We continue our inquiry as to whether sue-fic can be canon by arguing that a sequel is not out of canon merely because it is disappointing or artlessly done, or subverts reader expectations or fails to do so.
All these are red herrings.
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We continue our inquiry as to whether sue-fic can be canon by arguing that the question turns on the expectations demanded of reader, as well as of the muse, are equally served in a sequel or shared world story as in the original from which it comes, namely that the characters, plot, setting, theme and style be true to the original, which mean the candidate may neither desecrate, disenchant, adulterate, nor violate any prior established element.
Which means, in other words, the writer may not insult the intelligence nor break the hearts of the fans.
Now, to be sure, the main defense offered in these days of systematic degradation – I myself can think of not one established franchise in SF or F media that has not been vandalized by social justice harpies of shrieking hate, befouling the wine, and defecating on the feast — is to say that urinating in to the eyes of the old fans, who are contemptible racists bigot fanboys and sons of swine and jackals, and then to say that new fans will spring full grown from the earth like autochthons, and make up the losses to the core fanbase, and ensure no loss of revenue.
Is that so?
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We continue our inquiry as to whether fanfic can be canon by reasoning that the question turns on the expectations demanded of reader, reasoning that reader expectations fall into natural groups called genres and subgenres.
The proposal here is that the same fashion of reader expectations that establish genres and subgenres is what establishes canon.
We have also said that reader expectations establish the basic outline of the unwritten covenant between muse, writer, and reader.
Each reader’s expectations, he best knows for himself. So what are the expectations set by the muse?
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The prior column is here, and a footnote to it is here.
We are addressing the question of whether Mary Sue style fanfic (or, as it will be called hereafter, ‘sue-fic’) can be canon.
In effect, we are asking how far the reader reasonably can be asked to extend his suspension of disbelief. But his requires first answering, for a given story being judged, what genre or subgenre the story is aiming to satisfy.
Before answering that question, it behooves us to say what question is not being answered:
I submit that it is not helpful to ask whether or not the story subverts expectations, because this phrase is deliberately misleading.
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A footnote, or an example, to add to my column on Canonicity found here:
The BBC showrunners thought it wise to add an origin story to the character of the Time Lord of Gallifrey known to mortals only as The Doctor first, by making him a woman, and second, by making him a little black girl and not a native of Gallifrey at all, hence not a Time Lord properly so called.
The new plot twist is that the girl-type Doctor is the mind-wiped remnant of the original founder of Time Lord society, and the source of their twelve-regeneration form of partial immortality.
Ah! But the BBC issues a statement in the face of the fan base rejection of this insulting violation of canon:
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Can fanfic be canon?
This is a seemingly simple question that has been debated in this space of late, but to answer it we must travel to the strange and perilous woods of aesthetic theory.
The reader is forewarned that this following essay will be overlong, because not only is the question tangled and varied, but one where your humble author is easily distracted, like a leaping dog in a garden full of squirrels, for I sight many tangential topics which will set me barking vociferously.
Hence, the essay, as befits the topic, will consist of one original column and its sequels, which may or may not share continuity.
The reader is also warned that, I cannot in good conscience use the word fanfic in this context. For reasons to be explained later, I coin the term ‘Mary Sue Fiction’ or ‘sue-fic’ where others use the term ‘fan-fic.’ I trust the generous reader will excuse the eccentricity.
But let us begin at the beginning.
When we ask “can sue-fic be canon?” we are asking whether sequels that violate the spirit and integrity of the original creator’s vision for his story are official and authentic and worthy of respect.
We ask, in other words, are they real?
A reader with the godlike yet friendly name of Theophilus comments:
I do think debating what “really” happened in a fictional universe is a bit bizarre.
More than a bit. Indeed, making up a fictional universe, and inviting pilgrims within to sojourn or even to dwell, is also a bit bizarre. More than a bit.
It is also magic.
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