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To paraphrase a line from the show,
There is NOT a thin line between slashing characters and RPS. There is, in fact, a GREAT WALL OF CHINA between slashing characters and slashing REAL PEOPLE. That THICK LINE between character!slash and RPS is the difference between being a passionate, obsessed fan and being ACTUALLY -OUT -OF -YOUR-MIND, BATSHIT -CRAZY.
Actors, it must be reiterated, are real people. I have SERIOUS issues with RPS. So what? Well, for starters, I don't read it, and I try to separate my own comments about the characters from discussion about the actors. Actually, I hardly care to discuss Hugh Laurie or Robert Sean Leonard at all. Why? I don't know them. And neither do you, no matter how many People's Choice Awards you've watched or E!Online features you've read.
I think that the way television is presented and interpreted by fans gives opportunities to know (created, imaginary) characters on a level that is as deep or deeper than written fiction and movies, especially when it's written and acted as exceptionally well as "House" usually is. I feel like I "know" Wilson, House, Cuddy, Foreman, Thirteen, etc. It is that familiarity and interest in their (unreal) lives that is what separates casual viewers from crazy fans like me (and probably like you, if you're reading my LJ). However, the implied permission and support of this harmless voyeurism-- which is really all an audience of a TV drama is experiencing, when you think about it-- the voyeurism of watching these fictional lives unfold every week-- the implied permission an actor gives to his audience to inspect his work and take from it what they will about his character DOES NOT EXTEND to the actor himself, his personal life, or any other arena beyond what appears on your television screens at 8pm Tuesday (or Monday) nights.
I think it's a deeper social and cultural issue that celebrity culture is at the place we find ourselves in 2009 (an avoidance of real news, an aversion to hard truth), that Americans and other industrialized societies become obsessed with an IDEA of a person ("Angelina Jolie" springs to mind) and begin to forget that there is actually a person there, but one who is necessarily wholly different from the projected idea. Tabloids, magazines, entertainment news channels all give fans the sense that they CAN know an actor or singer or anyone in a high profile job or position, but this sense is flawed and inherently false.
It scares the hell out of me when I see a post about Robert Sean Leonard and Hugh Laurie arriving at the People's Choice Awards and within the comments are frankly disturbing conjectures about what happened before they arrived or what their lives are "really" like outside of the show.
Outside of the show? I don't care about "outside the show"! I am in the "House" fandom! I care about the show. I care about the fiction of it. I understand, accept, and ENJOY that it IS fiction. I don't need nor want it to be even a little real! There is something that has fascinated humankind about a simulacrum of reality or the ideal of verisimilitude since the ancient Greeks invented theater from ritual. I get that. I identify with it, and accept it as a part of my human condition that I will find make-believe fascinating, especially when it approaches simulations of my own experiences of the world. I don't begrudge ANYONE a deep love of the show, the characters, or indeed any work of fiction. I do take huge issue, however, with the extension of that love to infringe on very real people's very important privacy. Privacy.
If you know any actors in your own life, as in, really know them, you learn very quickly that no matter how good they are, they are not playing themselves when playing a part. Sometimes, a person can play a character nearly the opposite of themselves and come off so believable that even as their friend, you find it convincing. Extrapolate a little with me. If the minorly successful actors you might personally know (a friend who majored in theater, the community theater group in your town) can portray people so different from themselves, why don't you extend the critical understanding of that difference to the more famous, more successful actors of the world?
You can't know any thing-- not a single thing-- about a person from a character they portray on TV. Except maybe that they're making a lot of money.
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Thoughts on 5x02: Not Cancer:
-I really like the private investigator. I like him a lot. He's not Wilson, he's not House, he's an original character, and I agree with whomever said that he's more interesting than all of the newbies combined-- in spite of my love for Kutner and vague interest in Thirteen. I"m thrilled he's got a whole arc coming up and I'm looking forward to more of the conversations between him and House. They're not medical and he's a younger guy, and it just feels like a different dynamic than anything we've seen on this show before. Like what TPTB claim writing the newbies into the show was going to do-- spice things up, shed new light on the titular character. I like that his cutting insights have conscience and heart and that he tells House what he wants to hear and immediately admits to it. I like that he charges House for all of their time together and that he said House scares him a little. I would watch a show about this guy, and I'm having fun with the possibilities of the character on this show as well. I doubt he'll be as polarizing as Maureen Ryan predicted he'd be; every post I've read has been either indifferent or positive.
