Re. character hate.

[elisi]

I've been mulling this over, because clearly I'm an oddity in fandom. The thing is, I don't understand character hate. Literally, don't get it. (Also, it makes me sad. But that's another topic.)

Let me explain: People will talk about character Z, listing all the various ways in which s/he is annoying/entitled/misogynistic/manipulating etc. And it's not that I can't see their point - Z might be a walking, talking creep, and I might deeply dislike all his/her traits, but as long as all those things make sense for that character I'm happy.

Take Warren for instance - pretty much the most despicable guy we ever come across in BtVS, but what I'm concerned about is that his misogyny makes sense. Which it does - we see how he evolves, watch as he goes darker and darker, and I find that very interesting. If he was real I'd probably hate him, but he's not - he's a fictional character and a good, well-rounded one at that. So why would I hate him?

I do of course have characters that I love to tiny itty bitty pieces, that I can flail and squee about forever, and whose mere presence onscreen instantly makes life better, but I can't think of any characters who ruin things for me or make me furious. I think the opposite of fullblown adoration for me is boring or (embarrassingly) badly-drawn characters. I don't hate them (because they're usually too boring or annoying for that, and I am very good at ignoring stuff I dislike), and if necessary I can fanwank their existence into something useful, because I hate just tearing things down - much more rewarding to try to work out how something might fit in. ETA: See my meta on Caleb f.ex. (And this is one reasons s8 is frustrating - it is impossible for me to fanwank any of it! But I don't hate it.)

Actually - I've thought of an exception: The Slitheen. Not to mention their even more pointless relatives, the Blathereen. But then they truly are the absolute epitome of pointlessness. (I might look on them with kinder eyes if they hadn't been so overused on SJA. If I wanted to see people covered in goo, I'd watch Dick and Dom!)

Comments

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

So basically, we are the same person. :)

Are these people *incapable* of imagining what it'd be like to be in the situation this character is in? Or are they just much happier tearing that character down?

I feel this same frustration too. And then I feel bad about getting annoyed like that because nobody has obligations to fictional characters. :\

I can understand that people generally identify with characters that are similar to themselves

I think admiration plays a large part too. As in, I think people identify with characters who are similar, yet 'better' than them. Like a better version of yourself. So I guess hatred is the opposite of that; it's recoiling at what you don't want to think of yourself as being.

I love fic (and meta!) for the same reason. And yes, from what I've read of your stuff, character exploration is definitely a plus. :D

[elisi]

So basically, we are the same person. :)
Don't you just love the internet? Not that I don't love my husband, but when it comes to stuff like this he doesn't have a clue where my head's at. :)

I feel this same frustration too. And then I feel bad about getting annoyed like that because nobody has obligations to fictional characters. :\
Oh I hear you. And yet... one person on my flist has just gone on an extended hiatus because fandom had turned into such a negative experience for her. (She'd been spending more and more time snarking and tearing down, and realised that this was affecting her very badly. So it's not so much the characters I'm concerned about, but the way the hate impacts those who get caught up in it...)

I think admiration plays a large part too. As in, I think people identify with characters who are similar, yet 'better' than them. Like a better version of yourself. So I guess hatred is the opposite of that; it's recoiling at what you don't want to think of yourself as being.
*nods* Or - as I've discovered - coming across characters who remind people of unhappy/infuriating RL incidents or people.

I love fic (and meta!) for the same reason. And yes, from what I've read of your stuff, character exploration is definitely a plus. :D
Wish I was better at plot, sometimes, but hey - gotta play to your strengths, eh?

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

So it's not so much the characters I'm concerned about, but the way the hate impacts those who get caught up in it.

Oh, word. Hate is destructive by nature. Putting effort into it is never a good idea.

coming across characters who remind people of unhappy/infuriating RL incidents or people.

Yeah, this.

Haha, I'm so not a plot-person. I would so rather read (and write) something that gets the characters and is plot-free, than something with an intricate plot but no nuance to the characters.