~~ The Draco problem revisited (again!)
Sep. 10th, 2004 03:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reenkaOne reason I really can't stand a lot of the modern critical approach to fiction is because the process of framing a story in a rec/review often ruins it for me. I can't stand being made to see a story in a certain way, in terms of what it should mean, and I don't like it when the author themselves does it (because that's telling vs. showing), but I really hate it when a critic/reviewer's response to a piece is basically telling the reader how to respond by outlining that fic's emotional significance and general standing in relationship to other literature and various meta aspects of the field.
I can't decide whether this makes me a 'bad' English major, or just really uptight.
I may love a story, but I need to retain a complex relationship to it-- I need to keep my own response fluid and unfettered, to keep any emotional significance at least partly submerged and unconscious, because as soon as it starts being used and compared to other readers' emotional responses, I feel it's being used against me.
I genuinely believe that to really read with your whole brain, it's best to allow one's responses to occur-- emotional and intellectual-- without a built up context of outside, imposed meaning. It's almost dishonest that way, going into a story with expectations and needs that the story should either satisfy or leave empty. I feel that's putting too much of a weight on the reader's power and -their- needs rather than letting the story's intrinsic worth assert itself and win the reader over in whatever fashion.
This is why, partly, I do review directly-- give feedback to the author-- but I don't really review publically, with the intent to influence other readers. I may link to fics, but I cannot imagine that others' responses should be (could be?) anything like mine, or that others could or should see what I do in a fic. I know that this outside 'framing influence' would threaten to ruin my own chance at enjoyment, just because there will be that wall of expectation and pre-made analysis lying between me and the raw essence of the fic.
With something like Shakespeare and other classics, I feel it's different because there are so many voices out there that it's a chorus, and no one opinion has to dominate. Similarly, I don't mind talking about HP, because there are simply so many people talking about the books in every which way. But in less 'public' works, I feel I need that privacy-- that sanctuary, that almost sacred bond between me and the text. A reviewer (when read pre-reading) becomes something like a voyeur, almost, their whispered words making me see things that may or may not be there. However, the real 'violation' of the one-on-one between me and the fic comes when the review aims to make me -feel- things that may or may not be there.
I'm not saying 'reviewing is bad and evil and should be stopped'-- god, that would be stupid-- I'm just saying that personally, a certain kind of review, which aims to critically frame the story in a certain emotional context, ruins the private pleasure of reading for me almost entirely. That's just me, though.
~~
I really want to stop talking about H/D. Perhaps I should join a twelve-step program: how to stop obsessing, for the Perpetually Brainwash Resistant. Hmmm. I did have plans to talk about whether it's better to write characters one loves or hates (see, a nice abstract subject). Woe. Am hopeless t00b.
Anyway, the question of 'can Harry love canon!Draco' has been bugging me the past few days. Basically... I don't think so (and am ambivalent about how I feel about that). Typical ice-prince fanon!Draco wouldn't fare much better though; if anything, I have an intuition that Harry would hate him -more- because he's just so larger than life and over-inflated and fire-retardant and all of that. I mean... sure, there are 'cool' people Harry likes in a distant sort of 'oh, right' manner (the twins, I guess), but his friends are rather 'normal' as far as he can tell, I think.
What I'm saying is, I don't agree that Harry needs to build up anyone he likes/loves on a pedestal, not entirely-- I do think he wants to admire and respect them, but that's different. I think he likes feeling like they're great (like Sirius-- it's not that there are -reasons- for him to be great, he just is, to Harry), but not being overwhelmed by someone's sheer haughty cold grandeur or whatever. Then again, the truth is, fanon!Draco is clearly a fantasy extrapolation of what canon!Draco wishes he was (but isn't), so the trick here would be to ask what -Harry- wants, not what -Draco- wants. Since I'm pretty sure Draco wouldn't mind being his fanon self, whereas Harry likes actual sincerity and what he sees as integrity in human beings, as long as it's not over the top dramatics like with Cho.
Sometimes I think it's hilarious that I go on about wanting to read what I could believe was 'canonish' Draco in fic, especially when I realized that I don't actually -ship- canon!Draco with Harry (who doesn't really have more than one version in my head). I imagine lots of other people feel the same, though they say they ship H/D.
