Peter Pan

I went to see Peter Pan the other day and quite enjoyed it. I was amused by William's link to a Christian review denouncing it as "too sexy," by which I guess they mean to shame pre-adolescents out of longing and a single kiss. Hmm. Somehow, I doubt they will be successful, but that's just me. I went looking for other Christian reviews to see if this was a serious wave and found to my surprise that there were many rational, even positive reviews, like this one. I even checked the main site for my "litmus test" reviews - Harry Potter, LOTR, and, now, Peter Pan, and it fairly well passed. I don't expect them to wholeheartedly endorse any of these (although they pretty much did LOTR) as I can respect a parents' concerns over depictions of love and violence and their priviledge to judge suitable material for their own child, but I do expect reviews that are not emotionally loaded attacks on fantasy in general. It interests me that almost all of the banned books from recent years and now all of the film morality kerfuffling has to do with adolescent-directed media. It isn't surprising, I guess, since these are often the hearts and minds that everyone is fighting for, but I wonder how much you can really change somebody's mind - even a young adult's. I'm fond of reminding people that my daughter is 5, not stupid when she looks sceptically at a particularly twisty bit of adult non-logic. It seems to me that you can offer perspectives, but probably not force them. I think the real danger lies in not teaching our children to think for themselves, but demanding that they accept whatever we say. Perhaps I am being optimistic, but I wonder what subscribing to the opposite belief means about what we think of people struggling to be grown-ups. It's an interesting tangle, rearing children, and not for the timid.

Of course, I must admit that as much as I like to read and watch angsty love stories between grown-ups damaged by adolescence (wait, isn't that all of us?), the only angsty relationship I have maintained, the only lover I have rejected and resumed with a sense of inevitability that pulls at my heart and tears at my soul is God (thanks, big guy!). There was a meme on livejournal recently asking writers, "what's your story?" - what is the story that you keep telling over and over? Although I haven't written any fiction (yet?), I knew instantly the story I like to read - "You deserve to be loved." I also love King Lear's line "Oh, reason not the need." I suspect they are related to my angsty love of God and my adolescent soul's need for affirmation. As I am unlikely to know the outcome of that tale before I die, I like to go looking for stories of acceptance and compassion. I concur with Dave that we do not live long enough to acheive true perspective or true wisdom.

bwahahahah


You are Sir Galahad.
Cheery and Go-Lucky you fight for a noble cause..
To keep your virginity, or lack there of. You
keep to yourself mostly and stand tall among
your friends. You sometimes wish though that
your friends would leave you be when temptation
is at your feet. Don't they know you deserve
just a little bit of Peril?


What Monty Python Holy Grail Quest Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Friday 5

Well, it's late, and I also posted it to the Friday 5 blog!! I have no excuse, and I have no idea whom to credit for the topic. Many apologies.

Five things about Christmas:

1. Family
2. lights - lots of lights - preferably white
3. tamales and mexican cocoa
4. cold weather - except this year austin has betrayed me!
5. calm before the storm and quiet after

Check the sidebar for other participants. Happy Holiday Season and love to you all.

Huh. I thought I was a hobbit for sure...


Numenorean


To which race of Middle Earth do you belong?
brought to you by Quizilla

I'm not a lawyer...

I don't even play one on tv. But my father-in-law is and as best he explained it to me, the sort of copyright infringement that fanfiction might be would be a civil rather than a criminal case. In civil cases, the incidents that are prosecuted are not "illegal," they are "actionable." In this sense, the activity is not "illegal" until the copyright holder brings "action" against the writer. In my mind, it runs something akin to this: If my friend comes to my house and my dog bites her, I haven't done anything illegal by owning the dog, or even by owning a dog that bites, but the incident is "actionable." She can sue me in civil court to pay for damages. She may choose not to if she thinks the bite was harmless, she may ask me to get rid of the dog, or we may work out a way to keep the dog away from her in the future. In a similar way, authors may ignore fanfiction as harmless, they may send a polite request to ask a writer to stop, or they may set down rules for what directions they do or do not want fanfiction to go (Lucas is known for this) so that it doesn't interfere with their canon plans. That is how I understand it.

A Coherent Response?

Not bloody likely. I have gone woolgathering in response to Craig's thought-provoking post about fanfiction which manages in a short time to wield so many assumptions that I disagree with that it is difficult to come up with a good starting place. It is like looking at my living room and just wishing I could burn it down and start over. I was hoping not to have to *think* between now and Jan 5, but that plan seems to have slipped through my fingers like so much sand in a sieve. Although this post is likely to be long, I must go ahead and add the disclaimer that I am likely to leave out many worthy arguments because I tire easily.

