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I've been doing a lot of thinking about Fantasy lately. What with reading Harry Potter and indulging my minor obsession with Lord of the Rings. I love the worlds, I love the themes, I love the the way fantasy can focus on the BIG PICTURE and not have to worry about getting bogged down in the minutia that seems to rule the world.
I'm also always amazed at how many people seem intent on dragging that minutia into those fantasy worlds with them. Instead of stories that focus on faith and loyalty and truth and justice, people write about petty peeves and sex and obsession. I should know better than to spend anytime at all at fanfic.net. I mean, I've never had good luck hanging out there, but every once in a while I lose my mind and I end up there, searching for some fic about my favorite character.
And I am immediately reminded that I will not find my favorite characters there, because it seems that I am the only person in the world who actually *sees* the characters the way I do. I find infinate numbers of psychotic, whiney, weak, sex-obssessed, warped, depressed, angst-ridden, and truly unlikable characters who wear the names of the characters I like.
I despise angst -- at least how it is used in Fanfic. I haven't the words to describe the loathing I feel over endless, badly written prose that describes the pointless morass of depression that almost every fanfic character finds him/herself in. It goes on and on. Like a note held to long. At first, you think "Cool. That sounds great." But after a while it eats into your brain and makes it impossible to hear anything else.
The whole point of angst, the only possible reason for it to exist is to overcome it. To survive. To live beyond it.
All right, I'll grant you that there are good stories of those who don't survive. I particually enjoy dark and fairly depressing poetry. Poe wrote some wonderful stuff. But it takes a great talent to be able to do that well. And even then, Poe's stuff had endings. It had resolutions. Even if they weren't happy ones.
Fanfic rarely does that. The angst goes on and on without any end. It is the same note held forever. There is no climax. No resolution.
And I hate that.
I'm also always amazed at how many people seem intent on dragging that minutia into those fantasy worlds with them. Instead of stories that focus on faith and loyalty and truth and justice, people write about petty peeves and sex and obsession. I should know better than to spend anytime at all at fanfic.net. I mean, I've never had good luck hanging out there, but every once in a while I lose my mind and I end up there, searching for some fic about my favorite character.
And I am immediately reminded that I will not find my favorite characters there, because it seems that I am the only person in the world who actually *sees* the characters the way I do. I find infinate numbers of psychotic, whiney, weak, sex-obssessed, warped, depressed, angst-ridden, and truly unlikable characters who wear the names of the characters I like.
I despise angst -- at least how it is used in Fanfic. I haven't the words to describe the loathing I feel over endless, badly written prose that describes the pointless morass of depression that almost every fanfic character finds him/herself in. It goes on and on. Like a note held to long. At first, you think "Cool. That sounds great." But after a while it eats into your brain and makes it impossible to hear anything else.
The whole point of angst, the only possible reason for it to exist is to overcome it. To survive. To live beyond it.
All right, I'll grant you that there are good stories of those who don't survive. I particually enjoy dark and fairly depressing poetry. Poe wrote some wonderful stuff. But it takes a great talent to be able to do that well. And even then, Poe's stuff had endings. It had resolutions. Even if they weren't happy ones.
Fanfic rarely does that. The angst goes on and on without any end. It is the same note held forever. There is no climax. No resolution.
And I hate that.
