fanfiction in an age of mechanical reproduction
by logan shutt
Fanfiction is often disputed as unoriginal or less valid a form of literature than something produced originally. Although the same, or at least a very similar, process of writing is used to produce these works, it is frowned upon because of its lack of “originality”. Arguments are made that it is merely a reproduction of a work and not a standalone piece. This is often followed by a claim that fanfiction is not an authentic work. Walter Benjamin viewed the “authenticity of a thing [as] the essence of all that is transmissible from its beginning, ranging from its substantive duration to its testimony to the history which it has experienced”. In his eyes, it wasn’t so much the physical representation or forms of a thing, but instead the aura that it held. The authenticity of a thing is a combination of the process in which it was produced, its history, and the meaning it holds to people. This leads me to believe that Benjamin would view fanfiction as its own work of art, seeing as how to produce it a process must be undergone as well as the fact that it can have a huge effect on people.
Those who are not well-versed in the world of fanfiction often underestimate the impact a well-done piece can have. There are certain fanfictions that fandoms hold almost as equally dear as the original, canon productions. In the Sherlock fandom, one of the most essential parts of being a true fanboy/fangirl is reading “Alone on the Water”. It is understood amongst the fandom that this is an essential and very crucial part of the fandom. Most people shed tears over this fic and are affected just as much as if it had appeared on the actual show. It’s hard to determine if this fic would have the same effect had the person not already invested themselves into the show previously. I would argue that it easily could. The thought put into these fics is easily as much as the thought put into any original piece.
Benjamin argues that “every fundamentally new, pioneering creation of demands will carry beyond its goal”, which can directly link to fanfiction. One of the huge goals of fanfiction is to take a desire or request that the canon piece has yet to satisfy. The fans want something to happen that hasn’t happened or most likely will not; so someone takes this desire and makes it happen. It is initially a very simple goal but often these fics completely overpass this initial goal and produce a work that could easily have the same emotion wrenching effects as its own piece.
While Benjamin views reproductions of art as having less emotional value than the original piece, I believe he would see fanfiction as its own work of art. It develops its own character and in turn, its own aura. It develops a history of its own, and can even a fandom within the original fandom. Fanfiction is not merely a reproduction of a piece, which Benjamin was not highly fond of, but a new work of art completely.
Those who are not well-versed in the world of fanfiction often underestimate the impact a well-done piece can have. There are certain fanfictions that fandoms hold almost as equally dear as the original, canon productions. In the Sherlock fandom, one of the most essential parts of being a true fanboy/fangirl is reading “Alone on the Water”. It is understood amongst the fandom that this is an essential and very crucial part of the fandom. Most people shed tears over this fic and are affected just as much as if it had appeared on the actual show. It’s hard to determine if this fic would have the same effect had the person not already invested themselves into the show previously. I would argue that it easily could. The thought put into these fics is easily as much as the thought put into any original piece.
Benjamin argues that “every fundamentally new, pioneering creation of demands will carry beyond its goal”, which can directly link to fanfiction. One of the huge goals of fanfiction is to take a desire or request that the canon piece has yet to satisfy. The fans want something to happen that hasn’t happened or most likely will not; so someone takes this desire and makes it happen. It is initially a very simple goal but often these fics completely overpass this initial goal and produce a work that could easily have the same emotion wrenching effects as its own piece.
While Benjamin views reproductions of art as having less emotional value than the original piece, I believe he would see fanfiction as its own work of art. It develops its own character and in turn, its own aura. It develops a history of its own, and can even a fandom within the original fandom. Fanfiction is not merely a reproduction of a piece, which Benjamin was not highly fond of, but a new work of art completely.