-Yay, neuroscience! I study neuro at school and my two concentrations are sleep/consciousness and the visual system-- it's amazing. I loved the brain stuff in this episode, however brief and surface-deep it went. I squealed in delight over the diagnosis of an occipital lobe problem, something I don't think I've ever done before.
-Robert Sean Leonard continues to be the actor whose delivery I admire the most (Hugh Laurie, equally, actually, but he gets enough praise from everyone). He's so fully in-character; it's incredible. I love how he physically presents Wilson to the camera-- the actual posture and facial expressions-- it must come from his theater work, which I hope to be able to see in a few years when "House" goes off the air and he returns to New York. No one can compliment the man enough. He is that good. In one scene, he did more than Omar Epps does in an episode. Of course, the part is meatier, and tonight, more emotionally rich, but out of everyone, to me it sometimes feels like OE gives line readings. He's good, and I like the character well enough, but a surprising amount of his lines are said in the same tone and it feels like his tactics rarely change.
-Lawrence Kaplow Returns. Huzzah. I said it in one of the threads on the H/W comm, but that man is better at writing "House" than Eli Attie by so much it's worthless to try and quantify. I really don't love EA's episodes, I have to admit. They feel less complex than LK's. And I was happy that David Shore co-wrote it, because you always know you're getting characterizations straight from the man himself when he's got that writing credit. This is how he sees the characters, and it's fascinating.
-Who directed this episode? I feel like both last week's and this one have been choppy, but it might not be the director or editors' faults. It may well be the overpopulation problem. Nine principles don't work for this show. Was Cameron even in this episode? I didn't notice either way. My vote is and has been to just put the original three out of their misery, but that's not because I dislike the actors or characters. They've grown on me through the years, of course, and I'd be sad to see them go, but I wish TPTB would commit to the newbies with the same vigor the original ducklings had. I was never the biggest Chase fan, but relegating him to surgery and a few well-placed lines isn't fair. It might have done better justice to have really cut the first three ducklings out of the show for good last season. As a side note, I really don't understand the people who continually cry out to TPTB to return the ducks to their original capacities and get rid of the newbies. People: It's. Too. Late.
-Much as I like Cuddy, this was about the amount I like to see of her in a given episode. I like her interactions with House, I like her interactions with Wilson, but besides that, she's fairly superfluous. She's functional in that there has to be some kind of administration to hold House back, but there's no time for real character development for her lately, and while it's a shame, it's serving the main storylines.
Which brings me to House/Wilson.
Still loving it, loving them, loving what the writers are doing and generally where they seem to be going. I know of very few spoilers for the next few episodes (and not for lack of effort, I'm a spoiler whore), but I have complete faith, even if it means a Wilsonless week or two. I do believe that the show won't keep up this intensity of H/W for very long, (though I wish they would, since if it were always this overt, they would not be able to keep it limited subtext for three more seasons). The focus on the H/W friendship tends to ebb and flow, but I know gratitude is in order, since two years ago I would never have believed we'd get half of the lines we got in tonight's episode.
My favorite moment is when Penny (sorry, Felicia Day, Apple, whomever-- I can't be the only person who was glad to see her life actually saved this time-- House > Dr. Horrible, for real) told House he looked sad. Yeah. He really is. I cannot wait for the House/Wilson make up, but until then, I love House/PI in any and all permutations. Let the slashfic begin!
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A Primer for New "House, Md." Fandom Participants
With Special Emphasis on the House/Wilson Fandom
A special note:
I am not exempt from many of the things I talk about here. As a member of the H/W online fandom since summer '06, I've been guilty of everything I mention in this post and in the previous post in some way, and guilty of plenty of things that aren't on these lists. Part of writing a Primer for new fans is being honest about my experiences. I didn't think it was necessary to spell that out, but there you have it! These are reflective of my experiences in fandom. Gathering empirical evidence, I'm making observations. It ain't exactly science, kids.
PART TWO
BASHING OTHER 'SHIPS
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:
1. Foreman shall be single forever (unless slashed with Chase). Don't find Foreman attractive. Don't expect to see a whole lot of active 'ships surrounding him, either. You will be questioned about why, and you probably won't have a good enough answer.
