Empress of Mars: Undisputed @zebratron2084@awoo.space

@Aradia *puts a little garland of flowers on your head a la https://tinyurl.com/y6xdjc5a *

FWIW, the example that inspired me was an otherwise really nice analysis of Alan Resnick's Live Forever As You Are Now, a fake self-help infomercial that satirizes tech-guru transhumanism.

They were spinning these HUGE theories out of the fact the video was full of short jokes, which they'd decided was a symbol of false humility on the part of the tech world and don't you see how their advertising does blah blah blah...

And I gently pointed out, um, Alan's 5'4" in RL and his troupemates make a point of teasing him about it in EVERY. SINGLE. THING. THEY. DO. They once did a sketch about him sleeping in someone's shoe.

And like I said, this kid had some really good ideas! I'm so glad they did this, and an error like that is well worth all the good insights! But I bring it up because it feels like this kind of high-school style "THE RED CURTAINS ARE A SYMBOL OF VIOLENCE, BECAUSE THE AUTHOR WANTS TO MAKE A STATEMENT!" criticism is... basically the only thing that we've got. And there are so many other ways to criticize fan media that better reflect the real creative process.

So, yeah. Good criticism is the exact opposite of a jigsaw puzzle. Good critics _know_ they're just taking rough, random pieces and super-gluing them together in interesting patterns. Some of those patterns will be drawn straight from the pieces' actual shapes. Some will be total guesswork. Some will require an X-Acto knife. And that's fine... but the more aware of this process you are, the better your criticism will be.

A narrative is the exact opposite of a jigsaw puzzle. All the pieces should NOT fit together perfectly-- because there are no pieces and, therefore, no edges to lock or not lock correctly.

I've been looking at fan theories all evening, and while I've also seen some really clever, insightful stuff, it still worries me how obsessed this kind of "folk criticism" is about making every single piece of content finds its place in a Grand Unifying Theory, some final and all-encompassing answer to What The Author Is Telling Us Here.

That's a very specific variety of literary criticism at work there, one that's taught in most high schools, and it's one that most of my college education in lit-crit was devoted to undoing. :)

It's possible I'm just playing the old priest here, advancing my own dogma at the cost of an equally valid one. But I'm a creator myself, and I'm married to a creator, plus yanno, I've read a hell of a lot about how media is made.

IMHO, the worst thing about fan theories is that they simultaneously revere and eliminate the author, turning them into a godlike entity who never does anything unless it's for a perfect, abstract thematic reason. And I KNOW most media doesn't work that way. I've _been_ the one scratching my head at the script, wondering exactly why the hell what some plot token was still doing there-- or even making the judicious decision to keep something that makes no plot sense because it's just so damn funny.

@anthracite @Phorm 😾​

@anthracite @Leucrotta Peggy, I can not overstate how strongly I did *not* wish for this to become a game of "Problem" Master Mind. >_~

@JulieSqveakaroo @anthracite NO, ROO. IT DOESN'T. PLEASE HELP US HELP YOU.

(On the other hand, Problem Broth would be a really good name for a folktronica band.)

"Problem broth."

You don't know it, but you are SO VERY GRATEFUL I'm not explaining why @anthracite and I had to coin this term. >_>;;

Posted without comment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRkgJZysLWQ

[cw: DATA MISSING]

(I'm fine, just... purging a bunch of old files from my hard drives that don't really matter anymore. :| )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1RlVlJZv7c

@Phorm @Thaminga Hey, they're all locked away at the SCP Warehouse _somewhere_ or another! Where the hell did I put my Illuminati Unversity Alumni donor's pass...

@troodon I refuse to acknowledge any irony or sarcasm in your toot. 🐯​

@Thaminga @Phorm I actually had a vixen(s) like that on tapestriesMUCK back in the day. You forgot the big identifying digits on their catsuits. n.n

@mona@cybre.space There are some STRANGE bedfellows on the right these days, aren't there?!

@mona@cybre.space Sadly, if you dig in the comments to that video -- DON'T, of course -- you will indeed find people who sincerely just thought Robby was speaking truth to power.

I know Robby from his other work -- I'm sure it pisses him off as much as it does me. -_-

@mona@cybre.space That's pretty much what Robby's comedy troupe, Wham City, is all about! They mostly do technological satire that's disorienting like this on purpose, and most of it's _right_ on the border between comedy and horror. I don't think they've made a "laugh out loud" comedy project in years. So, yeah, your reaction is absolutely correct. :)

(I can definitely reassure you that Robby's putting on a huge, ironic act here-- the Wham City comedy festivals have always been really good about booking queer and genderfluid people, for instance...)

Courtesy of Robby Rackleff, the best and most disturbing satire of the American right I've seen in a while.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1Byh4maXcg (cw: just... kinda distressing, 'cause he's way too good at this :O )

@LeDiva @LexYeen@snouts.online *shrug* I'm a tiger, babe. I'm gonna catch 'em no matter how close they come. >:D

@LexYeen@snouts.online WARNING: CAT BELLY IS A TRAP