Canon, Headcanon, and Fanon

Authoritative but not always official

Saturdays are perfect days for orthodox surprises. Surprise—we’re talking about the many flavors of canon!

If you think real life can be a bit too much to stay on top of at times, imagine how much more complex everything becomes when you fold in a myriad of fictional worlds to also keep track of. That’s where canon comes in:

canon (noun) - a general law, rule, or standard; religious law, decree, or body of holy texts; the official or authoritative works and events in a fictional universe

If only it were that simple though. Rich fictional worlds and characters excite the imagination, compelling fans to collaborate on details to further flesh out the creative work:

fanon (noun) - personal canon or details or lore created and accepted by fans to supplement or extend official canon

Fanon describes the kinds of elaborations bandied about in fan forums but hardly encompasses all the ways an individual aficionado might embellish a more idiosyncratic universe:

headcanon (noun) - a personal or imagined version of a character, story, or world that is consistent with but not stated in official canon

SOURCE: Types of ‘non (Canon, Fanon, Headcanon, AU)

BREAKDOWN: The word canon arose from secular beginnings: the Greek kanōn meaning rod or rule, originally derived from the root CAN- meaning reed. The term eventually acquired a strong religious connotation–used to describe orthodox Scripture–back in the days when the Catholic Church endeavored to reconcile or remove conflicted accounts of Jesus. Today, canon is used to describe any official set of rules or stories, either real or fictional.

Ultimately, great art is meant to inspire. The varied and sundry strains of canon bring life and joy to even the oldest fictional worlds.

“A realization and a dissection of the canon gave rise to the work. But there's also a sneaking suspicion of the canon.” —Kehinde Wiley