There's a whole long discussion around RPF that I can twist myself into knots with. I mean, really, really, really twist myself into knots with. I mean, Doctor Who has been full of RPF practically since it started and that's never been an issue for me. So there's that side. But the other side is RP-something. And then there's RPF which is actually RPHet which is out there in the mainstream in so many so-called biographies in film or books.
Where is the line? Is it okay if the people aren't alive any longer? Is it okay for Doctor Who to write RPF about Agatha Christie but not JK Rowling? Is it okay with Agatha Christie as long as it's not romance? Is it okay as long as Agatha's not acting out of character (as if anyone has any idea what out of character would be?). Oy. And then there's the whole range of fic that gets written about, say, SG-1, and instead putting the actors in their place (I dunno - who knows if that's out there). That would be too weird for me, but for others it isn't. I watched and enjoyed Young Victoria (film about Queen Victoria), which is essentially RPF but was okay because it was mainstream? There's a recent film about Nelson Mandela's wife, which she doesn't support and says is nonsense - which side of the line does that sit on? Is there even a line?
My brain, it hurts.
And none of this is to say that I don't agree with you. Because essentially I do, except when I start to ask myself the kinds of questions above, at which point things start going all asplodey in my brain. It's not pretty. I don't have an answer. Except for the PM/deputy-PM thing - that's just creepy. ;-)
When I write, I write about fictional characters because they're the only characters I can be sure about - I can get in their heads, at least to some extent, and I can understand their lives, their motivations and their plans. And then the little buggers go off and do whatever the hell they want without me being in control at all, which is just mean. And exhilarating, I confess.
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Where is the line? Is it okay if the people aren't alive any longer? Is it okay for Doctor Who to write RPF about Agatha Christie but not JK Rowling? Is it okay with Agatha Christie as long as it's not romance? Is it okay as long as Agatha's not acting out of character (as if anyone has any idea what out of character would be?). Oy. And then there's the whole range of fic that gets written about, say, SG-1, and instead putting the actors in their place (I dunno - who knows if that's out there). That would be too weird for me, but for others it isn't. I watched and enjoyed Young Victoria (film about Queen Victoria), which is essentially RPF but was okay because it was mainstream? There's a recent film about Nelson Mandela's wife, which she doesn't support and says is nonsense - which side of the line does that sit on? Is there even a line?
My brain, it hurts.
And none of this is to say that I don't agree with you. Because essentially I do, except when I start to ask myself the kinds of questions above, at which point things start going all asplodey in my brain. It's not pretty. I don't have an answer. Except for the PM/deputy-PM thing - that's just creepy. ;-)
When I write, I write about fictional characters because they're the only characters I can be sure about - I can get in their heads, at least to some extent, and I can understand their lives, their motivations and their plans. And then the little buggers go off and do whatever the hell they want without me being in control at all, which is just mean. And exhilarating, I confess.