Well, it seems slash fiction "slashes up" the real text by not only emphasizing indirect markers of roles and relationships that push the boundaries. In some ways, this is useful - when there are markers. But, when it seems fans take moments of a text and twist them to forcefully make a subtext explode into the audience's sensibilities, it seems horrific to me as a writer and reader.
But, this was the assignment so here goes....(what better thing to slash than a soap opera which often times has little respect as a field of writing anyway)...
Background: Rebecca is Gwen's mother, an over-sexed, no boundary woman, who calls Theresa all sorts of ethnically-attacking names, and wants her to stay married to Ethan. Ethan and Gwen were separated and during that time he returned to his life love, Theresa, who has since been suspected of getting eaten by sharks, to Ethan's horror and Gwen/Rebecca's exultation) Rebecca has been giving her daughter love-making advice to keep Ethan's attention.
Rebecca: If you want to keep Ethan, you have to make him happy. Get that tramp Theresa out of his mind.
Gwen: We are very satisfied together.
Rebecca: Obviously not, if he keeps trying to find her fish bait body.
Gwen: Well, I just don't know what else to do.
Rebecca: Here's my bag of goodies, use something from this.
Gwen: This is disgusting; I am not.
Rebecca: Do you want Ethan to be yours or not?
Gwen: Fine, how about this? (pulls out a nightgown)
Rebecca: Whatever. Just do something.
Time passes, Ethan comes home to Gwen in a revealing nightgown.
Gwen and Ethan enter into an intimate moment and Rebecca listens at the door.
Rebecca (to self): What is she doing? Whatever it is isn't working.
Gwen (in her head): I hope my mother was right about this.
Ethan: Theresa!
Gwen (to self): That's it! I'll never get Ethan.
Rebecca (to self): I can't let her lose him to that enchilada.
Rebecca opens door.
Rebecca: Gwen, move over. Watch me.
Rebecca jumps in bed and starts making out with Ethan.
The subtext draws on taboos and moralities of sex, particularly that of mother-in-law and son-in-law.
1 comment:
Does soap opera writing have little respect? Some soap operas have lifespans decades long, and when new writers come in, they have to seamlessly write in character affiliations while keeping in mind tens of years' worth of prior ties. I used to watch "The Young and the Restless" and wanted to write for it.
Good slash bc it's unconventional, I was wondering about how many taboos there are in slash.
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