Such a phenomenon as alternative continuations of popular works has long been known. Even medieval authors wrote their novels based on ancient poems and sagas. However, in the 20th century, such a genre acquired a truly enormous scope. And very quickly it became a completely independent phenomenon, known as the alternate universe - “alternative reality”.
Genre "AU": what is it?
The easiest way to explain what AU is is this: a story about what could happen if an event did not happen or develops differently. What if Ellie’s house did not land on Gingemme’s head, but on Bastinde? What if Frodo did not manage to destroy the ring of omnipotence? What if not Andrei Bolkonsky died, but Pierre Bezukhov? The works telling about such events are called alternative reality.
This is how the Fanfiction Book website explains the meaning of this genre:
AU is a story in which heroes from the canon world fall into another world or other circumstances that are not connected with the canon in any way. It may also be another fork in canonical events.
Remember the movie Back to the Future? The dystopian world that emerged from the sports almanac stolen by Biff was a prime example of the alternate universe. This, indeed, was a reality in which events followed a different path of development.
Examples in world art
What is AU can be understood by watching the 2009 Star Trek movie. The action of the picture takes place in the same era as the events of the original series of the 60s, already familiar and beloved heroes appear on the screen. However, at some point, the story begins to develop in a completely different scenario. A ship with a group of aliens who miraculously escaped during the explosion of their native star falls into the past. And with them - weapons that can destroy entire planets. And now, from a familiar reality, only names remained. The fate of the heroes, who are not similar to themselves, has changed, because their whole life has turned out quite differently than in the old series. The relationship between the characters was very different. This genre is called the alternative universe.
Examples of the use of this genre mass:
- “Butterfly Effect”, telling exactly about how reality is changing due to real little things.
- "The brink of the future."
- "Source".
- Bradbury’s novel “And the thunder struck”.
- Blockbuster "Terminator: Genesis."
- Trilogy Nick Perumov "Ring of Darkness."
- "Inferno" - a series of 7 season of the classic series "Doctor Who."
With a slight stretch, the sensational film Interstellar can also be attributed to AU.
Random phenomenon or mainstream?
Nowadays, works in the genre of "alternative universe" are becoming more popular every year. More and more such books, adaptations; about amateur creativity and say nothing. For example, in the Fanfiction Book, approximately 14% of all texts have this mark. Although this is an understated figure: many authors do not put this genre, although their work, in fact, is still the same alternative reality in relation to the canon. It is, in particular, about those stories that were written before the release of the next season. On the other hand, any fan fiction in one way or another can be described as AU, since it tells about events that were not in the original work.
How AU differs from "free continuation"
Do not confuse the alternate universe genre with works written “based on”. For example, Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz and Volkov's Wizard of the Emerald City are independent books, although the Soviet writer wrote his novels inspired and based on novels by an American storyteller. These are two different stories with the same plot and similar names. The same can be said about Pinocchio and Pinocchio and many other works that use someone else's idea, but create their own, absolutely unique world.
Varieties
It would seem that the AU genre itself shows what awaits the reader. But no, there are many subspecies in it:
- Absolute AU, in which from the canon there are, at best, names and characters. Like the BBC series Sherlock, in which the characters are transferred to another era. Another thing is that such AU is often positioned as a work “based on motives”.
- Polarity reversal. Heroes and villains swap places. A great example is Arda's Black Book: the main antagonists of The Lord of the Rings, Melkor and Sauron, show the best human qualities, while the elves are far from being as decent as described by Tolkien.
- Anthropomorphism is the endowment of objects with personality. Example - The Death Star begs Luke not to kill her.
- Gender switch, or "gender change". Remember the series “Elementary” and the beautiful medical doctor Joan Watson.
- Humanization Animal heroes become humans.
- Animalization. The opposite phenomenon: people acting in fanfiction as animals.
This is only part of the options. In fan fiction written in this genre, the age of the characters, individual events, and characters can change. Often new heroes appear or old ones disappear. Alternate universe is popular, including because it provides the opportunity to write any story. For example, to fix a disappointing ending, save a beloved character, make a couple of heroes in the canon who do not have romantic feelings for each other. After all, what is AU, if not a genre that gives maximum scope for author's imagination?