LJ thingie on Serentity:

[link]

I liked Serenity a lot, but I actually came out quite shocked at--well, how FANFICCY it was. I mean, to my mind, Serenity is clearly an intellectual/ethical rewrite of Star Wars, and I look at Joss Whedon and say to myself, "Self, this is a man very near your age, who, like you, fell tragically victim to the cult of Han Solo," which in my mind is a religion involving a particular kind of masculinity that says, no, and says no and then caves and says, yes. yes. i will. And I think that--and please hear my fervor as a lifetime member of the cult when I say this--that this view of masculinity is in itself a sexual orientation. And I saw Serenity and thought, wow, Joss is as caught up as any of us in the "be him or fuck him" dilemna that haunts fandom. This is the movie that I wanted Star Wars to be. More than that, this is the story that Star Wars kind of WAS for me, as I rewrote it in my mind.

I think trying to decide which fandom is crazier is pretty much a futile pursuit. All fandoms have their crazies. It just depends who's waxing and who's waning.

That's really all I meant by my little list. Inherent in fandom is some sort of devotion to something (the work, the creators, the talent, etc.). Devotion can totally take rationality in a street fight.

You know everybody who's ever worked at ME

Yes.

Self, this is a man very near your age, who, like you, fell tragically victim to the cult of Han Solo," which in my mind is a religion involving a particular kind of masculinity that says, no, and says no and then caves and says, yes. yes. i will.

Previously known as the cult of Rick Blaine (Casablanca).

Previously known as the cult of Rick Blaine (Casablanca).

Heh.

Someone needs to write some Mal, Han Solo and Rick Blaine fic....

The hard part would be who shoots first.

Heh.

Seriously. A one-time true believer thinks he is disenchanted such that he will be content to operate as a self-interested mercenary, but his heart knows better.

Hmmmm. Not a bad theory. Do we know that Han was ever a true believer?

Wait. Why am I engaging in a pissing match about who is more connected than whom? Someone come sit by me and discuss liquid eyeliner.

Allyson, do you prefer black liquid eyeliner, or something with a colorful tint? Do you wipe the application brush off before either applying, or reinserting it in the bottle?