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So with the conversation ramping up around the anime trilogy, thanks to @MvM_Pod and others, I've seen the topic of gatekeeping come up a few times, and I wanted to share a few thoughts in light of an article I wrote back in January. https://thekaijuapostle.com/blog/confessions-of-a-reformed-gatekeeper/
First- gatekeeping is a relative term. What is gatekeeping in one community may not be gatekeeping in another. However, as I indicate in the article, it's easy to not realize you're gatekeeping if you're not the one being excluded.
Second- I understand there's a desire to set parameters in how people should enter said community, let alone partake in a fandom. But let's be honest. Fandoms are nebulous. They are not well-defined. Members are transient. There is no doctrinal statement you have to sign.
And if you try to set those parameters? You're going to see stagnation. You're not going to have new fans come in. And while that might be appealing to some, let's remember- we were all new fans at one point.
More important, though, humans are not static. We are dynamic. We change our mind on thousands, if not millions or billions, of things in our lifetime. I didn't like jazz until my 20s. I now strongly dislike bananas. I'm no longer Mormon. List goes on and on.
If we treat people like a problem, rather than humans, then sure. It's easy to write them off as just wanting to care about superficial things, but who cares? So many of us started out watching the films for the more immediate reasons. Why fault someone for that?
Even more than that, a lot of us are in our 20s and 30s. Why in the hell are we holding TEENAGERS to our standards? I mean, I don't know about y'all, but I was a pain in the ass when I was a kid. I don't think I'd be much different.
So if we look at someone and go, "You're not partaking in Godzilla the same way I am/the way I think you should," we are ignoring our own journey, our own growth. We are trying to mold people into our own image.
Because no matter what we want to believe, Godzilla is not the same as he was yesterday, nor will he be the same tomorrow. He's been transformed from this, to this, to this, and then to this.
There is enough here for everyone to enjoy, and the truth of the matter is, when we are all in the ground, our loved ones won't care about how deeply we analyzed the films. How many actors we recognized. Our "Godzilla clout."
Our legacy will be the way we loved and treated others, and we have been saying this since day one: what we do here is a reflection of who we are elsewhere. We may curate ourselves better than in the "real world," but eventually it shows. For better or for worse.
As Christians, Chris and I are pretty anti-gatekeeping. The Christian faith is founded on the belief any, and all, are welcome to the table. Transformation needs to happen, of course. No one can enter the kingdom of Heaven without being born again.
But being born again isn't some sinner's prayer you pray. It's a life of being transformed and defined by the crucified and risen Messiah. It takes time. It's not overnight. And there's a lot of pain and missteps. But there's new grace, every day.
Of course, there are people who are opposed to this kind of inclusion. For example, some Christians say you have to believe the world is only thousands of years old. But this wasn't a central belief in the early church. It definitely wasn't a requirement.
So in the Godzilla fandom, we have to ask. What are the kinds of things that ARE important. Is it having to own, or watch, a certain amount of films? Is it owning a copy of the Ishiro Honda biography? Is it liking the Heisei films the most?
Or should it be more along the lines of not spewing bigotry and hate? Of welcoming new fans and guiding them along the path? Of how Honda's vision is a world where we actually work together, a united family of sorts? Where we lay down our pride and hubris?
Anyway. This thread is a lot longer than I expected. Feel free to unfollow us as a result. I just am exhausted, not because the fandom is too much. Rather, it's our hope by the time this project is over, we will have done something to inspire humility and compassion in the world.
