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Psychoanalysis...
The problem with taking a psychoanalytic approach to fic critcism and discussion is that, well, fic isn't life and the characters aren't real people. (Duh)
Recently, many of my acquaintances have complained to me about a general lack of psychological realism in certain characterizations. Remus Lupin and Jonathon Kent come to mind as supposed examples of naughty authordom. Readers are rightly pinpointing logical inconsistencies in the characterizations of these two, in both canon and fanon, and not simply the kind of very human illogical that we are all prone to, but the kind of illogic indicative of a very fucked up individual.
How can Jonathan freak out about Helen's connection to Lex, in one episode, then give Lex a very personal gift in another? Fic writers often explain this as being Martha's influence, but I don't think we've seen evidence of her having this kind and this level of influence over her husband. We're meant to believe that both are genuine actions. In fact, we're meant to believe that Jonathan is one of, perhaps the most genuine and reactive character on the show. Everything comes directly from his heart.
How can Remus Lupin seem to be so honest and insecure on one hand, and so manipulative and confident on the other? Is one more true to his essence than the other? In the pensieve scenes, we have a teen who is either so cowed by his friends that he dare not speak up, or a teen who just doesn't give a damn, and refuses to involve himself until it's important to him. We know he doesn't like or respect Snape and that he cares for his friends deeply. We know that he's a smooth talker, but also that he was suspected of being a spy. Logically, he shouldn't be able to both the extremes.
A psychoanalytic approach does not take into account the logic of archetypes, cultural expectations and myths. It doesn't allow a character to be consistent mythologically, but not psychologically. For example, characters in ancient tragedies rarely behave in psychologically consistent ways. This isn't a flaw in the texts, so much as it is a difference in the type of story telling going on. We are so used to demanding psychological realism that other kinds of story telling tend to get maligned. However, no story will ever have 'real' characters. Writers depend on archetypes and shared, cultural references far more often than even they suspect. It isn't always evident, until you take the text out of its cultural context.
Fic in particular seems to depend on shared cultural references and archetypes, fanon, of course, is simply a set of archetypes, myths and cliches. However, the kind of story that many of us want to tell, is extremely dependent on very particular and specific cultural references. The Hurt/Comfort fic. The road trip fic. The summer fling. These are all ideologically informed, culturally specific and can be confusing to people who've never encountered them before. Certainly they also play off of more broadly "human" myths, but the fic form is overwhelmingly the modern, western, middle class version of the story. For many people, you have to get H/C before you understand that epic Blair/Jim cavefic, or that Wesley/Lilah angrysex vignette. A psychoanalytic approach makes the story seem thin and poorly though out, but really, you're missing much of the resonance and the layers in the characterization.
Looking at say, the Harry Potter series with expectations of total psychological realism, will prevent you from appreciating the fairy tale elements. If Remus seems to be an impossible character, it might be because you can't read him on different levels.
Ultimately, fiction isn't a social experiment or illustration. Characters bow to the needs of the story, and sometimes act in ways that are inconsistent to a single way of reading. If Harry Potter isn't a perfect fairy tale hero, its because he's also a modern, realistic hero.
Recently, many of my acquaintances have complained to me about a general lack of psychological realism in certain characterizations. Remus Lupin and Jonathon Kent come to mind as supposed examples of naughty authordom. Readers are rightly pinpointing logical inconsistencies in the characterizations of these two, in both canon and fanon, and not simply the kind of very human illogical that we are all prone to, but the kind of illogic indicative of a very fucked up individual.
How can Jonathan freak out about Helen's connection to Lex, in one episode, then give Lex a very personal gift in another? Fic writers often explain this as being Martha's influence, but I don't think we've seen evidence of her having this kind and this level of influence over her husband. We're meant to believe that both are genuine actions. In fact, we're meant to believe that Jonathan is one of, perhaps the most genuine and reactive character on the show. Everything comes directly from his heart.
How can Remus Lupin seem to be so honest and insecure on one hand, and so manipulative and confident on the other? Is one more true to his essence than the other? In the pensieve scenes, we have a teen who is either so cowed by his friends that he dare not speak up, or a teen who just doesn't give a damn, and refuses to involve himself until it's important to him. We know he doesn't like or respect Snape and that he cares for his friends deeply. We know that he's a smooth talker, but also that he was suspected of being a spy. Logically, he shouldn't be able to both the extremes.
