of the RPS and, being a friend of the actor, was mortified and outraged, and told the actor, who was upset, not only about the fact that the stories were being published on the Internet, but that it was causing pain and anguish to his friends.
To me these are the core issues around RPS. It is not a question of author's rights. Clearly, if people have been writing about N'Sync all of these years and no one has been sued, then the risk of lawsuit may be small. But that, to me, isn't the point. To me the point is one of respect for the individual.
ENEN:
--- Quote ---But that, to me, isn't the point. To me the point is one of respect for the individual.
--- End quote ---
exactly!!
el_wing:
A couple of things. What bothers me is moral judgment on this. I respect your opinion. I have friends in other fandoms who object to rps. What hurts is to have people say or imply that those who do write it are immoral for doing so.
I know Louise, you took a personal stand yourself, and I respect you for it.
And Leslie, I'm sorry I wasn't clear why I'm posting here. No one has harassed me here on this site. But being a bbm board, I find the division in the fandom over this question counterproductive. I hate to see negative comments that make moral judgments of others over what they are writing and tear down the community of writers.
I understand, Louise feels it a matter of respect for the individual-- Heath, Jake, Ringo, George, Paul and John. Or N'Sync. To many writers this is their way to immortalize them. I feel that is respect too. We should also respect each other and not belittle their work.
Now all we need is a big group hug.
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