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Stuff I Don't Get
Jun. 28th, 2005 09:00 amMy morning rant: things I really do not get about fans and fandom, and that drive me nuts.
1. If you hate something, or don't get the appeal, why must you keep talking about it?
This one drives me the battiest of all. I really don't understand the need to write pages of well-reasoned abuse about a particular given topic or character or actor if you can't stand them, especially if it's just to remind people how "above" it or how much more taste you have than those idiots who like ___. I mean, I hate the series House with an abiding passion. But I don't feel a need to write journal entry after entry going on at length about precisely why I do, what's wrong with it, why people shouldn't watch it, etc. For those last few years of Buffy fandom, I had to read post after post on lists and boards, read screeds on my LJ, what have you, about how Spike sucked and anyone who liked him sucked. Oh, sure, some of them were really well written, but what they boiled down to was a way for someone who hated the character to make sure that their misguided Spike-loving friends saw the error of their ways. You can insert any character, any show, into this practice -- there will always be someone who'll feel the need to make sure you understand how stupid you are for liking what you like.
And, I have to ask, why? Why the need to expend hundreds or thousands of poor beleaguered words just to tell people why you hate what they like, and then theorize about their intellectually deficient reasons for liking it? If you don't like slash/het/gen, or Angel, or the color pink, or '70s fashions on TV action heroes, or cars, or superheroes in yellow spandex, or whatever your particular issue is, then why not just keep it to yourself, or minimize your discussion of it? What is the appeal of waking up in the morning and saying, "Today, I will write a lengthy essay about how stupid fandoms based around cheesey '70s English science fiction shows are, so everyone will know how superior my taste is"? I understand the appeal of just losing it and ranting sometimes about shows or characters or something else you hate; I've done it myself plenty. But when you spend hours crafting essays or emails, or you do it on a regular basis... maybe it's time to find some more productive hobby. Also, your theories about why ___ appeals to people, and why it sucks? Are probably really, really wrong.
2. And by extension, why do people engage in "my ___ is better than your ___" baiting behavior?
What is so appealing about dividing and conquering, or having little contests, or whatever, about who's cuter, or who's sexier, or who's more perfect, or ... name your silly little issue. I admit that I'm very much a pairing girl -- if I like a relationship (as opposed to an individual character, which is a different kettle of comparative fish and please don't even get me started on Angel vs. Spike), I value both characters. I may find one of them more physically appealing, but I don't understand the propensity of a lot of fans to tear down one person in a relationship in favor of the other. I see this a lot lately in my current obsession, especially all the "Oh, Brian is a sexy perfect little angel descended directly from heaven" Fast and the Furious people, but it's been going on since I got into media fandom a million years ago ("Oh," always said with derision, "You're a Doyley." Yup, I think Martin Shaw's slightly more of a cutie pie than cutie pie Lew Collins, so that makes me the spawn of Satan.)
What's the need to call the other one in a 'ship that you don't like stupid names? Does it make your character somehow better, sexier, cooler, something else? Does it make you feel better to denigrate someone else's preference? If so, then seriously, get help. Who cares whose hair is better than the other's? Why is it important to compare and have little pairing bake-offs about whose ___ is better than whose? Someone must think it's fun, because it goes on all the time, but I don't get it. All it comes down to is simply taste: the people who like so and so have to make sure that the questionable taste of those who like such and such is completely clear to them. The only thing this seems to accomplish is to allow mean, small, petty people to make denigrating remarks about "the other guy/gal/show" designed either to wound, criticize, show off, or just be a jerk. It seems childish and churlish and a bunch of other -ishes. I love to put down things I don't like as much as the next person, but why base whole LJ posts or email lists or board categories around bashing another character? Why make little polls designed to allow people to dump on someone else's choices? Does it really make you feel better about *your* choice?
3. Why get into a fandom if you don't, you know, like it?
It's okay to recognize that maybe your show or movie or boy band isn't the greatest thing in the world. My god, if quality was the determinant, we wouldn't have very many fandoms, you know? But it's one thing to say, wow, I love The Fast and the Furious, but it's not the most intelligent movie ever made; it's another thing entirely to go on and on and on about how stupid and poorly done and a ripoff of Point Break or all the errors or whatever. I confess I don't understand people who get into fandoms solely because their friends are in it; conversely, I don't always get people who can't be bothered to learn just a little about their close friends' fandoms, even if they themselves don't feel the love. But I'm damned if I can figure out why you'd spend hours and pages grumbling about the stupidity of the fandom you're supposedly into.
This relates to the first two points, because this kind of thing often seems to be accompanied by the "X is a much better show/character than yours" phenomenon. I don't need to hear you tell me that, say, Deadwood is a much better Western show than Magnificent 7 -- well, no, it's not, it's just different. But if you're not into Mag 7 because you think it's crap, well, then, you don't have to keep telling others about it, do you? Here's a thought if you don't like something: Don't watch vids, don't read fic, don't watch the show, just because your best buddies are into it and you want to be like them, but then remind everyone you're above the fandom.
I mean, I'm no saint. I love to bash characters and shows I hate, I love to criticize fandoms I think are stupid. I love to theorize about why people like what they misguidedly like. But I do it around friends, where it's safer. I tend to do it privately or in small groups. I'm not sure I see the appeal of the desire to post endless criticisms or make polarizing lists or write pages of well-reasoned abuse in public. Why not take the positive tack, and write about what you like and why, rather than follow the negative path and criticize what others like (i.e., here's why I like gen/het, rather than slash; here's why I'm a Wesley fan; this is why I like science fiction more than I generally like real-life drama)? There's a marked difference between writing meta, reviewing, critiquing, and attacking specific aspects of fannish interests, whether they're shows or characters or genres. Asking for or encouraging critical discussion seems far different from encouraging bashing or denigration of the alternate viewpoint. And I honestly don't understand the appeal.
