I think I said it before, but I really am relieved to hear you say this, because if you took it too seriously...well, I wouldn't want to upset you, if I start poking at the more ridiculous holes in the fabric of their universe. But it is a ridiculously fun show!
LOL, no, I'm well aware that their universe is full of holes! But ... as we've discussed before ... I think that's partly why it succeeds so well for me as something to throw my fannish energies into -- there's just so much about the rest of the show that's compelling and fun that the urge to use my fannish powers to plug those holes is irresistible!
I do tend to shy away from discussion of the show's holes that gets too, well, vicious? I know you're not like that, though. In some ways this show seems to have a permanent pass with the "fandom immunity card" for me; I see and acknowledge the holes, I love trying to figure out how to make them make sense within canon (or real life!), or having good-natured gripefests with friends on topics of mutual annoyance ... but my feelings towards the show are warm and fuzzy enough that I have to back away from discussions that start putting a harsh on my squee-mellow. Still ... I had several fandom friends who had a serious falling-out with the show over the Carson and Elizabeth thing, and we still get along fine. We just don't tend to discuss SGA. *g*
I think it's that; I also think that maybe many people have a hard time relating to an asexual character. Sex and romance is an important part of peoples' lives - and especially when we're talking entertainment - that a char who doesn't care about that at all comes across as somewhat inhuman, hard to connect with (for most people. Not so much for myself, but I'm, er...there's definitely a reason asexual chars appeal to me personally.)
I started to say something here about there not being a lot of asexual characters on TV, but actually, thinking about it, in the SF and adventure genres (aside from the testosterone-laced he-man or ladies man type) it's really more the norm than not! It's just not addressed as such; it's simply that sex and romance aren't really a big deal in the context of the show. It's the same sort of implication-by-admission that tends to imply most characters on TV are atheistic in outlook, even though it's never stated as such (although with Rodney, I suppose they did come right out and say it); the relative importance of religion, or sex, or friendship, to the characters' lives, is evident from the amount of space in the source text that's devoted to it. Certainly, if it's not outright stated, there's no reason why fans can't put whatever spin on the character they want in fic and commentary. But the average sci-fi character is not nearly as fixated on love and romance as the average person in real life (male or female) -- fandom, then, tends to focus on that aspect of their lives to the exclusion of almost all else.
It's really interesting to me to look at Sheppard this way, and by extension, at the fanon tropes that surround him and my reactions to them. I generally don't see him as asexual in quite the same way you do, I think, and I can accept the sex-obsessed characterization of him in some fic (depending on how strong it is) even though it doesn't quite jibe with the way that I perceive his reactions. However, I have a really strong knee-jerk reaction to established-relationship slash involving him; I really can't read it, even though I find first-time Sheppard/McKay slash sweet. And I wonder if, on a deep level, it's because I just can't reconcile Sheppard on the show with the idea of Sheppard as one-half of a permanent sexual relationship. Rodney I don't really have the same problem with; and Rodney, in fact, has been established in canon as wanting that kind of relationship. Sheppard, on the other hand ... even in AUs, I can't really relate to a Sheppard who is married or even wants to be. And although I had never consciously thought of him as an asexual person, it fits very well with some of the mostly-subconscious ways that I relate to Sheppard in fic (depending, again, on the story, of course).
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winterfish
no subject
Date: 2007-10-19 06:39 pm (UTC)I think I said it before, but I really am relieved to hear you say this, because if you took it too seriously...well, I wouldn't want to upset you, if I start poking at the more ridiculous holes in the fabric of their universe. But it is a ridiculously fun show!
LOL, no, I'm well aware that their universe is full of holes! But ... as we've discussed before ... I think that's partly why it succeeds so well for me as something to throw my fannish energies into -- there's just so much about the rest of the show that's compelling and fun that the urge to use my fannish powers to plug those holes is irresistible!
I do tend to shy away from discussion of the show's holes that gets too, well, vicious? I know you're not like that, though. In some ways this show seems to have a permanent pass with the "fandom immunity card" for me; I see and acknowledge the holes, I love trying to figure out how to make them make sense within canon (or real life!), or having good-natured gripefests with friends on topics of mutual annoyance ... but my feelings towards the show are warm and fuzzy enough that I have to back away from discussions that start putting a harsh on my squee-mellow. Still ... I had several fandom friends who had a serious falling-out with the show over the Carson and Elizabeth thing, and we still get along fine. We just don't tend to discuss SGA. *g*
I think it's that; I also think that maybe many people have a hard time relating to an asexual character. Sex and romance is an important part of peoples' lives - and especially when we're talking entertainment - that a char who doesn't care about that at all comes across as somewhat inhuman, hard to connect with (for most people. Not so much for myself, but I'm, er...there's definitely a reason asexual chars appeal to me personally.)
I started to say something here about there not being a lot of asexual characters on TV, but actually, thinking about it, in the SF and adventure genres (aside from the testosterone-laced he-man or ladies man type) it's really more the norm than not! It's just not addressed as such; it's simply that sex and romance aren't really a big deal in the context of the show. It's the same sort of implication-by-admission that tends to imply most characters on TV are atheistic in outlook, even though it's never stated as such (although with Rodney, I suppose they did come right out and say it); the relative importance of religion, or sex, or friendship, to the characters' lives, is evident from the amount of space in the source text that's devoted to it. Certainly, if it's not outright stated, there's no reason why fans can't put whatever spin on the character they want in fic and commentary. But the average sci-fi character is not nearly as fixated on love and romance as the average person in real life (male or female) -- fandom, then, tends to focus on that aspect of their lives to the exclusion of almost all else.
It's really interesting to me to look at Sheppard this way, and by extension, at the fanon tropes that surround him and my reactions to them. I generally don't see him as asexual in quite the same way you do, I think, and I can accept the sex-obsessed characterization of him in some fic (depending on how strong it is) even though it doesn't quite jibe with the way that I perceive his reactions. However, I have a really strong knee-jerk reaction to established-relationship slash involving him; I really can't read it, even though I find first-time Sheppard/McKay slash sweet. And I wonder if, on a deep level, it's because I just can't reconcile Sheppard on the show with the idea of Sheppard as one-half of a permanent sexual relationship. Rodney I don't really have the same problem with; and Rodney, in fact, has been established in canon as wanting that kind of relationship. Sheppard, on the other hand ... even in AUs, I can't really relate to a Sheppard who is married or even wants to be. And although I had never consciously thought of him as an asexual person, it fits very well with some of the mostly-subconscious ways that I relate to Sheppard in fic (depending, again, on the story, of course).