Musings on Asylum
May. 14th, 2007 08:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fairyd123Back from Asylum and god am I shattered! I'm always a zombie the day after a convention and today is no exception. Finally got back after getting stuck on a train for the better part of an hour because some inconsiderate bastard decided to hurl himself under a train at Milton Keynes Central (the second week in a row that this has happened to me! Is living in Milton Keynes really that bad?). Anyway I'll write a more detailed report tomorrow about the talks (especially as I was lucky enough to go to Jensen's coffee club on the Saturday) but here's a few general thoughts:
1) That attending an event which the vast majority of your flist is at is pointless if you do not make firm arrangements to meet up with said flist. I know most of you were there but heaven's knows if I met you! Saw![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
krazykipper briefly twice (and I hope that you did have a good weekend in the end because I know that when I met you you weren't really enjoying yourself and weren't quite in the right frame of mind for the event so I really hope you did have a nice time) and now that everyone is posting their piccies with Jensen I've realised that I met kayim several times on the Sunday when she was manning the autograph queues but I don't think that I met anyone else - although if you came up to the reg desk at any point on Sunday you did probably meet me! Next time I will definitely arrange to meet up with you all!
2) That working an event is a hell of a lot more tiring than simply turning up as an attendee. Hadn't really planned on working it. Arrived on the Friday and immediately got roped into helping out sorting out the reg packs and the photo session tickets, didn't do much on the Saturday but then spent most of Sunday on the reg desk except for 30 minutes when I looked after Alona as she was signing. Fun (especially as I got to know all the incredibly lovely people working it well over the course of the weekend) but exhausting. Most of the attendees had never done an event before and a fair few of them were ruder than I would have liked so dealing with some of them was quite challenging!
3) That the fanon perception that Jensen is shy, self conscious and unhappy with large crowds would appear to be total nonsense. Jensen was completely chilled all weekend and whilst he was getting seriously tired by the end he did seem to really enjoy himself and he handled himself throughout with immense good grace and charm which considering some of the batshit behaviour he had to put up with was impressive. All the people that worked behind the scenes with him said that he was incredibly sweet and good natured. He did side step every question which was even remotely personal (and geez that little Scottish girl was persistent asking him a second time how he would describe himself in a personals ad when he had already refused to answer the question in the previous days panel) but on the whole he seemed very lovely and that he was greatly enjoying himself.
4) That Jensen's girlfriend is a pretty wholesome looking, if not particularly knock out brunette who clearly is super confident in her relationship to brave a hotel full of rabid fangirls!
5)That Alona Tal looks about ten years older and a thousand times prettier in person than she ever did as Jo in Supernatural. Granted she's painfully thin, but all the actresses I meet at these things always are but I was really impressed with her when I sat with her for a while on the Sunday while she was signing autographs. She was genuine and sweet to everyone that came up to her (loads of people complimented her on how great she was in Born Under a Bad Sign), quick witted with a dry honest sense of humour. She came across as incredibly intelligent and it pained me that none of those qualities really came across at all when she was playing Jo. In reality she and Jensen looked like an age-appropriate match but on screen she looked 15 years younger.I'm not sure I'd want her back in Supernatural but she definitely deserves to have a great career.
6) But in person Nicki Aycox actually looked pretty rough. My picture with her was absolutely dreadful (I look great in it but she is doing this weird pose where her face is in profile and her hair is over one eye so she looks like a demented cyclops - which not a good look for her!)
7) That no matter how many times you try and warn people that asking a question about fanfiction is NEVER EVER a good idea there will always be some idiot who allows their curiosity to override their common sense. I see it time and time again at conventions. Some very excitable fangirl asks a question about fanfiction and the actor then essentially responds in a way which unintentionally insults the person asking the question and everyone in the room who likes fanfiction.
