jurrasicparkislove-blog - Tumblr blog

jurrasicparkislove-blog · 7 years

Text

FA335 CREATIVE PROJECT

Hello Dino Lovers! Welcome to our blog!

What is Fan Fiction?

Fandoms provide interesting and inclusive opportunities for individuals to acknowledge and interact with movies, television shows, art, music, celebrities and so on. A particular outlet of fan interaction is fan fiction—fiction written about characters and settings from an original piece, created by followers and supporters rather than the creator themselves. Malin Isaksson describes fan fiction as:

“A creative and free text-type, open to possibilities of developing a story in directions not foreseen by the canon’s creators and for pairing characters who do not form couples in the canon, for example creating slash/femslash. However, the general rule in fan fiction is that writers respect the logic of that canon regarding plot, style and the characters personalities“ (Isaksson).

Within fan fiction, slash and femslash fiction—fiction written about same sex relations between characters—has grown into a popular sub-genre of fan literature. In this blog post, we will examine what slash and femslash fiction is, its history, and whom it is written by and for. We will explore this subject using the Jurassic Park franchise. Then, we will take a stab at writing slash and femslash fiction ourselves.

Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park and Jurassic World provide intensely interactive plots, fascinating character development and enchanting cinematography. It is apart of an enterprise that has inspired numerous sequels, adaptions, merchandise, amusement and even slash fiction. In fact, over the past 20 years its fan base has continuously grown into a thriving and inclusive fandom. As childhood fans of the original film, our love for Jurassic Park was reinvigorated with the 2015 release of Jurassic World.

So, lets explore fiction, fan-fiction and slash-fan fiction, shall we?

Why Fiction in General:

Before we begin, lets closely analyze human beings’ fascination with fiction more generally. Tooby and Cosmides (2001) argue that our involvement in fictional and imagined worlds appears to be “a human universal” (Salmon and Symon 94). In fact, they argue two possible explanations as to why humans create and consume fictional representations. First, “human engagement in fictional experience is a functionless byproduct of psychological adaptions that were designed by natural selection to serve other functions.” In other words, our engagement in fictional experience is not something we were designed to do, but rather something we are susceptible to doing (Salmon and Symon 95). The second explanation is “that human engagement in fictional experience is in itself an adaption; that is something we are designed to do” (Salmon and Symon 95). Whatever argument you may find more convincing, there is no doubt that human beings love interacting with fiction!

What is Slash Fiction?

At the surface, it is fan fiction written about characters of the same sex. Slash fiction originated in the 1970s. To be considered true slash fiction, “lovers must be an expropriated media paring, such as Captain Kirk and Spock” (Salmon and Symon 94). The term “slash” arose “from the convention of using the slash punctuation mark to unite the lovers’ names or initials” (Salmon and Symon 94). Interestingly, it is almost exclusively written by and for women (Salmon and Symon 94). Throughout slash fiction’s growth in popularity, nearly every cop, spy, adventure and science fiction TV series featuring male cast members were “slashed” (Salmon and Symon 94). In part, slash fiction’s growth in popularity was because of the creation of the Internet (Salmon and Symon 94). Lastly, Slash fiction arose spontaneously at the same time in the US, the UK, Germany, Australia, and Canada (Salmon and Symon 94). There is no doubt that slash-fiction is popular, specifically amongst female audiences, but the question remains why?

Why is Slash-Fiction so Popular amongst Women?

There are a number of theories that argue why slash fiction is so popular amongst female audiences. Ika Willis has said,

“Through my involvement in slash, I have developed terms and practices which enable me to live more comfortably in my body and with a sense of my own gendered identification(s), which works for me. In fact, slash has worked both to sustain my lifelong boy-identification and to solidify and strengthen my (in some ways more precarious) identification as a woman” (Willis 292).

Therefore, slash fiction provides an opportunity for individuals to explore sex, sexuality and gender, and the complicated intersection of these identities. In addition, Willis argues that we have a corporal body and felt body. The corporal refers to our literal and physical body and the felt body is metaphorical—whether you feel more masculine or feminine, or perhaps neither. Therefore, “an individual—cis or trans—may, in practice, experience a gendered disjunction” between these two bodies. (Willis 303). This disjunction can be explored within slash fiction and can help “strengthen” ones identification.

What is Femslash?

