That's always what interests me too--why do I like/hate this character so much?
Yes, that IS interesting. On several levels. First thing is, that who you love/hate and what reasons you have for feeling that way probably says something about you and it's interesting to ponder what exactly that might be. Second, it's interesting from a writer's (and readers!) POV as well, because you figure out what works for you with a character and what doesn't, and that in itself can probably help you along in your own writing. It's like figuring out why you love/hate a certain story -you realise what to avoid and what can help you out.
But that's very different from making sweeping and condescending generalisations about readers with opposing loves/hates.
I have a friend who is a Spike fan and I'll never forget the first time we talked about it and realized we had such similar experiences--they're different characters, but we could completely understand each other anyway
Which is not surprising at all. I was a spike-fan too in BtVS-fandom, and that's where I first got immensily tired of the words "redemption" and "redeemed". But at least, when it came to Spike, I could acknowledge that the words were accurate and suiting, no matter what interpretation you had of his character.
I belonged to the section of fans who tended to view everything supernatural, like vampirism, as symbollic of problems we face in the real world, and thus I found it a bit absurd when Spike was constantly compared to a serial killer, because I couldn't see vampires as symbols of serial killers (in that case the whole storyline with Angel -the vampire with a "soul"- would not have made sense to me), but rather as drug addicts, or other human beings with a destructive life-style. But still, I realised that other people might regard the show more literary, and in that case, yes, Spike had killed thousands of people, so at least there were serious crimes to discuss, and the word-choice "redemption" didn't seem unfit for the discussion, even though I got tired of it.
Then I moved on to HP-fandom, and imagine my complete mind-boggle when I see the exact same redemption-discussion here -complete with the argument that his fans are just shallow and stupid and in love with the actor- for Draco, a character who's worst crime is, well mocking. I think the word "redemption" has lost all meaning in online fandom, and wonder who it will be applied to next.
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Date: 2004-08-31 08:38 am (UTC)Yes, that IS interesting. On several levels. First thing is, that who you love/hate and what reasons you have for feeling that way probably says something about you and it's interesting to ponder what exactly that might be. Second, it's interesting from a writer's (and readers!) POV as well, because you figure out what works for you with a character and what doesn't, and that in itself can probably help you along in your own writing. It's like figuring out why you love/hate a certain story -you realise what to avoid and what can help you out.
But that's very different from making sweeping and condescending generalisations about readers with opposing loves/hates.
I have a friend who is a Spike fan and I'll never forget the first time we talked about it and realized we had such similar experiences--they're different characters, but we could completely understand each other anyway
Which is not surprising at all. I was a spike-fan too in BtVS-fandom, and that's where I first got immensily tired of the words "redemption" and "redeemed". But at least, when it came to Spike, I could acknowledge that the words were accurate and suiting, no matter what interpretation you had of his character.
I belonged to the section of fans who tended to view everything supernatural, like vampirism, as symbollic of problems we face in the real world, and thus I found it a bit absurd when Spike was constantly compared to a serial killer, because I couldn't see vampires as symbols of serial killers (in that case the whole storyline with Angel -the vampire with a "soul"- would not have made sense to me), but rather as drug addicts, or other human beings with a destructive life-style. But still, I realised that other people might regard the show more literary, and in that case, yes, Spike had killed thousands of people, so at least there were serious crimes to discuss, and the word-choice "redemption" didn't seem unfit for the discussion, even though I got tired of it.
Then I moved on to HP-fandom, and imagine my complete mind-boggle when I see the exact same redemption-discussion here -complete with the argument that his fans are just shallow and stupid and in love with the actor- for Draco, a character who's worst crime is, well mocking. I think the word "redemption" has lost all meaning in online fandom, and wonder who it will be applied to next.