It's just very, VERY hard to write Harry wanting Draco (as is) convincingly, and not because of hate at all, but simply because Harry -disapproves- of Draco on a basic level. It's not that he loves or hates-- he just doesn't like him or respect him as a human being, I think. Draco is whiny, self-centered, probably clingy, nasty to people Harry likes & respects, weak and generally annoying in a thousand little ways. (This is Harry's pov, btw, not necessarily my own.)
So what to do? I'm starting to really feel like Harry wouldn't -like- Draco or accept him 'as is' (Ani DiFranco style) even if he -loved- and wanted to shag him senseless.
Basically, 'the problem with Draco' isn't that he's a 'snarky bastard' or an 'asshole' or a 'bad boy'-- that, Harry could definitely get over and accept. He's not the 'Big Bad'-- he's the annoying prat who's as spoiled as Dudley, as loud as Colin Creevey, and as stupidly prejudiced as his bastard father. What, exactly, is Harry going to like? In canon, he's even -wittier- than Draco, as far as I can tell.
Most people agree that H/D is what one might call a 'fanon' rather than 'canon' pairing-- meaning that its basic premise is drawn from the characters' -potential- rather than their actual dynamic. So in a way, writing H/D fully 'true to canon', starting from 'the beginning' (as I like to see done) can be seen as a form of shooting oneself in the foot before one started to actually move.
So... canon!H/D is kind of a sad joke (from Harry's pov-- canon Draco, I'm semi-convinced wanks over Potter more than he cares to remember, but that's probably my kink talking). It's a really frustrating realization for an H/D writer: (what if) I don't ship H/D in canon at all??... And yes, I'm that much of a Harry ho, what can I say. As far as canon!Draco goes-- well, I'm sorry for him & sometimes find him cute & sometimes funny, and sometimes even admirable in a twisted way. Mostly, I think he's a pathetic wanker who needs to grow up. And yes, that's partly my inner!Harry speaking, but so it goes regardless. Malfoy needs to get a grip on something other than himself-- or perhaps I mean the opposite-- what Malfoy needs to finally get a grip on himself, but for real.
For 'convincing' H/D (funny how I say that since I'm a shipper, and we're supposed to be 'already convinced', but I'm just funny I guess), on some level one has little choice but to 'mess with' canon. It's just a question of doing it 'right', as far as this pairing goes. Essentially, it all revolves around moving Draco forward in his development to make Harry see him as more of an equal, because it seems to me that that's what Harry would want.
So I guess I understand the conundrum that drives all the rampant fics out there about cool-assed-Master-of-Slytherin!Draco. I mean, if he's -cool-, I guess one could say he 'deserves' Harry (which I personally have problems with as a concept). The issue, to me, isn't who 'deserves' whom, but rather what the people involved want and need from a partner and whether a particular relationship can fulfill their needs. The idea of canon!Draco fulfilling Harry's needs makes me laugh (meanly). I'm sorry, Malfoy. You know I love you, but. Yeah.
Basically, it's just that I think snarky-sexy-cool!Draco fics go way overboard but still vaguely in the 'right' direction for a successful relationship to develop (whatever -that- means-- I suppose to me, it means a fulfilling one) between Harry and Draco. And it's this need to somehow develop Draco that appears to make people think they've got a free ticket to change his whole personality, which is ridiculous. Also arguably JKR herself has done it, ahahah. Sorry, random snark.
All Draco really needs is a good measure of self-confidence and self-awareness (no small goals, of course), because his utter lack of those two things combine to ensure Harry will never change his mind about him, and Draco, for his part, will never be secure enough in his own status as an individual to see Potter as just another boy, albeit one he loves/wants. Anyway, not seeing Potter as the bane of his existence and the reason for all his failures would also help.
I freely admit all this is mostly nothing but a rehash of things I've said before, but I just think some of these concepts are finally -solidifying- (after all this time, too!) in my head into a coherent whole. I'm finally seeing Harry's all-important motivations here rather clearly-- and it's not a pretty picture. All this would probably only seem significant if you know just how elusive and fuzzy his characterization and 'stand' in their dynamic had generally been to me in my own writing.
All those eons ago, I'd started out with a -way- vocal Draco muse which has almost completely dominated nearly all my H/D efforts, whether or not they were in Draco's pov. I -knew-, to the marrow of my bones, where my Draco was coming from, and Harry was sort of left to adjust and react (in one way or another) to his presence. It was always 'will Harry give in??' before, whereas now it's a more mutual problem, which might actually help my writing. Maybe.
