Fanfiction has been around forever. And no story
is 100% original, no matter how great. We all pull from somewhere. Even
stories we write, read or see are derived from somewhere the author saw,
heard or experienced. Think of all of the romantic films, think any of
them have to do with Romeo & Juliet? Was Romeo & Juliet just a
written down story that someone else conjured up? But more and more,
Fanfiction is gaining exposure. It's not this fluff piece that teenage
girls or angsty boys write because they want to incorporate themselves
into their favorite stories. Fluff, angst and Mary Sue characters are
phrases I had not heard of until I stumbled upon fanfiction on my own. I
had always loved the idea of thinking up story ideas for characters I
already loved. Ben Seaver from the TV show Growing Pains needed to date
one of his little sister, Krissy's, friends. Malcolm in the Middle
needed more girl dynamic drama between the sons. What would a second
generation in the Covenant be like? What if Kozik from Sons of Anarchy
had a wife? What happened before the Boondock Saints? What happened
during the movie Four Brothers during scenes the family did not see?
What if we had the Harry Potter universe in the Point of View of the
Weasley twins? There's a lot that could circle around those ideas.
Sometimes,
the authors do fantastic jobs. You can tell when the authors do their
research on subjects they expand and I give kudos for that. Once, I read
a fanfiction about a movie (I can't remember if it was Boondock Saints,
Four Brothers and The Covenant) that really was well done. And that's
an understatement. The author must have either borrowed a transcript or
watched the movie during writing because the movie dialogue was there.
They wrote the story just by including anew character. It did not stray
from the movie at all but added scenes that not shown in the movie. It
was just like an extended film. Kudos to that author. But sometimes they
are fluff. And sometimes I like the fluff. The stories that only take
pieces of the original characters and make it their own. And to write
through the characters' inner monologue and turmoil is a new spin on the
story. Jack from Four Brothers has some good fanfiction. However, one
issue I have is when writers create twincest. That one I can't handle.
Weasley twins? MacManus brothers? No way.
Sometimes, people
write stories that live and breathe on their own. And that is what
happened with Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series. They became
something so much more than a Harry Potter fanfiction. And aside from
constantly imaging Valentine as Voldemort, I would not have seen the
connection without being told. 50 Shades of Grey? Yeah, that screamed
Twilight. Or from what I read, that mostly screamed "I read Twilight.
Everything I know about America is from Twilight. Let's add some
S&M"
So, when you talk about Fanfiction,
you have to include Twilight and Harry Potter. Let's just get those out
of the way. In order to have an honest conversation about it, I have to
do my research.
Twilight series: I have read 3/4 of the books
and seen every movie. I am anti-Edward. I think Buffy and Blade should
have staked his ass. I feel the writing was very poorly done and would
have liked for her to take another writing class or work on her grammar.
However, I did like reading New Moon (book2) and I did devour the books
without much eating and sleeping. I never managed to crack more than
the first chapter of book 4. The movies felt like cheap plastic with too
much hype & too much Edward. Overall: 2/5 stars as a collective
series.
Harry Potter: I have seen every movie at least 10
times throughout the past few years. I have read a few of the books with
intention to read and reread them. The books are creative, clever and
entertaining. After reading the books, I realize the movies are
well-done adaptations of the books. The writing style is English instead
of American and is a bit unlike my own but I enjoyed them. The movies,
imaginative. Overall: 5/5 stars as a collective series. (even though it is not a fanfiction, it has spawned several fanfictions)
50
Shades of Grey: I find the book series clearly absurd. I'm working my
way back to picking up the first book again. I only made it halfway when
I got distracted with something else and have yet to pick it back up.
The writing style is horrible. I feel she should have picked one spot:
American or English writing style. 1/5 so far. The movie is yet to be
determined.
Mortal Instruments
series: I devoured the book until page 300 and something. I didn't eat
or sleep but read. The bit "omg" twist pissed me off to no end and I
contemplated no reading the rest of the books. Thanks to spoilers, I
calmed down and kept reading books 2 & 3 equally as fast. I am
currently on book 4 with a slow-start but growing obsession again. The
characters are well developed. The storyline is different than typical
books. And it does seem to have its own world. I wish the movie would
gain more of a following but it was made for the fans. They tried to
pull in new fans but I don't think it's one to generate that sort of
excitement. I hope they continue to go ahead and turn out at least the
first 3 books into movies. Overall 4.5/5
I
think I have a problem with Fanfiction hitting mainstream. It is like
putting a fanvid in the theaters and expecting to gain $9 a person in
compensation. It is not your work. Mortal Instruments started with the
Harry Potter idea. Maybe the first draft was a closer carbon copy of
Harry Potter. But by now, it has been altered and morphed into something
completely its own. 50 Shades of Grey is so close to being a carbon
copy you might as well call it Epic Movie or some spoof.
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