I used to think fanfic was for the mentally ill

Let me start by pointing out that I read fanfiction-and I like it. I started reading it only a bare 6 weeks ago, and I started in the Pirates of the Caribbean fandom. I have read a bit of Buffy and now what probably qualifies as volumes of Harry Potter. I am in it mostly for the sex with feeling - as I live and expect, probably, to die in the hope of a porn flick that has a sexual relationship that appeals to me - but I understand there are tons of just generic stories about what the characters did over the summer, or what have you.

The only ones I ever saw were filled with completely twisted sexual deviancy.

I read what I think I will like, and that is easy to do in fanfic because there are all kinds of nifty plot identifiers and summaries in the disclaimers. This way I am unlikely to be caught off guard by rapefic or threesomes, in which I have no interest. Either you did not bother to read the disclaimers, or you were looking through an archive of fics not to your tastes. Or you haven't yet admitted to your tastes? I refuse to speculate on the morality of people's fantasies.

It is also a huge violation of copyright law, not to mention a morally reprehensible act.

I make distinctions between moral, ethical, and legal. It was legal to crucify Christ, yet immoral and unethical. It was unethical and of questionable morality for Clinton to mess around with Monica Lewinsky, but it was legal. It is illegal to speed and to jaywalk, also to open mail that is not addressed to you, but these things will have varying ethical and moral implications depending on the circumstances. There are still places where sodomy is illegal, but I find it neither immoral nor unethical, though I understand there are those who would disagree with me.

Which leads into territory in which we may agree somewhat, but it doesn't matter because then we quickly part ways:

It is also a huge violation of copyright law

Fanfiction is an infringement of copyright laws.
It seems that it probably is according to what is written on the web and in the law, but without precedent cases, it is difficult to say what would happen in a courtroom. I have speculated some with my friends what it would mean if we were to draw out all the similarities between Lord of the Rings characters and HP characters, or for that matter look at the correlation between Gaiman's boy wizard on a journey of self discovery in The Books of Magic (published before HP and with illustrations that you would swear are renderings of Daniel Radcliffe) and Harry Potter, not the mention the coincidence in names between Rowling's work and that author who tried to sue her. Where do we draw the line between a work that is informed by an author's reading and one that is "derivative?" Craig draws the line in a different place from me and the courts have not been forced to draw the line yet. Copyright laws should protect a creator from losing income and from plagiarism. Fanfiction perpetrates neither of these crimes, and just as often the laws do not protect the creator, but the company who has bought the rights. (Just compare The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by the incomparable Alan Moore to LXG and then try to tell me with a straight face that copyright laws protect artists and the integrity of their creations. Go ahead...I haven't had my good chuckle for the day.) Rowling found fanfiction "flattering", but Warner Brothers, who owns the franchise, was "not so kind."

Not to mention morally reprehensible

But you do mention it, do you not? So I must respond that it is not morally reprehensible to take characters you love and a world that you wish you could live in and spin a story for the enjoyment of others at no profit to yourself. It is morally reprehensible to copy someone else's expression of those characters and pretend it is your own. That is why there are disclaimers at the top of fanfics identifying the creator of the characters, rather like books where each chapter begins with a quotation that sets the theme. Were the author to use the sayings without crediting them, it would be wrong, but to open a chapter of your own work with a credited quotation is both ok and flattering to the credited author.

However, much like Lenny in Of Mice and Men, the way in which they express their love can be quite wrong and hurtful and damaging.

Do I have to respond to this? Really? ::conscience poking me to speak up:: OK, I don't know of any cases where a mentally retarded fanfic writer killed rabbits and people in an attempt to first love them and then silence them. But I don't know everything. I think this turned out to be an interesting comparison since Craig would silence fanfic writers, killing their creative work in the service of the money that authors (actually publishers and toy makers) would gain. Craig claims to love writing and creating, but he would kill them rather than see them in the wrong hands. And he is prepared to identify the wrong hands. Interesting. Bolder than I am willing to be.

You're not only committing a crime, you're performing an act of negligent ethics.

Bad laws will be broken until they are repealed, and I am not convinced of the ethical violation.

If you truly respect the original author, then don't steal his ideas.

The ideas are not stolen. The characters and setting are participating in new ideas, or else it wouldn't be worth reading online. I can read the original work (and I do) for that. I respect Rowling as canon, but I have to admit that even before I discovered slash, I was deeply hurt by the inability of Snape and Harry to find common ground in Order of the Phoenix. Rowling may never allow my beloved Snape the recognition and love he deserves, but I'm Ok with that. There are enough like-minded people on the net to soothe my narrative wound. And check out Writers' university for a listing of authors and their reactions to fanfic. be sure and read the "more details" because sometimes the "notolerate" isnot the author's response, but the movie distributor's. You know those people who charge $20 for a DVD that costs pennies to produce and who lobbied so rigorously against VCRs and movie rental establishments. These people are not exactly the definition of "free market," nor are they bastions of artisitc expression.

