The fanfiction-to-book-to-movie pipeline is and has been occurring for a while now. So, how does fanfiction influence modern media? Fanfiction is defined as “stories involving popular fictional characters that are written by fans and are often posted on the internet.” It is also known as fanfic.
Whether you know it or not, you have probably consumed fanfic. The entire book and movie series of “Fifty Shades of Grey” is a fanfiction based on Twilight, which in itself is rumored to be a fanfiction based on the band My Chemical Romance. Not to mention the “After” movie series is based on One Direction fanfic, and the upcoming movie “The Idea of You,” is, yeah, also based on One Direction fanfic.
A lot of popular books were originally fanfiction. Take Ali Hazelwood's "Love Hypothesis" as an example: I read this book and I like Star Wars, but I did not know until after I read it that it was originally a Reylo fanfiction.
Fanfiction and fan theories have gone as far as to influence the shows they arewritingabout. Fanfiction can change the direction in which a show is going in. Take the recent episode of “9-1-1” on ABC as an example, in which character Evan Buckley is revealed to be bisexual. The show would not have made Buckley canonically bisexual without the push from the fans. Actor Oliver Stark, who plays Buckley, even stated “you (fans) were right” when asked about the theories for his character.
Fanfic is both praised and critiqued online. It is loved for bringing new perspectives to beloved characters and keeping older works relevant. It is criticized for being cringe at times and raises questions of legality. Fanfic, specifically relating to books, movies, and TV, can infringe on copyright at times. However, fanfic is often seen as fair use because it is transformative, meaning it uses copyrighted work in a different way than originally made.
Fanfic has also inspired people to start making their original work. Author Beth Reekles wrote fanfiction before writing her book that was turned into a movie, which you might know as “The Kissing Booth.”
Author Meg Cabot, known for writing “The Princess Diaries,” got her start writing fanfic as well.
“The good thing about writing fanfiction is that the characters and basic plot are already set up, so new writers can concentrate on dialogue or further plot development,“ Cabot said. "Basically, the author has already created a world for the new writer to play around in, and that is a great way for new writers to learn the skills they will need in order to create their own universe.”
While some writers got their start from writing fanfic others highly discourage the making of fanfiction. One person who highly discourages writing fanfic is “Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin. Martin believes that fanfiction is not a good way to start your own literary journey.
“I don’t think it’s a good way to train to be a professional writer when you’re borrowing everybody else's world and characters,“ Martin said. "You have to invent your own characters, you have to do your own world-building, you can’t just borrow from Gene Roddenberry or George Lucas or me or whoever.”
Whether you believe fanfiction is good or bad, it is going to continue to make waves in the media.
Cassie is a sophomore studying communications at Ohio University. Please note the views expressed in this column do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk to Cassie? Email her at cb086021@ohio.edu.
