The Controversies of Fanfiction: Research Based Argument

Morality of Fanfiction

As previously stated, most fanfiction currently being read and written is about real people. Much of the real-person fanfiction of today is also erotica. Even if this were not a factor, there is still the question of whether or not it is wrong to read fiction about real people. Libel is published falsehood about a person which is defamatory. Although fanfiction cannot count as libel because the audience reads it knowing it is false, it is still immoral to portray a real person as having negative traits which they do not have. This being said, there is so much fanfiction on the internet which does this that it is impractical and impossible to remove all of it or to punish its authors. The only practical way to respond to this is to abstain from reading such material or giving it publicity. When authors take this material, however, and change all the names in order to publish it, these guidelines change.

As I mentioned before, 50 Shades of Grey started out as a fanfiction, but let's take a look at the process it went through in order to become what it is today. E. L. James wrote it as Master of the Universe on a website exclusively for Twilight fanfiction. After the story gained popularity, she changed the names from Edward Cullen to Christian Grey and Bella Swan to Anastasia Steele and so on (Jones). Before publishing it as an actual novel, she removed the story from the site it was originally on and deleted her account. No problem, no laws broken, no harm, no foul. There is another book out there which similarly started out as fanfiction and is now a published novel. After, by Anna Todd, was originally published on Wattpad as a Harry Styles fanfiction. It currently has almost 350 million reads. After this explosion, a publishing company contacted Todd and made her an offer. After went under a similar transformation as Fifty Shades of Grey with a few key differences. Harry Styles turned into Hardin Scott. Zayne turned to Zed, Liam turned to Landon, and Luis turned to Logan (Alter). Note the similarity. The original After is also still up on Wattpad for anyone to read, with the original names still there. This is completely inappropriate. I know it may sound strange, but James did the right thing. Todd did not. James went to lengths to separate her new novel from its original canon by removing most traces on the internet to her Twilight fanfiction and avoiding the fact in interviews that this was how 5o Shades of Grey started out. She didn't ride on the coattails of Twilight at all, but let her novel in its published form take off on its own.

Todd, however, shows blatant disrespect to her original canon, One Direction. The members of One Direction haven't made any public statement about After or even fanfiction in general. If they did, they could potentially offend a large portion of their fanbase, which would be suicide for them at this point. John Oliver does a skit wherein he discusses erotic fanfiction about himself and other members of the Daily Show. Although he tries to make light of it, he still lets it escape how disturbing he finds the whole thing (Oliver). Todd is completely inconsiderate of the fact that she is writing inappropriate things about real people. She barely slips through a legal loophole by changing their names to such obvious pseudonyms. Since it is near impossible to identify if two characters in completely different stories have all of the same characteristics, ownership of characters is mostly based on names. Todd barely respects even this one rule she had to follow in order to publish her novel. Instead, she kept the names similar so she could use One Direction's popularity to promote her story. Some fans argue that because the personalities of the characters in After are not the same as the real members of One Direction, After isn't really about them and the book is not offensive. However, there is always the possibility that someone will read the text and not know that the author didn't think the boy band members weren't capable of some of the heinous acts they commit in the books, such as having sex with a girl when she is too drunk to give proper consent (Alter).

Fanfiction about characters which are already in the legal domain— such as those from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice— have been published quite a bit already. This type of fanfiction is much safer, and the author doesn't have to change any names or give any money to the original author. Publishing companies so far seem more inclined to publish this type of fanfiction (Jones), and publishing companies have a right to be wary of any other type of fanfiction. No one wants to deal with the aftermath of breaking the law. However, traditional publishing is less reliable and is making less money now that ever because of the internet and freelance publishing (Jones). Remember how I mentioned earlier how Anna Todd's After is still available to read for free on the internet? One would wonder why anyone would pay for something when they can have it for free, but the answer is that Todd had so many fans on Wattpad who are so loyal to her they would buy the book just to support her. This is a gold mine publishing companies should be capitalizing on. However, in order to avoid making the same immoral discrepancies Todd has made, publishing companies should take certain precautions. First, they should make sure the novel is edited so it no longer resembles its original canon at all. This means names should be changed to something completely different, not merely modified so it is still obvious who they originally were. Also, publishing companies should avoid advertising the novel as it pertains to its original canon in any way. Any success which the new novel gains should be made completely on its own terms; none should be stolen from the original canon. Publishing companies are just as responsible as the authors are for not committing these dishonorable acts.

