What I really want to post is a question that has been in mind, well, since I started looking at all the grumbling over what canon is and the retcons and the wank.
Is there a correlation between a fan's experiences with authoritarian parents/teachers/role models and how accepting they are of new canon? You know, "Because Ann Said So" vs. "The Complication is all just fan fiction!"
Yeah, this is what I do with a BA in psychology.
ETA, Sept. 12, 2007 9:17am:
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ff_press has picked up on this, (And they gave it a nice and erudite title, too! I'm very sorry for anyone that was tempted to click on the title, expecting a detailed analysis, and only getting a somewhat open-ended question.) and I actually have responses. I just wanted to air a question that's been in my head since, well, Advent Children's release. No, fair responders, I didn't expect ff_press either to pick this up or for any responses. I'll get to them, really.ETA, Sept. 12, 2007 5:34pm: On reflection, I know I have to clarify myself. This is what I meant: "Is there any relationship, postitive or negative, between a fan's direct experiences with authoritarian people and how receptive they are to new items of canon as specified by the creative team or members appointed by the creative team?" I did not mean anyone considered an authority. I meant, specifically, those defined as highly demanding and poorly responsive. ("Do this now because I said so.")
The reason I asked the question is due to personal experience: I came from an authoritarian household and Roman Catholic tradition. Infallibility and "because I said so" are deeply ingrained into me. So, authorities are right, and I'm wrong. How much of this has colored my acceptance of the Compilation? Or is it something else?
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chasethestars
chasethestars
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In that regard, I’m glad to see you’ve gotten some responses, and I’d like to pitch in my own. I, too, had an authoritarian guardian. If anything, though, it’s made me less likely to honor an authority figure’s wishes just because. Though I’d say it’s a minor effect, I do concede it colors my judgment.
I can sympathize with some of the aforementioned gripes, especially those to do with Cloud’s diminishing in Last Order, but I think my approach’s been a little different. I accept each release in the Compilation as canon, but not at all in a cumulative sense; it’s really much more compartmentalized. I’m inclined to write only for the original game, so I end up paying no heed to the others. If I were to write for LO, of course, I would consider LO to be the absolute arbiter of its own canon and neither consider the original game nor BC. Does this make sense? I’m not so sure. But it does make my life a whole lot easier!