Meta rec and Very Scientific Poll

[ash48]

bardicvoice has written some great meta on why we see Sam and Dean differently: The Rainbow Connection, or Can You See What I See?

I like the ideas presented - it all makes perfect sense to me. It should help people realise that it's OK to see the show differently and arguing about it (read "being nasty") isn't going to achieve much. I think discussing is valuable because I think sharing the differing views can be interesting. Though, as bardicvoice's put it - "You're going to believe what you believe no matter what I say, unless I happen upon an explanation that fits your emotional reality and both allows and persuades you to change your point of view. Trust me, those occasions are few and far between".

She also refers to an article written about why we connect to fictional characters in such a passionate way. This is fascinating also.

If you enjoy this type of analysis I highly recommend it.

She can't answer what it is in each of our personalities that makes us respond the way we do, unfortunately. I imagine such a study would be extraordinarily difficult.

However...I did wonder if we might be able to do a highly (un)scientific survey to see if there's anything we can pin down that make us either a Sam!person or a Dean!person or a both bro!person.



I think of myself as a Sam!girl (who adores Dean <333). I often wonder what draws me to Sam and I think I can simply put it down to:

1) He's the younger brother
2) He has long hair
3) I find Jared ridiculously attractive

(I find Jensen ridiculously attractive too. I love Dean and there's no way I would adore Sam the way I do without Dean being there).

In most TV/film partnerships I've always favored the younger of a pair - Luke over Han, AJ over Rick (Simon and Simon), Stephen over Mike (in the Tomorrow People). I have no idea why that is. I've sometimes wondered if it has anything to do with my position in my family. I am the eldest.

Which makes me wonder if the way we favour either Sam or Dean has anything to do with whether or not we have younger or older siblings? (I think not, but it might be fun to see if there is any trend).


[Poll #1918144]


It's just for fun (and I'm curious...). In all honesty I imagine there are a number of factors dictating not only the way we sympathise with a particular character but also how we interpret story lines and "see" the show. I don't know how you'd ever find out what makes one person see it one way and other a different way. It would be quite a study I should imagine.

Comments

[purenegative.livejournal.com]

Just thought I'd leave this here - I only answered the Dean!person question, and have no siblings (three cats don't count, right?).

I was wondering about this too, by the way! Judging from the rests you got, there seems to be no correlation, though we could come to the conclusion that a large portion of Supernatural fans who responded to the survey have younger siblings!

[ash48.livejournal.com]

(three cats don't count, right?)

Ha! I should have included that. :) (though I do wish I had included something about children in this one...)

though we could come to the conclusion that a large portion of Supernatural fans who responded to the survey have younger siblings!

I know. Even now that the participant number has doubled the trend is still the same - more older siblings than any other group. Interesting...

[purenegative.livejournal.com]

Haha, yep. If the cats count, then I am definitely an older sibling of sorts. I think I stopped being cute sometime after I turned 18, and my mum seems convinced that she gave birth to her three furbabies. /eyerolls lovingly

I just thought I'd say more stuff since I realised what a bibro person is, and I think I lean more towards that label than "straight-up Dean person".

I think that the factor you are thinking of when you differentiate between older siblings and younger siblings is, at least in part, to do with overall familial responsibility. In general, I think it's fair to say that older siblings have more overall familial responsibility than their younger counterparts, but I think there could be more factors at play here than just having younger siblings.

For instance, I don't have younger siblings, but I do have a lot of familial responsibility since I'm financially responsible for at least one of my parents, and possibly both in the future. I also have extended family and very good friends whom I feel as emotionally responsible for as my parents. I feel obligated to help them, both financially and emotionally, if they need assistance. I think that's more of a personality thing; I'm the sort of person who keeps only a handful of friends and rarely makes new ones, but will happily make lots of sacrifices for these people. I consider this familial responsibility because "family don't end with blood" is quite literally the case for me.

I do think that there is some correlation between my experiences/personality and my ability to empathise with Dean more, since I find myself thinking the things that he thinks and having some of the responsibilities that he has more. At the same time, I also love Sam, because he triggers my protective instincts. So I like Dean because I really "get" him sometimes, and like Sam because a lot of the time, I just want to cuddle him, tell him it's okay, and watch fondly as he nerds away on his laptop. XD