Although there aren't many scholarly articles claiming writing fanfiction is directly harmful to adolescents, many people believe fanfiction is lazy. This is is a validated claim in that many fanfiction writers don't always create their own characters, but this doesn't mean fanfiction writers can't be hardworking or creative. Most fanfictions contain new characters and plot. In fact, it doesn't really count as fanfiction unless the author has taken creative liberties with it. The Organization for Transformative Works is committed to preserving and defending transformative works, which they define as work that "takes something extant and turns it into something with a new purpose, sensibility, or mode of expression" (About). Fanfiction, being a type of transformative work, should be (although it isn't always) something that brings forth new meaning and new ideas, while still giving due respect to its original canon. There are some authors, such as Annie Proulx, author of Brokeback Mountain, states that fanfiction writers "can't understand that the story isn't about Jack and Ennis. It's about homophobia; it's about a social situation; it's about a place and a particular mindset and morality" (Proulx). While her complaints are valid, her fans have every legal right to transform her work for a new purpose, so long as they aren't making money off of it. She also states "The characters belong to me by law." While this is true, this doesn't mean the general public doesn't have the right to interpret or discuss what she has to say. However, those writers who think they are showing celebrities how much they care about them by writing smutty and unjust interpretations of them are actually invading those people's privacy and showing them an immense amount of disrespect.

Although this issue obviously needs to be fixed, it cannot be fixed by policy or new laws. It must be fixed by the general public reacting appropriately to this situation. In order to do this, the general population must be adequately informed. This is all I hope to achieve with my audience: to make sure they know what is happening now in adolescent culture and the publishing industry. Elizabeth Burns writes in her essay for The School Library Journal, "Why are people so eager to write (and read) fanfiction? The answer is simple: they want more, more, more" (Burns). Reading and writing fanfiction is a way for fans to enter a larger conversation and to build off of each other's ideas. I also encourage my audience to embrace fanfiction that is well written, well edited, and respectful of its original canon, while avoiding fanfiction which commits plagiarism or libel, even if it glides through a legal loophole. Fanfiction is a good way for writers to start writing if they don't feel fully comfortable at first, and it is even a good way to get a foot in the door of the publishing world of done correctly. However, there are some people who are using fanfiction for immoral things such as riding the coattails of other authors or voyeurism.

Works Cited

"About the OTW." Archive of Our Own. Organization for Transformative Works, n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2015.

Alter, Alexandra. "Fantasizing on the Famous." The New York Times. The New York Times, 21

Oct. 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.

Boyle, Emma. "/Slash/ Is the Coming-of-age Movie about a Teen's Adventures in Writing Fanfiction." Gadgette. Gadgette, 09 Sept. 2015. Web. 05 Oct. 2015.

Burns, Elizabeth, and Carlie Weber. "When Harry Met Bella." School Library Journal 55.8 (2009): 26-29. Academic Search Premier [EBSCO]. Web. 20 Sept. 2015.

John Oliver- The Daily Show Slash Fanfiction. Dir. John Oliver. Perf. John Oliver. Comedy Partners, 2013. John Oliver-The Daily Show Slash Fanfiction. Comedy Partners, 26 Sept. 2013. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.

Jones, Oliver. "Why Fanfiction Is the Future of Publishing." The Daily Beast. Newsweek, 9 Feb. 2015. Web. 15 Sept. 2015.

Miller, Laura. "It's a Fanmade World: Your Guide to the Fanfiction Explosion." Vulture. New York Media, 11 Mar. 2015. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.

Narayanan, Nandhini. "The Misogyny Towards Fanfiction." The Chronicle. Duke Student Publishing Company, 15 Sept. 2015. Web. 20 Sept. 2015.

Proulx, Annie. "Annie Proulx, The Art of Fiction No. 199." Interview by Christopher Cox. n.d.: n. pag. Print.

Tosenberger, Catherine. "Mature Poets Steal: Children's Literature and the Unpublishability of Fanfiction." Children's Literature Association Quarterly 39.1 (2014): 4-27. ProQuest Central. Web. 20 Sept. 2015.