Political Fiction

Political fiction is more than made-up stories that mention politics. In its purest form, this genre encompasses tales that in one way or another manage to editorialize on current situations and trends in real-world politics, government, politicians, political parties and policies, and so on. This rule applies even if the stories' situations and characters are not, on the face of it, anything from reality. If an adult Jane Lane runs for public office--say, mayor of Lawndale--her given attitudes about what is good or bad in the political system will in some way reflect what the author also thinks. Lawndale is a microcosm of the American political landscape, and Jane--no matter how expertly the tale is written--serves as a kind of sock puppet for the author. When cleverly done, a certain amount of satirical skewering is evident. If badly done, the sock-puppet nature of the main character is too obvious to permit enjoyment of the tale.

The most believable examples of political Daria fanfiction are those derived from the characters' political views as expressed in the show. (See Daria and Politics.) The fandom is fortunate (perhaps) in that many characters have political views that are easy to tease out for writing purposes.

A major subgenre of this writing convention is the creation of utopias (political states that, in the author's mind, would work best) and dystopias (political states in which everything has gone to hell). While utopias are rare as hen's teeth in Daria fanfiction, dystopias are known, if rare.

Examples of Political *Daria* Fanfiction

• "Inauguration," by Nick Gaston: an older Daria is elected to the U.S. Presidency, implicitly as an independent. She is noted to have received less than half a million votes in Texas.
• "I'm With Stupid," from Fundamental Daria, by Disco316: Jodie Landon is the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate, with Kevin Thompson as the Presidential Candidate. The ficlet describes the proceedings at the 2032 GOP National Convention.
• "Politricks Are Not for Kids," by Brian Taylor: a middle-aged Daria and Jane work for Democratic party President Tom Sloane as his 'fixers' who keep the party in line. Both Daria and Jane express contempt for most of the politicians in the party and opposition, who they view as dragging their heels on needed left-wing policies. Jodie Landon and Sandi Griffin, meanwhile, have become high-ranking Republicans.