[UET all the way, baby]
Nov. 30th, 2005 10:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reenkaPeople say that writers have a driving 'theme' that influences all their work, something far-reaching and constantly being reshaped and revisited. I think my theme is probably 'longing'; it's what I'm most invested in writing about, what keeps me at the edge of my seat, what ultimately seems most satisfying when well-portrayed. And of course it's all the better if it's hopeless, desperate longing, something that tears you apart and fills your every waking moment-- but then, it's not really longing any other way, right? And I don't mean just romantic longing-- there's many types, like nostalgia for instance, which is longing for the past, or loneliness which is longing for contact.
Mostly, I'm thinking about this because of a comment on this recent post on slash (a subject which I seem to never tire of seeing redefined), where![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
koimistress says, there's a long dramatic tradition wherein the audience sympathizes with the One Who Longs. And I was like, ding! Well, mostly because anything that makes me feel more normal is yaye, and also because I -have- always sympathized most heavily with characters who longed, were driven by the many shades of desire. And of course Draco is one such character-- and Harry in a way, though what he longs for is in no way centrally Draco to my mind but rather a family.
I guess, also, I've been frustrated with the seeming necessity of making Harry the One Who Longs post-HBP because he doesn't seem very suited for dwelling in it-- he's more driven to action and/or manfully suppressing it if it interrupts his life like with Sirius.
Possibly, you could make a case that desire-- a central drive-- is related to longing, and is the bedrock on which dramatic fiction is built. So of course we as readers are drawn to the characters with both the most conflict and need unfulfilled. If you started working with a character who basically had what they wanted in life, where would you go with that story?
Also, perhaps you could make a case that slash & stories about m/m attraction would be more wholly and explicitly about this Desire because of the sheer difficulty and the obstacles in pursuing it even currently in the Western world. Slash sort of-- purifies this theme, or maybe just strengthens it. Gives it that dramatic push that you would need outside circumstances for in m/f romance and even in f/f stories because of the implicit greater ease of communication in those.
All of this is related to seeing slash as "emotionally transgressive", what with men showing obvious un-repressed emotion, which seems much more on the money than that whole thing with it being -sexually- transgressive. I must admit I've always loved this smarm-centric argument because I think I've always gotten this emotional kick from slash-- or rather, close m/m relationships, friend or foe-- way before I knew what slash was. The 'sexual glow' is what gives it that overt UST and it's definitely yummy, but what really grabs me is the UET-- Unresolved Emotional Tension :D
With Harry/Draco, the reason I keep harping on it is because I think the pairing ultimately packs the transgressive punch on several different levels-- the standard m/m, interpersonal conflict and societal conflict as well. It's not like it's conflict personified or anything-- it's just that there's such a huge emotional transgressiveness involved, sort of like Romeo & Juliet except with like, (more) fists and cocks. (I mean, I just love how -wrong- yet right it would be for Harry to touch Draco's cheek tenderly. You just can't beat that sort of cognitive dissonance, man.) Yeah, I mean, I blame Shakespeare for everything :>
Mostly, I'm thinking about this because of a comment on this recent post on slash (a subject which I seem to never tire of seeing redefined), where
koimistress says, there's a long dramatic tradition wherein the audience sympathizes with the One Who Longs. And I was like, ding! Well, mostly because anything that makes me feel more normal is yaye, and also because I -have- always sympathized most heavily with characters who longed, were driven by the many shades of desire. And of course Draco is one such character-- and Harry in a way, though what he longs for is in no way centrally Draco to my mind but rather a family. I guess, also, I've been frustrated with the seeming necessity of making Harry the One Who Longs post-HBP because he doesn't seem very suited for dwelling in it-- he's more driven to action and/or manfully suppressing it if it interrupts his life like with Sirius.
Possibly, you could make a case that desire-- a central drive-- is related to longing, and is the bedrock on which dramatic fiction is built. So of course we as readers are drawn to the characters with both the most conflict and need unfulfilled. If you started working with a character who basically had what they wanted in life, where would you go with that story?
Also, perhaps you could make a case that slash & stories about m/m attraction would be more wholly and explicitly about this Desire because of the sheer difficulty and the obstacles in pursuing it even currently in the Western world. Slash sort of-- purifies this theme, or maybe just strengthens it. Gives it that dramatic push that you would need outside circumstances for in m/f romance and even in f/f stories because of the implicit greater ease of communication in those.
