bironic

No one needs another take on Game of Thrones, but I seem to be having a different experience from most of my friends going into tonight's finale, and I feel like jotting it down before the moment passes.

I've watched the show since the beginning and have read the books that've been published so far. I've enjoyed many aspects of the TV journey, though God knows plenty of plots were painful or boring or nonsensical or forgotten, the pacing awfully uneven, and the characterization sometimes inconsistent. I'm very curious how things will end.

I think the difference is that I'm not hugely invested in any characters or relationships the way we consider typical for fannish engagement. Sure, I have favorites—for instance, you may recall I used to ship Sansa/the Hound, and I felt it rekindle this season in episode ( spoiler for S8 )—and there are some characters that would make me, and have made me, sadder than others to see die. But I haven't spun out scenarios for how things might transpire for those favorites. I'm not rooting for particular endgames. I'm not sure I even understand any particular character well enough to predict what they might do until their story has concluded.

Instead, I'm waiting to see what the lessons are—what the show has been all about. It could be my own failing to not know by now, and maybe things would be clearer if I participated more in the fandom and/or remembered more details of seasons past and/or read more thinkpieces or reddit threads or whatever, but I feel like we won't know for sure until it's over.

Is this show ultimately about nihilism and chaos, as has been foreshadowed? Rocks fall, everybody dies? Valar morghulis. I really thought ( spoiler for S8E3 ). There are still ways this sort of conclusion can come to pass.

Will it bend toward poetic justice, as last week hinted with, for example, ( spoiler for S8E5 )?

The series so far has indicated that no one person has embodied the perfect set of characteristics to sit on the Iron Throne. Will the finale reveal that the elusive leader lies in ( obvious candidates ) or a partnership or someone else? It seems unlikely, as well as perhaps counter to the themes that have been set up, although many people seem convinced. Will the finale instead support the argument that the only way forward is to break the whole system? No throne, no single ruler of all of Westeros? Or will another imperfect person slaughter or scheme their way to the top and begin the whole hopeless cycle again, emphasizing the Santayana-like lessons of the Maesters and the elders that we are doomed to repeat history because we keep forgetting or burying it?

Sure, I've done my share of laughing and yelling and gasping at the screen, but this stuff is what really piques my interest about tonight. What happens when a narrative that has all but promised a dissatisfying ending reaches that end. What happens when a rich canon (that was rushed at the end after wasting time) cannot possibly wrap up all the loose ends or fulfill everyone's sophisticated theories, same as what happened with the final installment of Harry Potter.

Maybe simplistic thoughts, but wanted to share them before the bombardment begins of post-finale reactions.

Well, hey. I just watched a movie that made me want to make a vidlet about it. And contrary to the few other times that has happened, I immediately figured out what music to use. \o/ Mayhap I will make it tomorrow; it is not complicated. Although this weekend is probably not the best time to post it, given that most vid viewers are likely still making their way through the Festivids masterlist.

Recs pending, btw. I have compiled about a dozen. Still have about 30 vids left to watch.

Commuting has been horrendous for the last week and a half because of the snowbanks/ice/low temperatures/narrow lanes/traffic/broken public transit system. It's sucked about two extra hours out of every day. :( That has left less time and brain for doing things like watching vids, and posting about this mediocre book we're reading for book club (A Discovery of Witches) or my expectations for the 50 Shades of Grey movie, and properly responding to thingswithwings' post about accumulating "I don't like X, but" comments until you feel like you are bleeding out from all the pinpricks.

I did go out to another MeetUp event, though. Successfully conversed with strangers about SF/F, check; got 12 out of 20 on a Star Trek quiz; and then played my first game of Slash with about 10 people. They weren't much for positing narratives -- just "pair someone with [character]," for the most part -- but there was great breadth of source knowledge in the group, and it was generally fun. My favorite pairing was Monolith (2001: A Space Odyssey)/VGER (Star Trek: The Motion Picture). I wasn't great at it -- in 20 rounds, I only won once, and I didn't even know the female character from Street Fighter (?) I'd paired Trinity from The Matrix with -- but that didn't matter. I'm looking forward to trying it again with LJ/DW fannish types. Oh, the stories that can be spun.

I had a great weekend at con_txt. It was so nice to see friends again, and to make some new acquaintances.

I was concerned about the programming because I haven't been feeling enthused about any particular canon on the docket in a communal-fannish way lately, and because mass squee can be scary; but there turned out to be plenty of meta panels and entertaining moderators to make the experience enjoyable.

I also appreciate how, while con.txt is a slash con by definition, those of us who do not exclusively enjoy slash are welcomed and able to have discussions about a variety of sexual identities and relationship types in fandom (and life), plus gen topics.

In case you are interested, I jotted down some notes. Nothing fancy or thorough. con-txt.net has panel descriptions and mod names.