2. Wilson can be with other people, as long as they're men-- or female proxies for House. Ever read a happy Wilson/Julie story? Of course not! In House/Wilson fanfic, make sure Wilson is not actually attracted to the women he serially dates and sleeps with in canon. They are flukes; House is his one true love. Even if you don't share that view, be wary of where you express your different opinion on Wilson/Amber or Wilson/Grace. There are other comms made for those sorts of perversions!
3. Cameron is too stupid/immature/slutty/into Chase to be with House. David Shore may have intended that ship once upon a time, but it surely isn't so any longer. Any mention of Cameron/House is just a shoutout; and make sure to comment on how two-dimensional and weak you think Cameron has become over the seasons. A little healthy disrespect for Jennifer Morrison is always a way "in" as well because it makes you sound like you know a lot about screen acting.
4. Cuddy is too sexy not to sleep with House and Wilson at the same time/Cuddy finds the idea of House and Wilson together as hot as the fans do/Cuddy is a slut and not worthy of being an administrator because she wears low-cut blouses--so pairing her with anybody degrades the other character. Basically, Cuddy can't be shipped. Like young girls in medieval times who didn't clothe themselves properly, she deserves to suffer eternal spinsterhood. She is unfit for the fine men of the cast, and we should brand her with a scarlet "A".
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I've been doing a bit of study, and have come up with...
A Primer for New "House, Md." Fandom Participants
With Special Emphasis on the House/Wilson Fandom
(Can you tell I've been in college too long?)
PART ONE
FANDOM CONVENTIONS TO OBSERVE WHILE IN COMMUNITY DISCUSSIONS
-Warning-
If you choose to ignore these tenets, you will likely be abused mercilessly for failing to conform. In a community that revels in its quirky foundations, you are still expected to share the views of the most vocal fans online.
Thirteen is hated for no defendable reason; make sure to bash her at every opportunity to make up for the lacking logic of doing so. There seems to be no reason for this, other than a lot of fans are jealous of the fact that Olivia Wilde is talented, beautiful, young, and gets to be on the show. Somehow, certain fans translate this envy into raging dislike of the character, maintaining that she is "flat" or "boring," in spite of being played by a very skilled actress and given bisexuality and Huntington's storylines. (Note that the same fans who think her storylines are tedious are usually the ones who like to get into the inane details of Chase's wardrobe.)
Robert Sean Leonard doesn't like working in television; therefore, mock him as though he's not a real person and entitled to personal opinions. A lot of fans are under the impression that the amount of energy and time they spend on forums or LiveJournal reflects how well they "know" certain actors, forgetting that they don't, actually, know any of these people. As a new member of the "House" fandom, forget that they are real people! That will make it easier to read and write RPS, make fun of actors' public comments, and let everyone know how you feel about the life choices of the production staff.
David Shore should be fired/killed/no longer showrunner because he didn't intend House and Wilson to become the sexual powerhouse they are. Well, naturally. Make sure to forget that he's the creator and that you wouldn't actually have this fandom to waste time on unless he'd started everything in the first place.
Part Two coming soon; stay tuned for everything you need to become an unproductive, mentally-masturbatory participant in YOUR NEW FANDOM!
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I just realized--I mean, it finally really hit me-- how batshit crazy fandom is. I guess that's by design-- I mean, you don't spend hours of your life talking to people you don't know about things none of you understand if you're wholly sane. I think that any participant in fandom probably has a tenuous relationship with reality, and of course I include myself in that.
However, I have never been, nor will I ever be, abusive to another member of my fandom purely to be a bully. I might disagree with someone, question their tactics of argument (it often seems like most people here forget how to objectively argue a point without abusing the person making it), wonder at the purpose of it all. I might express malcontent with an element of the show or something a member of TPTB said. I have never viciously attacked anyone online--in or out of fandom-- the way a frightening number of people in the House/Wilson comm seem to do as a matter of sport.
That's because I am capable of remembering that there are, in fact, other human beings on the other end of the series of tubes known as the internet. Yes, you can be hateful here. Yes, it's anonymous. No, you're not required to conform to anyone's standard of ethics, morals, or polite behavior. No, the internet itself is not "srs bsns". Being cruel is.
But that, like everything else on my livejournal, is an expression of-- you guessed it-- my opinion! So you're free to disagree, as ever. Me, I'm going to get a life, or rather, reclaim the pretty kickass one I already have. The one I don't need to substitute or enhance with fandom if fandom is no longer the fun enterprise it once was for me. And hey, getting a life? For all you people who consider insulting and bullying one another a pastime, I deeply recommend it.
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