Ship and Let Ship (and Let Anti-Ship)
May. 29th, 2016 08:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dragonlady7via http://ift.tt/1sFZqd7:
millicentthecat:
This post is a response to @ashesforfoxes’ reylo, a manfesto pt. I and II, which I highly recommend as reading for anyone following conversations about reylo.
Many thanks for your thoughtful post and for tagging me in it.
I do agree wholeheartedly that the Rey/Kylo dynamic will be central and possibly definitive to the new trilogy. I’m also with you on the “Rey Skywalker is dead” front. Really appreciating these thoughts, too, on welcoming disagreement as inspiration, which is why I offer you this small amount of disagreement. Hair-splitting, sort of. It only represents my opinions and I hope it doesn’t come out as antagonistic. Your post hit on some things I feel very strongly about.
I just want to say that I feel that “stifled voices” is a mischaracterization of a position of power and privilege.
I mean, I know how it feels. I know, coming into this particular space, it feels like this belief in reylo’s canonicity is a dangerous and radical minority opinion because the pushback against it feels strong. Reylo may be the most popular ship tag on tumblr, the most popular ship on ff.net and other non-Ao3 places, and the third most popular ship on Ao3, but there is definitely a pushback. But I don’t think that pushback exists just because the antis are hostile, inattentive, or wrong.
I think the acceptance of plausibility is a political choice. People come to fandom spaces seeking the freedom to make that choice, often in express conflict with the dominant cultural narrative. Some fans, who may been violently oppressed by that narrative, come to fandom to find a place to speak their truths and be safe from bombardment by the singular story. Death and the Maiden IS the singular story of romance in western culture. The tale of a girl, waiting virginally until she is abducted by a man-beast-Prince-wraith, whereupon she ultimately turns the encounter around by (finally) exercising her right to accept or reject, possibly even “taming” him in the process? That goes back to Gilgamesh. It is the core patriarchal narrative and it dominates, second only to the warrior narrative, which is less a romance story and more of a war story involving a female “prize.” Ironically, I feel like Finnrey had the ability to subvert that warrior narrative by swapping gender roles, but we all know it’s not going to be canon. The unsubversive white heterosexual ship will be canon. The white heterosexual ship is ALWAYS canon.
I want to acknowledge that I believe Reylo will be explored by the films only because it is a white hetereosexual ship that represents a conservative relationship dynamic.
I know with reylo it kind of feels like there’s a group of people who are ~~~seeing a truth that nobody else sees.~~~ But one truth is not truer than another just because a white guy with several hundred million dollars is going to make it into a movie. I know there’s a conflation of two conversations here: which direction will the movies take versus which direction do we want them to take? It’s hard for me to tell, sometimes, when meta presents reylo as the “best” way forward, which of these arguments is being made. I’m puzzled by an attitude in the Star Wars fandom that analytic writing ONLY exists to divine authorial intent and predict future content. I’m also puzzled by the attitude that a “canon” ship is somehow “less trash” or is inherently more substantial than a ship perceived as uncanon. I think this may be the origination of the instinct to control and gatekeep and force other people to accept the story in the same way we have. I’ve written before about how “canon” is just a word for “things we all agree on.” We can’t make other people agree with our interpretations of a character–even J.J. Abrams can’t, completely, and he has access to a $200 million production budget.
I think what I’m saying so far is probably consistent with the points laid out (probably more elegantly) in your manifesto, @ashesforfoxes? But this is where I feel a need to add/challenge. You ask, “how do we take our place within the larger Star Wars fandom as a legitimate faction without compromising the argument that “reylo” is more than ‘just a ship’?” I find this question inherently provocative. Because reylo IS just a ship. It is no more and no less than any other ship or pairing. Even if the content creators throw millions and millions of dollars into producing it and mass-marketing it to small children, it’s just their ship. Embracing the idea that the dominant culture is, somehow, more righteous, less “trash,” or “less sinful” than the fans shipping their own deviant pairings…that idea takes power away from the transformative culture and places it in the hands of gatekeepers.
The Force Awakens made over a billion dollars at the box office. There is no way to ask every single moviegoer, “which relationship between which set of characters would you find most plausible?” but there’s also no shortage of stories about people finding validation for reylo in coworkers, small children, or hell, spray-painted on random stranger’s cars in parking lots. Do you really think the same thing is true for Finnrey, Stormpilot, or, god help us, Kylux? No. That’s not because there isn’t LEGITIMATE and STRONG CANONICAL STORYTELLING POTENTIAL for EACH OF THOSE PAIRINGS. THERE IS. I would find the canonical development of any one of those pairings a more realistic (as in, true to my experience of real romance and my understanding of the characters) and satisfying progression of a relationship than reylo. But reylo is the love story that will be most acceptable and most plausible to the largest number of people because it is a white man and a white woman meeting in the context of an age-old traditional rape-trope. And you know that matters. Nobody is spray-painting “Stormpilot is canon” on their car in the American south (substitute: Moscow), and I think we all know why.
When we frame our truth as the singular truth we are not appealing to an authority for validation. We are the authority, squashing the dissent. We’re saying, “this is a fairytale, it’s how stories are always told, it is the truth.” And someone in the fandom is saying, “but what about MY truth? Disney would never present something so grotesquely contradictory to my story. Not again. Not in 2016.” That’s the pushback. I think that’s what the antis are trying to say, through a haze of emotional exhaustion and fear and anger. Pushing too hard against that pushback may be…unsportsmanlike?
Rephrased: there are a lot of ways to express the sentiment of the inevitable canonicity of reylo. You can convey it as “SUCK IT, ANTIS” or you can convey it nicely and civilly, like “ah, yes, John Boyega’s comments do indicate a possible tilt towards our collective agenda, don’t you agree?” But it’s still the same basic message: “we win, you lose, and don’t you all forget it.” No matter what words you use, you will invite the same despair.
To sum up, I believe that writing meta to affirm the canonicity of reylo is not about speaking a subversive truth to a monolithic power. The only actual source of power in fandom is the historical reign of the singular story and the money in the studio’s pocket. I believe that power is currently committed to the service of reylo shippers (and I hope I’m wrong.) Reylo shippers are not a group of fringe radicals tempted to “convince” the naysayers but rather a representation of the preferences of the culture at large.
I hope we are all able to show some sensitivity when interacting with people who’ve been hurt by that culture. I hope we can understand that the “marmots” HAVE “figured it out” *just as well as we have* and that they’re screaming for *real reasons.* Oppression is disorienting. Their comments may be misdirected, incoherent, or reductive, but that doesn’t make them wrong. Do not assume that someone is less intelligent than you because they are exercising a political choice to find reylo implausible.
If Rey were to kiss Kylo smack on the lips in episode VIII, there would still be fans who will reject that event as untrue, OOC, and canon-inconsistent. As I see it, they are the stifled voices; the ones speaking personal truth against nearly unanimous power. They have a right to do so. They are not wrong.
millicentthecat:
This post is a response to @ashesforfoxes’ reylo, a manfesto pt. I and II, which I highly recommend as reading for anyone following conversations about reylo.
Many thanks for your thoughtful post and for tagging me in it.
I do agree wholeheartedly that the Rey/Kylo dynamic will be central and possibly definitive to the new trilogy. I’m also with you on the “Rey Skywalker is dead” front. Really appreciating these thoughts, too, on welcoming disagreement as inspiration, which is why I offer you this small amount of disagreement. Hair-splitting, sort of. It only represents my opinions and I hope it doesn’t come out as antagonistic. Your post hit on some things I feel very strongly about.
I just want to say that I feel that “stifled voices” is a mischaracterization of a position of power and privilege.
I mean, I know how it feels. I know, coming into this particular space, it feels like this belief in reylo’s canonicity is a dangerous and radical minority opinion because the pushback against it feels strong. Reylo may be the most popular ship tag on tumblr, the most popular ship on ff.net and other non-Ao3 places, and the third most popular ship on Ao3, but there is definitely a pushback. But I don’t think that pushback exists just because the antis are hostile, inattentive, or wrong.
I think the acceptance of plausibility is a political choice. People come to fandom spaces seeking the freedom to make that choice, often in express conflict with the dominant cultural narrative. Some fans, who may been violently oppressed by that narrative, come to fandom to find a place to speak their truths and be safe from bombardment by the singular story. Death and the Maiden IS the singular story of romance in western culture. The tale of a girl, waiting virginally until she is abducted by a man-beast-Prince-wraith, whereupon she ultimately turns the encounter around by (finally) exercising her right to accept or reject, possibly even “taming” him in the process? That goes back to Gilgamesh. It is the core patriarchal narrative and it dominates, second only to the warrior narrative, which is less a romance story and more of a war story involving a female “prize.” Ironically, I feel like Finnrey had the ability to subvert that warrior narrative by swapping gender roles, but we all know it’s not going to be canon. The unsubversive white heterosexual ship will be canon. The white heterosexual ship is ALWAYS canon.
I want to acknowledge that I believe Reylo will be explored by the films only because it is a white hetereosexual ship that represents a conservative relationship dynamic.