( Werewolf Torts and Undead Annuities )

( Small Fandom Dating Game )

( Fannish Pictionary )

( Vid Show )

( Monetizing Fandom )

( Inverting Tropes )

( D/s in Fandom )

( Not My Fandom's OTP )

( Awesome Robots )

( Checking in on the Fannish Diaspora )

( Small Fandom and Between-Fandom Support Group )

( Dubcon F***ing: How Does It Work )

( Rule 34 in a Magical Universe )

( Bi-invisibility )

Also attended a panel about tagging and another about AUs.


Note to self: Action items:

- DS9 essential episodes list for corbae (post likely to follow)
- Riddick recs list for monkey_pie (ditto)
- Read bmouse's Garak/Bashir collection
- Check out stuff from Small Fandom Dating Game
- Figure out naming issue and start a new Twitter to keep in touch with fan friends?
- Grin and bear it open a Tumblr account???

(Part one is here)

Okay, apparently I'm not done talking about names, because I neglected to mention down-from-NY hannahrorlove yesterday as well as some other locals I don't usually get to see, like sharkie/wolfshark, plus new and/or vaguely recalled faces or usernames who have now solidified into full-fledged people in my brain—tell me I'm not the only one this happens to—like hurry_sundown, ciaan, lizweisharr, stultiloquentia, v_angelique and cesy.

The meeting of people began at check-in Thursday night with a button-making crafts table and the popular find-a-fan Bingo icebreaker game, where you look for attendees who match your squares. Examples included "not a slasher," "has contributed to Fanlore," "proudly wearing purple" and, awkwardly, "bottle blond(e)." I was able to help people out with their "has written tentacle porn" or "multifandom vidder" or "is a published writer" squares. There were more tentacle people at this con than you might expect! Sometimes someone had filled out the square before me! Throughout the weekend there were also sucker-studded tee shirts, stuffed cephalopods, and springy, tubular table decorations that were appropriated (not even by me) to hang Iron Man dolls etc. in compromising positions.

Thursday evening was also the point at which it became clear that con_txt would reflect the general sentiment in online fandom right now re: OMG AVENGERS YAY, when half the group split off to go see it again at the movie theater a few blocks from the con hotel. There were three or four other group outings to see it, along with some room parties. Clearly I should have put up an invitation to go see Prometheus—still haven't gone—but when you want to go to the con programming and don't like staying up late, it's hard to find the time!

Anyhow, let us talk about some meta panels. Wow, we are not going in chronological order at all.

( Old Fandoms Never Die )

( Bring Back that Loving Feeling )

( Age Disparities in Slash Relationships )

( The Phylogeny of Speculative Erotica )

More (and mostly shorter) meta panel recaps to come later. Now we will talk about the vid show!

( Vid show! )

Break time. Last post forthcoming within the next couple of days.

ETA: Part three now posted.

There's a "danger" square in this Kink Bingo line. One of my ideas was to do a vid for Claire Forlani's character in Meet Joe Black, as she found herself drawn to a man who turned out to be Death. I had a song picked out that would have worked well. (No, it wasn't "Don't Fear the Reaper.") But the more I thought about it, the less I liked it for this square. The character wasn't in love with Death and all the danger he represented; she thought he was a guy she met in a coffee shop, and when she finally realized who he really was, she drew back, disturbed, refusing to believe the truth. The kink_wiki explicitly states that characters don't have to be attracted to the danger in order to fulfill the requirements, but I started to lean toward a different fandom where that was actually the case: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Specifically, Buffy herself.

(Yes, Faith is, too. Maybe more intensely so. She can have her own essay sometime.)

I started to edit a vid today about Buffy set to the same song in lieu of Meet Joe Black. The theme turned out to be more "yay, suicide" and/or "Buffy's life really sucks" than "yay, danger," though, so instead we're going to talk.

( To put it simply: Buffy is drawn to dangerous situations and dangerous people. (~1,000 words. Some themes of suicide. A few series spoilers.) )

…Still going to work on that vid.


Written for my Kink Bingo "danger" square.

I have friends who don't know each other who are entrenched on either side of a major fandom wank right now, and it is a very weird place to be. Not that it is about me at all, or the individuals involved*, but I find myself wondering at the social politics of it more than the actual issue at stake. Namely: How do you take a side? (Why) must you take a side? Are you responsible, as a friend and community member, to thoroughly verse yourself in the recent history of the wank and the posts it has spawned? Should you disregard all personal relations (if that's even possible) to attempt at least that much objectivity before approaching the situation?

*Except it is, because things have turned personal, as they tend to.

On the one hand, I have been on the receiving end of very articulate wank by respected LJ community members before, and I know it is not a fun place to be; that in the face of such reaction, one might become tangled in one's own defenses; and so my sympathies go to the people who are trying to deal with this right now, regardless of whether they are in the right -- if there is a right. On the other hand, from what little I've seen of the arguments, the opposition seems justified, and I suspect that if I didn't know the people they are criticizing, didn't know that they are good and decent and intelligent, I might more easily disagree with or dismiss or even insult them (though not publicly, I would hope) as others are doing.

