#although frankly i DO find troublesome the idea that the metaphorical agora is the rightful demesne of relentless positivity

[aeide-thea]

i got to thinking again about an aspect of a book which had troubled me, and which remains the pea in the otherwise heaped-high bed of my enjoyment,* and decided to actually investigate a question i'd originally posed only rhetorically, namely: had any of my fellow tumblrinxs voiced similar objections? having gone back through the main tag with some care, i now feel reasonably confident saying that (1) no, they did not, and in fact (2) very, very few people who posted about the book in a searchable way expressed anything other than squee. which—entirely possible all critical discussion has been relegated to the fan discord that apparently exists, which would be depressing; but the alternative is that it's not happening at all, which would be even worse. has a fannish mode of (un)critical engagement been so thoroughly drummed into readers that even when they're reading original, professional fiction, they still feel compelled not to say anything at all, if what they have to say isn't wholly, insipidly Nice?

like, i fully understand, and have ultimately been convinced by, the arguments as to why it's generally inappropriate to post unsolicited critique of identifiable fanworks in spaces where their authors might potentially stumble on said critique and be wounded by it; but if we're getting to a point—or maybe we arrived there ages ago, and i'm only just noticing—where some combination of fannish training and authorial mingling on social media is discouraging public debate about even professional work... oof. i'd love to have ready an eloquent defense of the importance of unfettered public reaction to, and thoughtful analysis of, art, but it's late and i'm tired and honestly all i've got rn is: fml. f all of our increasingly-milquetoast ls, tbh.

⸻ * (one man's amusing absurdity is another man's ditty played on a dogwhistle.)

#bookblogging #rather suspect self-pub wants to have its cake and eat it too in this regard #and i just. haven't got a ton of patience for that‚ honestly #work that's being sold for real money has to be subjectable to real critique #i don't necessarily mind tagging critical posts for negativity #although frankly i DO find troublesome the idea that the metaphorical agora is the rightful demesne of relentless positivity #within which no downers are to be tolerated‚ unless they wear their scarlet cws #but like. literally i saw maybe one or two *extremely* minor critiques‚ none of which touched on my particular concern #and then one post that was like 'would anyone want to discuss privately?' #'don't wanna yuck anyone's yum' #and it's just like. is yucking people's yum really the worst thing one could do. stockard channing voice. #anyway i recognize that all of this is what the kids call an unpopular opinion but like. if we can only have popularly-approved opinions... #something something coerced to dance until our shoes wear away and our feet likewise