As entertaining as it was to hear Jensen Ackles say the word "Wincest" it was quite clear that he wasn't actually that amused by it and to be honest unless the fandom is one where slash is a canon pairing, or the actor is a laugh riot who you could be fairly certain would find such a concept hilarious actors generally aren't terribly thrilled by the notion that people are writing stories about their characters having gay sex. Every time its asked at a con the actors response is always a thinly veiled "You're a freak and why are you asking me this?" . Jensen was asked two questions - what did he think about fanfiction and what did he think about all the little joking moments in the show where people mistake Sam and Dean for a gay couple (neither question being remotely wise).
Jensen answered that some people had very disturbed imaginations. He then said that he had heard about Wincest (huge misguided cheer from the crowd) and that he knew about it because Kim Manners had told him about it. (Jensen in a very ironic tone) "Yeah me and Jared had a real laugh about that one." He then said that he hoped his grandmother never ever read any such stories.
He then went on to answer the gay couple question by saying that Sam and Dean were brothers and that basically people liked to read subtext into relationships even though that was never what they had intended and that the gay couple jokes were Eric Kripke's way of "mocking that idea (wincest) and saying how completely ridiculous that is."
Ouch! Can't wait to read the amount of wank that will ensue as a result of that declaration!
I've always felt that fanfiction is created by fans, for fans and is very separate from what the cast and crew are doing.I love my SPN fanfic (although I don't read as much of it as I used to) and like my wincest but have never really felt the compelling urge to discuss that with Jensen as it's a very different arena than what he is doing with his interpretation of Dean. Might have been a good idea if the girl who asked the question had taken this approach!
8) That actors slinging 10 x 8's on a table in the dealer's room may not have shiny pa's to look after them. Important note to bear in mind for the future so that I don't do what I did on Sunday which was to ask the actors (thinking they were their own pa's) "This gentleman is looking for the Doctor Who actors - do you know who they are?". Terry Molloy (Davros) was thankfully highly amused and just responded "He knows who we are." while Anna Hope (Novice Haim in New Earth and Gridlock) did a "I can't believe she just said that" face.
Hey you were covered in catperson make-up including cute little whiskers in Doctor Who- how the hell was I supposed to know what you actually looked like? But to make up for it I spent the rest of the day steering people towards them for autographs.
9)That paying £30 to see Jensen up close and personal in a room full of only ten people was definitely worth it (even if the coffee club only lasted about 25 minutes).
10) That as cynical and jaded as I am it was still quite upsetting to see a small part of the fan base letting the rest of us down so badly. Apart from the odd wank (which is generally fanfic related) the SPN fandom has always seemed to me to be a really nice fandom. Which is why I was quite distressed by a lot of the behaviour that I saw over the weekend.
Step forward Psycho No. 1 who has now gone down in infamy as the nutjob who assaulted Jensen. She'd already come to the attention of the security guards by pinching his ass during the photo session (something which noone else did - thankfully) and then decided it would be a good idea to literally throw herself at him - arms round his neck, legs round his waist kiss straight on his lips. That is actually sexual assault and she's damn lucky that Jensen isn't as precious as his fannon rep prior to this event suggested he might be or she would have been arrested. As it was she had to be physically wrestled to the ground and marched out of the building. She was banned from the event and will be banned from any other event that Rogue Events do as a security risk. Way to go psycho! She did write a full written apology to Jensen but hey - too little too late. He could easily have walked out after an incident like that so 710 attendees are very grateful that he didn't.
Then there was psycho No.2 who handed Jensen a note which consisted of a photo of herself naked with her room number written on the back. No present is given to Jensen without his PA checking it first as a security measure. So funnily enough Jensen didn't get psycho girl's piccie - it got ripped up and put in the bin. But she's also lucky that Jensen's pa is a consummate professional because someone less professional might have been inclined to hand the picture around or put it up somewhere for the attendees to look at. Seriously - what kind of woman has so little respect for herself that she risks her personal safety in that way?
