On being an OFC

[sqbr]

I was thinking about real person fic and it's associated ethical boundaries, and it suddenly struck me: I've been in RPF.

Back when I was in second year the then fresher Raven wrote a story called "Death Becomes Unisfa" which was a rambling disjointed description of everyone in unisfa dying in various wacky and unlikely ways (As I recall I dropped a giant turtle on someone's head. col_ki maybe?) Everyone read it and I don't remember anyone being very offended on principle, though I think some didn't like the particulars (I mean, a giant turtle? Is that really me?)

I realise that being described as a crazed Terry Pratchett obsessed murderer is not actually the sort of thing people tend to find objectionable in RPF, but it's still an amusing thought.

EDIT: Yeah, yeah, OFC is the wrong term, I couldn't think of a better title. Also, having been reminded of other similar stories, I think it make s abig difference what the intent is behind the story. If you're deliberately setting out to offend people then you probably will...

Comments

[alias_sqbr]

Do RPF ethical dillemas count if it's only circulated to audiences where it's going to embarrass the authors more than defame the "subjects"?

Yes, they're just different dilemmas :)

If audience exposure's relevant to the offensiveness of RPF, then celebrity gossip in commercial media is more widely read [and therefore harmful to them], and there's truth in seeing some celebrities as already players of fictional roles [the Celebrity] to maintain a level of fame beyond their artistic merit.

That tends to be my attitude. I still find RPF squicky but I'm not sure it's unethical (and in a lot of cases it seems quite divorced from Celebrity Culture as a whole) Also they don't pretend to be true!

Conclusion: Paris Hilton is really a RPF, but who's writing her?

Perhaps she writes herself, escher-style.