This is it guys, my first post will be boundaries dicourse!!!!!!!
Seriously though, I'm gonna do this first because I feel like I need to if I'm gonna write what I'm gonna write in this blog.
Minecraft You Tube (MCYT) fandoms have a complicated history with trying to discern between the content creator (cc!) playing the game and the character (c!) being percieved by the audience, if there even is one. This creates what I refered to earlier as "boundaries discourse", or arguments over the ethics of the type of fan content that's being created in this genre. While most of this ends as a debate about wether or not it's okay to draw two blockmen kissing, I think that's boring so we're not gonna do just that. My intention is to analyse the difference between character and content creator, as well as what we should do about that, and in the process, try to explain what reality even means in a Minecraft world - which is the reason it's so compelling, in my oponion.
As the many essays I wrote to get into college taught me, I should probably start by explaining the events that lead us to our current dilemmas. Unlike good academia demands however, this is mostly gonna be based on my perception of events, not on super extensive research because I don't have the time and motivation for that. I will verify any specific claims I make, such as wether or not certain events actually happened, but my conclusions about them will be entirely my own speculation.
I won't go into the history of fandom as a whole, you can find that on any works about topics such as parasocial relationships and fandoms. All you need to know is that there has always been conflict at the limit between the private life and the public perception of celebrities.
In the 2010's, these problems started to take the shape that we recognise them as today. With the rise of the internet and the growing acceptance of queer identities, the main players of today's discussion appeared in the public conciousness. To make sure we're all on the same page, let's now define the key terms: