After all, … As someone else pointed out, you ask 10 different people to define what a Mary Sue is and you'll get back 10 different answers. For those unfamiliar with what a “Mary Sue” character is, it is simply defined as: An idealized and seemingly perfect fictional character. (fandom slang) A fictional character, usually female, whose implausible talents and likeableness weaken the story. As the joke goes: “What do you call a male Mary Sue? A female fanfiction character who is so perfect as to be annoying. We can call a man a “bitch,” sure, but it doesn’t have the same meaning. Both the Mary Sue character type and sub-genre originated with “A Trekkie’s Tale,” a short piece of satirical Star Trek fanfiction which famously began, “‘Gee, golly gosh, gloriosky,’ thought Mary Sue as she stepped on the bridge of the Enterprise. There are many undiscovered talents out there. There was a discussion about this on RPG-Directory this week, which was quite enlightening, and here are the highlights: Does your Mary Sue make it with a major canon character? This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. The Mary Sue is too good at everything: too perfect, too … Beautiful, Yet Plain. Salon wrote in 2015, “The term Mary Sue is rooted in a long history of dismissing female characters and holding them to absurd double standards,” alluding to the point that identical forms of author-insert or wish-fulfillment with male characters/writers are rarely noticed or called out, while female characters tend to be held to a much higher degree of scrutiny when it comes to believable traits and abilities. … A protagonist.”. noun Mary Sues. They are good at all subjects, attend every after-school club, and possess healing powers and have the ability to read minds, can teleport, communicate with animals, revive the dead, and transform into a magical creature, so yes, they do We’ve posted a few articles about Mary Sue characters in roleplaying games (you can see them here), but what exactly is a Mary Sue?There’s obviously the story of the very first Mary Sue character, but the term means different things to different people.. The very short story was written by Paula Smith in 1973 for Menagerie, a Star Trek fanzine for which she was an editor. I might be doing a dramatic reading soon so stay tuned for that! First of all, let’s talk about what a Mary Sue/Marty Stu is NOT:. How do you use Mary Sue in a sentence? Mary Sue is an idealized version of the author that is written into pre-existing worlds. You may even be one of them. It is often misused by people who don't understand what the term actually means they think it's a genetic term for a female character they don't like. Smith has also agreed with others who claim that writing an autobiographical Mary Sue character/story is an inevitable part of the process for new writers attempting fiction. Redefine your inbox with Dictionary.com updates! Your character is a gary sue. Related to the above, this interpretation posits that a Mary Sue is simply a character that breaks Willing Suspension of Disbelief due to carrying improbable, contradictory, and even paradoxical elements while being written in an inconsistent manner. Harry Potter, Luke Skywalker, and Katniss Everdeen are among other famous characters who’ve been called Mary Sues. She has a tendency to be super-smart, overly-skilled, and beloved by all of the characters. “Mary Sue” is inherently gendered, the same way “bitch” is. This is not meant to be a formal definition of Mary Sue like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is The Mary Sue is the premier destination for entertainment geeks, female or otherwise. Mary-Sued the shit out of everything. The Mary Sue, a feminist "geek culture" website, took the term on as a way of identifying itself with fanfic culture, unabashed and defiant in its geeky roots. People tend to associate Mary Sue’s with several character traits. The main heroine of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rey, was derided by many as a Mary Sue. There are plenty of 'Is your OC a Mary sue" quizzes, this quiz is the opposite. Everybody knows how great… Mary Sue is most frequently used as a noun (a Mary Sue) or modifier (a Mary Sue story), although it may also sometimes appear as a verb, to Mary-Sue, meaning “to insert oneself into a fictional story/character.”. I've personally chosen to take "Mary Sue" out of my vocabulary because of how amorphous the definition of Mary Sue is. [ 3 syll. See Mary-Sue. It didn’t matter, you were gonna see me!” Stories like these and many others illustrate the complexity of the Mary Sue in contemporary fanfiction culture. A perfect male OC with no flaws. This much everyone can agree on. If they were tokens, I made them stars. The use of such a character is often seen as a method of author wish-fulfillment. The concept of a Mary Sue has received fair and significantly complex criticism in the decades since the term was coined, with confusion over whether it has become inherently misogynistic to accuse characters of being a Mary Sue or whether it is a legitimate type of literary character. Mary Sue was originally coined by Star Trek scriptwriter who was satirizing the recurring themes that kept appearing in “fan submitted” episodes, and in the original story, Mary Sue was a half-Vulcan who joined the Enterprise, got the attention of the hot officers, and impressed everyone with how easily she saved the day. Even though the meaning isn’t consistent, Mary Sue is still often used to mean an author-insert character. Mary Sue Alert! “Man, this character is so annoying! I think it's been said before, but many characters that have mary-sue traits end up being really effective characters and not mary-sues at … Probably, but let it take a while. While the original meaning of a Mary Sue referred to a stand-in character of any gender orientation, the reason Smith and Ferraro encountered more Mary … To add this to any page, put {{Mary Sue Alert!