ext_2286 ([identity profile] cupidsbow.livejournal.com) wrote in [personal profile] elspethdixon 2006-04-17 10:56 am (UTC)

Yes, these are the issues I've long pondered too. I really don't think there is a clear line of "okay" and "not-okay", and I think part of the reason the line has become so blurred is because of the way the ideology of capitalism seems to encourage people and institutions to sell everything damn thing to us, including history and current events. It's all entertainment now.

I remember as a young adult, thinking the "dead=okay, not dead=not okay" line worked, but since then, there's been this huge explosion of "tell all" style history and celebrity reporting that just makes a nonsense of lines. I actually engage with rpf, in part, as a form of rebellion about being told what I can and can't own, and how much I'm allowed to buy of these things that should never have been made commodities.

The one thing that does make me uncomfortable is the idea that the private people behind the celebrity construct might not understand that rpf isn't about them. But within a generation, I suspect that too will change. It will become just another accepted part of culture, I'm pretty sure. Subcultures tend to get absorbed into the mainstream if they're big enough, and the fanfiction community seems to be right on the brink of that. Ironically, given how so many people think fanfic unoriginal dross, it's actually one of the few grassroots re-invigorations of literature happening in our culture at the moment. The capitalist imperative will kick in at some point (which kind of scares me), although who knows what form it will take.

Thanks for an interesting essay.

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