I just realized that even if Harry 'gave in' and started a relationship with Draco, the deeper problem wouldn't be solved at all. Not if Draco remained a stupid whiny prat as far as Harry could see-- and love/lust doesn't necessarily have to mean seeing the person through rose-colored glasses, but especially in this case. *sigh*
So yeah. It really is up to Draco; and I'm starting to appreciate the merits of the transition if Draco's step forward occurred before Harry 'noticed' him, because doing H/D and Draco-transformation -concurrently- is-- well, it's a nightmare. Uh, very difficult, I mean. Makes my poor brain huuuurrrrt. Well, until I give up and go read/write H/D porn, anyway.
~~
Also, because, it needs to be said:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
stellabelle wrote another hilarious H/D fic which made me snort & giggle & coo (alternatively, but sometimes at the same time). It is truly a Very Special Thing for a story to warm the cockles of my (dirty slapper!) heart just so. Awwwwwww. (I just can't take unfunny fluff, is all.)
See, the thing is-- I really don't have the emotional energy to read that much H/D anymore unless I 'trust' you as an author (and often even if I do). Even with the authors I adore... the 'H/D place' in my heart is... sore. I'm being careful, maybe, so I don't snap like I did this past winter and read -no- H/D for like, four months.stellabelle's fic is sort of... restorative in that regard. <3
I can't decide whether this makes me a 'bad' English major, or just really uptight.
I may love a story, but I need to retain a complex relationship to it-- I need to keep my own response fluid and unfettered, to keep any emotional significance at least partly submerged and unconscious, because as soon as it starts being used and compared to other readers' emotional responses, I feel it's being used against me.
I genuinely believe that to really read with your whole brain, it's best to allow one's responses to occur-- emotional and intellectual-- without a built up context of outside, imposed meaning. It's almost dishonest that way, going into a story with expectations and needs that the story should either satisfy or leave empty. I feel that's putting too much of a weight on the reader's power and -their- needs rather than letting the story's intrinsic worth assert itself and win the reader over in whatever fashion.
This is why, partly, I do review directly-- give feedback to the author-- but I don't really review publically, with the intent to influence other readers. I may link to fics, but I cannot imagine that others' responses should be (could be?) anything like mine, or that others could or should see what I do in a fic. I know that this outside 'framing influence' would threaten to ruin my own chance at enjoyment, just because there will be that wall of expectation and pre-made analysis lying between me and the raw essence of the fic.
With something like Shakespeare and other classics, I feel it's different because there are so many voices out there that it's a chorus, and no one opinion has to dominate. Similarly, I don't mind talking about HP, because there are simply so many people talking about the books in every which way. But in less 'public' works, I feel I need that privacy-- that sanctuary, that almost sacred bond between me and the text. A reviewer (when read pre-reading) becomes something like a voyeur, almost, their whispered words making me see things that may or may not be there. However, the real 'violation' of the one-on-one between me and the fic comes when the review aims to make me -feel- things that may or may not be there.
I'm not saying 'reviewing is bad and evil and should be stopped'-- god, that would be stupid-- I'm just saying that personally, a certain kind of review, which aims to critically frame the story in a certain emotional context, ruins the private pleasure of reading for me almost entirely. That's just me, though.
~~
I really want to stop talking about H/D. Perhaps I should join a twelve-step program: how to stop obsessing, for the Perpetually Brainwash Resistant. Hmmm. I did have plans to talk about whether it's better to write characters one loves or hates (see, a nice abstract subject). Woe. Am hopeless t00b.
Anyway, the question of 'can Harry love canon!Draco' has been bugging me the past few days. Basically... I don't think so (and am ambivalent about how I feel about that). Typical ice-prince fanon!Draco wouldn't fare much better though; if anything, I have an intuition that Harry would hate him -more- because he's just so larger than life and over-inflated and fire-retardant and all of that. I mean... sure, there are 'cool' people Harry likes in a distant sort of 'oh, right' manner (the twins, I guess), but his friends are rather 'normal' as far as he can tell, I think.
