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Everyone's a Superhero: A Cultural Theory of Mary Sue Fan Fiction as Fair Use

2007; UC Berkeley School of Law; Volume: 95; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.15779/z389x3m

1942-6542

Anupam Chander, Madhavi Sunder,

Digital Games and Media

Lieutenant took the helm of the Starship Enterprise, saving the ship while parrying Kirk's advances. At least she did so in the unofficial short story by Trekkie Paula Smith. Mary Sue has since come to stand for the insertion of an idealized authorial representative in a popular work. Derided as an exercise in narcissism, is in fact a figure of subaltern critique, challenging the stereotypes of the original. The stereotypes of popular culture insinuate themselves deeply into our lives, coloring our views on occupations and roles. From Hermione Granger-led stories, to Harry Potter in Kolkata, to Star Trek same-sex romances, Sues re-imagine our cultural landscape, granting agency to those denied it in the popular mythology. Lacking the global distribution channels of traditional media, authors now find an alternative in the World Wide Web, which brings their work to the world. Despite copyright law's grant of rights in derivative works to the original's owners, we argue that Sues that challenge the orthodoxy of the original likely constitute fair use. The serves as a metonym for all derivative uses that challenge the hegemony of the original. Scholars raise three principal critiques to such fair use: (1) why not write your own story rather than borrowing another's? (2) even if you must borrow, why not license it? and (3 won't recoding popular icons