Have you ever come
across a piece of literary fiction where the pairings or main
characterisation concerns a real person as opposed to a fictional
character? If you have, then welcome to the world of "Real People
Fiction". Until fairly recently, it wasn't a genre I had
particularly encountered, and it's certainly not something that appeals to
me. I think that is mainly because the two areas of fan fiction I pay
attention to do not appear to support or include such writing. Yet in some
fandoms, it is prolific and mainly sexual in nature. So why is it so
rampant in some places and a complete no-go area for others? In order to
find this out, I had to venture beyond my metaphorical four walls. What I
found, troubled me.
As with all fiction, there are good and bad
pieces. Yet I found myself not at all interested in the writing, but the
apparent and blatant disregard for the privacy of the individuals
concerned. When writing consists of real people, can we even wholly regard
that work as fully fictional? More to the point, we know the plots are
contrived, yet the people portrayed are intended to be real, thus the
actions and reactions in a given circumstance or situation is intended to
be from "them". I find this rather disturbing. Why? Because I am
ninety-nine percent sure that the authors of Real People Fiction know
nothing about the "actual" personalitites of their chosen "People". Unless
a person knows their subjects in "real life", then you couldn't possibly
know what they are really like as a person, or how they will react, and
even then you are making guesses, as only the person him/herself will ever
know that kind of information. Therefore, the portrayal of them is
incorrect, and the depiction false.
The consequences of painting a
false and distorted impression of people can be seriously adverse. We only
have to look at tabloid newspapers and cheap gossip magazines to see that.
What makes this kind of fiction any "better"? It uses longer words? It
acknowledges that it is fiction i.e. not true? It doesn't make it better.
The authors are taking liberties with real people who are busy leading
their own lives. Uncontrolled fictional works can be potentially
slanderous and lead to rumour-mongering about the private lives of the
real people involved, especially as pairings consist of people who
have either worked together at some point or are still working together.
For celebrities, this is potentially career damaging and can be stressful
for their families, especially if the gossip concerns sexual liasons
(which it all too often does).
So why do people write it and who
are they? Are they just interested in the private lives of these people to
the point of obsession? The highly sexual nature of Real People Fiction
leads me to the conclusion that they are living out a warped fantasy.
Whilst this in itself isn't a bad thing if it remains in your head, the
publication of these fantasies on the Internet is. I wonder if these
authors even consider the feelings and wishes of the actors or singers
they write about? If they did, they wouldn't publish them. At least that
is my opinion, as they have no control over the reaction of readers once
placed in the public domain. That is why films always have a disclaimer at
the end of their credits regarding the fictional aspect of their
characters and the coincidental nature of their names.
Returning to
the sanity of my four walls where fiction really is fiction, I look at the
authors with a much more appreciative perspective. At least, whether they
write good fiction or bad fiction, they actually write "fiction",
portraying characters and not the actors that play those characters. After
all, only the thought that someone could write me in a pairing with my
ex-boss would be enough to make me feel sick.
NB: I deliberately
leave out links, names and fandoms. It's not hard to find if you really
want to find this type of fiction but I do not support it in any
way. |