Femslash is a subgenre of slash fiction—fan creations written about lesbian relationships. It has gained increasing popularity amongst fan communities. Femslash as a phenomenon occurred later than slash fiction. While fans were slashing Kirk and Spock together since the 70s, female slashing became popular a few decades after. Malin Isaksson argues that femslash really grew in popularity in part because Buffy the Vampire Slayer portrayed such strong female characters. More generally, as women received stronger lead roles in Hollywood movies and TV shows, there was a greater opportunity to slash them together (Isaksson 3). Interestingly like slash fiction, the general authorship of femslash is also women. While we now know what slash and femslash fiction is, and that it is primarily written by women, the question still remains why? More importantly, why is there a stigma surrounding male authorship of slash and femslash fiction?

Who can Write Slash/Femslash Fiction?

Want the short answer? Anyone. But for some reason, there remains such an impermeable stigma around men who write slash/femslash fiction. But why? Sexuality and gender is non-binary; it is fluid, individual and intrinsically apart of our identities. For example, Alfred Kinsey understands sexuality on a spectrum and that the majority of humans are neither exclusively homosexual nor exclusively heterosexual. Instead, the majority of us are somewhere in between (Weinrich, 1). We work so hard to avoid boxes and labels—the options are no longer dichotomous. It is no longer just male or female, it is no longer just straight or gay. So, why does it matter who is creating a piece and whom is reading it? There shouldn’t really be stigma surrounding this. It is just fans taking part in fandoms in their own way. That’s why we are challenging this stigma, by writing a fan fiction that contains both slash and femslash fiction! Take a read:

The following fan fiction was written and created by us. We then edited our piece to include femslash as well.

Claire

Zara

Note: This Femslash takes place one year following the events of Jurassic World Lightening struck again waking Claire from a horrible nightmare. The constant routine of waking abruptly with flashes of dinosaurs ripping apart human flesh had become so familiar to her. She immediately rolled over in her bed expecting to beside the love of her life.

She was alone.

Thinking back, she could not remember a time where she slept through the night without waking up in a panic. She got out of bed and walked down the hallway, giving up any hope of more sleep. For some reason tonight her house felt more empty than usual. Everything was silent and lonely. Her constant need to clean and keep a perfect looking home made it seem lonelier. She had trapped herself in isolation when she moved away from everyone she knew. She found a house in Fairbanks, Alaska. This winter was especially cold.

She hadn’t seen Owen since the events took place. She feared that he would be upset with her for leaving without telling anyone. However, she could not go on lying to everyone after the horrible incident. More importantly, she regretted never having the chance to tell him about Zara.

Although Owen Always thought they were meant for each other, Claire knew he could never fulfill her need for connection the way that Zara did. Zara was the most beautiful woman Claire had ever seen. When she first began working for her she knew there was chemistry… and not just the kind that made dinosaurs come back to life.

Zara had the type of confidence that captured the room. It was as if all work in the office halted once she walked in; all eyes slowly wandering down her long legs. When Claire first saw Zara, she knew she had to have her. She was immediately drawn in. Her brown hair was perfect. Everything about her seemed too perfect to be true. It was in these first looks that Claire felt something she never had before; something she never thought she would ever feel with a woman.

Claire put the kettle on and prepared a cup of tea. She then grabbed her housecoat and decided to brave the cold winter night. Immediately she was surprised to see the beautiful Northern Lights illuminating the sky. She sipped her tea looking at splashes of glowing green across the sky. She thought it might be the most amazing thing she had ever seen. Then immediately she began to remember when Zara and her first spoke.

Once their eyes locked, it felt as if the whole world had become weightless. As they discussed their work she noticed she could not stop smiling. Claire and Zara’s eyes kept meeting and she noticed that Zara kept looking at her lips. Once she realized this was happening Claire blushed. She had never felt butterflies this strong with anyone before. However, she was too nervous and embarrassed to make a move.

Claire decided it was too cold and moved back inside to turn on the fireplace. Although she was lonely, her home in Fairbanks gave a sense of independence and sanctuary. She needed a simple life after living through the horrible deaths and fears at Jurassic World. Every article and news story across the world covered the story of the hundreds of injured and killed people in Jurassic World.

She checked her phone and noticed a missed call: Owen. It had been three months since the last time Owen had tried to call her. She began to cry. She never realized how much she missed human contact till this moment. The fire finally began to heat the house and she curled up on the couch. Through the frosted window she noticed the snow begin to fall.

