the phantom of the opera: a source text which simultaneously cries out for and repels fanfic.

[cimorene]

my parents gave me the phantom of the opera for channukah, so i watched the extras this weekend, and the movie last night.  or the night before.  i can't really remember.  it made me think again how on the one hand it (the movie, and probably the musical) is an ideal candidate for fanfiction, because it doesn't make very much sense.  it could benefit from spackle.  and while the novel makes more sense in that it doesn't leave out huge chunks of explanation and, well, it's a novel and not a musical, it's also a confused novel that, as alw said in the extras from the dvd, doesn't exactly know what it wants to be.  the musical benefits, at least, from being more focused and cohesive. 

so it cries out for fanfiction, but on the other hand i'm not surprised that the only things i can find worth reading are one and one quarter fanfics by jennaria, and this not for lack of dogged effort on several occasions.  it wants to be spackled, but it doesn't lend itself particularly well to spackling: the phantom is simulataneously the villain and the most sympathetic character, but the cosmetic rewrites that people attempt with so little skill simply can't fly in the face of a character who canonically is an insane murdering stalker.  a successful fixit, from the popular phantom/christine point of view, is going to have to either alter canon drastically (so that he isn't a stalker) or else daringly resist all those impulses to apologise for his actions.  owning or rejecting murder--you have to do one or the other; "he did murder that guy once, but other than that he's sweet" or "he promised not to do it again" just looks silly.

it is kind of sad, though.  i mean, the film (and indeed the story too) are so cheesy and delightfully silly and wonderful, they don't need fanfiction, but a) it would be hot and b) it would rid me of this niggling sense that there was an attempted moral about how sexual attraction = serial killers while innocent and pure CHILDISH REMINISCENT OF CHILDHOOD HAVE WE TALKED ABOUT THEIR CHILDHOOD ENOUGH YET love = as cool as marrying into the nobility when you're an orphaned opera dancer.  and i don't think i'm down with the whole sex is bad moral thing.  as tim gunn would say, it awakens my inner feminist.

and in kind of related news?  google leads to bad, bad places like bodice-ripper covers with the heads of the phaaaaantom and christine, as played by gerard butler and emmy rossum, photoshopped onto them.  there aren't enough faces and palms in the world. 

Comments

[aynatonal.livejournal.com]

There's a novel called Phantom, by Susan Kay (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933626003/ref=ed_oe_p/002-4203891-0492068?%5Fencoding=UTF8) that is quite good, if I'm remembering correctly. It tackles the issues you talk about and does it rather gracefully--its plot is far more indebted to the book than the musical, but you can tell that the musical was very much on the author's mind as she wrote the novel. It's been years since I read it, but I remember it fondly.

[annlarimer.livejournal.com]

bodice-ripper covers with the heads of the phaaaaantom and christine, as played by gerard butler and emmy rossum, photoshopped onto them.

You hate me. WHY DO YOU HATE ME???

[jennaria.livejournal.com]

One quarter? Is that the 'things that never happened to Christine Daae' thing? I don't remember if you were on that filter or not. I should finish at least the next story: I've got about half of it done, and then ran out of steam.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

hee, yes, that was what i meant. you totally should finish the next story. *offers cake*

[cimness.livejournal.com]

it's nothing personal. after looking at that i experienced a brief spell of hating everybody.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

really! that is kind of hard to believe. obviously, i've seen mention of it, which happens as soon as you start looking at the scary ff.net-like world of fanfiction through even so much as a simple google search. but i just assumed, i don't know. i guess i just assumed it was as bad as most of the fanfic is. now i'm curious, but i don't think i could actually make myself pay money for it. ...oh my god, your link shows me that there's a ton of this professionally published fanfiction stuff. it's as bad as austen. curse you, public domain!

[jennaria.livejournal.com]

Oh, there is. But Susan Kay is so far above the rest of them -- she's the kind of author who immerses herself in her subject, and comes out with one book every seven years or something. Phantom is entirely Erik-focused, which helps: it's not all about The Romance.

[jennaria.livejournal.com]

:rummages thoughtfully through her WIPs folder:

[aynatonal.livejournal.com]

I'll tell you what--I think that I actually have two copies, one paperback, one hardcover. I'm going to re-read it myself and if it doesn't suck, you're so getting a package in the mail :)

[cimness.livejournal.com]

now i'm intrigued--i read the reviews at amazon and jennaria says it's fantastic. also she says it's mostly focused on the character of erik, as opposed to 'fixing' the romance, which i find reassuring.

so i might actually eventually buy it if you don't have a spare copy. :)

[cimness.livejournal.com]

ah, one of those. (that method is impressive and intimidating.) the reviews at amazon were encouraging, even if i allow for some probable over-enthusiasm from eager fans. there's a lot of room for erik-backstory: it's an exciting prospect, if it's going to be done well.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

*grin* i really liked your ideas for the other things that didn't happen...