Fanon & Fanonical Resources

Spurred on by my discovery of the term “fanon” earlier tonight, I’m going to do an expanded information round-up to see what else is being said on the subject besides the excellent entry about it on Wikipedia. Oh, and for those not “in the know” fanon is a combination of the words “fan” and “canon” and refers to the weird world of fan-fiction, and the notion that if certain information about characters in a show, movie, or some kind of series is used frequently enough by fans, then it becomes accepted as “true” within the universe of that story. But its acceptance is generally below that of the canon, or actual official versions of the stories upon which fan-fiction is based.

From a page of excellent definitions of fan-fiction terminology:

    Those conventions and extrapolations from canon which become so popular and widespread in a fannish community, that they turn up in much fanfic, and often people cannot remember where the idea originally came from, and sometimes they can’t remember that the idea isn’t canon.
  1. A page with some Tolkien fanfic has some definitions for canon, quasi-canon, fanon, and quasi-fanon.
  2. A couple examples from Buffy the Vampire Slayer site
  3. A much more elaborate page with examples of fanon & canon from Buffy
  4. Examples from a show I don’t know at all called The Sentinel and another page on that and also another
  5. This X-Files one also has some other useful fanfic definitions
  6. Here’s one about the OC…

Actually, this is pretty interesting, because the debates that go on about what’s canon and what’s fanon, and the value of fanon seem to parallel pretty closely (in my warped mind) what goes on theologically when people debate religious story-systems. And this makes a lot of sense after having read about the various ecumenical councils which the early Church instituted to decide what was canon and what was heresy.

  • This guy kind of rambles about memetics and fanon, and makes a couple of interesting and/or revealing statements, such as the following:
      [I believe] that writers need to be aware of whether they’re using [fanon] or violating it, because if they’re violating something that a lot of their readers *believe to be true* then they need to be aware that they need to *address* that belief in some way (usually by arguing from canon sources for a different point of view).

      Given my ravenous snarling dislike of fanon, I’m generally *happier* when people violate it. But I don’t think violation with impunity is the way to go. “Impunity” means “exemption from punishment or loss”, and I think that if writers violate fanon without backing it up, they’re going to get “punished” by the reactions of readers.

  • This one’s from some fanfic site, and seems to be an essay about writing various types of it.
      Another fic commonality is fanon. How do I explain fanon to you…? Well, canon is something that is set in a particular universe. Vaughn’s father was a CIA agent, Mulder drops his gun a lot, Dawn is both a mystical energy thingy and an irritating teenager–all those are canon in their respective universes. If you’re going to write a fanfic for Alias, X-Files, or Buffy, you’d better take canon into consideration. If you’re going to ignore one or more canon element, you’re writing an AU … [Alternate Universe]

      …When it comes to fanon, you have two choices. You can use it, which has the benefit of making your work blend in with the many other fics out there that use fanon. … Or, you can choose to go strictly with canon and strike out on your own. This may cause some confusion– especially in established fandoms where fanon is common–but gives you the benefit of fewer facts weighing you down. Neither way is better than the other. It’s a matter of what you prefer.

  • One of the more elaborate pieces of writing I’ve seen on the subject matter in general, this one goes into Harry Potter fanon

    I’m finding that there is very little actual writing (and by that I mean analysis, I guess) on the subject of fanon. Wikipedia’s entry is still essentially the best I’ve seen. Most of this other writing about fanon is really rambling and pretty hard to get through. And none of it makes all the awesome points that I think can be made here. I guess, like so many things, I’ll just have to end up doing it myself. Woe is me…


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    This entry was written by Tim Boucher, posted on January 13, 2005 at 2:10 am.

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