The Underacknowledged Case of Mainstream Fan Fiction
Fan fiction gets a bad rap. In the worse stereotypes of it, it is a bunch of lonely women typing away on their computers (or typewriters) writing gay male smut. This, while totally legitimate in it of itself, is a far from accurate description of what fan fiction and those who engage in it. It also obscure the fact that there is a great deal of extremely mainstream fan fiction out there that is rarely acknowledged as such.
But before we get into it, we need to define some terms. First of all, what do we mean when we say fan fiction? Fan fiction is when a fan of something takes the pre-existing characters/world/etc and makes their own stories out of it. It is a transformative act – taking pre-existing pieces and creating something new out of them. This is different from adaptation, although there can be some overlap. Adaptation is changing aspects of an existing work into a new setting or into a new format. So staging a version of Hamlet set in the Prohibition era where everyone speaks in 1920s slang would be an adaptation. Writing a play about Hamlet as a child about his relationship with his father would be fan fiction.
Given this definition, there are numerous successful, published works that are fan fiction. They aren’t called that, but they absolutely are.
One extremely successful fan fiction is Wicked, by Gregory Maguire. Wicked looks at the story of the Wizard of Oz from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West – Elphaba. Not only is it a look at a story from a different perspective – a classic approach to fan fiction – even the name is an homage to the canon work. The name Elphaba comes from the initials of L. Frank Baum, the author of the Oz books. LFB – El fa ba - Elphaba. This work of fan fiction, became both the start of an excellent series of books about the other side of Oz, and a hit musical. Gregory Maguire took an existing world, and existing characters, and put his own spin on it, like any other fan fic writer. He even had his own main ship – Elphaba aka the Wicked Wicked Witch of the West and Fiyero, aka the Scarecrow. The ship is more heavily emphasized in the musical, but it is still very present in the novels.
Sherlock Holmes stories run the full spectrum, between straightforward adaptations to straight-forward fan fiction. I am far from an expert in Sherlock Holmes – I’ve never even read the canon – but it is it ubiquitous in our society. There have been numerous adaptations for film, that were just adaptations - Basil Rathbone’s Sherlock comes to mind for this. TV shows with Sherlock in the modern world, such as Elementary on CBS and BBC’s Sherlock (with the objectively brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch) straddle the line between adaptation and fan fiction. The characters and the stories are adapted for the modern world, but sometimes, particularly with Elementary, entirely new scenarios and character are created for the show – Irene Adler being Moriarty for example. And then there is pure fan fiction, such as The Beekeeper’s Apprentice series by Laurie R King – in which a retired Sherlock befriends and partners with a suffragette in the Edwardian era – or A Study in Scarlet Women – which has a Charlotte Holmes who has a female Watson at her side.
Other well-received fan fiction includes Bridget Jones’ Diary – a Pride and Prejudice fanfic/retelling and Penelope by Margaret Atwood, a version of The Odyssey from Penelope’s perspective.
And yet no one calls these things fanfiction. They are “pastiche” or “homages” but never declared what they truly are – fan fiction. And there Is nothing wrong with being fan fiction. The success of these series should be inspiration to fanfic writers everywhere – that what they do matters and can be influential and successful in their own right, like others before them. Their success, or ability to be accepted by the mainstream – in the form of publishers or TV producers – makes it “ok” and therefore no longer fanfiction. If we admit what these works are, then we will legitimize a form of expression that has been unfairly derided for decades. Yes, there is a lot of bad fan fiction out there. But there is a lot of bad everything out there. Terrible action movies. Stupid sitcoms that don’t last. Unreadably pretentious fiction. But we don’t write off the entire genre because some thing are bad (well, I’m sure some people do but they shouldn’t). Like any other form of expression, there is the bad, the meh, and the awesome.
Showing that these things are fan fiction is not meant to denigrate them. Wicked is brilliant. I love the musical – I saw it live and know all the words to most of the songs. It is meant to show that fan fiction can be great. It is not and should not be a derogatory concept. Reimagining a world well requires thoughtfulness and creativity and a great deal of love. And that should be celebrated.
