Henry Jenkins article Star
Trek Rerun, Reread, Rewritten: Fan Writing as Textual Poaching really
interested me in the reading of Stark Trek super fans being active viewers and
participants in the ever-growing and maintaining of the popularity of Star
Trek. I must admit that I found the
documentary we watched, Trekkies,
downright hilarious. As someone who
really gets into being a fan, I’ve cried twice upon seeing Celine Dion and
finally getting her autograph, the level of fandom shown in the documentary was
definitely much more intense that anything I’ve ever experienced. What I found most intriguing about Jenkins'
article was his grounding in the fact that simply being a fan, even a “crazed
Trekkie” is not sufficient in explaining and understanding the intricacies of
fan culture.
Jenkins concept of super fans/fan culture “poaching” was
fascinating, especially in relation to the Kirk/Spock fiction stories, the
ideas about character rape, and the kind of fan cultivated erotica that was
mentioned in the documentary. I am a fan
of Star Trek, I use to watch Next Generation with my mother and I love all the
Next Generation films. However, I had
never even heard about this kind of erotic fan fiction based on the characters
of Star Trek. I think it’s a bit strange,
especially since it’s based on a projection of meaning and experience that was
not really a part of the show, but if it makes people connect with the
characters and the show more then ok. I mean, is it that much different than
say those Fabio romance books? However, I
was honestly taken aback by the use of the term character “rape” as being
indicative of a violation of the true nature of a character based on the
show. It’s such a loaded word, with
malice, pain, and violence attached to it that I find it hard to believe that
any re-imagining of any set of characters could really constitute using the
phrase. What is also interesting about
this idea is that it’s based around the concept that no fan has the authority
or agency to assign qualities, actions, or characteristics onto the characters
that were never a part of the original series because it gives fans too much
freedom to essentially reject what is part of the actual aired material. However, what makes this erotica so
uncomfortable compared to say people further developing one of the “alien”
languages that goes on to express and use much more vocabulary than was ever
created for within the context of the show?
And if fandom is all about participation and taking a series or subject
matter past it’s original creation then what makes the erotica so off-putting
and taboo? Is it simply because it’s erotica or because there are roots in
homo-erotica? Not to stay too stuck in this whole “erotica” discussion but it
definitely has me wondering why there are limits on where extensions of fan
culture are allowed to exist and who makes those limitations?
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