The first time Zara kissed Claire her heart began to beat through her chest. Her arms wrapped around her body and held her close. She had never been so nervous. “Don’t be nervous” Zara whispered to her.

FIN

Grant

Malcolm

Note: This Slash Fiction takes place one year following the events of Jurassic Park Lightening struck again waking Grant from a horrible nightmare. The constant routine of waking abruptly with flashes of dinosaurs ripping apart human flesh had become so familiar to him. He immediately rolled over in his bed expecting to beside the love of his life.

He was alone.

Thinking back, he could not remember a time where he slept through the night without waking up in a panic. He got out of bed and walked down the hallway, giving up any hope of more sleep. For some reason tonight his house felt more empty than usual. Everything was silent and lonely. His constant need to clean and keep a perfect looking home made it seem lonelier. He had trapped himself in isolation when he moved away from everyone he knew. He found a house in Fairbanks, Alaska. This winter was especially cold.

He hadn’t seen Ellie since the events took place. He feared that she would be upset with him for leaving her without telling anyone. However, he could not go on lying to everyone after the horrible incident. More importantly, he regretted never having the chance to tell her about Malcolm.

Although Ellie always thought they were meant for each other, Grant knew she could never fulfill his need for connection the way that Malcolm did. Malcolm was the most beautiful man Grant had ever seen. When he first began working with him he knew there was chemistry… and not just the kind that made dinosaurs come back to life.

Malcolm had the type of confidence that captured the room. It was as if all work in the office halted once he walked in; all eyes slowly wandering down to his chest. When Grant first saw Malcolm, he knew he had to have him. He was immediately drawn in. His brown hair was perfect. Everything about him seemed too perfect to be true. It was in these first looks that Grant felt something he never had before; something he never thought he would ever feel with a man.

Grant put the kettle on and prepared a cup of tea. He then grabbed his housecoat and decided to brave the cold winter night. Immediately he was surprised to see the beautiful Northern Lights illuminating the sky. He sipped his tea looking at splashes of glowing green across the sky. He thought it might be the most amazing thing he had ever seen. Then immediately he began to remember when Malcolm and him first spoke.

Once their eyes locked, it felt as if the whole world had become weightless. As they discussed their work he noticed she could not stop smiling. Grant and Malcolm’s eyes kept meeting and he noticed that Malcolm kept looking at his lips. Once he realized this was happening Grant blushed. He had never felt butterflies this strong with anyone before. However, he was too nervous and embarrassed to make a move.

Grant decided it was too cold and moved back inside to turn on the fireplace. Although he was lonely, his home in Fairbanks gave a sense of independence and sanctuary. He needed a simple life after living through the horrible deaths and fears at Jurassic Park. Every article and news story across the world covered the story of the incident at Jurassic Park.

He checked his phone and noticed a missed call: Ellie. It had been three months since the last time Ellie had tried to call him. He began to cry. He never realized how much he missed human contact till this moment. The fire finally began to heat the house and he curled up on the couch. Through the frosted window he noticed the snow begin to fall.

The first time Malcolm kissed Grant his heart began to beat through his chest. His arms wrapped around his body and he held him close. He had never been so nervous. “Don’t be nervous” Malcolm whispered to him.

FIN

THANKS FOR READING

Works Cited

Griffin H. SOAP SLASH: GAY MEN REWRITE THE WORLD OF DAYTIME TELEVISION DRAMA. The Spectator. 2005;25(1):23-34. http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/docview/1496062665?accountid=14846.

Isaksson, Malin. "Buffy/Faith Adult Femslash: Queer Porn With a Plot." Slayage: The Online, International Journal of Buffy Studies 7 (2009): Web. http://davidlavery.net/Slayage/PDF/Isaksson .pdf

Salmon, Catherine, and Don Symons. "Slash fiction and human mating psychology." Journal of Sex Research 41.1 (2004): 94-100.

Willis, Ika. "Writing the Fables of Sexual Difference: Slash Fiction as Technology of Gender." Parallax, vol. 22, no. 3, 2016, pp. 290-311, doi:10.1080/13534645.2016.1201920.

Weinrich, James D. "Notes on the Kinsey Scale." Journal of Bisexuality, vol. 14, no. 3-4, 2014, pp. 333-340, doi:10.1080/15299716.2014.951139.

#jurassicpark #femslash #slashfiction #jurassicworld

2 notes · View notes