Personal Canon is the only canon that matters?

[kirk55555]

I usually have a bunch of head canon ideas about the various franchises I like. I never use them as facts obviously, that would be ridiculous. But, for example, there are several star Trek books (from back before they started going together) that I count in my head as being in canon with the show. Same for Star Wars, etc. Generally, if I'm experiencing a story from a franchise that isn't part of its normal canon work (like books/games for a TV show) if I like the story and it doesn't interfere with the main continuity, I consider it canon. Sometimes, in rare cases for myself I'll ignore a canon story if it interferes with another story I really like ( I completely ignore the stupid "mandalorian" episodes of SW: The Clone wars, for example). The Star Wars EU had a great canon system, with various levels of continuity. In general I'm a fan of canon and continuity.

 

[sidious618]

For me, head canon is the only canon that matters when it comes to large continuity franchises like Star Wars, Doctor Who, Star Trek etc. The fact that the new Star Wars films exist has no bearing on whether I enjoy the New Jedi Order series. As a matter of fact, I can say they both exist at once.

 

[dahj]

As a matter of fact, I can say they both exist at once.

They're both true, from a certain point of view.

 

[USS Triumphant]

Once again, to paraphrase GRRM, "it is not a choose your own adventure".

I think that's easy for Mr. Martin to say right now, while he IS still choosing his own adventure. Wait a few years until he's sold the rights (if he ever does) to someone who makes an abomination out of his works, and let's see if he'll still think the new IP holder is the final word. (Even writers/creators, after they've finished putting ink to paper, are just fans. People just think that the creator's head canon (since that term seems preferred and less bound to silly debate) is global canon because their name is on it. )

What the OP is arguing is actually completely opposite.
It's not about convincing people that your view is the best and only correct one one, it's about acknowledging that in franchises that span decades and multiple authors/interpretations it's ok to have varying opinions on what is "true".

Exactly. I mean, we can have a debate over whose head canon is "superior", and try to back our arguments with media canon (screen, novel, text off of a toy package, whatever) - and if I agree with points you make, I may adjust my head canon appropriately (either to yours, or to a third way of looking at it altogether that incorporates the part of yours that I liked). But hopefully we remember that neither of us actually has superior head canon to the other - just superior for us.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

For me in most cases the 'Official' canon is real canon.

The exception is when something in a new episode reverses something cool established previously, especially if it was done by a completely different creative team, and especially if the change was made to tone down something smart and niche into something broadly crowd pleasing.

In this case, I think at this point long time fans of Trek have a better claim to ownership of canon than the people who own the copyright. Unless the 2017 series is awesome, in which case anything it says becomes canon.

Canon flows with the quality more than it flows with the copyright holders. But, in cases of equal quality, the copyright holders get the tiebreaker.

 

[Gaith]

Just remember that none of it is real. There are a lot of aspects of shows I don't like. Often it's just from shoes going on too long.

When they lose their sole, its time to throw them out.

A pun that works both ways! My heartiest congratulations.

 

[Basill]

Personal canon or subjective continuity... I just call the whole phenomenon "cherry picking" and leave it at that. Like what you like, ignore what you don't, and string together what works for you. Of course, because (in this sense) it's all in reference to fictional narratives, I don't think the term should carry quite the same stigma it carries in logical argumentation.

 

[dahj]

I think that's easy for Mr. Martin to say right now, while he IS still choosing his own adventure.

There already is another version of his adventure where he's not making the choices.