}} A term to describe a female character from a movie/tv show that follow this criteria: The character in the HP fanfic was a complete and utter, A sexist term used to enforce the misogynistic ideals that female characters/authors shouldn't be allowed to fantasize or write anything along the lines of wish fulfillment. While writing a Mary Sue is often viewed as an amateur move (and, indeed, Mary Sue is frequently used to simply suggest an overall poorly-written character, regardless of gender), Smith acknowledges that it is possible for author-insertion in works of fiction to be done well. Etymology: Name of an intentionally over-the-top character in Paula Smith's A Trekkie's Tale (1974). Others focus specifically on characters’ abilities which, if they range too far and are exceptionally strong across the board, tend to define a Mary Sue. in the source code on the page you want to add it to! A Mary Sue is an original character in fan fiction, usually but not always female, who for one reason or another is deemed undesirable by fan critics. In a lengthy exploration of the term, Elizabeth Minkel writes, “Even detractors admit Mary Sues are about young girls finding their power and agency in a world of fictional landscapes that rarely afford such journeys to women.” In an example of how reclaiming the Mary Sue as author-insertion can be empowering, writer Ash Davis explains how she wrote herself, as a woman of color, into her Lord of the Rings fanfiction: “If there were no black people, I made them. ‘Here I am, the youngest lieutenant in the Fleet — only 15 1/2 years old.’”. No one wants to read about a bland/overused character. Mary-sue meaning. Mary Sue is a term used to describe a fictional character, usually female, who is seen as too perfect and almost boring for lack of flaws, originally written as an idealized version of an author in fanfiction. rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of Mary Sue (originally in fan fiction) a type of female character who is depicted as unrealistically lacking in flaws or weaknesses. This is just a little quiz to get some insight on your character :). Here, Mary Sue is used as a derogatory synonym for any protagonist who is hated or dismissed for their talents and virtues. What that character type is, exactly, differs wildly from circle to circle, and often from person to person.. All The Tropes Wiki doesn't get to set what the term means; the best we can do is capture the way it is used. Mary Sue is a term used to describe a fictional character, usually female, who is seen as too perfect and almost boring for lack of flaws, originally written as an idealized version of … Mary/Gary sues are powerful, overrated, flawless, or unimaginable in the Wings of Fire world! A Mary Sue/Marty Stu is not a typical, basic or repeat looking character.Now, I know some peeps would say run-of-the-mill looks would fall under the Mary Sue category, but that’s where we start losing the meaning of the word. A character may be judged Mary Sue if she is competent in too many areas, is physically attractive, and/or is … Its misogynistic qualities are exemplified in many ways, most notably being the fact that it's not a term dominated by the male counterpart despite existing in a patriarchal society, as well as the fact that the male counterpart is largely undecided upon in name and also undefined (see. ‘she was not a ‘strong woman’ so much as an insufferable Mary Sue’. But not Mary Sue. Some have described a Mary Sue almost as a “girl next door”—a character who is near perfect with only slight flaws which make them more endearing. More example sentences. Mary Sue: "Oh, I knew that all along!") The male equivlalent is the Marty-Stu. What are synonyms for Mary Sue? In this video I discuss what is a Mary sue and what I hate about them. Yes. The term ‘Mary Sue’ is rooted in a long history of dismissing female characters and holding them to absurd double standards. Often abbreviated to "Sue". From the combination of other given names, but now used as an independent name in its own right. Forms of Mary Sue include the names Mary-Sue and MarySue. that will help our users expand their word mastery. a negative term used in fanfiction and literary criticism to describe an original character that is often overly idealized or assumed to be a projection of the author. Male Mary Sues are sometimes called Marty Stu or Gary Stu, often associated with James Bond and Superman. That’s also true for “Mary Sue.” There’s also some confusion over what “Mary Sue” even means. But that isn't what it means. It seems like everyone else, It’s an abbreviation for African American Vernacular English. Wiktionary (5.00 / 1 vote) Rate this definition: Mary Sue (Noun) A fictional character, usually female, whose implausible talents and likeableness weaken the story. Although criticism and accusations of writers creating Mary Sue characters/stories have become far more frequent, more defenses have arisen as well. Mary Sue as Poorly Written Character. The opposite of Mary sue. Often, the Mary Sue is a self-insert with a … Mary Sue is that subjective (and controversial). In a 2011 interview, Smith explained that, as an editor who read a significant amount of Star Trek fanfiction (written by women, in particular), she noticed a pattern of recurring adolescent female characters who were the youngest ever in their Starfleet position, irresistibly yet uniquely attractive, and uncannily talented and capable in every adventure she and the crew dared endeavor. The main character should stand out and be engaging. Because the character and story type continued to crop up in fanfiction submissions, Smith and other editors began referring to them as “Lieutenant Mary Sue” stories, and the term Mary Sue quickly caught on with the public. In fairness, this kind of weak characterization is a problem in fanfiction. The term “Mary Sue” comes from fanfiction, describing a character that’s often an author stand-in. There in fact very few real Mary Sue's out there. No (or not a fan character) Was your character adopted, orphaned, a runaway, stolen at birth or in any other way raised by someone who is … What is the meaning of Mary Sue? Mary Sue In film and literature, an idealized female character who is exceptionally talented in a number of areas despite not having had the training or experience to realistically acquire such talents. A Mary Sue usually sees herself as plain or average, but really she’s beautiful or … Mary Sue has also expanded outside fanfiction to label canonical fictional characters. “A Trekkie’s Tale” was written to parody what Smith viewed as a common practice with young writers to perhaps subconsciously write an idealized version of themselves into the story and fail to write the original Star Trek characters accurately as a result of interacting with the author’s unrealistic wish-fulfillment figure. ma - ry - sue, mar -y s- ue ] The baby girl name Mary Sue is pronounced as M AE R-iySuw †. 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