I hadn't really encountered the idea of authorial intent/death of the author until I encountered online fandom, and while I have some issues with it am waiting till I have a chance to educate myself some more on the subject to argue too strongly in case I end up looking like an idiot.
That said, even if we see the author as just one more voice amongst many, it has been my experience that while sometimes they spout a bunch of crap which kind of takes the fun out of things, they often have really interesting and insightful things to say. Which isn't surprising since they are the person who created this thing I like :) To use your example, I have had a couple of music videos really make me understand and appreciate a song a lot more, opening my eyes to symbolism I hadn't noticed.
Anyway, I think we agree on the main issue at hand here, and you have also made me think, so it's all good :)
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Date: 2007-03-09 12:49 am (UTC)I hadn't really encountered the idea of authorial intent/death of the author until I encountered online fandom, and while I have some issues with it am waiting till I have a chance to educate myself some more on the subject to argue too strongly in case I end up looking like an idiot.
That said, even if we see the author as just one more voice amongst many, it has been my experience that while sometimes they spout a bunch of crap which kind of takes the fun out of things, they often have really interesting and insightful things to say. Which isn't surprising since they are the person who created this thing I like :) To use your example, I have had a couple of music videos really make me understand and appreciate a song a lot more, opening my eyes to symbolism I hadn't noticed.
Anyway, I think we agree on the main issue at hand here, and you have also made me think, so it's all good :)