And so I wonder: How can you side with the opposition when many of them personally attack others of your friends? How can you defend those under attack when you suspect that you agree with the people who disagree with them? Do you find a middle ground in which you defend your friends as people while potentially (since again, I'm not well-versed in the details here) disagreeing with their position? Do you stay the hell away from it all?

Or do you make a thinly veiled post about it and avoid the issue entirely?

ETA: I'm not looking for advice, really. But if you have been in a situation like this before, in any capacity, I'd be interested to hear how you dealt with it and how it turned out.

ETA 2: The argument seems to have just been resolved, although I'm sure it will take days for the ripples to fade. So while the questions aren't presently applicable anymore, they're still a good theoretical exercise, and sadly, will probably be useful when another situation like this arises in the future.

ETA 3: This isn't a House fandom issue -- you're not missing something!

...

Steering clear of wank is my usual modus operandi. It's taken a while to decide to post even this. It's doubtless related to my innate desire for mediation, my frustration with argument and debate, and frankly, my distaste for social politics in general. (The "who's mad at whom" game is childish and irrelevant, the thinking goes... at least, when you don't know the people involved.) On top of which, there's no way to win an online argument when it descends into wank, and there's certainly no way to achieve resolution when things reach these proportions. There are just bad feelings all around.

Anyway. Comments are screened.
 

I am annoyed at The New Yorker's review of "V for Vendetta" today, not because it pans something I'd hoped would be fun and pretty -- that's the reviewer's perogative, and he has several good arguments, one or two of which have already made me rethink my approach to the movie --, but because David Denby makes some derisive comments about pop culture that were entirely unnecessary in order for him to criticize the film. This is the most irritating declaration, from the top of the second paragraph:

Pop cannibalizes and regurgitates everything, including history, and in normal circumstances only a literal-minded prig would treat graphic novelists or big-screen fantasists as if they had any responsibility to truth.

I'm still too steamed to put down a coherent response here. Feel free to offer yours.

Last week was one of those that drags until all you're looking forward to is a chance to sleep and have an entire uninterrupted day at your disposal. Then came Friday, and the sheer indolent pleasure of spending the night in bed reading a book fresh from Amazon cover-to-cover and then going to sleep was a total cure. It'd been far too long since I'd read a book in one sitting, and this one surpassed expectations. God, I love literature. Would say more but I've sent catilinarian my copy and don't want to spoil things.

My paper proposal has been accepted to the Slayage conference on the Whedonverses, so I'll be down at Gordon College in Georgia for Memorial Day weekend. The letter I got last night said mine was one of 150 presentations chosen (!), with another 150 attendees expected from five countries. Diversity has nothing on Accio, but there will be about twice as many people and a higher chance that some of them live around here.

Dashed off a letter to the editor of Newsday on Saturday after one of their big movie reviewers took a potshot at fans. The first sentence of the review was: "Like devotees of 'Star Wars,' or Harry Potter novels or new Xboxes, avid readers of C.S. Lewis' children's classics will be so excited that the object of their obsession has hit the screen at last that the quality of the product will be rendered moot." (Full text available for a little while here.) A few months ago this might have elicited an ill-defined sense of rage or resentment, but reading all these defense-of-fandom articles helped me articulate the reasons behind those emotions and equipped me with a nice set of linguistic tools for the note. They haven't printed it but at least someone read it. I'm just getting tired of being made fun of or brushed off for being "a fan" of something.

Anyhow, with all this going on, plus updating the journal bibliography and working on an essay on homosexual overtones in a Deep Space Nine episode for a fan club newsletter, I've felt pretty accomplished lately. I should probably be worried that my self-worth is measured in word count.

The A&E Goblet of Fire special re-ran (again) last night. I'd had the Lord of the Rings marathon on in the background while I worked on that ST essay but clicked back for Ralph Fiennes' little monologue and found it just as sexy as last time. I'd neglected to note the part where, talking about Voldemort testing his new body, as he shifts his shoulders he also bounces in his chair, maybe 10 times, gently, probably by bouncing his knee below-camera. He's going to be at Lincoln Center tonight for a double-bill film screening and Q&A. Another reason to consider moving to the city.

The long-lost synn and I watched a winner called "Latter Days" Saturday night in which a superficial, promiscuous young California gay man falls for a Mormon missionary-in-training from Idaho who moves into his apartment complex and turns out to be suppressing his own heretical homosexuality. One learns to slow down and care, one risks losing everything he's known to be true to himself, self-denial and misunderstandings abound, blah blah, but unexpected offbeat humor and a generous helping of angst carried it through. With a surfeit of tasteful male nudity for those so inclined. Recommended.