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Seeing a discussion on how fandoms have become hostile and it seems like the major point at the end of it is that people sometimes tie too much of their identity to a franchise, be it film, comics, movies what have you. I think this is very true and something to be discussed more
In a day and age where people feel they “own” a franchise just because they’re a super fan of it, it’s gotten more and more common for people to take negative opinions of their favorite things as a direct attack on them. We’re all guilty of it at some point.
It also doesn’t help that the art of discussion and discourse has fallen a lot in the last years. We’ve reached a point where the tribalism of fandoms is almost like the hardcore sports fans we’ve all made fun of at some point.
It also doesn’t help that there people out there who just seem to be fixated on arguing. I had a discussion about Star Wars where my response was “I’m glad you enjoyed the movie, I personally wasn’t a big fan” and said person wouldn’t let it go and just kept pushing the “fight”.
And it’s like I get it, certain works hold a lot of value to us for sometimes reasons others can’t understand. I love GODZILLA VS. MEGALON, typically not regarded as one of the better films, but it has a lot of nostalgic and personally value to me.
And by “can’t understand” I mean that in the sense of it’s a personal thing. Sometimes we see that movie, or read that book or what have you at a particular time and it becomes more than just that. Like not everyone is going to have the same reaction
I don’t know, I’ve been thinking about this a lot for years as someone who just seems to have never found a place in a sense to be. I don’t want to interact with fandoms because as much as I share the love, I just don’t have the energy or desire to argue or debate.
A theory I have or at least an observation is that we also live in a time where being a fan of something is a way to attain fame in some capacity. People want to be that pillar of the community in some sense, which is admirable but can lead to trouble in my opinion.
I saw a post not long ago where some name in the Toku community got into it with a younger fan and it basically read like “IM THE BIGGER FAN, YOU CANT CHALLENGE ME.”
It was embarrassing to read and it’s not the first time I’ve seen it.
It was embarrassing to read and it’s not the first time I’ve seen it.
Maybe it’s just me being burnt out on things but I don’t care if you can name all the suit actors, how many bootlegged VHS’s you have and how long you’ve been into it, I’m not going to sit there and take you seriously if you use that as clout to gatekeep entertainment
But anyway, that concludes whatever this was. Just come on people, relax. Stop turning the things your supposed to enjoy into a lifestyle to where you’re spending what seems like all your time defending or fighting with people because of it. Be critical, but have some sense.
