SHIPPING AS AN INTERPRETIVE STRATEGY

As the author finds the available definitions of the shipping practice insufficient, the paper starts with a new proposed definition: shipping is an interpretive strategy that involves perceiving a relationship between two or more fictional characters (or media personalities) as romantic and/or sexual. After clarifying the term ‘interpretive strategy’ as established by S. Fish, the paper proceeds to examples of shipping influencing the reading of the original text, particularly in the creation of fanfiction. The analysis reveals how a fanfiction piece inspired by M. Khvylovyi not only reframes the themes of the original text through shipping but also reinterprets Khvylovyi himself, bringing his figure closer to the modern idea of the Ukrainian national myth. The paper also addresses potential issues with the proposed definition, especially concerning the inclusion of RPF despite the theory’s purely literary origin. Since interpretive communities are unstable and ever-changing, and the same is true for the fan communities, strategies first applied for the benefit of media analysis were transferred to RPF fandoms, as members continually migrate and change their interests. Additionally, the process of creating fanfiction about real people requires a certain level of canon construction. When creating RPF, authors choose which aspects of publicly available information to include or exclude, similarly to what H. Jenkins described in his underlying work “Textual Poachers.” This interpretive process still needs guiding strategies, and thus the theory still functions. The paper concludes with affirmation of shipping as a powerful interpretation tool. It must be noted, however, that its application is often influenced by other factors, particularly the reader’s national identity.