frodo_harry's rant - corrected for errors.
This morning, before my classes started, I decided to watch some TV. When I turned on the TV, a Barbie commercial played. Now we all know that Barbie has an unnatural waist and is far too beautiful to be compared to a human, but what shocked me even more was that they made Barbie a fairy, complete with magic castle and twu-wuv Ken. It was so Mary Sueish that I just wanted to get out a spork and stab her. Many of the younger fanfiction writers who watch this commercial will believe that this is the way every story should be. For me, Mary Sues are written mainly because of things like Barbie, which encourage young writers to create the perfect girl. It is rammed into our systems that we have to have a Barbie waist to be accepted by society, that beauty is more important than being natural, just being yourself. In the movie, Barbie can do anything if she just sets her heart to it. Well, later in life, in the Real World, it is not that easy. To quote gehayi, a fellow Deleterius member, "I'm tired of the self-help industry trying to shove self-esteem down everyone's throat, making them feel as if they should be praised even if they haven't done anything to deserve it. Trust me, it's only turning more people into brats who think they should never be criticized, even when they are clearly wrong about something."
This is exactly the kind of message we do not need at all. We have enough fanbrats out there who can not distinguish between well-meant criticism and flaming the heck out of the author. Who doesn’t acknowledge that their fanfic is in need of work?
As pica_scribit pointed out, Disney is also a big factor that influences 13-year-old authors. “Happily ever after” just does not happen in real life. Nothing is just black and white. You have to work hard for your goals and you will be disappointed by someone you love at least once in your life.
Sometimes I also wonder if we should choose less cute actors, especially in the cases of Orlando Bloom and Viggo Mortensen. I drool as much over Viggo Mortensen as the next girl, yet when it begins to affect fanfiction, it is time to reconsider. Do not get me wrong. What Peter Jackson did was marvelous, at least in my humble opinion. Many people who never had the courage to pick up Lord of the Rings were caught up in the wave and began to read Tolkien’s books. I was one of them. However, there are still many fangirls who only saw the movies and never picked up a book and do not even bother to do research before they publish their fanfics. Who is to blame? No one but the fangirls themselves, of course! Still, casting less cute actors could have done the trick. Why did they have to be so damn cute, that every fangirl would want to publish their wet dream about themselves and their favorite actor or character on the internet? What is even worst is when they use chat speak. My English teacher in college is very hard on us. We have to proofread it for ourselves twice then give it to someone else who is not our friend or roommate and let them proofread. It does not take much effort to let someone proofread your fanfic after you read it aloud to yourself. So why is it that so many fanfics are overflowing with grammar and vocabulary mistakes? Even worse is when the authors misspell the name of the canon characters. They do not even have enough respect of the fandom to get the inhabitants’ names right.
So in general, the products of commercialism have greatly influenced fanfiction writers, especially the younger ones. In some cases we can only watch as Barbie takes over the Lord of the Rings fandom, running amuck and turning every character OCC. Or, we cry out helplessly as bad Shakespearean English tortures our eyes and makes us want to smash the PC into the nearest wall. Let us unite against the badfic and teach young authors the true meaning of canon and the value of well-written characterization.
Of course, Mary Sues are just wish fulfillments, stemming from the author’s desire to be with a certain character. With most people this is just a stage that goes away after a while, but some people need more encouragement than others to move past this stage, to become fully fledged authors and respected members of a writing community, who can give and receive criticism without blowing themselves up over it.
Frodo_Harry