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One fan's appreciation (Gaming)

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Monday, January 27, 2020, 14:09 (1782 days ago) @ Harmanimus

The death of the author perspective is valid, but is generally befitting to a coldness in consumption that makes it important to consider what killed the author to merit judging a work entirely without intent or context. A work probably should be allowed to transcend its author. It should probably be allowed to be judged on its own merits. However, a vacuum around a work can also make for a shallow appreciation.


Personally, the middle ground of “context matters, intent is meaningless” holds truer to me than a uniform death. You are right to judge the merits of a work out of context, and while I don’t hold any particular stick in this particular basket, I think you lose a great deal better potential understanding and appreciation when you do it without context. Some works are good in spite of their creator *cough*Harry Potter*cough* and hold great value that is made greater through the teachable moments brought from context. It allows a better critical eye and paints the truth to things that otherwise feel slight as the boils they are.

Yes. In general, I don't abide by the death of the author theory--I think it's a balance, too. You experience the work of art on its merits, but having more than a shallow understanding of it requires context. For me context includes intent, but not to the point where the author's intent defines what the work means.


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