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Differences between "Ascended meme" and "Sure, why not?"

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NerdAtComputer Nac from Present day,present time Since: Sep, 2010
Nac
#1: Feb 2nd 2011 at 12:07:16 PM

Links:

  • AM (Ascended Meme) [1]
  • SWN (Sure why not?) [2]

I've been reading both tropes, and I might have come to the conclution that they are pretty much the same thing.

  • AM: talks about Meme's that get into the official work.
  • SWN: talks about "Things popular among the fandom" that get into the official work.

But what's the diference between a theory that is popular among the fans, and a "Fan-fic or Meme" that is popular among the fans?

Both of them work out pretty much the same way. Does anyone see any real difference between them, or it isn't only me?

Just call me Nac.
KJMackley Since: Jan, 2001
#2: Feb 2nd 2011 at 2:23:32 PM

Ascended Meme is specifically items of Memetic Mutation or a Fan Nickname that get a Shout-Out in the original work. Transformers Animated had the "punch of kill everything" or "P.O.K.E." from an explosive punch Lugnut used. Transformers War For Cybertron had a multiplayer upgrade option be called Punch Of Kill Everything.

Sure, Why Not? is largely Word of God mentioning that a piece of fanon is a plausible explanation, regardless of it being the original intention or even being integrated into the work itself. Fans generally liked the idea that Starscream in the first Transformers movie hid among the F-22's firing on Megatron, and the writers said it was a reasonable idea as it would be in character.

NerdAtComputer Nac from Present day,present time Since: Sep, 2010
Nac
#3: Feb 2nd 2011 at 3:01:13 PM

I still see that the difference is very faint.

So, the main difference would be that AM appears in the official work, while SWN is only the World Of God aproving it as part of the Canon?

It looks kind of a vague difference if you ask me. =/

(and the examples hardly show that difference at all)

Just call me Nac.
Gilphon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#4: Feb 2nd 2011 at 4:41:23 PM

Also, an Ascended Meme needs to be a meme first, Sure, Why Not? does not.

So:

  • Ascended Meme: A trend among the fans that gains enough prominence for the creators to notice it, and they then decide to include it as a nod to the fans.
  • Sure, Why Not?: The creators sees a fan say something, and decides it might as well be canon.

So there is some overlap between the two; I think, but there are plently of mutually exclusive cases; a line of dialogue which contains clear reference to some fandom in-joke is Ascended Meme but not Sure, Why Not?; a writer basing the canon explanation for a plot hole off of a fan theory he saw somewhere once is Sure, Why Not? but not Ascended Meme.

KJMackley Since: Jan, 2001
#5: Feb 2nd 2011 at 4:53:12 PM

I only see a handful of shared examples, but the general distinction is that one is about Memes and the other about Fanon. There may be some overlap but it is fairly well defined. If you see a need for a dramatic clean-up you can take it to the Trope Repair Shop. Otherwise I think I might comb through and clean away some examples (Uhura and Sulu given first names weren't really memes to begin with, that's ascended fanon).

INUH Since: Jul, 2009
#6: Feb 2nd 2011 at 8:43:22 PM

Sure, Why Not? doesn't even require being in the work. All it requires is a fan walking up to the creator and asking a question, only for the creator to respond "I never thought about it, but that makes perfect sense."

Infinite Tree: an experimental story
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