But whilst those were extreme examples there was a lot of other behaviour which was less than impressive.
What was up with the girls who kept edging forward during the Jason Manns concert getting closer and closer to Jensen's table? We had to watch them like a hawk in case they flung themselves at him like Psycho No.1.
And what about the 50 or so "fans" who every time Jensen moved in and out of the hall acted like the paparazzi taking photos of him and practically running to follow him? It is terrible convention etiquette to take photos of the guests as they're going about their own business and personally I would ban people for that alone but in general it is just downright fucking rude to take flash photos of someone two inches away from their face so that you're flashblinding them. I've been at events where the headliners have had no security whatseoever and have merrily attended the evening parties and hung around in the bar until the early hours of the morning just chatting with the fans. Jensen needed 2 security guards and 3 staff members to keep him safe and really even that number of people wasn't quite enough to keep the scary fangirls at bay. There was no way he would have been secure at the evening parties so of course he didn't attend and nor did any of the other guests - which was a real shame.
I get that people were there for Jensen but again some of the fans were unbelievably disrespectful to the other guests. We got multiple complaints about people just having their own conversations in the hall at top volume so that they were drowning out the guests on stage. That was also a problem in the Jason Manns concert were the majority of the audience were practically yelling at each other, except when Jensen joined Jason for Crazy Love at which point you could have heard a pin drop.
I think the thing that upset me the most is that conventions are normally quite lovely fluffy fun events to attend. Conventions are all about a group of people with a common interest coming together. People come from such diverse backgrounds but they are united by a common love for one show. There's normally a real sense of community at these events and you don't screw over people in your community! I've been to events where I've seen people leave digital cameras and handbags lying around and they can come back an hour later knowing that their fellow fans won't have ripped them off.
Not at this event sadly. Over the course of the weekend about 150 people lost their registration badges. And we had a measly 2 handed in and didn't find any when we were clearing up. Which means that all the rest were kept by the attendees who found them presumably in the hope of trying to wrangle extra autographs or in the hope that they could attend all weekend if they were only a day ticket holder. And the number of people who "lost" their autograph sheets was phenomenal. Really unpleasant grasping behaviour that really wasn't nice to see.
So despite the behaviour of a small minority I did have a really fantastic weekend and am now so tired I don't quite know what to do with myself! Will write up the talks tomorrow if I'm less zombiefied by then.
1) That attending an event which the vast majority of your flist is at is pointless if you do not make firm arrangements to meet up with said flist. I know most of you were there but heaven's knows if I met you! Saw
krazykipper briefly twice (and I hope that you did have a good weekend in the end because I know that when I met you you weren't really enjoying yourself and weren't quite in the right frame of mind for the event so I really hope you did have a nice time) and now that everyone is posting their piccies with Jensen I've realised that I met kayim several times on the Sunday when she was manning the autograph queues but I don't think that I met anyone else - although if you came up to the reg desk at any point on Sunday you did probably meet me! Next time I will definitely arrange to meet up with you all!2) That working an event is a hell of a lot more tiring than simply turning up as an attendee. Hadn't really planned on working it. Arrived on the Friday and immediately got roped into helping out sorting out the reg packs and the photo session tickets, didn't do much on the Saturday but then spent most of Sunday on the reg desk except for 30 minutes when I looked after Alona as she was signing. Fun (especially as I got to know all the incredibly lovely people working it well over the course of the weekend) but exhausting. Most of the attendees had never done an event before and a fair few of them were ruder than I would have liked so dealing with some of them was quite challenging!
3) That the fanon perception that Jensen is shy, self conscious and unhappy with large crowds would appear to be total nonsense. Jensen was completely chilled all weekend and whilst he was getting seriously tired by the end he did seem to really enjoy himself and he handled himself throughout with immense good grace and charm which considering some of the batshit behaviour he had to put up with was impressive. All the people that worked behind the scenes with him said that he was incredibly sweet and good natured. He did side step every question which was even remotely personal (and geez that little Scottish girl was persistent asking him a second time how he would describe himself in a personals ad when he had already refused to answer the question in the previous days panel) but on the whole he seemed very lovely and that he was greatly enjoying himself.
