Have to go to work soon, but I should have enough time to fire off another
quick (albiet brief and disjointed) comment which might help clear things
up, but will probably be the equivalent of throwing gasoline on the fire.
Here's a brief one on Nick's comments:
From: "Nicholas Leifker" <nightelf@thekeep.org>
To: "DB Sommer" <sommer@3rdm.net>
Cc: <ffml@anifics.com>
Sent: Monday, April 29, 2002 1:02 PM
Subject: [FFML] Re: [fanfic][Ranma] No Dominion
Okay. This angered me, not because of your opinion itself, but how you
presented it.
Fair enough. I'll explain my reasons for doing so.
Saturday, I spoke at Fanime of the importance of writing from the heart
and writing without fear. Ironically, the same goes for criticism as
well. Good critics balance compassion for the writer and the desire to
work with the writer with the desire to see the best product possible.
Fear - the fear of possible retribution for said words, the fear that
logical arguments may get shot down - interferes with this. Now, in
many cases, private C&C is best, as it keeps possible demoralization of
the author from occurring and can avoid messy arguments. However, in
this case you gave private and public negative C&C, effectively giving
your argument in private to shield it from skewering and then turning
around trashing a work in public without reason. In this case, you're
saying, "I have this great argument as to what's wrong with this work,
but I'm not going to give it to anyone because I think someone will
shoot it down."
No, this wasn't the purpose at all, though I can see how it would be
perceived as such. It was for lack of a better term, a test to see if people
would see what I was referring to. To me, and at least a handful of others
(off list, regretably), what I mention you doing was blatently obvious and
they had noticed ,either originally or upon second reading, what I was
talking about. From
second hand information, others had come to the same conclusion I did. I
needed to see if you and any other people who disagreed with me could see it
on their own (and hopefully help me get my opinion across), or if I would
need to explain it in detail.
This is going to sound extremely arrogant and presumptuous. Please forgive
me:
I've been at the C+C game way too long. Things tend to work in certain
patterns. I now have a damn good idea from this moment on who is going to
listen to what I'm going to say and who has their minds made up. I'll be
wrong, but not in too many cases. Experience is what has taught me this. I,
simply put, do not have enough time to rant and respond to what I have said
to everyone that wants to know. I was planning to making this a C+C morning
on a number of fics which I am terribly backlogged with. I failed in this
endeavor, and will be spending far too much time trying to argue this point
(I have done so already) I had hoped what I said was obvious and that it
would fall or stand on its own. Regretably, I overestimaed myself and what I
had to say. It takes me far too long to compose these sorts of messages. I
read and reread, and rarely am I ever satisfied with what's there.
You tried to shield yourself, keeping your own skin ahead of mine and
any other author.
Again, no. It was a matter of knowing what circumstances I would need to put
forth my ideas. Sort of knowing the participants mindsets and the contours
of the
battlefield.
In other words, your words are the antithesis of
everything that critiquing is supposed to be.
Hardly. What I mentioned in the letter (and which worked for a handful of
others who read it) I felt should have been obvious, as was the solution. It
certainly was to me.
That you seem to think otherwise indicates it's unlikely you'll see things
my way. Your mind is already made up. I'll put forth my ideas, but you're
going to contest them, and I'll tell you why that's wrong and then you'll
tell me whyI'm wrong, and back and
forth. The conclusion is going to be we'll both go our seperate ways, having
wasted an unbelievable amount of time.The outcome might be different, I
hoped it would since I did originallyu post this, but I doubt it. And to be
honest, I would rather spend my time doing some more constructive things
with pointless debate. Cowardly? I think it is to a degree. My only
practical solution to a vexing problem? Regretably, yes.
If you give permission
for me to respond to your private argument in the public domain of this
FFML, I will consider them and respond to them within the realm of
honorable debate; however, until then, I can only consider them as the
cowardly ramblings of someone unprepared to defend his own words.
Reading what I wrote above, and how you viewed it, I see your point and take
no offense to that comment. In fact, I applaud you for being so precise in
what you saw, as it explained what you thought I was doing. Hopefully I have
done the same.
And now we'll be specific:
Yes, it was Shampoo's characterization (well, let's call it what it was,
villainization). It was both blatent and, perhaps more importantly, totally
unnesssary. Regardless of what Danel Wells seems to think, her villainizing
creates no tension. Everything that happens is after the fact, and there is
no fear that this deranged behavior will succeeed. She is thrown in a far
more negative light than in the source material from the first instance
she's mentioned:
Another mental picture came to her, causing her to snarl in frustration.
