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The official definition for Canon is:
„the body of works taking place in a particular fictional world that are widely considered to be official or authoritative; [especially] those created by the original author or developer of the world “. [1]
In other words, it’s all the official details of a story. Most commonly used in fiction, because it’s made up, we keep track of the canon to keep track of the facts and confirmed information within the story.
Allow me to give you an example:
The official Star Trek website describes the Star Trek canon as "the events that take place within the episodes and movies", referring to the live-action television series and films, with Star Trek: The Animated Series having long existed in a nebulous grey area of “canonicity”. [2]
Events, characters and storylines from tie-in novels, comic books, and video games are explicitly excluded from the Star Trek canon, but the site notes that elements from these sources have been subsequently introduced into the television series, however, and says that "canon is not something set in stone"- and again, this was a decision only either the author or owners can make.
The television series The Simpsons has as an example of non-canonical material: the Treehouse of Horror episodes, a series of Halloween-themed specials with several stories that take place outside the normal continuity of the show. [3]
Additionally, there is another counterpart to the canon- The Fanon.
Fan fiction is almost never regarded as canonical. However, certain ideas may become influential or widely accepted within fan communities, who refer to such ideas as "fanon", a blend of fan and canon. Similarly, the term "head canon" is used to describe a fan's personal interpretation of a fictional universe. [4]
For example, even though the physical appearance of, let’s say, Jonathan Sims, the archivist from a horror mystery podcast, The Magnus Archives, has never been confirmed or described only very vaguely, you will find that fans have agreed and settled on a unified “look” for this character when you look up fan art on Pinterest.
Written by: Wanda Ďurišová, 527639
Sources:
Wikipedia contributors. (2024, October 11). Canon (fiction). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_(fiction) [1]
"How do the Star Trek novels and comic books fit into the Star Trek universe? What is considered Star Trek "canon"?". startrek.com. CBS Studios. 10 July 2003. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. [2]
Groening, Matt (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. [3]
Romano, Aja (7 June 2016). "Canon, fanon, shipping and more: a glossary of the tricky terminology that makes up fan culture". Vox. Archived from the original on 20 March 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2022. [4]
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