4) That Jensen's girlfriend is a pretty wholesome looking, if not particularly knock out brunette who clearly is super confident in her relationship to brave a hotel full of rabid fangirls!
5)That Alona Tal looks about ten years older and a thousand times prettier in person than she ever did as Jo in Supernatural. Granted she's painfully thin, but all the actresses I meet at these things always are but I was really impressed with her when I sat with her for a while on the Sunday while she was signing autographs. She was genuine and sweet to everyone that came up to her (loads of people complimented her on how great she was in Born Under a Bad Sign), quick witted with a dry honest sense of humour. She came across as incredibly intelligent and it pained me that none of those qualities really came across at all when she was playing Jo. In reality she and Jensen looked like an age-appropriate match but on screen she looked 15 years younger.I'm not sure I'd want her back in Supernatural but she definitely deserves to have a great career.
6) But in person Nicki Aycox actually looked pretty rough. My picture with her was absolutely dreadful (I look great in it but she is doing this weird pose where her face is in profile and her hair is over one eye so she looks like a demented cyclops - which not a good look for her!)
7) That no matter how many times you try and warn people that asking a question about fanfiction is NEVER EVER a good idea there will always be some idiot who allows their curiosity to override their common sense. I see it time and time again at conventions. Some very excitable fangirl asks a question about fanfiction and the actor then essentially responds in a way which unintentionally insults the person asking the question and everyone in the room who likes fanfiction.
As entertaining as it was to hear Jensen Ackles say the word "Wincest" it was quite clear that he wasn't actually that amused by it and to be honest unless the fandom is one where slash is a canon pairing, or the actor is a laugh riot who you could be fairly certain would find such a concept hilarious actors generally aren't terribly thrilled by the notion that people are writing stories about their characters having gay sex. Every time its asked at a con the actors response is always a thinly veiled "You're a freak and why are you asking me this?" . Jensen was asked two questions - what did he think about fanfiction and what did he think about all the little joking moments in the show where people mistake Sam and Dean for a gay couple (neither question being remotely wise).
Jensen answered that some people had very disturbed imaginations. He then said that he had heard about Wincest (huge misguided cheer from the crowd) and that he knew about it because Kim Manners had told him about it. (Jensen in a very ironic tone) "Yeah me and Jared had a real laugh about that one." He then said that he hoped his grandmother never ever read any such stories.
He then went on to answer the gay couple question by saying that Sam and Dean were brothers and that basically people liked to read subtext into relationships even though that was never what they had intended and that the gay couple jokes were Eric Kripke's way of "mocking that idea (wincest) and saying how completely ridiculous that is."
Ouch! Can't wait to read the amount of wank that will ensue as a result of that declaration!
I've always felt that fanfiction is created by fans, for fans and is very separate from what the cast and crew are doing.I love my SPN fanfic (although I don't read as much of it as I used to) and like my wincest but have never really felt the compelling urge to discuss that with Jensen as it's a very different arena than what he is doing with his interpretation of Dean. Might have been a good idea if the girl who asked the question had taken this approach!
8) That actors slinging 10 x 8's on a table in the dealer's room may not have shiny pa's to look after them. Important note to bear in mind for the future so that I don't do what I did on Sunday which was to ask the actors (thinking they were their own pa's) "This gentleman is looking for the Doctor Who actors - do you know who they are?". Terry Molloy (Davros) was thankfully highly amused and just responded "He knows who we are." while Anna Hope (Novice Haim in New Earth and Gridlock) did a "I can't believe she just said that" face.
Hey you were covered in catperson make-up including cute little whiskers in Doctor Who- how the hell was I supposed to know what you actually looked like? But to make up for it I spent the rest of the day steering people towards them for autographs.
