Difference between revisions of "Mary Sue"
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Coined by Paula Smith in 1973 in her satirical Star Trek fanfic "A Trekkie's Tale", the term "Mary Sue" has come to be used for an over-the-top badly written character that has broken the suspension of disbelief of a story to its detriment. The archetypical Mary Sue character is highly idealized, set on a pedestal by the narrative and supporting cast, and has traits that are extraordinary or out of place in the context of the story's setting. What exactly constitutes as "extraordinary" will of course vary from one setting to the next: a [[Zoids: New Century (Anime)|New Century]] Sue, for instance, might be a beautiful, intelligent, charismatic prodigy [[Zoid Warrior]] with a custom [[Ultimate X]] König Wolf, an Organoid and a gratuitous tragic backstory, who can beat Bit and Vega at the same time with her eyes closed and takes agency away from the canon characters, reducing them to jobbers or love interests. | Coined by Paula Smith in 1973 in her satirical Star Trek fanfic "A Trekkie's Tale", the term "Mary Sue" has come to be used for an over-the-top badly written character that has broken the suspension of disbelief of a story to its detriment. The archetypical Mary Sue character is highly idealized, set on a pedestal by the narrative and supporting cast, and has traits that are extraordinary or out of place in the context of the story's setting. What exactly constitutes as "extraordinary" will of course vary from one setting to the next: a [[Zoids: New Century (Anime)|New Century]] Sue, for instance, might be a beautiful, intelligent, charismatic prodigy [[Zoid Warrior]] with a custom [[Ultimate X]] König Wolf, an Organoid and a gratuitous tragic backstory, who can beat Bit and Vega at the same time with her eyes closed and takes agency away from the canon characters, reducing them to jobbers or love interests. | ||
| − | Most would agree on the broad definition outlined in the above paragraph, but much controversy exists over the subjective finer details. The term "Mary Sue" is generally used among the [[fanfiction]] and [[Role Playing Game|RPG]] crowd, and some purists will insist the term ''only'' applies to fanfic and RP: others will argue the term applies to all fiction, pointing to characters such as ''Star Trek's'' Wesley Crusher or Ayla of ''Earth's Children'' as examples of '''Canon Sues'''. Mary Sues are often (but not always) surrogates for the author, and may share their personality, interests, political views, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, etc. A male Sue can be referred to as a '''Gary Stu''', and although they certainly exist there is a regrettable tendency for them to not be criticized as harshly as their female counterparts. | + | Most would agree on the broad definition outlined in the above paragraph, but much controversy exists over the subjective finer details. The term "Mary Sue" is generally used among the [[fanfiction]] and [[Role Playing Game|RPG]] crowd, and some purists will insist the term ''only'' applies to fanfic and RP: others will argue the term applies to all fiction, pointing to characters such as ''Twilight's'' Bella Swan, ''Star Trek's'' Wesley Crusher or Ayla of ''Earth's Children'' as examples of '''Canon Sues'''. Mary Sues are often (but not always) surrogates for the author, and may share their personality, interests, political views, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, etc. A male Sue can be referred to as a '''Gary Stu''', and although they certainly exist there is a regrettable tendency for them to not be criticized as harshly as their female counterparts. |
It's important to note that Mary Sue is not a list of character traits. She is the disease, not the symptoms, and a character can have some Sue-like traits without necessarily ''being'' a Sue: for example, [[Bit Cloud (New Century Anime)|Bit]] is [[Character Shielding|coddled by the plot]] and has a [[Liger Zero (New Century Anime)|special Zoid]], but these traits are balanced out by his buffoonish antics and legitimate character flaws. "Mary Sue" can be a loaded word: beware of those who use it as a shorthand for "[[Bashing|any character I don't like who I think is too powerful or important.]]" | It's important to note that Mary Sue is not a list of character traits. She is the disease, not the symptoms, and a character can have some Sue-like traits without necessarily ''being'' a Sue: for example, [[Bit Cloud (New Century Anime)|Bit]] is [[Character Shielding|coddled by the plot]] and has a [[Liger Zero (New Century Anime)|special Zoid]], but these traits are balanced out by his buffoonish antics and legitimate character flaws. "Mary Sue" can be a loaded word: beware of those who use it as a shorthand for "[[Bashing|any character I don't like who I think is too powerful or important.]]" | ||
[[Category: Fandom]] | [[Category: Fandom]] | ||
Revision as of 16:18, 7 December 2014
A Mary Sue is a pejorative name for a certain type of character.
Overview
Coined by Paula Smith in 1973 in her satirical Star Trek fanfic "A Trekkie's Tale", the term "Mary Sue" has come to be used for an over-the-top badly written character that has broken the suspension of disbelief of a story to its detriment. The archetypical Mary Sue character is highly idealized, set on a pedestal by the narrative and supporting cast, and has traits that are extraordinary or out of place in the context of the story's setting. What exactly constitutes as "extraordinary" will of course vary from one setting to the next: a New Century Sue, for instance, might be a beautiful, intelligent, charismatic prodigy Zoid Warrior with a custom Ultimate X König Wolf, an Organoid and a gratuitous tragic backstory, who can beat Bit and Vega at the same time with her eyes closed and takes agency away from the canon characters, reducing them to jobbers or love interests.
Most would agree on the broad definition outlined in the above paragraph, but much controversy exists over the subjective finer details. The term "Mary Sue" is generally used among the fanfiction and RPG crowd, and some purists will insist the term only applies to fanfic and RP: others will argue the term applies to all fiction, pointing to characters such as Twilight's Bella Swan, Star Trek's Wesley Crusher or Ayla of Earth's Children as examples of Canon Sues. Mary Sues are often (but not always) surrogates for the author, and may share their personality, interests, political views, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, etc. A male Sue can be referred to as a Gary Stu, and although they certainly exist there is a regrettable tendency for them to not be criticized as harshly as their female counterparts.
It's important to note that Mary Sue is not a list of character traits. She is the disease, not the symptoms, and a character can have some Sue-like traits without necessarily being a Sue: for example, Bit is coddled by the plot and has a special Zoid, but these traits are balanced out by his buffoonish antics and legitimate character flaws. "Mary Sue" can be a loaded word: beware of those who use it as a shorthand for "any character I don't like who I think is too powerful or important."
