Musicals in Fanfic and Canon
Jan. 17th, 2018 04:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithI came across the fanfic "A Very Sherlock Musical," which is actually a great deal deeper than it seems. Begin with the premise: So, you know how musicals are set in a world where people just burst into song every five minutes, and everyone around them automatically knows to join in with the tune and choreography? This fic is set in that world. You now know enough to write brilliant fanfic of your own in whatever canon you wish, using the same premise. Add the plot: John finds it extremely frustrating that Sherlock won't sing their theme song with him.
Here we have a motif straight out of crackfic, the musical episode. Yet the author uses this setting to explore some very serious issues -- it's actually a story about attachment problems told through the metaphor of musical interaction or rejection. Touch on another Sherlock motif, and what you have is fantastic analog of asexuality: a situation in which Sherlock doesn't want to do the thing that everyone else is doing, and people think less of him for not liking it and not understanding why it's So Very Important to them. There's quite a lot of astute exploration into how social ties form between couples or work groups, and how that gets expressed.
This story reminds me strongly of "Once More, with Feeling." That famous episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer showed the problems that can come from stripping away filters and forcing people to sing about their feelings. In that show, they're not used to it, because it's not natural; it's demonic influence. Compare that with the above story set in a world where musical interactions are the norm.
Another variation is Happy Feet, in which all penguins are expected to sing, and the one who can't gets rejected.
There is a lot of potential to explore more challenges caused by living in a musical world. Most musicals never examine the fact that they are musicals. They just do their thing, a quirky little commentary on everyday life. But when they become genre-savvy, a whole new realm of possibilities opens up. How does the musicality work? What can go wrong with it? How do people cope with disabilities -- being deaf, blind, mobility-impaired, etc. in a world where singing and dancing are fundamental aspects of every human interaction?
I'm not all that fond of musicals, but I'm fascinated by the "musical world" as an AU setting template.
Here we have a motif straight out of crackfic, the musical episode. Yet the author uses this setting to explore some very serious issues -- it's actually a story about attachment problems told through the metaphor of musical interaction or rejection. Touch on another Sherlock motif, and what you have is fantastic analog of asexuality: a situation in which Sherlock doesn't want to do the thing that everyone else is doing, and people think less of him for not liking it and not understanding why it's So Very Important to them. There's quite a lot of astute exploration into how social ties form between couples or work groups, and how that gets expressed.
This story reminds me strongly of "Once More, with Feeling." That famous episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer showed the problems that can come from stripping away filters and forcing people to sing about their feelings. In that show, they're not used to it, because it's not natural; it's demonic influence. Compare that with the above story set in a world where musical interactions are the norm.
Another variation is Happy Feet, in which all penguins are expected to sing, and the one who can't gets rejected.
There is a lot of potential to explore more challenges caused by living in a musical world. Most musicals never examine the fact that they are musicals. They just do their thing, a quirky little commentary on everyday life. But when they become genre-savvy, a whole new realm of possibilities opens up. How does the musicality work? What can go wrong with it? How do people cope with disabilities -- being deaf, blind, mobility-impaired, etc. in a world where singing and dancing are fundamental aspects of every human interaction?
I'm not all that fond of musicals, but I'm fascinated by the "musical world" as an AU setting template.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-01-19 06:17 am (UTC)Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-01-20 01:29 am (UTC)Now Steve can get into daily fights and give a matinee Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Barnes is not amused.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-01-20 02:07 am (UTC)Trying to meet Steve's adrenaline craving, yeah.
>> Now Steve can get into daily fights and give a matinee Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Barnes is not amused.<<
Poor Bucky. Now he doesn't even get the 2-3 days of grace while Steve waits for the swelling to go down before looking for more trouble.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-01-20 02:25 am (UTC)On the bright side he can afford to toss Steve a box of 8 Crayons and watch him draw things. Too bad he started being able to see red just in time for a war.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-01-20 02:26 am (UTC)*pat pat* I know that feel, bro.
>>On the bright side he can afford to toss Steve a box of 8 Crayons and watch him draw things. Too bad he started being able to see red just in time for a war.<<
Yeah.
One of the things I did with Steve in LIFC is watch him go nuts over the 64 Crayola crayons. :D
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-01-20 02:33 am (UTC)