9)That paying £30 to see Jensen up close and personal in a room full of only ten people was definitely worth it (even if the coffee club only lasted about 25 minutes).
10) That as cynical and jaded as I am it was still quite upsetting to see a small part of the fan base letting the rest of us down so badly. Apart from the odd wank (which is generally fanfic related) the SPN fandom has always seemed to me to be a really nice fandom. Which is why I was quite distressed by a lot of the behaviour that I saw over the weekend.
Step forward Psycho No. 1 who has now gone down in infamy as the nutjob who assaulted Jensen. She'd already come to the attention of the security guards by pinching his ass during the photo session (something which noone else did - thankfully) and then decided it would be a good idea to literally throw herself at him - arms round his neck, legs round his waist kiss straight on his lips. That is actually sexual assault and she's damn lucky that Jensen isn't as precious as his fannon rep prior to this event suggested he might be or she would have been arrested. As it was she had to be physically wrestled to the ground and marched out of the building. She was banned from the event and will be banned from any other event that Rogue Events do as a security risk. Way to go psycho! She did write a full written apology to Jensen but hey - too little too late. He could easily have walked out after an incident like that so 710 attendees are very grateful that he didn't.
Then there was psycho No.2 who handed Jensen a note which consisted of a photo of herself naked with her room number written on the back. No present is given to Jensen without his PA checking it first as a security measure. So funnily enough Jensen didn't get psycho girl's piccie - it got ripped up and put in the bin. But she's also lucky that Jensen's pa is a consummate professional because someone less professional might have been inclined to hand the picture around or put it up somewhere for the attendees to look at. Seriously - what kind of woman has so little respect for herself that she risks her personal safety in that way?
But whilst those were extreme examples there was a lot of other behaviour which was less than impressive.
What was up with the girls who kept edging forward during the Jason Manns concert getting closer and closer to Jensen's table? We had to watch them like a hawk in case they flung themselves at him like Psycho No.1.
And what about the 50 or so "fans" who every time Jensen moved in and out of the hall acted like the paparazzi taking photos of him and practically running to follow him? It is terrible convention etiquette to take photos of the guests as they're going about their own business and personally I would ban people for that alone but in general it is just downright fucking rude to take flash photos of someone two inches away from their face so that you're flashblinding them. I've been at events where the headliners have had no security whatseoever and have merrily attended the evening parties and hung around in the bar until the early hours of the morning just chatting with the fans. Jensen needed 2 security guards and 3 staff members to keep him safe and really even that number of people wasn't quite enough to keep the scary fangirls at bay. There was no way he would have been secure at the evening parties so of course he didn't attend and nor did any of the other guests - which was a real shame.
I get that people were there for Jensen but again some of the fans were unbelievably disrespectful to the other guests. We got multiple complaints about people just having their own conversations in the hall at top volume so that they were drowning out the guests on stage. That was also a problem in the Jason Manns concert were the majority of the audience were practically yelling at each other, except when Jensen joined Jason for Crazy Love at which point you could have heard a pin drop.
I think the thing that upset me the most is that conventions are normally quite lovely fluffy fun events to attend. Conventions are all about a group of people with a common interest coming together. People come from such diverse backgrounds but they are united by a common love for one show. There's normally a real sense of community at these events and you don't screw over people in your community! I've been to events where I've seen people leave digital cameras and handbags lying around and they can come back an hour later knowing that their fellow fans won't have ripped them off.
Not at this event sadly. Over the course of the weekend about 150 people lost their registration badges. And we had a measly 2 handed in and didn't find any when we were clearing up. Which means that all the rest were kept by the attendees who found them presumably in the hope of trying to wrangle extra autographs or in the hope that they could attend all weekend if they were only a day ticket holder. And the number of people who "lost" their autograph sheets was phenomenal. Really unpleasant grasping behaviour that really wasn't nice to see.
