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Fan Fiction - Popularity Contest or Formula for Orthodoxy?

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louisev:
I started writing fan fiction, as an experiment, a couple of years ago in conjunction with some online role playing I was trying at the time.  Many of the roleplayers had selected characters from a couple of different fan fiction fandoms (ones I did not follow), and I waded into it slowly.  When I became a Brokeback Mountain fan, I found some fan fiction stories and, being a novelist, decided to try my hand at finishing the tale for myself.

Being a babe in the woods with regard to fandom and its peculiarities, I was bewildered and amazed at the range of attitudes and reactions I had to my story about Ennis moving on to find a new life, and I discovered for the first time, an active, engaged, and interested audience.  I also discovered what I first identified as a sort of popularity competition amongst fan writers for the fan audience, but upon deeper consideration, I see as a kind of orthodoxy, as in established religions.

This orthodoxy sets an expectation and rewards those authors who follow certain step patterns in the plot of a retelling of Brokeback Mountain.  To the extent that the author "hits these marks" will determine the breadth of the audience and its enthusiasm, since this orthodoxy has grown out of the collective emotional need for finishing the story in a certain set manner.  I also believe that the orthodox expectation is far more plot driven than character driven, and that the plot, here, dictates the characters'  believability.

The result of the established plot orthodoxy is that due to the high approval given to orthodox conformity, the amount of deviation in plot becomes less and less (rather than more) as time goes on.  As a result, the most widely read stories are the ones who meet the highest number of marks in the orthodox plot, and those who deviate from them will be read less, or by a specialized audience looking for "that type of story."

This is what I have observed among popular BBM fan fictions as orthodox plot elements:

1) The story must be AU - it must not end in Jack's death.  The threat of the tire iron (imminent death) must be mitigated in some way or avoided - so that Jack will not die in the course of the au tale as well.
2) Jack develops more courage to confront/deal with Ennis, forcing the issue of their relationship with him
3) Jack makes a proposal as part of forcing the relationship issue
4) Ennis balks at it (or accepts it first and complications arise, or he balks after a time delay)
5) Jack gets a chance to punish Ennis for 4), or has a crisis or complication of his own, thus leading to pain and suffering for Ennis (this is critically important.  Ennis MUST suffer at this phase of the story.)
6) Ennis goes through "the torments of hell"
7) A reconciliation or rapprochement occurs between Ennis and Jack, Ennis is contrite, and they THEN live happily ever after.

In reading a variety of AU, Canonical (where Jack dies) and original present time stories which preserve only the characters "Jack and Ennis", the audience enthusiasm and commentary seem to correlate to how many of these plot marks are hit by the author.

I have posted this to open discussion, because while I am pretty confident of my observations, here, I still don't understand why, or how, this has evolved in the few months since Brokeback Mountain was released.

pastorfred:
I think you have hit the nail on the head. A religion seems to be forming around BBM and an orthodoxy of fanfiction is no surprise as a result. The deeply spiritual and mythological elements of the story and movie provide fertile ground for the development of a grass roots popular cultural phenomenon. The actual founding of religious institutions may or may not be the result.

I also think it is no accident that this particular kind of relgion is forming in our times. Worldwide there are ultra-right wing religious groups attempting to take over their national cultures and their own nations' political institutions. One of the characteristics of right wing takeovers is the singling out of vulnerable minorities as scapegoats for all that has gone wrong in the world. In our times, LGBT persons are the vulnerable minority.

Popular culture tends to swing like a pendulum.  In the religion forming around BBM we may be seeing the beginning of the swing in the other direction.

twistedude:
Louisev: Being a strictly cannon writer (though I don't know why! I love all the AU stuff), I know you're right.
When I get inspired, I write. That's it. Sometimes it takes me DAYS to figure out why a character did something--as it just did with the Juarez stories...but there's usually a reason.

You forgot to mention sex. Though not completely essential--I have 3 stories with only references to sex, no actual sex at all--it's pretty important. I remember when I first read Leslie's second chapter of LBFS--whoaa! I had to re-define pornopgraphy for myself: (Oh yeah--and if it's to be het sex, Jack better be in it at least...)

PORNOGRAPHY: Something i DON'T LIKE.
  EXAUSTIVE LIST OF EXAMPLES:
       1) Okra, in any form.
       2) anything that causes more pain than present or promised pleasure.

Also: you forgot to say that everyone has his own quirky rules: some can't stand the thought of Ennis ever looking at another guy after Jack's death--er, that wouldn't be you! As far as I know,. I have lost friends because of a controversial topic in one of my fanfictions, but since nobody had asked me--nicely or otherwise--to remove it, I haven't. . Oh yeah, and Jack was never seriously interested--for more than one blow job, or one ash hauling,--in any man but Ennis. Give me a break...although i think it's basically true, it's only because he didn't live past 39.  And there was also life before Ennis...seems to me I make more enemies sticking to the cannon than anyone else does ripping Jack and Ennis out of the tragedy of the stiory and having them live happily ever after.  Of course, Leslie and MadLori write better than me, but, who'sdcounting?
Peace..and good writing is rewarded, cannon or no cannon...

edited THREE TIMES to remove offensive material...hope this is O.K.

dragonlady:
Louise, you have made some very insightful comments.  Seems to me that there is room for every kind of story. I try to read a wide cross section of stories and I don't think its so much of a popularity contest as it is a visibility thing.  I read a lot of stuff on FF.net and Wranglers and BBSlash.  I have never seen your story posted on these forums.  I wouldn't even know about them if I hadn't come here.   

Brokebackslash has a very high readership and generates literally hundreds of comments from readers.  Seems like most people will give anything a try, controversy or no.  I remember a HUGE blowout over one fic, where the author actually turned off her LJ comments.  Think she has Ennis being a drug dealer and I don't read that one anymore.  I think most people want Ennis and Jack and when Jack isn't in the story they can't read it.  I like just about everything I read so I will read stuff where Ennis moves on, but when Ennis moves too far away from that guy I fell for in the movie, I stop reading.  Like being a drug dealer. 

But that doesn't mean there aren't people out there that like it, obviously there are people who like everything, like me.  Some things stand out, and some writers are better than others.  I write fiction but I would never, ever compare myself to Madlori or Jenna, and thats ok.  I am a fan as much as the rest of us and I see their writing as something to aspire to, to give my readers as much pleasure as they do.  I could never be jealous of someone else's talent, I would be inspired by it.  I could nevrl stop writing, and I cannot hate them for being better than me. I think again everyone has to find a niche, and stick with what works for them and don't worry about things that really in the end matter little.   

About the formula,  I think most people want to see Jack and Ennis get that happy life, because anything else was already covered in the movie and AP's story.

pastorfred:
I recognize what opinions are like, since everybody has one, but in my not so humble opinion, there is a gold standard in alternate universe fanfiction, and that is the not so orthodox lazylfarm, A Love Born from Steel.

The gold standard for canon fanfiction is the Laramie Saga, beginning with Taking Chances, by Louisev, links to be found under Chez Tremblay on the Ennis and Ellery thread.

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