What I'm saying is, I don't agree that Harry needs to build up anyone he likes/loves on a pedestal, not entirely-- I do think he wants to admire and respect them, but that's different. I think he likes feeling like they're great (like Sirius-- it's not that there are -reasons- for him to be great, he just is, to Harry), but not being overwhelmed by someone's sheer haughty cold grandeur or whatever. Then again, the truth is, fanon!Draco is clearly a fantasy extrapolation of what canon!Draco wishes he was (but isn't), so the trick here would be to ask what -Harry- wants, not what -Draco- wants. Since I'm pretty sure Draco wouldn't mind being his fanon self, whereas Harry likes actual sincerity and what he sees as integrity in human beings, as long as it's not over the top dramatics like with Cho.
Sometimes I think it's hilarious that I go on about wanting to read what I could believe was 'canonish' Draco in fic, especially when I realized that I don't actually -ship- canon!Draco with Harry (who doesn't really have more than one version in my head). I imagine lots of other people feel the same, though they say they ship H/D.
It's just very, VERY hard to write Harry wanting Draco (as is) convincingly, and not because of hate at all, but simply because Harry -disapproves- of Draco on a basic level. It's not that he loves or hates-- he just doesn't like him or respect him as a human being, I think. Draco is whiny, self-centered, probably clingy, nasty to people Harry likes & respects, weak and generally annoying in a thousand little ways. (This is Harry's pov, btw, not necessarily my own.)
So what to do? I'm starting to really feel like Harry wouldn't -like- Draco or accept him 'as is' (Ani DiFranco style) even if he -loved- and wanted to shag him senseless.
Basically, 'the problem with Draco' isn't that he's a 'snarky bastard' or an 'asshole' or a 'bad boy'-- that, Harry could definitely get over and accept. He's not the 'Big Bad'-- he's the annoying prat who's as spoiled as Dudley, as loud as Colin Creevey, and as stupidly prejudiced as his bastard father. What, exactly, is Harry going to like? In canon, he's even -wittier- than Draco, as far as I can tell.
Most people agree that H/D is what one might call a 'fanon' rather than 'canon' pairing-- meaning that its basic premise is drawn from the characters' -potential- rather than their actual dynamic. So in a way, writing H/D fully 'true to canon', starting from 'the beginning' (as I like to see done) can be seen as a form of shooting oneself in the foot before one started to actually move.
So... canon!H/D is kind of a sad joke (from Harry's pov-- canon Draco, I'm semi-convinced wanks over Potter more than he cares to remember, but that's probably my kink talking). It's a really frustrating realization for an H/D writer: (what if) I don't ship H/D in canon at all??... And yes, I'm that much of a Harry ho, what can I say. As far as canon!Draco goes-- well, I'm sorry for him & sometimes find him cute & sometimes funny, and sometimes even admirable in a twisted way. Mostly, I think he's a pathetic wanker who needs to grow up. And yes, that's partly my inner!Harry speaking, but so it goes regardless. Malfoy needs to get a grip on something other than himself-- or perhaps I mean the opposite-- what Malfoy needs to finally get a grip on himself, but for real.
For 'convincing' H/D (funny how I say that since I'm a shipper, and we're supposed to be 'already convinced', but I'm just funny I guess), on some level one has little choice but to 'mess with' canon. It's just a question of doing it 'right', as far as this pairing goes. Essentially, it all revolves around moving Draco forward in his development to make Harry see him as more of an equal, because it seems to me that that's what Harry would want.
So I guess I understand the conundrum that drives all the rampant fics out there about cool-assed-Master-of-Slytherin!Draco. I mean, if he's -cool-, I guess one could say he 'deserves' Harry (which I personally have problems with as a concept). The issue, to me, isn't who 'deserves' whom, but rather what the people involved want and need from a partner and whether a particular relationship can fulfill their needs. The idea of canon!Draco fulfilling Harry's needs makes me laugh (meanly). I'm sorry, Malfoy. You know I love you, but. Yeah.
Basically, it's just that I think snarky-sexy-cool!Draco fics go way overboard but still vaguely in the 'right' direction for a successful relationship to develop (whatever -that- means-- I suppose to me, it means a fulfilling one) between Harry and Draco. And it's this need to somehow develop Draco that appears to make people think they've got a free ticket to change his whole personality, which is ridiculous. Also arguably JKR herself has done it, ahahah. Sorry, random snark.
All Draco really needs is a good measure of self-confidence and self-awareness (no small goals, of course), because his utter lack of those two things combine to ensure Harry will never change his mind about him, and Draco, for his part, will never be secure enough in his own status as an individual to see Potter as just another boy, albeit one he loves/wants. Anyway, not seeing Potter as the bane of his existence and the reason for all his failures would also help.