So despite the behaviour of a small minority I did have a really fantastic weekend and am now so tired I don't quite know what to do with myself! Will write up the talks tomorrow if I'm less zombiefied by then.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-05-14 07:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 08:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 08:51 pm (UTC)Was nice to meet you though!
no subject
Date: 2007-05-14 07:46 pm (UTC)Spoken by someone who has obviously not spent enough time in MK. Because yes, yes it is. (I hit 18 and ran for my life).
Saw krazykipper briefly twice (and I hope that you did have a good weekend in the end because I know that when I met you you weren't really enjoying yourself and weren't quite in the right frame of mind for the event so I really hope you did have a nice time)
Saturday was a really bad day for me state-of-mind-wise. Sunday was a lot better. I was kinda mortified that Jensen managed to remember me in the autograph queue (probably because I was the one who almost burst into tears when he asked how I was.) And even though he was really friendly about it, my whole plan to stay under the radar failed. But yeah, I did have fun for parts of it. Hopefully next year will be better. (Got ticket 20 for that anyway).
. Important note to bear in mind for the future so that I don't do what I did on Sunday which was to ask the actors (thinking they were their own pa's)
I managed to get right in Justin Hartley's way (long story) and just about asked Jenny Mollen what she was doing cutting through the autograph queue. Managed to stop that one though.
Then there was psycho No.2 who handed Jensen a note which consisted of a photo of herself naked with her room number written on the back.
With her and the nutjob who threw herself at Jensen (twice! it was really weird to watch) you always wonder what they think is actually going to happen.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 08:46 pm (UTC)Glad to hear that you did enjoy yourself in the end - you looked in a bad way when I met you. So I'm really pleased to hear that you had a nice time and have booked for the next one.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 08:55 pm (UTC)You have NO idea how many people said that to me. (including half the guests). Yeah, even though I ran the second the con was over (managed to get on a train before 6.30pm) it was better.
I think it's like...you know how they say there are 5 stages of grief and the last one's acceptance? Think I'm there now.
Hopefully next year I will be more together. And there will be more fun. Yes?
no subject
Date: 2007-05-14 07:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 08:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-14 09:39 pm (UTC)Yeah to all the non-con people who attended and were a little or more than a little inappropriate (and thank god it was just Jensen and not both Jensen and Jared. That would have been a NIGHTMARE with muppets). There was some fluffy-con feel, but yeah, such a lot of it was missing and it was sad.
Still, it was an awesome weekend.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 08:43 pm (UTC)I'm at the next one so here's hoping we meet then!
no subject
Date: 2007-05-14 11:18 pm (UTC)Thanks for recounting all of it for those of us who weren't able to go!
no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 08:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-15 06:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 08:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-15 06:25 am (UTC)This is a surprise to me, because he's tended to appear a little freaked out. But the main freak-out has been up in front of large crowds talking by himself, and that fits this situation. Who knows, maybe he found some meds for it. I could have suggested some myself-- they worked wonders for musical auditions.
4) That Jensen's girlfriend is a pretty wholesome looking
What, another one already? Though he's so pretty, I don't know why I wonder...
5)That Alona Tal looks about ten years older and a thousand times prettier in person than she ever did as Jo in Supernatural.
At first, she looked 20-21, and then in the second big episode she looked about 12 (which matched the character's behavior, somewhat). What odd things makeup (and strange writing) can do!
10) That as cynical and jaded as I am it was still quite upsetting to see a small part of the fan base letting the rest of us down so badly.
