The appeal of rare pairings explained! Maybe.

[kat_lair]

I need an icon that says GIANT DORK! However... During the course of my thesis reading I came across the following theory:

In *Aesthetics and Biopsychology, Berlyne (1971) attempts to explain the essential ingredients that make something aesthetically appealing to us. In addition to ‘psychophysical variables’ (size, colour, pitch etc.) and ‘ecological properties’ (those that describe the meaning of the stimulus), he outlined something called ‘collative variables’. These ‘collative variables’ seem to go beyond features inherent to the stimulus itself and tap instead into the interaction between the stimulus and the individual perceiving it. They also appear to combine the other characteristics and allow for comparison of the stimulus with prior experiences and expectations. Berlyne’s ‘collative variables’ are:
1.    Novelty
2.    Uncertainty and surprisingness
3.    (Subjective) Complexity
4.    Relationships between 1-3, especially between novelty and perceived complexity.


So, as soon as I read this, my fandom-warped brain piped up with RARE PAIRS! (come to think of it, this framework might also be used to explain the appeal of small fandoms...) It seems to fit so well… Let’s elaborate:

1.    Novelty – A rare pairing is also usually the new pairing. No one’s though to write it before, or it’s the first time you’re reading it. How exciting! Something new besides the same-old, same-old of *insert any of the big OTPs here*

2.    Uncertainty and surprisingness – Sometimes I read a rare pair fic just for the sheer boggle-factor, also known as the “ahaha omg the author is on drugs, how the fuck are they going to pull that off?” reaction. There’s the uncertainty of “will I really regret clicking on this link or…?” and the sometimes the surprise of “by all the laws of the universe this really shouldn’t work but holy shit, it so does!”

3.    (Subjective) Complexity – I would argue that writing rare pairings requires more imagination and creativity than writing the big fandom OTP. It takes a more complex plot to make it plausible for person A and person Z to develop a relationship. After all, the pairing is considered rare because there is no or little canon support for it, and therefore fewer obvious storylines to utilise. A and Z just don’t hang out together or get into joint adventures nearly as much as that big A/B OTP. Or maybe they’ve never even met in canon (case study: anywhere_road ). Ergo; complexity!

4.    Relationships between 1-3 – Self-evident. Put all of the above together and in the hands of a talented author, their interaction can lead to some amazing fic. Or it can be the most scarring fanfic-experience of your life… But that’s the risk you take.


Anyway… DISCUSS! Or, you know, slowly back away from the crazy woman…


*Berlyne, D.E. (1971). Aesthetics and Biopsychology. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

Comments

[redsnake05.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. As someone who loves to write rarepairs, number 3 really resonated with me. I think they are more of a challenge, particularly if you're writing a first-time fic. In a text-based fandom like HP, it can be because sometimes you don't know anything about the character beyond a mention in the text somewhere, so your challenge is to make a believeable, consistent character from a name and (hopefully) a few other details. I once wrote Ignatius Prewett/Antonin Dolohov for an exchange, and it was the most incredibly rewarding of fics. Sometimes, though, the problem is not one of inadequate canon characterisation, but, as you point out, plot complexities rising from the problem of how your characters meet at all. This can be really satisfying too, although I must admit to a shitload of canon fuckery (MCR's tour schedule, for example) at times to make an idea work.

As a writer, too, I like the idea of offering people something new, something they may never have considered before. I know that doesn't always make for the biggest readership, but I don't really care. It's really satisfying to get comments - even if it's only a few of them - from people who have never read your pairing before, or thought that your pairing would never work.

I think rarepairs can be incredibly satisfying, and I quite like this theory. I know you wrote it from the POV of a reader, but I think it holds true well enough for writers too. What do you think?

[kat-lair.livejournal.com]

I agree with the complexity issue. With anywhere_road where the characters hadn't met at all, zeitheist and I have basically built our own canon that sort of co-exists parallel to the show canon. That shit gets complicated, especially after the show went and killed both of our characters...

My point is that I think in many ways writing rare pairings is closer to writing original fiction and therefore the intellectual demands and challenges it places on both the writer and the reader are qualitatively different from those offered by fanfic that stays closer to canon events/pairings.

And then it takes a certain type of writer/reader who enjoys that type of challenge...