reasons for fanfic THE CANON

[Penny & Bryce Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 16343

Hi --

dasienko at email.com wrote:

> Please let us not forget the TRUE meaning of the literary term canon.
> A canon is usually defined as the work and the author's commentary on
> the work. Fan fiction is a realitively new literary genre.
>
> Commentary is one thing, but fan fiction is another author's
> interpretation of the story/characters. IT's fun, it's entertaining,
> but it neither adds nor detracts fron the canon.

Actually, I disagree with your last statement.  It *can* add to one's
understanding of the canon.  It can add to one's interpretation of the
canon.  As you say, fanfic is written by another author, and sometimes a
fanfic author does depart wildly from canon.  Others adhere rigidly to
*their interpretation* of canon.  Everyone interprets the canon
differently, so fanfic is just an extension of one's own interpretation
of canon IMO.  It can make you look at the canon in a different way.
There's no one set way to interpret canon & the characters.  Everyone
puts their spin on it.  I think the advantage to reading fanfic is it
may cause you to re-think your own perceptions about a particular
character or plotline.  You may see alternate possibilties that hadn't
presented themselves before.  You can also get this different
perspective by debating on groups like this, but fanfic is just another
medium to do the exact same thing (IMO).

Penny



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