There are a lot of fan theories about popular stories of various mediums on the Internet. These fan theories range from the one about the classic film Grease, that Sandy actually died when Danny tried to rescue her from drowning, as referenced in "Summer Nights," to the speculation that HARRY POTTER’s Ginny Weasley drugged Harry with a love potion, to Gilligan being Satan while the other inhabitants on Gilligan’s Island were the seven deadly sins, to how, in the movie (or theatrical production, which I'd recently seen) of The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy's Bizarro twin was actually the deceased Wicked Witch of the East, whose face is never shown. But interestingly, the two ladies share a shoe size.
The creator of Grease dismissed the fan theory about his musical being merely Sandy's coma dream. It wouldn't surprise me if other creators of stories coming under speculation would brush off out-there fan theories as well. Still, I find some fan theories quite insightful, regardless of whether or not I believe in them. The "what if" questions presented in some of these fan theories challenge my notion of what seems familiar and comforting in these stories and encourages the exploration of a darker or more twisted perspective of what could be lurking beneath the surface.
Taking the concept about hidden stories past fiction into reality, I am reminded that it's important to take a closer look at what, at first glance, might seem familiar and comforting and to remember what is intentionally projected in any environment for an audience might not necessarily reflect what is actually there.
Do you have any fan theories surrounding a story? What fan theories have you heard that you find interesting? (I myself could spend a day discussing my fan theories about the movie Inception.)
13 comments:
I used to enjoy the myriad of fan theories that circled the TV show LOST - before the ultimate (and disappointing) conclusion. The amount of thought and effort that go into these fan theories are mind-blowing sometimes.
Thank you for taking part and re-sharing in the blogfest! :)
Yeah, even if some are really out to lunch, they are interesting to consider as it does let you see it with new eyes.
Like DL, I also thought of LOST when reading this!
I wish you a very merry Christmas :)
I remember this post!
My fan theory is that the spinning top falls over at the end of Inception.
And if anyone has a wild fan theory about my books, then they are definitely reaching!
Some of those fan theories are interesting. It can put a different twist on it. One of them was confirmed. In Aladdin, the theory was that the peddler and the genie were the same character. The director (or an animator, I forget who) said that there was a scene since cut that confirmed this.
I hear a bunch of fan theories about the brothers from Supernatural being gay and/ or incestuous. I'm not sure where it started. Though I remember similar (though without the humor memes that didn't exist yet) rumors of the cousins on the show Perfect Strangers also being gay. I don't know. People seemed to tie these into the plot, but I never heard any of it holding water. I also heard a fan theory that a certain Food show where people compete to win their own shows on the Network was rigged, that 1 person was always going to win in the end and the others were paid to just enjoy their brief fame but knew they were in a rigged game. It's a fan theory for people who didn't buy it when a certain former military contestant, who was wildly popular, suddenly dropped out in favor of just doing shows on his blog, that was then shut down, and now he has a semi-failed music career and never cooks in public. Maybe that's more conspiracy theory than fan.
ANYWAY. Great post. Glad you reshared it.
I hadn't heard the one about Grease. Cool! Have you seen the Pixar and Disney ones? Usually they detail how the entire Pixar or Disney world is interconnected and characters in one are background in another. I like the idea that all those stories are in the same universe.
@mirymom1 from
Balancing Act
I'd never heard of that Gilligan's Island theory! That's hilarious.
LOST was a lovely home of wacky fan theories. I cherished the people who kept trying to convince themselves it was all an alien project.
It's not my theory, but I love thew idea someone came up with that the characters in Fight Club were adult versions of the cast of Calvin & Hobbes.
Interesting theory about Gilligan's Island! I also think it's interesting to compare TV characters. For example The Flintstones were based on The Honeymooners and George Costanza on Seinfeld was also based on Ralph Kramden from The Honeymooners. Many shows had characters based on the likable yet dopie Gilligan too. This was fun! Happy New Year, Cynthia!
Julie
One never knows what an author was really thinking. I got into this discussion with someone in college. I went home and wrote a poem about my thoughts when I was considering entering the nunnery in high school. I showed it to the friend I had the discussion with and he said it was about suicide. So why did I have to take those English lit classes in college and try to dissect the thoughts of great authors? If they did not tell anyone what they were writing about, how am I supposed to guess??
I'm glad you reposted this, Cynthia. Fan theories are fascinating aren't they?
I'm not really into fan theories, because, in the end, movies and stories are really all about the writers. The only theories I really get into are the ones like from The Sixth Sense where the producer really may have been putting in Easter eggs for those that are paying attention or like when a character may or may not die at the end of a movie, but it is left up in the air (The Notebook comes to mind). The most recent theory I've heard was that Rose was dreaming about Jack in the movie Titanic. And my favorite theory? The Disney one where Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, the frozen sisters, and Beauty and the Beast are all interconnected. There may have been more Disney movies thrown in, but I can't remember.
So, even if I don't actually believe many of the theories I read, it's always fun seeing them pop up on my facebook feed. :)
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