This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/21/arts/when-fan-fiction-and-reality-collide.html
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| When Fan Fiction and Reality Collide | When Fan Fiction and Reality Collide |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Grace Helbig is an internet superstar. She is a doyenne of YouTube, host of a celebrity interview podcast, star of a superhero web series, author of two lifestyle guidebooks and — in one obscure corner of the web — protagonist of pages upon pages of fan-written stories that recast her persona into seemingly endless fictional scenarios. | |
| Take the work of Shelby Yarchin, an 18-year-old who publishes fan fiction under the handle UnholyHelbig. In her stories, Ms. Helbig becomes a vampire or a paranormal circus attraction. Many involve Ms. Helbig’s friend and fellow YouTube star Hannah Hart, though in Ms. Yarchin’s fan fiction, they are more than friends; she imagines them as a couple with the relationship mash-up name “Hartbig.” In one story, “Paging Dr. Hart,” Ms. Hart is a doctor and Ms. Helbig an emergency medical technician who have a one-night stand before realizing they work in the same hospital, “Grey’s Anatomy” style. | Take the work of Shelby Yarchin, an 18-year-old who publishes fan fiction under the handle UnholyHelbig. In her stories, Ms. Helbig becomes a vampire or a paranormal circus attraction. Many involve Ms. Helbig’s friend and fellow YouTube star Hannah Hart, though in Ms. Yarchin’s fan fiction, they are more than friends; she imagines them as a couple with the relationship mash-up name “Hartbig.” In one story, “Paging Dr. Hart,” Ms. Hart is a doctor and Ms. Helbig an emergency medical technician who have a one-night stand before realizing they work in the same hospital, “Grey’s Anatomy” style. |
| Ms. Yarchin never imagined that Ms. Helbig or Ms. Hart would actually see her work. But now, they are acting out a scripted version of “Paging Dr. Hart” courtesy of “FANtasies,” a new anthology web series where fan fiction about internet stars is “brought to life.” Well, almost. “FANtasies” flips Ms. Yarchin’s steamy medical romance into a comedic short that flattens the “Hartbig” relationship into parody. Ms. Hart plays a curmudgeonly genius doctor — a take on “House,” maybe — who diagnoses her patient, Ms. Helbig, as hopelessly in love with her. And in this version, nobody has sex. The most explicit shot is of Ms. Helbig longingly biting her lower lip. | Ms. Yarchin never imagined that Ms. Helbig or Ms. Hart would actually see her work. But now, they are acting out a scripted version of “Paging Dr. Hart” courtesy of “FANtasies,” a new anthology web series where fan fiction about internet stars is “brought to life.” Well, almost. “FANtasies” flips Ms. Yarchin’s steamy medical romance into a comedic short that flattens the “Hartbig” relationship into parody. Ms. Hart plays a curmudgeonly genius doctor — a take on “House,” maybe — who diagnoses her patient, Ms. Helbig, as hopelessly in love with her. And in this version, nobody has sex. The most explicit shot is of Ms. Helbig longingly biting her lower lip. |
| The mainstream entertainment world has an ambivalent relationship to the online fan-fiction enclaves that have built up around it, where fans seize control of characters or celebrities and subvert their narratives for their own ends. Media power players show great fascination in the stuff — particularly after the financial success of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” the B.D.S.M.-lite series that started as erotic “Twilight” fan fiction — even as they rib its literary amateurism and recoil at its sexual taboos. | The mainstream entertainment world has an ambivalent relationship to the online fan-fiction enclaves that have built up around it, where fans seize control of characters or celebrities and subvert their narratives for their own ends. Media power players show great fascination in the stuff — particularly after the financial success of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” the B.D.S.M.-lite series that started as erotic “Twilight” fan fiction — even as they rib its literary amateurism and recoil at its sexual taboos. |
| All of that makes “FANtasies,” which debuts on Thursday on the digital video network Fullscreen, a fascinating artifact: a collision between the (mostly) women who create fan fiction and the entertainment world they draw on, which often seems unsure of whether to dismiss their work or capitalize on it. The series vacillates between guarding the fandom and gently teasing it, vaulting fan fiction to mainstream recognition while reinforcing its subordinate relationship to conventional creative properties. | All of that makes “FANtasies,” which debuts on Thursday on the digital video network Fullscreen, a fascinating artifact: a collision between the (mostly) women who create fan fiction and the entertainment world they draw on, which often seems unsure of whether to dismiss their work or capitalize on it. The series vacillates between guarding the fandom and gently teasing it, vaulting fan fiction to mainstream recognition while reinforcing its subordinate relationship to conventional creative properties. |
