This whole fan fiction thing, with copyright discussions and everything, has had me thinking lately: what is original? I believe I mentioned, at some point, the "original work" in comparison to fanfiction based on said work. I know this is somewhat cliché, and has been discussed before, but how can we really define an original work? Let's look at Harry Potter, since that's what we've been discussing. I haven't read most of Rowling's books, but I'm guessing that many of her story lines are "original," in that she didn't base them particularly on any other stories. However, much of the content that fills her books is borrowed from myths and folklore. Many of the novels I like to read are based at least in part on fairytales and the like. How do we draw the line? Why is it ok for Rowling to draw heavily on other stories, but more questionable for someone else to write a story drawing on her books for their characters or what-not?
I don't expect an answer will be forthcoming on this one any time soon...
Monday, April 7, 2008
A conclusion of sorts
So what do we do with all of this? All of the photos, drawings, stories, music, videos, and animations? Are these re-iterations the effect that the internet has on literature? I would conclude that, yes, this is the case. The internet is a highly tribalizing form. McLuhan always warns/lauds about the 'wave' that electric technology would have on society due to it's increase in speed. The internet - not the internet of the 1990s but of the 21st century - is the current apotheosis of that speed up. To expand on Paulo Virilio a little bit, I would argue that it is not the city that becomes the 'district' to the 'meta-world' but the computer terminal. Through the computer and the internet, people can edit and remake anything (limited possibly by the sophistication of policing) and put it up on the internet. Harry Potter is no exception. As you can see, fanfiction goes beyond merely writing stories around the original literature (although it is a significant portion of it) but extends into any media that a fan can create. Some can even achieve a level of fame (or infamy) from their creations.
If this blog is any indication of what the internet is capable of doing to literature, I would say that the effect of the internet on literature is to transform a highly 'hot' medium into an intensely 'cool' participatory one - where participation is the very attempt at creating something in relation to the primary source.
McLuhan would probably shun me for wanting to bring an ethical standpoint to it all, but I would also argue that this transformation is a good thing. Literature still 'fragments' the readers with their different reading and interpretations of the text but that leads to the diversity of recreations in different media that they then can host on the internet.
Fin!
If this blog is any indication of what the internet is capable of doing to literature, I would say that the effect of the internet on literature is to transform a highly 'hot' medium into an intensely 'cool' participatory one - where participation is the very attempt at creating something in relation to the primary source.
McLuhan would probably shun me for wanting to bring an ethical standpoint to it all, but I would also argue that this transformation is a good thing. Literature still 'fragments' the readers with their different reading and interpretations of the text but that leads to the diversity of recreations in different media that they then can host on the internet.
Fin!
Your ship's come in
There is some really pretty shipping art out there! You definitely have to look for it though.
Sturgeon's Law, right?
The titles of these last three posts contain the links to where I found the art.
A PG version of that last picture
PS: Be thankful I did not share the too-graphic pencil drawing I found of this shipping. Carrie is now scarred for life. Or at least the rest of the night.
Harry P. on Second L.
The rumours are true. It is now possible for anybody to visit Diagon Alley or Hogwarts Castle.. If they are a computer-rendered avatar in Second Life. That's right, Hogwarts is a searchable location in the Second Life world for fans to come together to break down geography and barriers even more than before. That is, if you understand how to control yourself in the virtual world. Alas, it was difficult for a poor nOOb like myself who found Diagon Alley after a little effort. When you first transport into the SecondLife world of Harry Potter you have the chance to get sorted by a conveniently located sorting hat. Except, I couldn't figure out how to do that. Then, you can wander around the wizarding shopping alley and buy... capes or magic wands. The whole "alleyway" kind of looked like a marketplace in Aladdin actually. So that was a bit strange. A conversation with another Harry Potter fan went like this: "Do you like Harry Potter?" to a brief: "Uhhh... I'm sitting in a Harry Potter sim. That's a pretty obvious answer." Touché Salores Ghia whose avatar looks a bit like a skunk with an elf face! After trying to find Hogwarts Castle I was unsuccessful and my computer was beginning to lag and glitch. In any case, the Harry Potter world has entered Second Life so fans have even more ways to connect with each other. If connecting to the internet involved wearing goggles imagine how much more real it would feel! Perhaps someone will invent that technology soon.
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