If you write fanfic, please stop. It's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong

If you write fanfic: Please_Don't_Stop.

And if you only read fanfic but do not write it, you're only encouraging unlawful acts and providing a forum for crimes against intellect and creativity

I read and enjoy fanfic and I comment on pieces that I really like (when I am not too lazy!) I am encouraging people (mostly women) to write about what is in their hearts and minds even though there is no tangible benefit to them except my praise and gratitude.

The United States has never really respected its artists. Let's all work together to turn that around.

You will never create respect for all artists by selectively silencing the work you do not approve of.

Friday 5 avec Laura
If you are anything like me, you'll go to lengths to avoid having to go see a doctor. I actually made an honest-to-god attempt to get to see mine today, but I was rejected out cold by the Secretary From Hell (never mind the fact I can't eat or drink anything). But that's not the point... My question for this week is short and sweet:

What are your five most popular (or common, rather) home cures, Granny's Recipes or magic tricks even for curing or preventing any old disease?

Well, I don't think I know any that are not common knowledge and probably already posted, but here goes:

1. Chicken soup for feeling yucky
2. Peppermint tea for nausea
3. Eucalyptus in the shower for congestion
4. Chocolate for depression
5. Aloe vera for sunburn and scrapes

Melissa's new column is up..

here It is a reflection on marriage...with children, that captures quite vivdly the hope and despair and absurdity of it all. Quite wonderful. Also, check out the main page for my piece about Casey in "mama said" (link to austinmama in the sidebar).

Life by Consensus

I turned in project 3 of 5 today. Only two days left and I am free of the semester, until then, I am getting a good look at what it really means for me to be in grad school.

My house needs attention: the sink leaks a bucket of water a day and the washing machine began leaking during the rinse cycle this week. There is no food to speak of in the house, not, for a change, because we are broke, but because none of us has the time or energy to go to the store.

My dog needs attention: in the absence of our daily walks and training sessions, my puppy has trained himself to be wild, terrorizing the cat and children.

My children need attention: my long absences in combination with the shorter days and exciting activities of the season are making my children clingy, grumpy, tired, and generally lamenteing, "When will your school be over?"

My husband needs attention: putting in long hours both at work and at home, he is holding himself together with sheer grit. I know the feeling. It's like being lonely in a sea of people.

My blog needs attention: anyone notice that I've pretty much done only friday five entries for what seems like forever?

I actually don't need any more attention than what I have called to myself here. As it is, I would like to melt into the ground. What I need is time.

Living my life by consensus until now has meant that I could only do what everyone else's schedule would permit. I schedule and squeeze almost every minute of my unencumbered time to make the most of having me to myself. The flip of that coin is that when I am committed to something as inflexible as school, everyone's schedule MUST accomodate me. I don't like it. I have found with this new commitment that time I formerly spent reading or cleaning or shopping or chatting or scrapbooking, or even writing (for myself) is now spent working for school. Of course, that is, ostensibly, for myself, but it is also work, and it has pressed all of my free time into its service. My time to be me is shrinking, and in retaliation, I am trying to cram more in. I'll stay up later, get up earlier, do all my errands in one day, whatever it takes. About a week ago I realized that I had gone three days without changing clothes.

Only two more days.

Then I have three glorious weeks to make myself sick of...myself, and I'll be ready to go back to school.

This explains a lot


Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.

Friday Five
The five toys that have meant the most to me over the years:

1) my rub-a-dub dolly that I got for my second Christmas (I would have been just over a year old.) I found out years later that my mom gave it to the fire department.

2) my stuffed leopard that was almost my size (age 5). I cried once while spending the night at Nana's because I said I couldn't sleep without it. She offered to scratch my back until I fell asleep (which I still love) or call my mom to bring the toy. I had her call Mom. My mom accidentally gave it to the neighbor kid about 6 years ago.

3) my record set of The Hobbit. (age 5-8) I carried it around, played it all the time. Took it to bed with me, put scratches in it from overuse. Put soap in the scratches to prevent the skipping. Lost in one of our many moves. (I bought it 2 years ago on ebay.)

4) my new wireless notebook computer (age 30) I am the master of all I survey on this computer. I am thrilled beyond even my own reckoning.

5) a certain action figure possibly in my Christmas future?

Thanks to Rob for the great topic. Other friday fivers are linked in the sidebar, and welcome to the three new victims initiates.

Just in case I lose it...

I thought I'd better take this quiz so I could recognize it.


You are naturally born with a gift, whether it be
poetry, writing or song. You love beauty and
creativity, and usually are highly intelligent.
Others view you as mysterious and dreamy, yet
also bold since you hold firm in your beliefs.


What Type of Soul Do You Have ?
brought to you by Quizilla