Someone wrote in [personal profile] spnanonhaven 2012-07-16 01:02 pm (UTC)

Re: Questions about character bashing

I think, in some cases, simply having a character play the role of the villain can be bashing, if it's totally OOC for them to do so. For example, if you're writing a Dean/Lisa fic where (soulled) Sam is trying to tear them apart because he's just that selfish, I'm probably going to say that's bashing. But context is everything, because kinky Evil!Sam isn't bashing Sam.

It also depends on how characters react and how many hold the same opinion. For example, if Bobby, Cas and Dean all decide they loathe Sam, and the author writes them as if they're right to do so when Sam hasn't done anything he hasn't done in canon, we have now entered Sam bashing territory. It can be slightly different with other characters. For example, depending on the season, Cas can adopt a more antagonistic role without being bashed. But if it's S5 and Sam, Dean and Bobby all hate him and want him to die, that's probably bashing. OTOH, everyone can hate Crowley, and that wouldn't constitute bashing at all.

I think it also has to do with the how of the villainization. For example, if Gen is a professional thief who makes deals with shady people, that is not bashing. If she is just a flat villain with zero humanizing characteristics, it could be edging toward bashing, depending on the rest of the story, but it isn't necessarily so (I would say it's poor writing). If she is dating Jared (who naturally sits around contemplating how gross her vagina is and is probably in love with Jensen) and she makes up a pregnancy scare to entrap him in marriage except then we learn that she's had five abortions in the last three months and also Jared has always sorta hated her and isn't it disgusting that Gen sometimes wants sex with her boyfriend... yeah, that's bashing. A woman who is a villain because she wants to nuke the world is different from a woman who is a villain because she is on the wrong side of the virgin/whore dichotomy or because the author wants a man to cheat on her without coming off as doing anything wrong himself.

Also, it can be something where the woman is acting like a reasonable human being, but the narrative condemns her for it. For example, Jared is sleeping with Jensen, and Gen is like "You didn't come home last night. I was worried something had happened." And his internal monologue is all about how much he hates it that his wife is a harpy who doesn't trust him implicitly, and the narrative seems to think he's right in his thinking.

So, basically, context is everything, and all of your example could be bashing or not bashing, depending on the rest of the story. Except for that last one with Chad. :)

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