filing off the seriAl nuMbers
65
This process can be further illuminated with Hutcheon’s second criterion
that defines adaptation as a “process of creation” consisting both of “(re)
interpretation and then (re)creation.” 18 For fanfiction, the relationship or
connection to the pre-text is not necessarily one of prolonging, as Hutcheon
assumes. Instead, fanfiction writing is the result of a process that necessarily includes the (re)reading of a pre-text and the transformation of the
text or its recreation into fanfiction. The two cases at hand show that this
process is also part of a reinterpretation. Master of the Universe eliminates
all supernatural elements from its Twilight pre-text. The unequal and
abusive dynamics between the vampire Edward and the human Bella 19
are foregrounded and challenged in the fanfiction by translating their
liaison into a consensual BDSM relationship. The Draco Trilogy, also an AU
(alternate universe) text that remains in the world of Harry Potter changes
the events of the pre-text and features a slash (homoerotic) subtext diverging
from established canon. 20 The fanfiction points at the exclusive display of
heterosexual relationships in the series, yet remains faithful to most of the
parameters of the established imaginary world. Events or plotlines of the
canon are re-imagined, when Draco and Harry are transformed into each
other after using polyjuice, a potion that allows Harry and Ron to morph
into Draco’s friends in the canon of The Chamber of Secrets. The Draco Trilogy
has itself been an intertextual influence on other fan adaptations, as the
reinterpretation of Draco as a character has been seminally influential in
the fandom.
Often fanfictions are not only in dialogue with one pre-text, but create
pastiches of several texts, e.g. the novel and film versions of a particular story
and other fanfictions, and are additionally created to cater to the expectations of the genre. 21 In her reflection, Julie Sanders explains that beyond
the adapted text, other adaptations and appropriations serve as intertexts.
Therefore, it might be more fitting in relation to adaptations, especially in
the context of fanfiction writing, “to think in terms of complex processes
18 Ibid., 8.
19 See Melissa Miller, “Maybe Edward Is the Most Dangerous Thing out There. The Role of
Patriarchy,” Theorizing Twilight. Critical Essays on What’s at Stake in a Post-Vampire World,
edited by Maggie Parke and Natalie Wilson, (Jefferson: McFarland, 2011), 165–177 and Wind
Goodfriend, “Relationship Violence in ‘Twilight’: How ‘Twilight’ Teaches Teens to Love Abusive
Relationships,” Psychology Today, Nov. 9, 2011.
20 Fans consider all information, everything that is “true” and can be known by all audience
members about a narrative as “canon.”
21 See Louisa Stein and Kristina Busse, “Limit Play: Fan Authorship between Source Text,
Intertext, and Context,” Popular Communication 7 (2009): 192–207.
65
This process can be further illuminated with Hutcheon’s second criterion
that defines adaptation as a “process of creation” consisting both of “(re)
interpretation and then (re)creation.” 18 For fanfiction, the relationship or
connection to the pre-text is not necessarily one of prolonging, as Hutcheon
assumes. Instead, fanfiction writing is the result of a process that necessarily includes the (re)reading of a pre-text and the transformation of the
text or its recreation into fanfiction. The two cases at hand show that this
process is also part of a reinterpretation. Master of the Universe eliminates
all supernatural elements from its Twilight pre-text. The unequal and
abusive dynamics between the vampire Edward and the human Bella 19
are foregrounded and challenged in the fanfiction by translating their
liaison into a consensual BDSM relationship. The Draco Trilogy, also an AU
(alternate universe) text that remains in the world of Harry Potter changes
the events of the pre-text and features a slash (homoerotic) subtext diverging
from established canon. 20 The fanfiction points at the exclusive display of
heterosexual relationships in the series, yet remains faithful to most of the
parameters of the established imaginary world. Events or plotlines of the
canon are re-imagined, when Draco and Harry are transformed into each
other after using polyjuice, a potion that allows Harry and Ron to morph
into Draco’s friends in the canon of The Chamber of Secrets. The Draco Trilogy
has itself been an intertextual influence on other fan adaptations, as the
reinterpretation of Draco as a character has been seminally influential in
the fandom.
Often fanfictions are not only in dialogue with one pre-text, but create
pastiches of several texts, e.g. the novel and film versions of a particular story
and other fanfictions, and are additionally created to cater to the expectations of the genre. 21 In her reflection, Julie Sanders explains that beyond
the adapted text, other adaptations and appropriations serve as intertexts.
Therefore, it might be more fitting in relation to adaptations, especially in
the context of fanfiction writing, “to think in terms of complex processes
18 Ibid., 8.
19 See Melissa Miller, “Maybe Edward Is the Most Dangerous Thing out There. The Role of
Patriarchy,” Theorizing Twilight. Critical Essays on What’s at Stake in a Post-Vampire World,
edited by Maggie Parke and Natalie Wilson, (Jefferson: McFarland, 2011), 165–177 and Wind
Goodfriend, “Relationship Violence in ‘Twilight’: How ‘Twilight’ Teaches Teens to Love Abusive
Relationships,” Psychology Today, Nov. 9, 2011.
20 Fans consider all information, everything that is “true” and can be known by all audience
members about a narrative as “canon.”
21 See Louisa Stein and Kristina Busse, “Limit Play: Fan Authorship between Source Text,
Intertext, and Context,” Popular Communication 7 (2009): 192–207.