Who Are the Brain Police?

[catscradle]

Or, Where the Egos Roam.

Ever see a movie or TV show where an artist gets into a huff that their fans don't "get" their work and therefore don't deserve it. It usually involves a scene where a disillusioned fan is made to feel shitty, but concludes with the artist getting their comeuppence by being embarrassed or made a fool of or some such variation on the theme.

What's wrong with the artist getting pissy when someone interprets their work differently then how they indended?

Because it's arrogant. It's a primadonna mentality. And it's the inane attempt to control the thoughts of others. It's saying - Please, do not use your brain while reading my work. Shut down your imagination. Don't even begin to see things out of my box, that's just plain stupid.

I've written stuff and gotten notes from readers saying things that seemed to contradict what I was getting at. Or they saw things in the characters that I didn't intend. Know what? That's going to happen. "What the hell were they thinking?" Has popped into my head on several occassions. As well as "Hm, that's kinda neat." At no time did I think to respond with "Listen dumbass, if you're going to read my stuff and comment we need to go over a few rules first - okay?"

I saw this happen today. An artist didn't like the fanfic written about her stuff. Particular fanfic, not fanfic per se. And that's okay, you're not going to like everything you read. In fact, you're going to like very little, because individuals see things through their own lenses. We write what we like because we like it after all. And since not everyone likes the same things, it makes sense that there's a LOT out there we're not going to agree with or like. Nothing wrong with that.

But this artist has issued a ban on fanfic related to her series. With the exception of a list of people she condons. Only people that see her characters the same way she does are allowed to write it.

That's just pathetic. It's immature. It's elitism. And it's a good illustration of how petty and egotistical a person can become once they reach a certain level of fame.

I don't deny them the right to say as they wish to whom they wish. It's their series, they can say whatever they want.

Everyone is free to be an asshole, after all.

Comments

[thebratqueen.livejournal.com]

I thought you were going to say that another problem with that is that in real life, unlike the movies, the snotty artists are rarely pied in the face.

Who's the artist this time?

[catscradle.livejournal.com]

The artist in question isn't a paid artist, so I'd rather not mention names in public. I'd be content to just let asshole be assholes and not rant over it at all, were it not for the little list of "Those Who Can Write My Fanfic and Those Who Can't".

Just say you don't like it and don't what to see it, or outright approve and let whoever write whatever. This elitism and need for control is just the height of egotism gone amuck.

I've been watching this ego steadily grow over the past two years. And it's a sad, sad thing. There's talent there. Too bad it's superceded by rampant assholeness.

[thebratqueen.livejournal.com]

Gotcha, fair enough. And yeah, once you release the product into the wild the point is that people will come away from it with different opinions. After all, why show it to people otherwise?

[catscradle.livejournal.com]

To feed your ego. DUH! ;)