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I disagree
Apr. 11th, 2010 11:37 amSomeone linked to this post:Storming the Battlements or: Why the Culture of Mary Sue Shaming is Bully Culture.
It's the standard defense of Mary Sues, claiming that making fun of Mary Sue fics is misogynist and conveniently ignoring the fact that it's not about OFCs per se, it's about shitty writing. The post starts (after some insultingly obvious stuff about how Words Mean Things) with descriptions of alleged Mary Sues that turn out to be **gasp!** written by professionals! (Incidentally, why not include an example of a character from a published work that people have actually called a Mary Sue? Like Bella Swan or Ayla?) The only one I'm familiar with is Number One from Star Trek. Who appeared in exactly one episode (or two if you count The Menagerie as two episodes). A character can't be a Mary Sue if she wasn't around long enough for us to know anything about her beyond a few basic facts. Also, Author of the post? I guess I have been living under a fucking rock then, because no, I was not aware that she's been your favorite thing about Star Trek ever since you saw the movie with the hot, young actors and discovered that Star Trek existed six months ago. This lack of awareness that there are readers beyond your circle of friends might begin to explain the problem.
( Read more... )
So yeah, I'm going to keep reading and enjoying Mary Sue-bashing posts. And when people criticize me for it? I'm not going to get all whiny and threaten to quit the internet.
It's the standard defense of Mary Sues, claiming that making fun of Mary Sue fics is misogynist and conveniently ignoring the fact that it's not about OFCs per se, it's about shitty writing. The post starts (after some insultingly obvious stuff about how Words Mean Things) with descriptions of alleged Mary Sues that turn out to be **gasp!** written by professionals! (Incidentally, why not include an example of a character from a published work that people have actually called a Mary Sue? Like Bella Swan or Ayla?) The only one I'm familiar with is Number One from Star Trek. Who appeared in exactly one episode (or two if you count The Menagerie as two episodes). A character can't be a Mary Sue if she wasn't around long enough for us to know anything about her beyond a few basic facts. Also, Author of the post? I guess I have been living under a fucking rock then, because no, I was not aware that she's been your favorite thing about Star Trek ever since you saw the movie with the hot, young actors and discovered that Star Trek existed six months ago. This lack of awareness that there are readers beyond your circle of friends might begin to explain the problem.
( Read more... )
So yeah, I'm going to keep reading and enjoying Mary Sue-bashing posts. And when people criticize me for it? I'm not going to get all whiny and threaten to quit the internet.