All of this is related to seeing slash as "emotionally transgressive", what with men showing obvious un-repressed emotion, which seems much more on the money than that whole thing with it being -sexually- transgressive. I must admit I've always loved this smarm-centric argument because I think I've always gotten this emotional kick from slash-- or rather, close m/m relationships, friend or foe-- way before I knew what slash was. The 'sexual glow' is what gives it that overt UST and it's definitely yummy, but what really grabs me is the UET-- Unresolved Emotional Tension :D
With Harry/Draco, the reason I keep harping on it is because I think the pairing ultimately packs the transgressive punch on several different levels-- the standard m/m, interpersonal conflict and societal conflict as well. It's not like it's conflict personified or anything-- it's just that there's such a huge emotional transgressiveness involved, sort of like Romeo & Juliet except with like, (more) fists and cocks. (I mean, I just love how -wrong- yet right it would be for Harry to touch Draco's cheek tenderly. You just can't beat that sort of cognitive dissonance, man.) Yeah, I mean, I blame Shakespeare for everything :>
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no subject
Date: 2005-12-05 08:07 am (UTC)Ahh, now I'm all inspired! I mean, of course, I write H/D, I don't tend to actually write friendslash (though I read lots of it). I'm all about the negative-type destabilizing tension-- even (especially?) in het romance. Just recently I was ranting about the relationship between the guy in Hana Yori Dango, who was an asshole (insensitive, violent, selfish, dense, can't relate normally to others, blahblah) and how the girl should just dump him and/or they should drift apart because that sort of thing will 'never work' and there are too many obstacles. And I always HATED that way of thinking because I think there are many more uses for romance than just the 'happily-ever-after' stability, marriage & babiez, in gay or straight relationships.
However, this stand is slightly dishonest on my part because it's actually an excuse and while I really enjoy the destabilizing 'dark' side of desire, I really want -that- to turn into something positive and that's actually what I'm most obsessed with. I think that's a uniquely girlish/female pov, because damn but so many shoujo (girls') comics in Japan revolve around this dark/brooding/insensitive asshole who wants/demands attention from the girl (who's pure/innocent/strong) and she -should- resist him & maybe even tries but eventually succumbs. And the point is that in the end she changes him & the nature of their interaction & they wind up with a 'normal' relationship, possibly a dependent one. The point is, I-- and many girls, slashers or not-- certainly know/understand the power of 'dark' desire and this whole destabilizing force aspect. We often feed on it and try to tame it-- which I think most men hate (or think they hate, muwahahahah etc).
Anyway...
Rejecting the temptation may be so fundamental to a character's identity that it's almost inconceivable for them to give in -- and hard to imagine what would happen if they did. Yet, the temptation is still there, and has to be reckoned with in any analysis of the character.
This is also true, and it's something a lot of slashers/romance writers reject and avoid as a rule (and uh, I'm also guilty). And yet it really pings me pretty hard because this heightened challenge just makes me want to fight harder and harder, till I'm in a virtual frenzy (and this is the root of why I'm so bitter about most/all H/D writers, 'cause who really deals with this in a positive manner and not nihilistically?? But I want them to, argh! And so on.)
In other words, perhaps H/D seems tailor-made for guilty encounters in closets and escalated tension and denial, and yet that sort of 'realism' will never be enough for me as a reader, will always feel incomplete. Realism be damned in this case. I dunno, I feel guilty as hell for saying it and also guilty 'cause I'm often 'justifying'(?) assholish behavior patterns with this and saying the emotional abuse should continue, but I can't help it.
Basically, yeah-- you're right, I was missing the other type of attraction, and this is odd since I tend to write about it the most. I think, though, it does require certain 'goggles' as I said (like you mentioned about having the pre-existing conception of what boys are like). In other words, it may be there, but if you're claiming authorial intent, then you're in hot water again, y'know? But I definitely think if you're -not-, then you can easily get away with saying this could fit within canon (or not). Most people don't see it unless they're (tinhat) shippers, whereas even non-shippers would see the 'normal' sort of subtext.
I love that bit about resisting the temptation being fundamental. So true! Man, I try to tell people this about Harry & they don't believe me! Why! Argh~:)