Fanfics and Politics don't mix.

From: Chris Forsyth <foxfire_at_tsb.weschke.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 1996 19:04:21 -0400 (EDT)

     *sigh* Okay, folks, we have a problem here. Specifically, in David
Gonterman's Sailor Moon: American Kitsune fanfic, part 6, David's Side.
     Ordinarily, I'd just e-mail to him about it, but considering the
nature of the problem, I felt it would be best to e-mail to him, as well as
post to the mailing list as well as the Sonic and Sailor Moon
newsgroups--the last due to it being a Sailor Moon fanfic, and the two
former because Mr. Gonterman is well-known for his Sonic stories...also,
as a comment about what *not* to do when trying to write a good fanfic...
  
     Very simply, Mr. Gonterman used that story as a platform to bash the
people campaigning against the CDA (Which is the *Communications* Decency
Act, BTW, not *Computer* as your story erroneously states) as well as the
Blue Ribbon Campaign in particular, which is fighting for freedom of
speech on the net. Judging from what was written, Mr. Gonterman has
apparently done little or no research into the subject. But, at this
point, that is irrelevant--I'd prefer to discuss the pros and cons of the
CDA with him in a private forum.
     What *is* the problem, however, is using what up until then was a
decent, if somewhat sub-par writing-wise, story as a soapbox to bash a
group that you politically disagree with. Bashing people you know, like
that group of AOLers that you had argued with, is tolerable, but bashing
an entire group you've had no contact with at all is something else.
     A simple, polite suggestion to you, Mr. Gonterman...please edit that
story to get rid of the political references, or at the very least, mark
it on your site as politically-oriented as you did the other story that
put forth your views on the CDA and as you keep refering to it, 'smut' on
the net. Also, please at least take the time to look up the ACLU site,
and read the information on just what the CDA is doing, as compared to
what the media claims it was supposed to do.
     
     Along with the above, I give a caution to anyone else who might be
thinking of including politics in their fanfics...please don't.
Otherwise, the flames will probably become fast and furious. And there a
lot of people with lower tolerance threshholds than me.
  
 
   Now that I've gotten the above out of the way, its my turn to get on
the soapbox, and point out something the pro-CDA people may have
overlooked--something that hits *very* close to home to both fandoms
represented here.
   
 
Fred (StH and Sailor Moon fan): It's time to watch Sailor Moon!
     (changes the channel..watches a bit)
Fred: Waugh! Barney?!? What happened to Sailor Moon???

Me (looking over Fred's shoulder): Didn't you know? DIC was given a court
order to re-edit Sailor Moon, or face prosecution under the CDA due to
the 'indecent' scenes involving nudity. DIC couldn't afford the edit, so
they just pulled the show entirely.

Fred: *sigh* Oh well. Okay, let's turn over to USA--Sonic the Hedgehog
should be on--at this point, I'd even choke down the weekday episodes.
      (click)
Fred: AIEEEEE! More Barney! What happened???

Me: Oh, Sonic got pulled too--seems people started complaining about
Sonic promoting terrorist activities, and such. The final killer, though,
was another CDA violation--most of the characters were nude, or near
enough to it to be indecent. I hear that Tom & Jerry Kids is next on the
chopping block.
 
Fred: But Barney never wears clothes...

Me: True, but he has an 'educational show', which Sonic and Sailor Moon
aren't. So he stays, and the others get tossed.
 
Fred: *whimper*




    Think about it, folks...
                                 Chris Forsyth


Received on Tue Apr 16 1996 - 19:50:26 PDT