I know with reylo it kind of feels like there’s a group of people who are ~~~seeing a truth that nobody else sees.~~~ But one truth is not truer than another just because a white guy with several hundred million dollars is going to make it into a movie. I know there’s a conflation of two conversations here: which direction will the movies take versus which direction do we want them to take? It’s hard for me to tell, sometimes, when meta presents reylo as the “best” way forward, which of these arguments is being made. I’m puzzled by an attitude in the Star Wars fandom that analytic writing ONLY exists to divine authorial intent and predict future content. I’m also puzzled by the attitude that a “canon” ship is somehow “less trash” or is inherently more substantial than a ship perceived as uncanon. I think this may be the origination of the instinct to control and gatekeep and force other people to accept the story in the same way we have. I’ve written before about how “canon” is just a word for “things we all agree on.” We can’t make other people agree with our interpretations of a character–even J.J. Abrams can’t, completely, and he has access to a $200 million production budget.
I think what I’m saying so far is probably consistent with the points laid out (probably more elegantly) in your manifesto, @ashesforfoxes? But this is where I feel a need to add/challenge. You ask, “how do we take our place within the larger Star Wars fandom as a legitimate faction without compromising the argument that “reylo” is more than ‘just a ship’?” I find this question inherently provocative. Because reylo IS just a ship. It is no more and no less than any other ship or pairing. Even if the content creators throw millions and millions of dollars into producing it and mass-marketing it to small children, it’s just their ship. Embracing the idea that the dominant culture is, somehow, more righteous, less “trash,” or “less sinful” than the fans shipping their own deviant pairings…that idea takes power away from the transformative culture and places it in the hands of gatekeepers.
The Force Awakens made over a billion dollars at the box office. There is no way to ask every single moviegoer, “which relationship between which set of characters would you find most plausible?” but there’s also no shortage of stories about people finding validation for reylo in coworkers, small children, or hell, spray-painted on random stranger’s cars in parking lots. Do you really think the same thing is true for Finnrey, Stormpilot, or, god help us, Kylux? No. That’s not because there isn’t LEGITIMATE and STRONG CANONICAL STORYTELLING POTENTIAL for EACH OF THOSE PAIRINGS. THERE IS. I would find the canonical development of any one of those pairings a more realistic (as in, true to my experience of real romance and my understanding of the characters) and satisfying progression of a relationship than reylo. But reylo is the love story that will be most acceptable and most plausible to the largest number of people because it is a white man and a white woman meeting in the context of an age-old traditional rape-trope. And you know that matters. Nobody is spray-painting “Stormpilot is canon” on their car in the American south (substitute: Moscow), and I think we all know why.
When we frame our truth as the singular truth we are not appealing to an authority for validation. We are the authority, squashing the dissent. We’re saying, “this is a fairytale, it’s how stories are always told, it is the truth.” And someone in the fandom is saying, “but what about MY truth? Disney would never present something so grotesquely contradictory to my story. Not again. Not in 2016.” That’s the pushback. I think that’s what the antis are trying to say, through a haze of emotional exhaustion and fear and anger. Pushing too hard against that pushback may be…unsportsmanlike?
Rephrased: there are a lot of ways to express the sentiment of the inevitable canonicity of reylo. You can convey it as “SUCK IT, ANTIS” or you can convey it nicely and civilly, like “ah, yes, John Boyega’s comments do indicate a possible tilt towards our collective agenda, don’t you agree?” But it’s still the same basic message: “we win, you lose, and don’t you all forget it.” No matter what words you use, you will invite the same despair.
To sum up, I believe that writing meta to affirm the canonicity of reylo is not about speaking a subversive truth to a monolithic power. The only actual source of power in fandom is the historical reign of the singular story and the money in the studio’s pocket. I believe that power is currently committed to the service of reylo shippers (and I hope I’m wrong.) Reylo shippers are not a group of fringe radicals tempted to “convince” the naysayers but rather a representation of the preferences of the culture at large.
I hope we are all able to show some sensitivity when interacting with people who’ve been hurt by that culture. I hope we can understand that the “marmots” HAVE “figured it out” *just as well as we have* and that they’re screaming for *real reasons.* Oppression is disorienting. Their comments may be misdirected, incoherent, or reductive, but that doesn’t make them wrong. Do not assume that someone is less intelligent than you because they are exercising a political choice to find reylo implausible.
If Rey were to kiss Kylo smack on the lips in episode VIII, there would still be fans who will reject that event as untrue, OOC, and canon-inconsistent. As I see it, they are the stifled voices; the ones speaking personal truth against nearly unanimous power. They have a right to do so. They are not wrong.