| The very conception of the series illustrates the topsy-turvy power dynamics of internet culture as it comes of age. Unpaid creators feed new cultural forms that, when they get popular enough, are co-opted by big companies hoping to whip them into profits. The series will appear on a joint venture of AT&T and the media tycoon Peter Chernin’s the Chernin Group that is aimed at younger audiences (monthly subscriptions to Fullscreen cost $5.99) and was developed with the storytelling platform Wattpad, which has recently led a charge to spin its amateur authors’ fan fiction into professional properties. (The writers of the original fan fiction adapted by “FANtasies” were consulted, credited and compensated for their work.) | The very conception of the series illustrates the topsy-turvy power dynamics of internet culture as it comes of age. Unpaid creators feed new cultural forms that, when they get popular enough, are co-opted by big companies hoping to whip them into profits. The series will appear on a joint venture of AT&T and the media tycoon Peter Chernin’s the Chernin Group that is aimed at younger audiences (monthly subscriptions to Fullscreen cost $5.99) and was developed with the storytelling platform Wattpad, which has recently led a charge to spin its amateur authors’ fan fiction into professional properties. (The writers of the original fan fiction adapted by “FANtasies” were consulted, credited and compensated for their work.) |
| “FANtasies” is at the messy intersection of all of that: It’s a polished series with mainstream investment starring homegrown YouTube performers who have become big deals, based on fan fiction written by other upstart internet creators who are mostly typing away in obscurity. The relationship between all those players can be so fraught that even discussing fan fiction with its real-life subjects is taboo among many such writers, as the spotlight can feel meanspirited, or just beside the point. YouTube stars may rule the mainstream internet, but as one author of erotic Hartbig stories put it, fan fiction is “our playground.” | “FANtasies” is at the messy intersection of all of that: It’s a polished series with mainstream investment starring homegrown YouTube performers who have become big deals, based on fan fiction written by other upstart internet creators who are mostly typing away in obscurity. The relationship between all those players can be so fraught that even discussing fan fiction with its real-life subjects is taboo among many such writers, as the spotlight can feel meanspirited, or just beside the point. YouTube stars may rule the mainstream internet, but as one author of erotic Hartbig stories put it, fan fiction is “our playground.” |
| In the series, that playground is overseen by Drew Monson, a YouTube sprite who appears as the custodian of the “Weird Part of the Internet,” where he summons internet stars to act out meta takes on genre fan fiction about them. Imagine the Crypt Keeper, but for fan fiction instead of horror stories. | |
| The comedian Tré Melvin (known for his gender-bending sketch comedy and viral video parodies) is cast in a teen soap; Brandon Rogers (creator of a suite of twisted YouTube characters) is dropped into a psychological thriller, and Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox (of the recently split bro comedy duo Smosh) are transported into a fairy tale. In contrast to the often-sincere dramatic writing of the original fan fiction, the show has a “snarky alt-comedy sensibility,” Lon Harris, the showrunner, told me. The YouTube stars, largely comedic performers, are winking at the camera as they step into the romantic-lead roles dreamed up by their fans. | The comedian Tré Melvin (known for his gender-bending sketch comedy and viral video parodies) is cast in a teen soap; Brandon Rogers (creator of a suite of twisted YouTube characters) is dropped into a psychological thriller, and Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox (of the recently split bro comedy duo Smosh) are transported into a fairy tale. In contrast to the often-sincere dramatic writing of the original fan fiction, the show has a “snarky alt-comedy sensibility,” Lon Harris, the showrunner, told me. The YouTube stars, largely comedic performers, are winking at the camera as they step into the romantic-lead roles dreamed up by their fans. |
| “This is a community that we appreciate, and we’re not mocking it,” Mr. Harris told me. Still: “We recognize that a lot of fan fiction is kind of absurd, and it would be inauthentic to pretend that it’s not at all absurd, or that these are totally rational stories that flow just like any other story.” | “This is a community that we appreciate, and we’re not mocking it,” Mr. Harris told me. Still: “We recognize that a lot of fan fiction is kind of absurd, and it would be inauthentic to pretend that it’s not at all absurd, or that these are totally rational stories that flow just like any other story.” |
| That ambivalence is on display in the fifth episode, in which a skeptical Mr. Rogers is summoned onscreen to act out some murder-related fan fiction about him. Mr. Monson warns him that the story doesn’t make much sense because it comes from “the mind of a teenage girl,” but then turns around and chides Mr. Rogers: “If you’re going to disrespect the stories, get out of my split-screen!” | That ambivalence is on display in the fifth episode, in which a skeptical Mr. Rogers is summoned onscreen to act out some murder-related fan fiction about him. Mr. Monson warns him that the story doesn’t make much sense because it comes from “the mind of a teenage girl,” but then turns around and chides Mr. Rogers: “If you’re going to disrespect the stories, get out of my split-screen!” |
