On the integrity of the Star Trek characters in fan fiction
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| Title: | On the integrity of the Star Trek characters in fan fiction |
| Creator: | Michelle Arvizu |
| Date(s): | 1979 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: TOS |
| Topic: | Characterisation in Star Trek fanfic |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
On the integrity of the Star Trek characters in fan fiction is a 1979 essay by Michelle Arvizu.
It was printed in the zine Sahsheer.
The opening line: "Caring. Caring again. How much do we care about the Star Trek characters? How do we show that we care? Do we care at all?"
Some Topics Discussed
- the implied assumption that characters are real people
- the wrongness of using characters as puppets for one's own emotions and insecurities
- writing about depression in an incorrect manner
- fic writers as gods
- characters on Star Trek don't have problems with car repairs or bad breath
The Essay
Whether we are only readers of Star Trek fan fiction and not actual writers, we can still greatly influence the content of fanzines and the directions of stories. Publishers tend to print what sells; non-writing fans suggest story ideas to fan writers; copies of fanzines are recommended and passed from one reader to another. Each one of us has — If not a direct — at least an indirect influence over the shape and content of Star Trek fan fiction.
I think we should now consider just how we treat our "real" friends -- do we spy on them; do we constantly place them in compromising, embarrassing or ridiculous positions; do we sexually manipulate them to benefit our own needs? The answer, of course, is no. Then, why would we do these things to Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the others? Why would we enjoy any story depicting these situations? In real life, others can speak for themselves stick up for themselves and perhaps even, hurt us back. In the world of Star Trek, it is we who play God, are God, to the characters — and the characters cannot hurt us back, can do nothing to protect their own interests.
Obviously, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy have their own particular duties to Star Fleet and enviably to us, they never seem to have financial worries, car-breakdowns, or bad breath. While those are the types of problems you and I face every day. Kirk and Spock often confront the esoteric dilemma of guaranteeing the safety of an entire planet or galaxy. How do we rectify these differences? How can we touch their lives and they touch ours when the priorities and conditions of their lives are so different from ours?
The responsibilities of serious fan-fiction writers (all humorous and satirical pieces notwithstanding) are: first, to represent the characters faithfully from the aired series and when not doing so state that an alternative universe is at work; and second, to present the Truth in Life, through a clear understanding of such and the direct use of examples showing the complexities of that same Life.
Fan writers must eliminate artificial situations: Truth comes from the drama of the inevitable in Life, i.e., old age, misunderstandings, outside influences, inter-personal relationships, etc. — rarely from the contrived. We cannot continue to twist the characters to fit our flights of fancy, our sexual fantasies, our personal emotional needs. Yet, we can fulfill each of those needs, and others, without manipulating the characters in any overt way if — for one thing — we stop opening our works with the most dramatic scene of the story. Maybe in our rush-rush world we writers haven't got time to flesh out the story around the big emotional
scene — and maybe readers haven't the time to read them if we do. Frankly, I think we must all make the time for both. Writers should back up the stories a little —sometimes a lot — let the reader be led into the situation; time and again the correct emotional response is forthcoming and so much more satisfying than from any quick sensationalism of the much shorter piece.
Also, learn to zero in on the drama; Star Trek is not a soap opera. Neither is life. For instance, depression rarely comes from one's wife becoming pregnant by another man so that your beloved daughter is not really your own and so you have terrible misgivings and doubts about your sanity, manhood, surgical ability, etc. Real depression comes from in security, loneliness and fatigue, etc., brought about by insecurity, loneliness and fatigue, etc. — a combination of factors. Writers must learn to look to their own lives, make contact with their own experiences, retrace these emotions and analyze them before utilizing them in any Star Trek story. Star Trek characters are not larger than Life; they are exactly, precisely Life itself. The trick is to motivate properly — push even — without manipulating, without victimizing.
For whatever effort a writer puts into a Star Trek story, she will be doubly rewarded by the beauty and honesty of the characters. It is an honor to write and read about Kirk, Spock and McCoy for they serve as undistorted reflections for our own lives. And that is the function of all great literature.
Let us learn to write well. To learn to read discriminatingly and to set standards that do not compromise either the integrity of the Star Trek characters or ourselves. Let us take the time to care again.
Caring, that's what Star Trek has always been about.