Vague SPOILERS for Written by the Victors. Meta ahead.

[celtic_tigress]

Like many of you, if the comment pages are anything to go by, I was up last night until the hours were no longer so very wee reading cesperanza's new fic Written by the Victors. It is obviously a tour de force, but at the end I found myself asking the question, Why does this scenario strike such a chord

Comments

I by no means speak for my country...

[lazigyrl]

Well Canada was born through neither of the options. It was not thrust upon us unwillingly nor did we have a revolution. We were born the driest of ways, through political negotiation and wouldn't that make a boring story. I do believe that most countries in the British Commonwealth came into being that way.

Any connection remaining at this time is pretty much symbolic. Though the Queen's representative, The Governor General, is technically the Head of Canada, there is no real power attached to the position anymore. That sits with the elected Prime Minister and his gov't.

The only difference I can see might be that I don't equate seceding with revolution quite as quickly. To me it would be done through political channels. Fighting would kick in when all else fails. If Quebec ever did vote to leave, I see lengthy negotiations not war as how they will go.

Re: I by no means speak for my country...

[celtic_tigress]

Ok, well if you don't think personal political history has anything to do with it (which seems to be the general consensus so far), why do you think this appeals to us? It seems to punch a lot of people's happy buttons when Atlantis makes her own way, but why?

Re: I by no means speak for my country...

[lazigyrl]

I think it has to due with a way to remove some of the obstacles, the baggage being controlled from Earth can cause. It is interesting to look at the different interpretations of the social and political impact of such a move. Plus there is a natural progression almost for them to separate eventually, when they are able to stand on their own because of the distance from Earth, the isolation would make for a more independently minded group. One that wouldn't see Earth as having their best interests at heart, they are after all concerned about very different things in Pegasus.

Two cents, was it? *starts rummaging for change*

[lavvyan]

I have to wonder, is this sort of anti-Imperialism really the impetus behind our love for this trope?

As a German, I think I can safely say, "No, it isn't." I was bouncing with glee when John declared Galactic Sovereignity, and I don't think it has anything to do with my upbringing. Germany as a nation is still feeling collectively guilty for the holocaust and tends toward the meek side of the spectrum where international conflict is concerned. If anything, I should have been all, "Oh noes, can't you talk about it?" instead of yelling, "Yes!" if the nationality had much of an impact on how you read cesperanza's story, or react to the premise of Atlantis being cut off from/cutting its ties with Earth again

Re: Two cents, was it? *starts rummaging for change*

[celtic_tigress]

So would you say that part of the reason it works so well is that it is an opportunity to create a society that corrects social wrongs (ex: removes DADT)? We want to play at nation building as well as world building?

All of fanfic is obviously an attempt to recreate the show in a way that we like better, but is this more specific somehow?

Re: Two cents, was it? *starts rummaging for change*

[lavvyan]

Yes. Ultimately, cutting Atlantis off from Earth is a way to make it "better", at least that's how that plot's commonly used, isn't it?

Although naturally there would also be serious downsides which are mostly toned down or ignored altogether in the stories I've read so far. Perhaps because we want Atlantis to be our happy place. :)

Re: Two cents, was it? *starts rummaging for change*

[burntcopper]

Yeah. People who write these do seem to forget a bit how desperate people were to contact their families and the near-constant search for food (let alone ammo, which wasn't touched on so much) which was a driving force behind so many of the S1 episodes.

[fanaddict]

My personal opinion is that it's a matter of ratcheting up tension of Atlantis's survival hanging in the balance with no Earth to turn to, with the additional cachet in certain cases of the SGA team rejecting Earth itself because they've gone native/created a new loyalty structure that excludes Earth. I adored The Return because it created that sense of an SGA team gone rogue, where Atlantis is home before Earth. I don't think it's an anti-imperialism issue or sticking it to the man per se, but rather a way by the writers of validating the relationships of the SGA people to each other first. I think it hits our fannish psyche because it creates a new "Us" (ie team SGA) out of what previously had been a bunch of people who came together for the same project but who considered each other colleagues more than family. In a sense this is what the colonists did as well - created a new identity for themselves that excluded Britain, but in SGA's case it's more personal and therefore more like fannish catnip.

[celtic_tigress]

lavvyan was saying that it is a matter of getting back to the basics, paring out the relationships and concerns that bringing Earth back into the picture introduced and allowing us to concentrate more on the SGA people. Would you concur?

[fanaddict]

Hmmm, I'm not sure I would parse it quite like that because a basic premise of these stories is the presence of Earth/SGC and it's how the Atlantis team reacts to them that creates the story. So essential to the stories as a source of conflict is relations with Earth, which is different than first season when they really were alone. Now, I liked that better - but mostly because I could justify some of their poorer decisions as being done in a life or death environment with no way to get home.

I can only speak for myself, but for me what makes these stories work is a sense of SGA choosing Atlantis and each other over their former loyalty to Earth/SGC. It's a powerful way of showing the realignment of bonds, the family that SGA has formed. It's... the people within the story choosing to "bubble world" themselves away from the larger universe, and since so often fan fic is written within a "bubble world"-like context (ie only a couple of characters are actually interacting with each other, even though many others are mentioned)that

[fanaddict]

Doh, that was me above there - sorry!

[burntcopper]

okay, English person chiming in here amongst the colonials and Europeans. I'm still partly of the opinion that the US is a long-running gift from the Brits to the world of an entertainment source, but don't mind me

[celtic_tigress]

Okay, I see where you're going here, and honestly it seems like a more likely explanation than either of the ideas I put forth, though it has definitely been a neat way to see the non-american view on it. It's clear that this is a universal theme that applies to the sort of everyday wish for freedom too, not necessarily just the political wish for freedom, since the trope appeals to so many people, many of whom have no particular political leanings or history for supporting it like that.

[burntcopper]

Yeah. Not so much outright rebellion as 'will you please stop micro-managing us so we can do our jobs'.

Non American here

[anonymous]

But in answer to your question, I do not think so. I would say it is unrelated if I had to make a guess.

I am certainly not articulate enough to explain why this story and this breaking off/abandonment genre appeals to me so much -apart from the obvious dramatic element which I wish the show itself made more of- but this specific story was like a punch in the face. In a wonderful way.

It may simply due to the fact that Speranza is a great writer and that trinityofone and all other SGA fanfic writers who has used this concept are no slouches either. Yes, life is good for SGA fans...

:)

Re: Non American here

[anonymous]

'who have used', not 'who has used' of course, sorry for the typo.

:(