I freely admit all this is mostly nothing but a rehash of things I've said before, but I just think some of these concepts are finally -solidifying- (after all this time, too!) in my head into a coherent whole. I'm finally seeing Harry's all-important motivations here rather clearly-- and it's not a pretty picture. All this would probably only seem significant if you know just how elusive and fuzzy his characterization and 'stand' in their dynamic had generally been to me in my own writing.
All those eons ago, I'd started out with a -way- vocal Draco muse which has almost completely dominated nearly all my H/D efforts, whether or not they were in Draco's pov. I -knew-, to the marrow of my bones, where my Draco was coming from, and Harry was sort of left to adjust and react (in one way or another) to his presence. It was always 'will Harry give in??' before, whereas now it's a more mutual problem, which might actually help my writing. Maybe.
I just realized that even if Harry 'gave in' and started a relationship with Draco, the deeper problem wouldn't be solved at all. Not if Draco remained a stupid whiny prat as far as Harry could see-- and love/lust doesn't necessarily have to mean seeing the person through rose-colored glasses, but especially in this case. *sigh*
So yeah. It really is up to Draco; and I'm starting to appreciate the merits of the transition if Draco's step forward occurred before Harry 'noticed' him, because doing H/D and Draco-transformation -concurrently- is-- well, it's a nightmare. Uh, very difficult, I mean. Makes my poor brain huuuurrrrt. Well, until I give up and go read/write H/D porn, anyway.
~~
Also, because, it needs to be said:
stellabelle wrote another hilarious H/D fic which made me snort & giggle & coo (alternatively, but sometimes at the same time). It is truly a Very Special Thing for a story to warm the cockles of my (dirty slapper!) heart just so. Awwwwwww. (I just can't take unfunny fluff, is all.)See, the thing is-- I really don't have the emotional energy to read that much H/D anymore unless I 'trust' you as an author (and often even if I do). Even with the authors I adore... the 'H/D place' in my heart is... sore. I'm being careful, maybe, so I don't snap like I did this past winter and read -no- H/D for like, four months.
stellabelle's fic is sort of... restorative in that regard. <3
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Re: Geeky anime stuff
Date: 2004-09-14 01:09 am (UTC)Utena doubts, but briefly, after a calculated hard shove, and very quickly regains her footing (with very little "proof" from Anthy--which is what I find disturbing, but also fascinating about the show, and why my weak self loves the Anthy reciprocation of the movie)
Draco, well I can see many possibilities for him, just like for Harry, but it's still in our visions of the future and not how they are now. Anthy isn't about that she *would* sacrifice, but that she *did.* (would Draco really die for his Father? I'm not sure. Malfoy pere is the god that protects and must be satisfied, but like any parent--who does not need protection. For the Father not to be perfect would be a betrayal, a repellent weakness.)
And I can see Draco as slightly fem, but the one aspect he will definitely remain solidly male in is in his lack of convoluted female subtleties. He's simple like almost all men (careful you don't make him a sue yourself ^_~), no matter what he imagines of himself.
Um, not that I think you are saying that Utena=HP, but just had to get my thoughts out.
You are referencing gnosticism. Head hurts. Utena was so... symbolic and grand and meta. Harry Potter is the pumpkin juice and Christmas presents and dirt under your fingernails. JKR's iffy use of themes/symbolism only makes me want to focus on the concrete things more. And also, in Utena, there were no adults. I think you are devaluing the HP adults a bit.
Re: Geeky anime stuff
Date: 2004-09-14 02:03 am (UTC)I was reaching, yeah, but as you said, it wasn't a literal or direct parallel. I just would like to exlore themes about adolescence as a metaphor for revolution and growth as a mean to peace and truth... err. I'd need to get into pagan and/or zen stuff here, and I am not sure you're interested in hearing. Anthy's & Utena's their strenght is not precisely in the individual, but rather in their Ouroboros, in their combination - that's what I meant when I said H/D as Utena/Anthy, not that there is any exact material correspondence between the characters.
The sacred feminine - ahah, I do know I project stuff on Draco, but in this case it's not me, I swear. The sacred feminine is a symbol, which uses the word "feminine" as opposed to "male" not to hint as the vagina, per se (hey, Utena is the male is the blade is the driver, and yet she's rather girly at times) but mostly as the other driving force in the universe besides aggressive strenght/war. Acceptance, sacrifice, balance.
