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→The Evolution of the Word: Subtext and Text
==Why Slash?==
==Why Slash?==
A question many fans feel compelled to answer. See: [[Why Slash]]?
A question many fans feel compelled to answer. See: [[Why Slash]]?
==Evolution of the Subtext==
From a 1998 fan discussion: {{Quotation|
Thinking about the more recent slash fandoms vs. the older fandoms brought me to this question:
Is now a better time to be a slash fan than the mid-seventies? The shows are more obvious about their homosocial/homoerotic overtones, the actors are (for the most part) more open to it and less concerned, [[Queerbaiting|some jokes/scenarios even seemed aimed at the slash fan]]. BUT: was it a different feeling when the slash was ferreted out and created wholly by the fandom, without any real help from what was on the screen? I mean, tell me please if [[Kirk]] and [[Spock]] ever looked at one another the way [[Mulder]] and [[Krycek]] do -- or is that preferable?
I know this is a judgement call and that no one is going to agree with anyone else completely, but I'm curious as to how slash and slash fandom
has changed as the social climate (and therefore the entertainment) became a) more aware of homosexuality, b) more tolerant of homosexuality, and c) more likely to fan the flames (no pun intended)
: I can't answer that comparatively since I don't know how [[Mulder]] and [[Krycek]] look at one another, but TOS Kirk and Spock do in fact act in ways onscreen that would be considered suspect by today's more knowing audiences. Some of it involves looking at one another, but a large part of it involves body contact which is both (mostly) unnecessary and prolonged past the point of propriety. Examples episodes in which this is most blatant are: "The Changeling" - right after Spock's meld with Nomad, "Shore Leave" - while they're being strafed by an antique fighter plane, and "And the Children Shall Lead" - [[the infamous turbolift scene]]. Most of this was accidental, due to the smaller action field in the cameras of the 60's which forced principals in a scene to stand much closer than normal in order to remain in frame. However, the censors of the time were more concerned with catching the improprieties this caused between male-female only - it being a more naive time as far as homosexuality was concerned - so they weren't watching for it between male leads.
: Personally, I wish [[William Shatner|WS]] and [[Leonard Nimoy|LN]] hadn't been made aware. They've been good sports and even try to accommodate us by 'playing to the gallery' on occasion, but now it's contrived and campy. Before, in [[Star Trek: TOS|TOS]], we would get scenes like the ones above in which you see genuine affection between them and sometimes bantering dialog which could be interpreted as flirting because of the accompanying body language and the fact that they were largely unaware of the effect they were creating. Now, we get "[[Please Captain, not in front of the Klingons]]" (who couldn't have cared less if they hugged each other like they did at the end of "[[Amok Time]]", IMO), which makes Spock sound like [[Felix Unger]] of [[the Odd Couple]], for crying out loud! In short, I think it was more fun then than now because half the fun is the "are they or aren't they" speculation and the subsequent searches for clues in the episodes. Having it handed to you on a silver platter - well what fun is *that*?
:: I like more blatant [[homoerotic subtext]] in shows. Of course, I'm coming from the perspective of a [[vidder]] as well as a reader/writer, and the lingering glances make for better [[vids]], IMO. <g> I suppose I sometimes feel I have to justify slash -- even to people who are sympathetic, like my husband -- and so the obvious looks, the [[Mulder/Krycek|M/K]] kiss, [[Jim Ellison|Jim]] distraught over [[Blair Sandburg|Blair's]] "drowning", etc., keep me from feeling delusional. <g>
::I don't know how much of it has to do with the timeframe, though, and how much has to do with the actual characters -- [[Bodie]] and [[Ray Doyle|Doyle]] regularly exchange meaningful glances and from what I hear, the same could be said for [[S/H]], though I'm not particularly familiar with the fandom.
::I guess I'm just more drawn to fandoms where the [[subtext]] is more visible: [[Due South]], [[X-Files]], [[Pros]], [[Sentinel]], [[Hercules/Xena]]. [[Star Trek: TOS|TOS]] has never particularly interested me, though I find both [[Kirk]] and [[Spock]] to be attractive.
::: Um, yeah, you could say that. Actually, I am inclined to say that [[Crockett/Castillo]] exchange meaningful glances; [[Starsky/Hutch]] exchanged meaningful gropes.<ref> discussion at [[Virgule-L]], quoted anonymously, the last quote is by [[Michelle Christian]], quoted with permossion (16 Oct 1998) </ref>}}
==The Evolution of the Word: Subtext and Text ==
==The Evolution of the Word: Subtext and Text ==