A psychoanalytic approach does not take into account the logic of archetypes, cultural expectations and myths. It doesn't allow a character to be consistent mythologically, but not psychologically. For example, characters in ancient tragedies rarely behave in psychologically consistent ways. This isn't a flaw in the texts, so much as it is a difference in the type of story telling going on. We are so used to demanding psychological realism that other kinds of story telling tend to get maligned. However, no story will ever have 'real' characters. Writers depend on archetypes and shared, cultural references far more often than even they suspect. It isn't always evident, until you take the text out of its cultural context.
Fic in particular seems to depend on shared cultural references and archetypes, fanon, of course, is simply a set of archetypes, myths and cliches. However, the kind of story that many of us want to tell, is extremely dependent on very particular and specific cultural references. The Hurt/Comfort fic. The road trip fic. The summer fling. These are all ideologically informed, culturally specific and can be confusing to people who've never encountered them before. Certainly they also play off of more broadly "human" myths, but the fic form is overwhelmingly the modern, western, middle class version of the story. For many people, you have to get H/C before you understand that epic Blair/Jim cavefic, or that Wesley/Lilah angrysex vignette. A psychoanalytic approach makes the story seem thin and poorly though out, but really, you're missing much of the resonance and the layers in the characterization.
Looking at say, the Harry Potter series with expectations of total psychological realism, will prevent you from appreciating the fairy tale elements. If Remus seems to be an impossible character, it might be because you can't read him on different levels.
Ultimately, fiction isn't a social experiment or illustration. Characters bow to the needs of the story, and sometimes act in ways that are inconsistent to a single way of reading. If Harry Potter isn't a perfect fairy tale hero, its because he's also a modern, realistic hero.
no subject
Yeah, you should. *g* Especially as you're *not* a huge fan of his.
More than a few people have remarked that Remus doesn't read like a real man, that he's better understood as a metaphor, or an arghetype, or even a stock character from a British school story.
arghetype. hee!
Ahem.
I dunno. Remus seems real to me, but yeah, Jonathan Kent also seems real to me. Far more real than some of the other characters in either of their 'verses.
I'd need to hear more about what makes them seem *unreal* or simply as plot devices, to understand and so perhaps, argue the point.
I will say that Remus reminds of me friends I've had, and teachers I've known, and that most of his contradictions can be worked out in light of his lycanthropy. He easily *could* have been a plot device, but I don't think he is.
Of course, I'm hopelessly biased in his favor.
no subject
no subject
Once I started really thinking about writing HP fic - or more, pointedly, Remus-centric fic, which is mostly what I write - and started thinking about his characterization, I didn't find the contradictions we're shown in his character in the books to be all that difficult to reconcile, but maybe I'm missing something that other people see or maybe I'm just blinded by how much I like him.
I wrote about his [canon] characterization here (http://www.livejournal.com/users/musesfool/417356.html) (with addenda here (http://www.livejournal.com/users/musesfool/417725.html)), and well, I'll let that stand for what it is.
I guess I need more information than that there are all sorts of contradictory things he does or that we don't know everything about him, because well, people do all sorts of contradictory things, and we don't know everything about any of the characters, and because he does seem real to me, far more so than say, Quirrell, who obviously *is* a plot device, or Tonks, who currently has no real depth, or Draco, who's a 2D spoiled brat from what we know of him.
no subject
I shouldn't have implied that I think it's impossible to write Remus well, because JKR does it. I *agree* that Remus is one of the most "real" seeming characters, if not the most, in canon. But I think the contradictions underpin that, and I think they're hard to preserve. More than that, I think a lot of the tradition procedures of fanfic authorship, which involve finding a missing piece and working with it (e.g. why was Snape a DE, and how did he come to defect?), actually work to the disadvantage of Remus characterization. For example, in Fabula Rasa's _Stone Cold Sober_ (one of my favorite works by one of my very very favorite ficcers), there is a running joke about how Remus often pretends to be asleep in order to listen in on things. But this makes Remus seem very different than he does in canon...not because we know he's asleep in that first scene, but because the fact that we don't know is part of his characterization. See what I mean? Filling in the blanks makes him less real, less interesting, and filling in the blanks is the ficcer's default mode.
no subject
Filling in the blanks makes him less real, less interesting, and filling in the blanks is the ficcer's default mode.
Hmm... I'll have to think more on that, because I'm not sure I agree, but I've never quite looked at it (it being Remus's characterization, not why I write fanfic *g*) that way before.
no subject
Friended you.