... which Draco is, uhm, a bit (just a bit) distant from. If you go by appareances. But apparences are deceiving? Mostly I take Draco's willingness to attack (and his attitude in general) Harry after his Dad's been thrown in jail as the sign he's blind (or unconditional) when it comes to avenge him. There's just something about him that speaks to me more of dicility than aggression. When in love. Or, I could see him easily take that direction - I'm not really arguing this is where H/D *is going*, I just think it'd be an interesting place (... maybe only for me) to bring them.
And I am not the most loyal writer when it comes to canon. I love adding my own layers to the canon-platform, even when it means I have to subvert. JKR sort of when it comes to symbols mostly because they serve the plot and not the opposite. In the end, it's either (as you do) focus on the pumpkin juice or try to create your own order out of her chaos.
Yeah, it's true I don't value the adults in HP a lot. The only adults worth their name seem to be dead. The others all seem to have failed at growing somehow. Then there's the ones who didn't fail, are adults, but also villains / creepy authority presences (Lucius, Dumbledore, Voldemort...)
Re: Geeky anime stuff
Date: 2004-09-14 09:00 am (UTC)Man. <3333333333333333333333333
That made me happy. *sigh* Listening to you talk about Harry keeps me grounded and gives me something to reach for at the same time <3<3<3 Omg pumpkin juice reminds me of Ivy's Harry, too. Wah. <3
the evils of populism
Date: 2004-09-14 12:42 pm (UTC)VOTE POTTER FOR MINISTRER OF MAGIC 2005! A TRUE GRYFFINDOR FAMILY MAN.
I rest my case.
(seekersidethorn can't post - Conspiracy! I knew.)
Re: the evils of populism
Date: 2004-09-14 12:52 pm (UTC)I didn't think of it that way at all. It's that he's a -boy-, not a man. He's just a scruffy, messy, dirty boy <3
Re: the evils of populism
Date: 2004-09-14 12:53 pm (UTC)Re: the evils of populism
Date: 2004-09-14 12:56 pm (UTC)When I'm not in Harry's head and see him from the outside, I guess I do go into 'WOOBIE!!1' mode, though I know he's not. *sigh* I just. I mean, I cuddle his plushie, what do you expect from me -.-
Re: the evils of populism
Date: 2004-09-14 02:45 pm (UTC)Re: the evils of populism
Date: 2004-09-15 01:35 am (UTC)(this spam brought to you by my aching tummy)
Re: the evils of populism
Date: 2004-09-14 02:45 pm (UTC)Re: the evils of populism
Date: 2004-09-14 02:46 pm (UTC)Re: the evils of populism
Date: 2004-09-14 02:49 pm (UTC)(squeeeeeeeeeeee!!!1)
...You should totally post these on your lj. totally :D
Re: the evils of populism
Date: 2004-09-14 03:00 pm (UTC)Re: the evils of populism
Date: 2004-09-14 03:03 pm (UTC)Re: the evils of populism
Date: 2004-09-14 03:27 pm (UTC)... dude, remember that idea we had for a h/d community? can we call it Little Green Men? ahaha.
Re: the evils of populism
Date: 2004-09-14 03:41 pm (UTC)Re: the evils of populism
Date: 2004-09-14 03:47 pm (UTC)i have never felt mulder was my icon SO MUCH before. he would totally ship them. he so would. and with the whole "monsters/aliens" theme in XFiles... and that was all HIM. i love mulder so much. he needs to be my sekrit internet boyfriend.
i sent email did you get it?
Re: the evils of populism
Date: 2004-09-14 03:49 pm (UTC)(and you have a cute hat!!1)
Re: the evils of populism
Date: 2004-09-14 03:50 pm (UTC)Re: the evils of populism
Date: 2004-09-14 03:51 pm (UTC)Re: the evils of populism
Date: 2004-09-14 04:00 pm (UTC)hehehe. <3
Re: the evils of populism
From:Re: the evils of populism
From:...the truth wants YOU
Date: 2004-09-14 03:54 pm (UTC)I love Mulder too :D :D He's hard not to love, man. Ahhh, Mulder/Scully <3<3<3<3 I was so infatuated with their romance when I was like, 14-15 and wanted to be an astrophysicist... heeee and work for NASA.... or possibly for the FBI..... Though I dunno if he's the 'cares about romance' type.
