Fan thoughts
May. 19th, 2009 05:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ingvildAfter reading FandomSecrets (probably not a good idea, I get so worked up), I have come up with one theory and one statement.
Theory: A lot of people aren't really fans of a book/series/comic/whatever, they're fans of their perception of it.
Statement: People who harp on something they hate are a lot more annoying than those who go on and on about something they love.
Theory
Now, take Avatar: The Last Airbender. It's a children's cartoon about a twelve-year-old mostly-pacifist monk. People were actually upset that he didn't kill the bad guy.
At that point I don't even know what they expect from the show. Obviously, it's something that was never going to happen, because it would completely break with the show's theme and feeling and demographic. I know that a lot of adults liked Avatar, but it was primarily a children's show. Really, really good, yes, but it was never going to end with Aang killing Ozai.
I once had a person tell me that the reason she hated on the epilogue from Harry Potter was that it stayed true to the feeling of Harry Potter, rather than going into the things she wanted it to go into. I wanted to tell her that at this point she had lost the right to bitch about things, because what she actually wanted was for the series to have been something else than it actually was.
It's almost like watching Lawrence of Arabia and being disappointed that it's not Finding Nemo.
Statement
I have nothing against people airing their grievances against something. Some things have to be talked about. Sometimes, however, it's obvious that people are bitching just because they like to bitch.
(Sidenote: I'm wondering if "to bitch" is a sexist expression? I apply it to both sexes, but it does come from a derogatory term for women - well, originally from an expression for a female dog, but that's not the meaning it has evolved from, I don't think.)
Take another statement on FandomSecrets. Someone said that even if there was a hate comm for Avatar, they wouldn't confine their hatred for certain characters to it. At that point, I had to wonder why. Why was it so important to them to keep on spreading their bile around, harshing on other people's squee?
I wonder if it's that they're somehow personally offended that other people like something/someone they don't.
At least people who keep going on about something they love are actually trying to spread their love, not ruin the love of other people.
Basically, if I have read four comments by a person and know exactly who they hate most, without any of those comments actually being in a thread discussing that character or which characters appeal to them in general, I think they're being dumb.
How to win a ship war
1. Cite fanworks as "proof" of the ship - 50 points.
2. Bash opposing pairing at every opportunity - 20 points.
2a. Flame stories with opposing pairing at every opportunity - 15 points.
3. Bash character in opposing pairing at every opportunity - 20 points.
4. Attack opposing shippers at every opportunity - 20 points.
5. Insane theories/epileptic trees as "proof" - 10 points.
6. Say that the author of the canon betrayed the fanbase if the ship doesn't happen - 10 points.
7. Rubbing into the opposing side about how more supported their couple is - 10 points. (Suggested by escalove.)
Both sides can get points for the same thing, of course. The side with the most points "win" the war. Congratulations! You are now officially bigger twits than the opposition!
(Number 5 and 6 would have given more points, but I realised that they were being unfairly biased in favour of canon shippers - like, Harmonians can talk about pumpkin patches and hippogriffs and get 10 points for (5), while Herons only have to say "They snogged in book seven". Still, (5) can apply for canon shippers as well, but (6) is exclusively non-canon shippers.)
(ETA: Added (7) as balance to (6).)
(Incidentally, if I see one more non-canon shipper implying that non-canon ships are somehow the entire point of fanfiction, I might scream.)
Theory: A lot of people aren't really fans of a book/series/comic/whatever, they're fans of their perception of it.
Statement: People who harp on something they hate are a lot more annoying than those who go on and on about something they love.
Theory
Now, take Avatar: The Last Airbender. It's a children's cartoon about a twelve-year-old mostly-pacifist monk. People were actually upset that he didn't kill the bad guy.
At that point I don't even know what they expect from the show. Obviously, it's something that was never going to happen, because it would completely break with the show's theme and feeling and demographic. I know that a lot of adults liked Avatar, but it was primarily a children's show. Really, really good, yes, but it was never going to end with Aang killing Ozai.
I once had a person tell me that the reason she hated on the epilogue from Harry Potter was that it stayed true to the feeling of Harry Potter, rather than going into the things she wanted it to go into. I wanted to tell her that at this point she had lost the right to bitch about things, because what she actually wanted was for the series to have been something else than it actually was.
It's almost like watching Lawrence of Arabia and being disappointed that it's not Finding Nemo.
Statement
I have nothing against people airing their grievances against something. Some things have to be talked about. Sometimes, however, it's obvious that people are bitching just because they like to bitch.
(Sidenote: I'm wondering if "to bitch" is a sexist expression? I apply it to both sexes, but it does come from a derogatory term for women - well, originally from an expression for a female dog, but that's not the meaning it has evolved from, I don't think.)
Take another statement on FandomSecrets. Someone said that even if there was a hate comm for Avatar, they wouldn't confine their hatred for certain characters to it. At that point, I had to wonder why. Why was it so important to them to keep on spreading their bile around, harshing on other people's squee?
I wonder if it's that they're somehow personally offended that other people like something/someone they don't.
At least people who keep going on about something they love are actually trying to spread their love, not ruin the love of other people.
Basically, if I have read four comments by a person and know exactly who they hate most, without any of those comments actually being in a thread discussing that character or which characters appeal to them in general, I think they're being dumb.
How to win a ship war
1. Cite fanworks as "proof" of the ship - 50 points.
2. Bash opposing pairing at every opportunity - 20 points.
2a. Flame stories with opposing pairing at every opportunity - 15 points.
3. Bash character in opposing pairing at every opportunity - 20 points.
4. Attack opposing shippers at every opportunity - 20 points.
5. Insane theories/epileptic trees as "proof" - 10 points.
6. Say that the author of the canon betrayed the fanbase if the ship doesn't happen - 10 points.
7. Rubbing into the opposing side about how more supported their couple is - 10 points. (Suggested by escalove.)
Both sides can get points for the same thing, of course. The side with the most points "win" the war. Congratulations! You are now officially bigger twits than the opposition!
(Number 5 and 6 would have given more points, but I realised that they were being unfairly biased in favour of canon shippers - like, Harmonians can talk about pumpkin patches and hippogriffs and get 10 points for (5), while Herons only have to say "They snogged in book seven". Still, (5) can apply for canon shippers as well, but (6) is exclusively non-canon shippers.)
(ETA: Added (7) as balance to (6).)
(Incidentally, if I see one more non-canon shipper implying that non-canon ships are somehow the entire point of fanfiction, I might scream.)
