Fanon vs. Canon (Part I)

Hello friends. I have a confession to make.

I am a geek. I know that this is deeply shocking, but it's the truth. I had always been a geek in a general sort of way, loving things like dinosaurs and of course, fantasy. However, middle school was the dawning of a new era of geekiness for me. You see, in middle school I discovered my first fandom.

Cue a black screen with blue letters bearing the immortal words: “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...”

STAR WARS!

Even if you have never seen these movies you can probably hum the theme, as well as the “Imperial March”. It comes on and fangirls and boys across the galaxy cheer and light up our lightsabers. We roar like wookies, laugh like hutts, and reverse our verbs like Yoda. We don't say goodbye, but rather: “May the Force be with you”. We cup our hands around our mouths in an effort to recreate the immortal sounds of Darth Vader's respirator.

“Search your feelings, you know it to be true”...

I grew up watching the original 3 on VHS with my dad. I always liked them, but in middle school my oldest friend brought me into the know about something incredible.

There were Star Wars books!

Now, in order to explain why this was a big deal I have to say that I watch a lot more movies as an “adult” than I ever did as a kid, in part because my parents were very pro-reading. They didn't want us growing up watching a ton of television (something that I'm actually really grateful for). So, while I loved the movies, it was the Star Wars books that really brought me into the fandom.

I can get into books way more than I can most movies because so much is left up to the imagination. Star Wars is a giant universe to play in and the books took full advantage of that. I also experienced for the first time that while the main characters are the “heroes” the side characters are usually the ones I end up super interested in (a trend that continues to this day). While my friends were honing their lightsaber skills and writing Jedi fanfiction, I was imagining how I could get my hands on a modified Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft. I ended up getting sidetracked from the “main story” concerning Luke, Leia, and Han and drawn instead into “The Bounty Hunter Wars” by K.W. Jeter. I love me some bounty hunters. Boba Fett is still my favorite character in Star Wars, and it is largely due to “extended universe” fanon, rather than movie canon.

This has brought up and interesting question in debates between myself and other Star Wars fans. The obvious argument is always that George Lucas created Star Wars and as such, whatever story he chooses to tell is the “real one”. However, if you are like me (and I know this opinion is shared by a lot of other die-hard Star Wars fans) the “prequel” movies...kind of don't count. If, for example, I was to show my godson Star Wars I would just start with A New Hope and go through Return of the Jedi. The new movies just don't do it for me. They take away the mysticism of the Force, as well as explaining things that really didn't need to be explained. It is kind of hard to take Darth Vader seriously when you have watched him whine for 3 movies. The emperor isn't as effective as the creepy, psuedo-otherworldly creature that he is in the original movies once we have watched him be what we as Americans are seeing in droves as we approach November 6^th-just another politician.

It is hardly surprising that so many of us who got drawn into the “Extended Universe” have trouble accepting the newer movies. In some cases, as with my favorite character Boba Fett, the stories are quite different. I can't stress enough how much I dislike Fett's origin story in the movies enough and that is in large part because, in my opinion, his story in David Keys Moran's “The Last One Standing: The Tale of Boba Fett” is much stronger. Now, this has been worked into the canon as re-established by the movie, but for me it just isn't the same. I think some of that has to do with what I said earlier about the Emperor and Darth Vader. Even with Moran's story a lot of Fett's past is still shrouded in mystery, which is perfect for a character like him. Spelling out Fett's childhood robs him of an element of that ambiguity which is so crucial to his character.

Anyway, this long rant is basically to illustrate the question that I am concerned with. Is there a time when fanon should be held above canon?

Of course, as an author if my work were ever to become known/liked enough to have people writing fanfic about it I would love to hear what they had to say. Having written a lot of fanfic myself I don't have a bad opinion of it. It can be done well. I can't do it well, but I know people who are brilliant at it (Das Mervin, I'm looking at you).

But if I were in George Lucas' position and had created a world where lots of other people were playing, what would then become canon? The Star Wars novels, as far as I know, have to be approved to some degree by the man himself. So...if he gives his approval to something and it gets written, published, and largely accepted as canon is he then obligated to stick to the story that was approved? Again, a lot of people I know simply stick to “he created it, he can do whatever he wants”. And of course, as an author, I can understand wanting creative control to ultimately be in my own hands. However, as a someone who is also a fangirl I feel like there is a point where fanon does become important. Fans come up with some incredible things.

So...when does something become, or does it ever become, the “property” of the collective culture? Is there a point where the creator of something has to acknowledge that their work doesn't just belong to them anymore and if so, how much to they allow themselves to be influenced by their fandom?

This is a tough question to answer and can be a slippery slope. The internet has given fanfiction writers unprecidented power to play in the fandoms they love and share them. And even if you look outside fanfiction, there are countless forums dedicated to Westeros, Harry Potter, Star Trek, Star Wars, Tortall, Redwall, and innumerable others. Fans can speculate about everything together. Bronies, Harmonians, Team Jacob, Kirk versus Picard, Bones and Booth, BAU, all of have their fandoms who will loudly venture forth their opinions and argue with one another in a glorious cacophony of dissension, discourse, and pure wish fulfillment.

This also means that if you are working on a story that is still active and uncompleted there are going to be a lot of opinions about what SHOULD happen. There's no way to make everyone happy. Look at some of the reactions to Rowling putting Ron and Hermione together. A number of the Hermione/Harry “shippers” were devastated and angry. But does that mean that Rowling should have had Harry and Hermione end up together?

Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and the countless other stories that are ingrained in our culture are a part of us. They were formative to us, they helped us establish friendships and learn what is important to us in storytelling. But they are still stories that were created by someone. That takes a lot of work and a lot of dedication and that merits respect. I don't think that our love of stories, or our purchase of books, movies, games, etc gives us "rights" over them. 

Before you get on me about this...imagine if people such as George Lucas, J.K. Rowling, Joss Whedon, and Gene Roddenberry had indulged every fan idea presented to them. Dobby and Dumbledore could have ended up romantic partners (yes, that fanfic exists). The One Ring could have actually been a TARDIS, Buffy could actually have been a vampire who later meets up with Bella and Edward. I know this sounds ridiculous, but the point is that pandering to every opinion isn't going to do the story justice. I started reading Harry Potter because I wanted to hear J.K. Rowling's story. It was hers to tell, no matter how I feel about some decisions (certain characters getting eaten by drapery, for example). I still respect that she is doing what she feels is right for the characters and the story. We may not always agree about what's “best” but it is HER story.

Looking at it that way, it is easier for me to reconcile what happened to Boba Fett's storyline. I may not like it, but I do think that it is dangerous for a writer, director, any sort of artist, really, to try and please everyone. It's important to listen to criticism (a topic for another post, for sure), but at the end of the day you have to tell you own story. It won't always end well, but that's art.

However, that doesn't mean that I have to “accept” Boba Fett's new origin story, just like all you Harmonians don't have to “accept” that Harry and Hermione do not end up together. That is part of the fun of being in a fandom. You are welcome to disagree with canon all you like, but there has to be respect for the vision of the original creator as well. They have given you a story; they don't have to give you exactly what you want every time.

That said, I think I will still skip showing my godson Star Wars 1-3, at least until he is old enough to appreciate the differences between the two triologies.

...just on principle, you understand.