*sigh* Once you've had a rabid weirdo assault you twice, and you need extra security just to make people keep their distance... it's hard NOT to think that your fandom is full of whackos. I'm not sure I'd be above that assumption (not with the screaming and loud talking during the song Jensen's friend was trying to sing and such). People, the concept of "dignity" exists for a reason. :(
I'm glad you had a mostly wonderful time, though, and I do like your reports. I skimmed over the one with the handsome Mr. Torchwood weeks ago too...
no subject
Date: 2007-05-15 02:46 pm (UTC)Jensen was never alone on stage, which probably helped. He was accompanied by a con staffer who asked him some questions himself, and also managed the audience question process.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-15 03:33 pm (UTC)I realize the temptations for interviewers and fans, too, being faced with such an unusually beautiful person, but... nobody likes to have that thrown up in their face in public or coming from strangers. It's just embarassing. "Do you know how pretty you are?" O_o *subject mentally sinks into chair cushion*
no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 08:32 pm (UTC)Many people have mentioned Daneel Harris as being Jensen's girl - I confess I'm not familiar with One Tree Hill but she was cute girl next dooresque brunette who was with him all weekend.
When I was sat with Alona she mentioned a lot how much she didn't like Jo's hair and make-up. They really did do a number on her she looks much older and more sophisticated in person.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-15 01:04 pm (UTC)But I'm glad you had fun, despite the behaviour of the minority.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-15 02:50 pm (UTC)Even so, that organiser has had to ban cameras at the parties because a minority of attendees spoiled it for the rest by hassling those guests who joined in, and taking photos of them without permission.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-15 03:26 pm (UTC)Some people were rude to me while I stewarded, too.
As for the Jensen-hassling, I haven't seen that kind of bad behaviour since James Marsters was at the peak of his popularity. He used to get the bum-pinchers, nekkid fan pix, stalkers, and all the rest. Dire.
I was sorry to see it happening to Jensen. It's disrespectful, and it forces the more polite fans to take pains to ensure they aren't tarred with the same brush! For instance, after the gig myself & a friend decided to see if the downstairs bar was open, as there was a crowd at the hall bar and it was very hot in there. So we went to go downstairs. But unknown to me, Jensen had just been taken down that way (I hadn't seen them go & assumed they'd taken the lift). And apparently (also unknown to me) a gaggle of fans had zoomed down after them before they could be stopped. So we were stopped from going down by a PA, who said 'don't be seen to be part of it'. After she explained, I in turn explained that actually, our motives were purely alcoholic! She knows me, so she suggested I walk down with her, which apaprently made me 'safe'... ;-)
And after all that, the dratted bar was closed anyway!
There's already been plenty of flailing and wanking on the boards about Jensen's attitude to Wincest. And it seems there are as many views on how he felt about the subject, as there are people who saw the talk!
To me, he looked to be somewhat uncomfortable with it. But clearly not so uncomfortable as to sidestep the question, as he so adeptly did with anything personal. I guess he wanted his opinion known. It was he who actually used the word 'Wincest', after all. And I thought his opinion was pretty clear. 'Disturbing' and 'ridiculous' are not ambivalent adjectives!
But then as you say, many actors would be disturbed by the idea of slash, whether they'd admit it or not....
no subject
Date: 2007-05-15 03:37 pm (UTC)It was he who actually used the word 'Wincest', after all. And I thought his opinion was pretty clear. 'Disturbing' and 'ridiculous' are not ambivalent adjectives!
I personally love the Wincest and the Gen, and the Wincest is usually more about depth-of-feeling for me than just abject porn.
But... what do people expect ANY actor's response (especially a male actor) to be when someone asks them about Slash fiction featuring their character? Especially here, where it has the added feature of incest? I mean, the answer is going to be one of Funny, Silly, Ick, or Disturbing typically, so what's the point in even asking?
Still, people just have to give into those temptations, don't they?
no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 08:53 pm (UTC)What you said about people's honesty regarding missing things isn't altogether true though. I lost my cardigan and the person who found it spotted me and recognised that it was mine (not someone I know by the way) and told me they'd handed it in to the hotel reception and I was really pleased as I'd resigned myself to having lost it for good.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 09:14 pm (UTC)