Light Refracted

alexds1:

Disclaimer: this rant is written for a specific group of people. If you don’t belong to it, you already know that you don’t, congratulations, great shall be your reward in the afterlife.

DEAR [PEOPLE WHO DEBATE ABOUT SHERLOCK HOLMES’ SEXUALITY],

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I wasn’t going to chip in my two cents, but then I suddenly realized I really wanted to, so here it goes:

1. The interest generated by discussions of shipping really bothers me.

Not the phenomenon of shipping itself, no. Pairings, be they het or slash, canon or not, usually do not register on my radar of interest - but I can understand, in an abstract sort of way, why people want to fantasize about characters getting it on. And as long as you (i.e. shippers) don’t shove it down anyone’s throats, fine – post your gifs and your whatnots so that I can continue to not care much. The “scroll down” option is there for a reason.

What does bother me is the unduly amount of attention paid to the whole matter. By that I mean getting defensive about pairings, getting derisive about pairings, orgasming about shipping, whining about shipping…you get the drill.

Yep, whining about shipping is on my list of annoying things! It’s a way of paying attention to a matter that doesn’t deserve it. Shippers aren’t going anywhere, just let them be. And all that fuss about disrespect is really weird. I mean, wasn’t it disrespectful when Conan Doyle’s fans bugged him about his perfectly legitimate decision to kill of his creation? We’re not talking fantasies kept to a blog, we’re talking manipulation carried over to the real world. Oh, the shame.

(although I am glad we now get to read The Dancing Men, The Second Stain et al.)

That said, I do agree that excessive swooning and fangirling are detrimental to the enjoyment of fictional works, and that focusing on this one (usually non-canonical) aspect is very, very limiting. Sexualization (is that even a word?) may also do said works a disservice: whenever I mention I like Supernatural I feel like a fucking retard because the general public is under the impression that the show is about a bunch of hunks who run around denying their homosexual urges.

So yes, perhaps at times fandoms could do with a bit more variety in their speculations and gushings. 

2. “Any speculation based on derivation is like speculation based on fan-fiction” – now that’s just bull. It’s like saying: “okay, there’s not even a one in a million chance that Blade Runner’s Deckard is a replicant, because he’s absolutely positively human in the book that the movie is loosely based on”. The movie and the book are two different creations with differing canons, which is perfectly okay because adapting books word for word without infusing them with your own understanding of the material seems pointless. (And dull. I remember watching “Perfume” and failing to notice a) major differences from the novel b) any value to the movie besides its serving as an extended color illustration of the book).

Sherlock the BBC series has about as much to do with Sherlock Holmes the books as a taco from Taco Bell with the real thing. It’s a thriller set in modern times with just enough similarities to the original to warrant such a marketable title, and therefore it can be judged for its own merits - i.e. as a separate work of fiction, not as an adaptation. To continue the food simile: you can enjoy both or either or neither of the aforementioned tacos and be none the better nor the worse for it.

Moreover: is it bothersome that Paradise Lost is basically a retelling of parts of the Bible? That Shakespeare stole plots from a variety of world cultures and based his works off them? That people read Byron translated into Russian and think: hey, this sounds more melodic than the original? (btw it totally does.) Blah blah rhetorical questions.

Anyway, I guess my overall emotion towards the whole thing is: relax, people! It’s just fiction! As in, you know, make-believe stuff. So go on and believe whatever you want about it. Just be civil and understanding and remember that moderation is oftentimes a good thing.