Shampoo. She'd survive, all right, if for no other reason than to make sure
that... that... she couldn't even think the words. Shampoo had used her as
a pawn, bargaining with her life to get Ranma to do her will. Ukyou and
Nabiki would face the same problems - and Ranma still wouldn't have a
solution.
This is far more venom that Akane has ever demonstrated and uncalled for.
Obviously since Akane DIDN'T think these thoughts at the time. From this
point on, we know Shampoo is going to be portrayed as a 'bad guy'. And the
the reprhesnible actions of all others (including the character thinking
them) will be forgotten. What you've done here is established a pattern
that's prevelent in most fanfction that villainize characters. Most fics
will take some character's actions and focus on them/blow them out of
proportion. Ie: Ranma contemplating about how Akane hits him and how he
hates it. Or Ranma hates Genma for throwing him in the pit of cats and wants
vengeance or to disown him, etc. Actions that weren't thought twice about
suddenly become 'horrible' and 'unthinkable' and we know that in some way,
the character responsible for these 'horrendous' actions will pay for them.
And sure enough, you followed the pattern.
He'd used the Saotome Secret Technique again. Shampoo and Cologne had
stepped up the pressure; Akane... preferred not to think about what she'd
almost done. At any rate, she and Ranma had found their way through it -
and then he'd disappeared. Not a word, not a goodbye - just a neatly-folded
pile of bed linens and an empty space where his backpack normally was.
Bwhahaha! Cologne hasn't 'pressured' Ranma since the Reversal arc, and even
then that was his fault for letting his ego run out of control. More
villiniazation. And last I checked, Ukyou was happily bombing right
alongside Shampoo. Curiously she's no longer a threat, only 'The Evil
Shampoo (tm)' is. Again, this is a pattern that many fics that have the
least bit of continuation follow.
Akane's mind framed the chaos and cataloged it in an orderly manner; she'd
been working hard to control her temper of late, and detachment was the only
way to keep from screaming. The ceremony had been put on hold; except for a
few who needed medical attention, all of the wedding guests had moved
outside the dojo to relative safety. Inside the wrecked remains of the
dojo, medical personnel tended to the injured; a few police officers asked
questions of those still on the Tendou grounds, making statements, hopefully
building a case. One person in particular garnered her attention, a lonely
figure near the front. She still lay on the floor like a broken toy; the
bruises on her face and the compound fracture of her left arm, combined with
the cheongsam outfit she'd worn to the wedding, made her appear very much
the shattered china-doll.
This had been closer than she'd cared for. They'd tried to keep the
wedding from certain people, most notably the Kunous and the Nekohanten;
unfortunately, Shampoo had received word of the ceremony, and had sought to
interrupt the festivities by taking her head. As for how close Shampoo had
come... she'd rather not think of that.
She looked up to Ranma, who held her at his side. His eyes faced forward;
they burned with an anger more appropriate to her than to him. During the
fight, she'd seen a side of him that terrified her, as he'd come dangerously
close to killing Shampoo in his rage. It had been a near thing, on all
sides.
And more of the same. I'm not going to go into the argument of why she
hasn't given up on him (like she showed she can do at the end of her first
story arc, when she thought he was really a girl that had lied to and
tricked her) and has completely lost her marbles and is trying to kill Akane
in front of Ranma, or where the other participant in this, Ukyou, who's been
after Ranma for over half her life, is. We'll deal with it purely in the
'What does this villianization really add to the story?" I mean, if your'e
going out of your way to depict someone in a wholey negative light, there
must be a damn good reason for it (outside of personal dislike)
Tension? Hardly. None is created. Shampoo's regarded as getting in the way,
but stands no chance of causing problems. If that was what you were going
for, you completely failed. Shampoo's only presense is always thought of in
terms of how her 'evil' schemes have been thwarted. Any actions taken from
these irrational acts of violence (ie Ranma explaining to Akane how he loves
her post wedding) can be done through other ways that don't necessitate
going out of your way to cast someone in a light so negative that it was
never remotely contemplated in the source material. Every example of this
villainization could be cut without a second thought and the story won't be
affected at all. THAT was my primary gripe.
And now I'm late. Have to go. Sorry I cut this short, but I really wanted to
explain myself rather than letting things rest for another ten hours or so.
Hope you understand my points, folks. Might try to elaborate more later when
I have the time. Probably a lot of holes in this, but I can't explain them
now. Sorry.
D.B. Sommer
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