30 Day Shipping Meme, Day 13
Feb. 21st, 2014 07:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyofleithianDay 13: Couple you ship that causes intense feelings in its fandom (read: flamewars and the like)
To be honest, there are actually a lot of those. There's the matter of Doctor/Rose, with some loving the ship (as well as Rose, obviously) and some just not liking it much but still liking Rose and some who completely detest the ship and find Rose an intolerable Mary Sue (which, personally, I disagree with. I think Rose really has enough strengths and flaws to balance her out as a character. But really, YMMV) or find the ship poorly executed, etc. (With various assumptions made about both characters in the ship that make me think, "No, it's not like that at all. How can you say that?") Also, Anakin/Padme (say what you will about the Doctor/Rose detractors, at least they don't say stuff like Rose date-raped the Doctor or something, like some people on TV Tropes a long while ago said with Anakin. Or tried to portray either one of them as a jealous Domestic Abuser). Also, when I was a kid, Frodo/Sam. It was a pairing that generated some pretty heated opinions, with some liking the ship and some saying that it was disrespectful to Tolkien if only for going beyond the strong friendship that Tolkien was trying to convey. (Which, personally, I don't think slash is disrespectful, really. I mean, it's like shipping any other ship -- if you see it, ship it. Don't let other people tell you what to think. Just write it well and I won't complain) I remember that in the Nostalgia Critic's Top 11 Dumbest Lord of the Rings moments, he put the matter of Frodo and Sam's sort of slashy subtext on there, while saying that while he wouldn't have minded if they were meant to be...well, together, it kind of missed out on the point of what Tolkien was trying to convey in his novels of a very strong friendship between these two. Personally, I don't really think it's that big a deal. I mean, so there were a few slashy scenes. It really doesn't matter. It's a flub, yeah, but I don't think it's really serious enough to be near the top of the list. It's more of a small nitpick; it doesn't really seriously impact the story. And as far as I was watching the movies, I think that they managed to capture the matter of their friendship very well. Yeah, maybe it's a tad slashy to people watching for the first time, but I think Peter Jackson and co. did a fantastic job in terms of writing a duo that's really brought closer together by adversity and the enormity of this task that's been laid out for them. Because I think everyone needs a Samwise in their life to help them when things get bad, and that's what Frodo had (and for that he's immensely lucky). And of course, Elijah Wood and Sean Astin did a great job at making you feel for these characters.
And of course, the video got a backlash from members of the LGBTQPA community, as well as TV Tropes. If I recall correctly, one counterpoint brought up was the matter of representation. And I can see their point. Personally, I'd love to see more representation in fiction, and more than that, just not have it treated as something unusual, something to poke fun at (it's really a sort of "humor" that comes down to, "It's funny because they're different", which, dude, no), or anything else. I'd love to just see more of that stuff just treated as being normal, with two likable, fleshed out characters that you find easy to root for, and a relationship that's very well-written. I'm certain that it's out there, but there's always room for more. (Same with other bits of representation, really)
Still very fond of you, Nostalgia Critic, still love your videos, but there are some things in there that made me a little uncomfortable, and this was one of them.
There are surely others, but these are probably the top three of my ships that people feel strongly about. Also, I hope I made sense with the Frodo/Sam discussion above. It was mostly something that was weighing on me for a long while, and I figured I'd get it out. Also, I hope I at least managed to make sense.
To be honest, there are actually a lot of those. There's the matter of Doctor/Rose, with some loving the ship (as well as Rose, obviously) and some just not liking it much but still liking Rose and some who completely detest the ship and find Rose an intolerable Mary Sue (which, personally, I disagree with. I think Rose really has enough strengths and flaws to balance her out as a character. But really, YMMV) or find the ship poorly executed, etc. (With various assumptions made about both characters in the ship that make me think, "No, it's not like that at all. How can you say that?") Also, Anakin/Padme (say what you will about the Doctor/Rose detractors, at least they don't say stuff like Rose date-raped the Doctor or something, like some people on TV Tropes a long while ago said with Anakin. Or tried to portray either one of them as a jealous Domestic Abuser). Also, when I was a kid, Frodo/Sam. It was a pairing that generated some pretty heated opinions, with some liking the ship and some saying that it was disrespectful to Tolkien if only for going beyond the strong friendship that Tolkien was trying to convey. (Which, personally, I don't think slash is disrespectful, really. I mean, it's like shipping any other ship -- if you see it, ship it. Don't let other people tell you what to think. Just write it well and I won't complain) I remember that in the Nostalgia Critic's Top 11 Dumbest Lord of the Rings moments, he put the matter of Frodo and Sam's sort of slashy subtext on there, while saying that while he wouldn't have minded if they were meant to be...well, together, it kind of missed out on the point of what Tolkien was trying to convey in his novels of a very strong friendship between these two. Personally, I don't really think it's that big a deal. I mean, so there were a few slashy scenes. It really doesn't matter. It's a flub, yeah, but I don't think it's really serious enough to be near the top of the list. It's more of a small nitpick; it doesn't really seriously impact the story. And as far as I was watching the movies, I think that they managed to capture the matter of their friendship very well. Yeah, maybe it's a tad slashy to people watching for the first time, but I think Peter Jackson and co. did a fantastic job in terms of writing a duo that's really brought closer together by adversity and the enormity of this task that's been laid out for them. Because I think everyone needs a Samwise in their life to help them when things get bad, and that's what Frodo had (and for that he's immensely lucky). And of course, Elijah Wood and Sean Astin did a great job at making you feel for these characters.
And of course, the video got a backlash from members of the LGBTQPA community, as well as TV Tropes. If I recall correctly, one counterpoint brought up was the matter of representation. And I can see their point. Personally, I'd love to see more representation in fiction, and more than that, just not have it treated as something unusual, something to poke fun at (it's really a sort of "humor" that comes down to, "It's funny because they're different", which, dude, no), or anything else. I'd love to just see more of that stuff just treated as being normal, with two likable, fleshed out characters that you find easy to root for, and a relationship that's very well-written. I'm certain that it's out there, but there's always room for more. (Same with other bits of representation, really)
Still very fond of you, Nostalgia Critic, still love your videos, but there are some things in there that made me a little uncomfortable, and this was one of them.
There are surely others, but these are probably the top three of my ships that people feel strongly about. Also, I hope I made sense with the Frodo/Sam discussion above. It was mostly something that was weighing on me for a long while, and I figured I'd get it out. Also, I hope I at least managed to make sense.
Day 14: Couple you liked even though you knew it would end up badly
Day 15: A ship canon really messed with
Day 16: Favorite villain pairing
Day 17: Ship you talk(ed) about with people in real life
Day 18: Most annoying character that tried to come between a ship
Day 19: Favorite Hero/Villain pairing
Day 20: Favorite couple played for laughs
Day 21: Favorite opposites attract couple
Day 22: Saddest unrequited love
Day 23: Couple you only shipped after a long time
Day 24: Couple you like, but is overshadowed by another couple in a fandom
Day 25: Most popular couple in your favorite fandom (do you ship it too?)
Day 26: Best historical couple
Day 27: Another couple you shipped a long time ago
Day 28: A couple you shipped not nearly as long as you thought you would
Day 29: Favorite ‘birds of a feather flock together’ couple
Day 30: Couple you will still ship a few years from now
