In this episode, special guest Jennifer Albright of Have You Seen This? drops by to talk about Mary Sues, a term used to describe an overly-perfect female character created as a self-insertion wish fulfillment vehicle for the author. The discussion traces the expression Mary Sue back to its origin in Star Trek fanfiction and tries to grapple with its current usage. Does Mary Sue mean anything anymore? Is it a misogynistic term? Is Rey from Star Wars a Mary Sue? Is James Bond a Mary Sue? Does it really matter if a character is a Mary Sue?
The discussion also veers off into tangents on media representation, woke capitalism, Hollywood’s mistreatment of women, the allegations against Max Landis, and that time filmmaker John Landis decapitated some children with a helicopter (yes, that happened).
Sources/Additional Reading:
A Trekkie’s Tale (the parody fanfic that coined the term Mary Sue)
With Star Wars’ Rey, we’ve reached Peak Strong Female Character
John Landis Not Guilty in 3 ‘Twilight Zone’ Deaths : Jury Also Exonerates Four Others
1988 Review of Outrageous Conduct: Art, Ego, and the Twilight Zone Case
The Pedophile Director Embraced by Hollywood (about Victor Salva)
Raging Bull, Cape Fear, Goodfellas… the woman behind Scorsese’s classics
Uma Thurman Shares Kill Bill Crash Video: “The Cover Up After the Fact Is Unforgivable”
About Rite Gud: R.S. Benedict is an author, appearing in Fantasy and Science Fiction and Gardner Dozois’ The Very Best of the Best: 35 Years of The Year’s Best Science Fiction. Matt Keeley, founder of Kittysneezes, is producing Rite Gud for KS Media, LLC. Rite Gud is a Kittysneezes production. If you have questions, comments and concerns, email ritegud – at – kittysneezzes – dot – com. Rite Gud is also on Patreon, at patreon.com/ritegud. Patrons receive access to the official Kittysneezes Discord, exclusive episodes, critiques and more.
Kittysneezes is supported by readers like you. If you enjoy what you’ve read here, please consider supporting Kittysneezes on Patreon, on Ko-Fi, via the Kittysneezes Boutique or by supporting Rite Gud on Patreon.
The post Writing Mary Sues, or What Even IS a Mary Sue? by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes.
Writing Mary Sues, or What Even IS a Mary Sue?