What if one's idea of a work differs greatly from the creator's?

glennmagusharvey

If one's understanding of a story is significantly off-base, and one's idea of it depends on key misunderstandings or unintended interpretations, should one's criticisms of it be considerd valid?  Should one's non-appreciation of it be dismissed in part or whole?

On the other hand, what if, thanks to those misunderstandings or unintended interpretations, one enjoys and likes the work?  Should one's enjoyment be dismissed in part or whole?  Should one's praise of it be considered valid?

Kraken

The moment a work is published, authors no longer have control over it; people get out of it what they will, and authors can't change that. 

But, the author's original intention and background should nevertheless considered when discussing the work in question, so that one may frame it against the audience's interpretations and understandings. 

lrdgck

I'm generally of the opinion that the author, as the creator, knows best what any random thing is supposed to mean, but I haven't been above occasional cases of "la la la I don't hear you" when it would make me avoid some dumber interpretations.

All Nines

I think it could go either way, and whether or not the fan's opinion is invalidated ultimately depends on how well the author put across what they were attempting to put across; if characters behave in a way that's provably contradictory to the message the author was supposedly intending, he failed (but if it's still a good work, or his failure makes it better, enjoying it is obviously still fine), but if the author's intent is provably all there and well-integrated through the details of the work, and a viewer misses it, it calls for a closer reading/watching on that viewer's part, provided other viewers caught it and it wasn't just flying over everyone's heads until the author explained.

tl;dr An author can only try for something, and at the end of production, what's there is there.

But, the author's original intention and background should nevertheless considered when discussing the work in question, so that one may frame it against the audience's interpretations and understandings. 

This is also true, though; there was necessarily some intent on the author's part, and that needs to be considered. Ideally, that intent will present itself seamlessly within the work itself (even if that intent is simply to pose a question, without answering it one way or another), but sometimes the audience won't be fully privy/able to make the connections.