We were talking about monsters in my Nordic Legends class, and it coming from the word 'monstrum', which is Latin for demonstration--> to show. Meaning, a sign, or a 'sign from god'. Thusly, in the Middle Ages, the people who were a little bit strange or deformed were listened to (as Jesters, say), because the things they said were a Sign From God. A Jester could say it, because he is a Monster, and thusly Marked by God. (I thought it was funny how this related to the needle bit in my fic, ahahahaha.) I was like, OMG THE LOVE <33333 The Jester & the Monster are some of my favorite themes in literature (especially the Jester in Oscar Wilde's fairy tale...) and I knew there was a connection somehow. :D :D :D :D
Siiiigh. I mean, not that Draco is the Holy Fool, not really, but. AHAHAH THIS TIES INTO MY WIP YET AGAIN NOW :D
Re: ...the truth wants YOU
Date: 2004-09-14 04:10 pm (UTC)man, i just couldn't stand scully by the end of season 7. i'm not even sure i want to see season 8. i mean, it's not just the absence of mulder, it's that he always was the spirit of geeky porn addicted faith in the show. scully was just there to provide the sceptic foil. i don't want to see a show based on scepticism... i mean, actually i probably would want to see it if it weren't XFiles.
did you know that desire means nostalgia in latin? looking at the stairs with nostalgia, actually. i dunno, it's always been one of my favourite latin terms. i was a sappy idealistic girl. i love both how pagans had it better (monstrum = phenomenon, ie alien, no moral connotations) and how the superstitious darkness of christianism threw a gothic, romantic light on the monster... it's like, it speaks both of the monster itself and the reaction of cultures through history.
of course draco's the holy fool. it's just that rowling is just a lowly faithless human who can't recognise the voice of god talking to her.
Re: ...the truth wants YOU
Date: 2004-09-14 05:04 pm (UTC)*sigh* Mmm, I'm so given to nostalgia & desire both. It's intriguing to speculate whether my complete nostalgia-obsessed self somehow relates to my utter porniness ^^;; I think it does, actually. That yearning for sensation, for the -present- and the Now and the Real, to contrast the constant, inevitable slide into the past that is always my companion.
I love both the Pagan & the Christian mythic systems because they're both so essential to humanity & how we look at things, I think... That... darkening of the world... there are always gong to be myriad responses, from fear to worship to denial, etc. *sigh* I love gothic romanticism, and all the myopic appropriation it implies, because there's its own stark beauty about those stories. This reminds me that JKR's universe is really very Christian at the ideological level of the relatioship between suffering and love and The Monster/darkness within. Snape is actually a good example of this-- I'll never forget my sense of revelation when I came across that Gothic-Martyr!Snape site, with all the photos. He really is the classic Gothic-Romantic antihero, with the tortured past and the tragic flaws and the... whole shebang, really.
I think Draco is really much more of a Pagan, old-style figure in terms of base mythology and ethics, more of an amoral fool whose greatest priority is family & clan (as it was in the Pagan/pre-Christian legends). So of course he has to be-- won over, I guess? The Purebloods really do remind me of the ones who held the Old Faith being overrun by the Christians :>
Y'know, I'm almost completely certain that no one we know well in the fandom would really get this except me, you & possibly SM :>
...And yeah, when I think of Mulder/Scully love, I'm always thinking of the early seasons. My memory/nostalgia, after all, is of being 14 & watching those episodes~:)
Re: ...the truth wants YOU
Date: 2004-09-15 02:29 am (UTC)OMG, I have *ALWAYS* thought this (coming to it from a different direction though), but have been wary about opening this can of worms, because whenever religion gets involved...
some random thought points:
--how to tell the difference between a saint and a wizard? miracle from magic? (I have always thought this was a great basis for a pious Petunia to detest magic)
--Whenever I see the Malfoys as Catholics, I think: no.
I can very easily see the pureblood anger at muggle religion (Christmas at Hogwarts!) etc taking over the old ways (which make more sense if one can actually do magic). It makes the DE cause less 100% dumb and so ridiculously obviously evil. I have a half-finished picture of Draco taking Harry to look for a yule log to understand what "real" wizards do.
Re: ...the truth wants YOU
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