Random Observation...

[shipperx]

You know, when the term "Mary Sue" was first coined, it felt like it had a meaning and a purpose. As years have rolled on, however, and the term has -- for lack of a better word -- 'main streamed' more and more it seems to be used as 'primary protagonist that I don't like'.  'Writer's pet' also seems to occasionally fall into that category.

Comments

[mollivanders.livejournal.com]

There's an icon somewhere that says "Mary Sue is now applied to any female character under the age of 70 who can make it home without drowning."

I remember when it used to mean something /nostalgia>

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Yeah. To quote someone I've forgotten: "There is no generally accepted male equivalent of 'Mary Sue' because the male equivalent is just called 'hero.'"

[silverusagi]

it seems to be used as 'primary protagonist that I don't like'

Particularly when talking about characters in canon. Most canon characters are not actually Mary Sues. Except Bella Swan.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Yeah. It takes a lot to qualify as a canonical Mary Sue. The threshold isn't just "someone with a reasonably recognizable moral compass who survives lots of stuff and thus is the center of a story" because that's actually a vast majority of protagonists.

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

I concur. "Gary Stu" is also in a rise in usage, but it's just easier to say "Mary Sue."

[bluemage55.livejournal.com]

I've heard 'Marty Stu' plenty as well

[rahirah]

Yeah, it's gotten to be an extremely fuzzy term. Strictly speaking, I suppose that the classic Mary Sue is a subset of writer's pets.

[cindergal.livejournal.com]

more and more it seems to be used as 'primary protagonist that I don't like'. 'Writer's pet' also seems to occasionally fall into that category.

This. I had a disagreement with someone on a Nuke board last summer who claimed that Reid was a Mary (or Marty) Sue because the writers loved him and wrote for him more than more established characters (i.e. Noah). Um, that's not the definition of a Mary Sue. At least it's not the one I've always heard. He was a very flawed character and hardly anyone liked him (except the audience, of course, because he was so snarky) for the first several months he was on the show. And he didn't have unusually colored eyes. ;-) They are a very pretty blue, though.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

main streamed' more and more it seems to be used as 'primary protagonist that I don't like'. 'Writer's pet' also seems to occasionally fall into that category

So agree. That's annoyed me on more than one occasion.

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

The most annoying is when it's used for "any female character who has any sexual tension in canon or fanon with part of my slash pairing".

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Oh lord, yes. How dare she have any sort of chemistry with an canonically straight character when the fanon slash is so much more more popular my thing. All things must conform to fanon.

One I ran into recently was someone quite insistent (and utterly serious) that every male character under the age of 24 in a show should be involved in an elaborate love geometric configuration. I pointed out that they have a few under 22 females, and shouldn't the show leave at least one guy for the female characters? (I was promptly told no and that I was wrong.)

[aerintine.livejournal.com]

I have seen this as well. It's a pretty heavy accusation to lay at a character's feet for the crime of being interesting. Perhaps BeerGood is onto something - could the new term be a "Bella Swan?" :)