| On some level, this is a fitting project: Fan fiction is about recasting the source material, and “FANtasies” adds another layer to the endlessly self-referential YouTube fandom. The results can be unexpectedly charming. There is plenty of fan service here: In one episode, Mr. Melvin dances sensually in slow motion. In another, the Smosh duo asks Mr. Monson, “Wait, is this going to be something creepy,” a story “where we fall in love with each other or whatever?” When he answers affirmatively, the two call out in unison: “Carry on!” | On some level, this is a fitting project: Fan fiction is about recasting the source material, and “FANtasies” adds another layer to the endlessly self-referential YouTube fandom. The results can be unexpectedly charming. There is plenty of fan service here: In one episode, Mr. Melvin dances sensually in slow motion. In another, the Smosh duo asks Mr. Monson, “Wait, is this going to be something creepy,” a story “where we fall in love with each other or whatever?” When he answers affirmatively, the two call out in unison: “Carry on!” |
| Part of what makes the series work is that YouTube personalities thrive at playing alternate versions of themselves. The jabs at fan fiction as a form are softened by the image of these stars seeming so game in engaging in a bit of performative humiliation. When Ms. Yarchin saw the episode based on her story “Paging Dr. Hart,” she told me, “I was smiling the whole entire time.” | Part of what makes the series work is that YouTube personalities thrive at playing alternate versions of themselves. The jabs at fan fiction as a form are softened by the image of these stars seeming so game in engaging in a bit of performative humiliation. When Ms. Yarchin saw the episode based on her story “Paging Dr. Hart,” she told me, “I was smiling the whole entire time.” |
| But the fan service of “FANtasies” goes only so far. “There wasn’t any specific guideline, like ‘nobody should have sex,’” Mr. Harris said, but the series shies away from the most intense aspects of fan fiction, whether sexual or violent. Fan-fiction authors are often learning to write even as they’re working through early relationships and difficult personal issues, and “we didn’t want to be flip about that,” Mr. Harris said. One story’s discussion of self-harm was nixed; another tale’s domestic abuse narrative was turned into a cartoonish parody of a soap opera plot. | But the fan service of “FANtasies” goes only so far. “There wasn’t any specific guideline, like ‘nobody should have sex,’” Mr. Harris said, but the series shies away from the most intense aspects of fan fiction, whether sexual or violent. Fan-fiction authors are often learning to write even as they’re working through early relationships and difficult personal issues, and “we didn’t want to be flip about that,” Mr. Harris said. One story’s discussion of self-harm was nixed; another tale’s domestic abuse narrative was turned into a cartoonish parody of a soap opera plot. |
| As for the imagined romantic liaisons, Mr. Harris worried that too much wish fulfillment could overwhelm the show’s own storytelling. “Obviously, Ian and Anthony kissing is a huge thing in Smosh fan fiction,” Mr. Harris said, but “we didn’t want to necessarily be the video where Smosh finally makes out.” Instead, one kisses the other on the cheek. | As for the imagined romantic liaisons, Mr. Harris worried that too much wish fulfillment could overwhelm the show’s own storytelling. “Obviously, Ian and Anthony kissing is a huge thing in Smosh fan fiction,” Mr. Harris said, but “we didn’t want to necessarily be the video where Smosh finally makes out.” Instead, one kisses the other on the cheek. |
| “It’s fun to play versions of ourselves, but we still need to keep some lines clear,” Ms. Helbig told me. “We like to keep it all very PG.” | “It’s fun to play versions of ourselves, but we still need to keep some lines clear,” Ms. Helbig told me. “We like to keep it all very PG.” |
| “FANtasies” is content to play at the edges of fan fiction, but it’s telling that it can’t quite contend with the power at the center of the form. Fan fiction is so captivating because it serves up raw emotions — lust, love, depression, betrayal — freed from the organizing principles of typical narrative structures and the entrenched power dynamics of the fan-star relationship. It works by overwhelming the official narrative with the fantasy. That makes it almost threatening to mainstream storytellers and carefully calibrated celebrity personas, like the stuff of illicit hack or snuff film. Too powerful to confront it seriously, “FANtasies” turns it into a joke. | “FANtasies” is content to play at the edges of fan fiction, but it’s telling that it can’t quite contend with the power at the center of the form. Fan fiction is so captivating because it serves up raw emotions — lust, love, depression, betrayal — freed from the organizing principles of typical narrative structures and the entrenched power dynamics of the fan-star relationship. It works by overwhelming the official narrative with the fantasy. That makes it almost threatening to mainstream storytellers and carefully calibrated celebrity personas, like the stuff of illicit hack or snuff film. Too powerful to confront it seriously, “FANtasies” turns it into a joke. |
Previous version
1
Next version