I do think it's the fandom that brings out these more polarized and set interpretations of the character and in their way they are as warped as fanon versions
Whee! Preaching to the choir! I mean, that's absolutely what I've been complaining about recently, with reference to Remus and Hermione. Bookish!Remus is certainly a possible interpretation, but it drives me crazy that it's seemingly what most of his fans consider canon and the *most common* interpretation. And even aside from turning off non-rabid fans like myself, I think it's harmful to the fannish experience. Feuds between fans get started, not to mention unreasonable expectations of canon. If the idea of depressed!Harry (not that I don't think OotP!Harry isn't depressed, he just expresses it unusually and immaturely) hadn't stuck as a "canon" interpretation, I don't think there would be half so much resentment toward OotP.
Snape is a great example--I love him as a character but I don't hate Sirius or think their feud was as clear cut as some fans might feel it was.
Part of it, I suppose, might be loving a character *as* a character rather than a person. On both sides of it, some people don't quite seem to do that so they sugar-coat him/her giving the fans who *do* love the character as a character a bad name, seeding yet more resentment. It's weird that fandom should have so many problems since it's really all founded on a common love for something.
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Re: surfed in from daily_snitch
Date: 2004-09-01 12:59 pm (UTC)Whee! Preaching to the choir! I mean, that's absolutely what I've been complaining about recently, with reference to Remus and Hermione. Bookish!Remus is certainly a possible interpretation, but it drives me crazy that it's seemingly what most of his fans consider canon and the *most common* interpretation. And even aside from turning off non-rabid fans like myself, I think it's harmful to the fannish experience. Feuds between fans get started, not to mention unreasonable expectations of canon. If the idea of depressed!Harry (not that I don't think OotP!Harry isn't depressed, he just expresses it unusually and immaturely) hadn't stuck as a "canon" interpretation, I don't think there would be half so much resentment toward OotP.
Snape is a great example--I love him as a character but I don't hate Sirius or think their feud was as clear cut as some fans might feel it was.
Part of it, I suppose, might be loving a character *as* a character rather than a person. On both sides of it, some people don't quite seem to do that so they sugar-coat him/her giving the fans who *do* love the character as a character a bad name, seeding yet more resentment. It's weird that fandom should have so many problems since it's really all founded on a common love for something.