Fan fiction
From Fan History Wiki
Fan·fic n. Informal: Fiction written by fans as an extension of an admired work or series of works, especially a television show, often posted on the Internet or published in fanzines. [1]
Fan Fiction is, at it's most basic, fiction written by fans. A more broad definition might include that in order to be classified as a "fan work," at lease some elements must be of an identifiable "non-original" nature; i.e., the mere influence of the vast history of oral and written tradition including recognizable themes does not, in and of itself, define a work as fan fiction. The influence must be identifiable, and for some people, attributable. The doomed romance of Romeo and Juliet is not a unique theme, merely a unique execution of a popular theme. In order for a work to be considered "fan fiction" of Romeo and Juliet, utilizing the place or time or some of the characters or even lines from Shakespeare's work must be done in a substantiative way. Merely quoting him or having a character who quotes lines or make reference to the play, does not in and of itself make the work fan fiction. However, a story that somehow miraculously revives one or both the young lovers and follows them through the period after (or even before the setting of the play) could, arguably, be called fan fiction. Having Mercutio run off to a forest and meet Puck from A Midsummer's Night Dream might also be considered fan fiction.
That said, there is some debate both within fandom and in the broader academic, publishing, and production world, as to whether or not the definition of "fan fiction" must also include the word "amateur." Alternately, some argue that all derivative work is fan fiction in one way or another. There can be little doubt that popular works (and even less popular works) available to the public sphere have always had fans, just as they have always had critics. Fan fiction is merely a tangible response to such works.
Currently, fan fiction as portrayed in magazine, newspaper, and even Academic articles, is linked to mass media. The widespread availability of books, television programs, movies, and other media combined with the on-site of broader access to the World Wide Web as made the sharing and exchanging of fan created derivative works far easier and more common.
Star Trek is widely considered to be the critical point where fans shifted in large numbers from passive enjoyment of a media property into an active and even, yes, fanatical, demand for more product, regardless of whether it was produced by the original creator or even sanctioned by the controlling entities. Even before the advent of the Internet, fans began creating their own stories, their own analysis of the existing work, adding to it, changing it, creating entirely new areas in which the media entity known as Star Trek could be enjoyed outside of a weekly television broadcast.
When editors Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath compiled the stories contained in the book, Star Trek: The New Voyages, in 1976 it was widely understood that the authors providing content were avid and active fans of the show.
There were no doubt other periods and properties where a media source provoked an impassioned response (The Baker Street Irregulars,[2] for one -- consisting of fans of the Sherlock Holmes novels) but Star Trek appears to have provoked a far broader response that was possibly also opportunistically large enough to invoke interest not just in fans but in traditional news and media coverage. The fans were very vocal and public in their adoration.
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[edit] History
Webster's Dictionary online attributes the first usage of the term fan fiction to 1944: Main Entry: fan fiction, n.:a fictional account written by a fan of a show, movie, book, or video game to explore themes and ideas that will not or cannot be explored via the originating medium; also written fan fiction, also called fanfic [3], however, no additional citation is offered in the short entry.
[edit] Historical definitions
The following definition is from the science fiction fandom and dates to 1944:
- fan fiction - Sometimes improperly used to mean fan science fiction, that is, ordinary fantasy published in a fan magazine. Properly, the term means fiction about fans, or something about pros, and occasionally bringing in some famous characters stf stories. [4]
The following definition is from the science fiction fandom and dates to November 2003:
- fanfic
- This does not refer to all fiction written by f ans, because a lot of fans write original stuff. This means stories about charac ters in popular shows, books, plays, etc. A remake of Sweeney Todd using the ch arcacters from Cats, or a story where Captain Kirk fights Darth Vader would be f anfic. See slash. [5]
The following definition dates to December 2005 in the Harry Potter fandom:
- fanfiction (fanfic, fan fic, fan fiction, fic) - Fiction written by fans about a TV show, game, book or movie. [6]
[edit] Examples
[edit] See also
This section needs more information.
[edit] External links
- The Fan Fiction Phenomena - Young, Cathy, Reason Magazine, February, 2007 [7]
- Rewriting the Rules of Fiction - Jurgensen, John, September 16, 2006 The Wall Street Journal Online [8]
- Fan Fiction as Critical Commentary - Jenkins, Henry, blog entry September 27, 2006 [9]
- “Fanfic”: force of nature - Nielsen-Hayden, Teresa, Making Light blog entry April 22, 2006 [10] [11]
- For the love of... - Casimir, Jon, November 1, 2002, The Sydney Morning Herald [12]
- Destina's Fan Fiction FAQ - Destina [13]
- Wikipedia's entry on Fan fiction [14]
- Legal Fictions: Copyright, Fan Fiction, and a New Common Law - Tushnet, Rebecca, Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Journal, 1997 (17 Loy. L.A. Ent. L.J. 651) [15]
