Sporks and MSTs
I mentioned in my previous post about editing Darkness and Light that I've learned a lot from sites devoted to picking apart fanfiction. Most of these do so in humorous ways that are referred to as "sporking" or "MSTing".
These are not the same things. MST stands for Mystery Science Theater. Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) was a series that featured a human and two robots who were forced to watch bad movies. The movie was shown with the silhouettes of the characters at the bottom of the screen. The characters would poke fun at the movie as they watched. Frankly, when I watched the show I watched it for the stuff they'd do before and after commercial breaks, not for the movie commentary. I had a group of friends then who could do the same thing to a movie and be far funnier doing it. Ironically they were the ones who loved the show the most.
When you MST a fic you take large chunks, maybe all, of a story and add in your own comments. The point is mostly to mock the story.
Most Sporking is done with smaller sample bits and plot descriptions. Commentary can be woven in, as in an MST, or placed before or after the quoted bits. While a certain amount of humorous mocking is involved, a more serious attempt at pointing out what is wrong with the story, and why, is also included.
I find that the MST approach gets a little wearing after a while, just as the original commentary on MST3K did. I much prefer reading a good spork instead. Not only can it be ROTF funny but if you pay attention you will learn something along the way.
My favorite sporking site, Popcorn and Chainmail focuses on historical movies. For fanfiction I really like a lot of the stuff that they do at Ficbitches Slap to the Head Fanfiction.
These sites all deal with Mary Sues:
Narnia Sues - Poor, poor King Peter! I'll bet he wishes they'd never made a movie now.
Deleterious - Focus is mainly on Mary Sues in several fandoms but also takes on canon abuse.
Bastion of Questional Sanity
These are not the same things. MST stands for Mystery Science Theater. Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) was a series that featured a human and two robots who were forced to watch bad movies. The movie was shown with the silhouettes of the characters at the bottom of the screen. The characters would poke fun at the movie as they watched. Frankly, when I watched the show I watched it for the stuff they'd do before and after commercial breaks, not for the movie commentary. I had a group of friends then who could do the same thing to a movie and be far funnier doing it. Ironically they were the ones who loved the show the most.
When you MST a fic you take large chunks, maybe all, of a story and add in your own comments. The point is mostly to mock the story.
Most Sporking is done with smaller sample bits and plot descriptions. Commentary can be woven in, as in an MST, or placed before or after the quoted bits. While a certain amount of humorous mocking is involved, a more serious attempt at pointing out what is wrong with the story, and why, is also included.
I find that the MST approach gets a little wearing after a while, just as the original commentary on MST3K did. I much prefer reading a good spork instead. Not only can it be ROTF funny but if you pay attention you will learn something along the way.
My favorite sporking site, Popcorn and Chainmail focuses on historical movies. For fanfiction I really like a lot of the stuff that they do at Ficbitches Slap to the Head Fanfiction.
These sites all deal with Mary Sues:
Narnia Sues - Poor, poor King Peter! I'll bet he wishes they'd never made a movie now.
Deleterious - Focus is mainly on Mary Sues in several fandoms but also takes on canon abuse.
Bastion of Questional Sanity
posted by Ranuel | 7:20 AM
6 Comments:
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Now, let's see if I can get this thing to work right this time.
I liked this:
"Please note that if you're not old enough and your mom complains to us -- fuck her. The net's not a babysitter.:Please note that if you're not old enough and your mom complains to us -- fuck her. The net's not a babysitter."
Amen!
See, didn't work right that time either. ::sigh::
LOL!
I should have known you'd like the Ficbitches.
"Sporking" started with the Rocky Horror Picture Show. MST3K, Beavis and Butthead, and others followed, but it'll never be the same without the rice and toilet paper.
I hadn't really thought of the audience participation stuff at Rocky to be related but I guess it is. While the responses are not as harsh, and there is more of gentle mocking than scorn, it did set up the idea that interacting with a story by saying clever things can be entertaining.
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