huh. squee range.

Okay, so finally I sat down to sort through my bookmarks to read discussion on cesperanza's new fic--because I have done my homework. (Really. I mean, not all! But you know, some random amount.) So I deserve a reward. And chocolate milk.

Except--um. Is anyone discussing it *not* a member of academia or just really conversant with the themes of that? This is odd--but this is the first time in fandom I've felt my sheer lack of a degree in anything this strongly, because I am seriously *not able to follow* or really get into any discussion I've seen so far. But mostly, I just don't get what's being discussed. Okay, it's more the 'why' of what is being talked about. But it's also the feeling that I'm reading something in German but in this case, even throwing it through the translators isn't helping, as I have no translators and seriously. What are you people talking about?

It's very--I don't know. I wish for squee, but no place is squeeing on a level of "oh my god this is so awesome remember the part with the chair room" but mostly on the "did you notice the dissertation and footnotes of the x, y, z, it reminds me of that time back when I was teaching Very Horrifically Difficult Literature..." I am on a different squee range.

Er. That's kind of an exaggeration, but mostly not, because I'm serious, ,I am seeing in otherwise accessible ljs this entire--I don't know. It's like I'm missing some huge chunk of context. I keep having to fight down the urge to ask "WHY ARE WE DISCUSSING FOOTNOTE FORMAT" or something, because oh my God.

If I ask for an explanation of the squee range, is that going to show just dreadfully my terribly non-high-literature-inclinations so much that all will lose respect for me or something? I'm seriously kind of dazed by how inaccessible I'm finding a lot of these conversations.

Help? I'm kind of moving from dazed to the 'frustrated and annoyed' place and that can only end in staring resentfully at my laptop and eating way too much haagen-daz.

ETA: I now have people doing threads of squee and non-academic meta discussion. I have found nirvana. Yay!

Comments

[seperis.livejournal.com]

Well. That's the thing. What was that poem about? I read it, the discussion, and thought about downloading the podcast--I mean, I get it's off-source, but it's very--not a criticism--it's not fanfic of fanfic. It's fanfic of the meta of a fanfic. So to me (and I am emphasizing, because again, I'm not criticizing, I don't understand it enough to even start), it's very inaccessible because I feel like I'm missing the other part of the context for it.

Okay, and I see that, and cool--this is not to harsh academic squee, because all of you are having a blast and that is always of the good.

*G* But I will sulk for a bit and have my ice cream of feeling a little left out of the squee.

[trobadora]

No, it really is fanfic of fanfic - it adds another historian's interpretation. I can totally see why you find it inaccessible, but I think it's the style that requires the context, not the content - content-wise, it really only takes the world cesperanza's story establishes and plays in it.

(Personally I am very much in love with the structure of the story, and I think the narrative part is actually the weakest, so you won't find me squeeing about that. *g*)

[seperis.livejournal.com]

Um. Well. We definitely got completely different things out of it. *g*

See, I liked the narrative best. Not that the historical references were not awesome! But I tend toward liking the narriatve to stand alone with referneces to add to the story. I had originally tried ot go through and read narrative only and *then* go back and read the historical to have illumination, but realized fast that I was losing pretty much half the context without it.

Which is totally awesome and all, definitely.

[trobadora]

But I tend toward liking the narriatve to stand alone with referneces to add to the story.

I'd have preferred that too! I just wasn't particularly impressed by the narrative. *shrugs* I also have a fondness for outside perspective, so getting that many in one fic was cool for me on that level as well.