1. If you hate something, or don't get the appeal, why must you keep talking about it?
This one drives me the battiest of all. I really don't understand the need to write pages of well-reasoned abuse about a particular given topic or character or actor if you can't stand them, especially if it's just to remind people how "above" it or how much more taste you have than those idiots who like ___. I mean, I hate the series House with an abiding passion. But I don't feel a need to write journal entry after entry going on at length about precisely why I do, what's wrong with it, why people shouldn't watch it, etc. For those last few years of Buffy fandom, I had to read post after post on lists and boards, read screeds on my LJ, what have you, about how Spike sucked and anyone who liked him sucked. Oh, sure, some of them were really well written, but what they boiled down to was a way for someone who hated the character to make sure that their misguided Spike-loving friends saw the error of their ways. You can insert any character, any show, into this practice -- there will always be someone who'll feel the need to make sure you understand how stupid you are for liking what you like.
And, I have to ask, why? Why the need to expend hundreds or thousands of poor beleaguered words just to tell people why you hate what they like, and then theorize about their intellectually deficient reasons for liking it? If you don't like slash/het/gen, or Angel, or the color pink, or '70s fashions on TV action heroes, or cars, or superheroes in yellow spandex, or whatever your particular issue is, then why not just keep it to yourself, or minimize your discussion of it? What is the appeal of waking up in the morning and saying, "Today, I will write a lengthy essay about how stupid fandoms based around cheesey '70s English science fiction shows are, so everyone will know how superior my taste is"? I understand the appeal of just losing it and ranting sometimes about shows or characters or something else you hate; I've done it myself plenty. But when you spend hours crafting essays or emails, or you do it on a regular basis... maybe it's time to find some more productive hobby. Also, your theories about why ___ appeals to people, and why it sucks? Are probably really, really wrong.
2. And by extension, why do people engage in "my ___ is better than your ___" baiting behavior?
What is so appealing about dividing and conquering, or having little contests, or whatever, about who's cuter, or who's sexier, or who's more perfect, or ... name your silly little issue. I admit that I'm very much a pairing girl -- if I like a relationship (as opposed to an individual character, which is a different kettle of comparative fish and please don't even get me started on Angel vs. Spike), I value both characters. I may find one of them more physically appealing, but I don't understand the propensity of a lot of fans to tear down one person in a relationship in favor of the other. I see this a lot lately in my current obsession, especially all the "Oh, Brian is a sexy perfect little angel descended directly from heaven" Fast and the Furious people, but it's been going on since I got into media fandom a million years ago ("Oh," always said with derision, "You're a Doyley." Yup, I think Martin Shaw's slightly more of a cutie pie than cutie pie Lew Collins, so that makes me the spawn of Satan.)
What's the need to call the other one in a 'ship that you don't like stupid names? Does it make your character somehow better, sexier, cooler, something else? Does it make you feel better to denigrate someone else's preference? If so, then seriously, get help. Who cares whose hair is better than the other's? Why is it important to compare and have little pairing bake-offs about whose ___ is better than whose? Someone must think it's fun, because it goes on all the time, but I don't get it. All it comes down to is simply taste: the people who like so and so have to make sure that the questionable taste of those who like such and such is completely clear to them. The only thing this seems to accomplish is to allow mean, small, petty people to make denigrating remarks about "the other guy/gal/show" designed either to wound, criticize, show off, or just be a jerk. It seems childish and churlish and a bunch of other -ishes. I love to put down things I don't like as much as the next person, but why base whole LJ posts or email lists or board categories around bashing another character? Why make little polls designed to allow people to dump on someone else's choices? Does it really make you feel better about *your* choice?
3. Why get into a fandom if you don't, you know, like it?
It's okay to recognize that maybe your show or movie or boy band isn't the greatest thing in the world. My god, if quality was the determinant, we wouldn't have very many fandoms, you know? But it's one thing to say, wow, I love The Fast and the Furious, but it's not the most intelligent movie ever made; it's another thing entirely to go on and on and on about how stupid and poorly done and a ripoff of Point Break or all the errors or whatever. I confess I don't understand people who get into fandoms solely because their friends are in it; conversely, I don't always get people who can't be bothered to learn just a little about their close friends' fandoms, even if they themselves don't feel the love. But I'm damned if I can figure out why you'd spend hours and pages grumbling about the stupidity of the fandom you're supposedly into.
This relates to the first two points, because this kind of thing often seems to be accompanied by the "X is a much better show/character than yours" phenomenon. I don't need to hear you tell me that, say, Deadwood is a much better Western show than Magnificent 7 -- well, no, it's not, it's just different. But if you're not into Mag 7 because you think it's crap, well, then, you don't have to keep telling others about it, do you? Here's a thought if you don't like something: Don't watch vids, don't read fic, don't watch the show, just because your best buddies are into it and you want to be like them, but then remind everyone you're above the fandom.
I mean, I'm no saint. I love to bash characters and shows I hate, I love to criticize fandoms I think are stupid. I love to theorize about why people like what they misguidedly like. But I do it around friends, where it's safer. I tend to do it privately or in small groups. I'm not sure I see the appeal of the desire to post endless criticisms or make polarizing lists or write pages of well-reasoned abuse in public. Why not take the positive tack, and write about what you like and why, rather than follow the negative path and criticize what others like (i.e., here's why I like gen/het, rather than slash; here's why I'm a Wesley fan; this is why I like science fiction more than I generally like real-life drama)? There's a marked difference between writing meta, reviewing, critiquing, and attacking specific aspects of fannish interests, whether they're shows or characters or genres. Asking for or encouraging critical discussion seems far different from encouraging bashing or denigration of the alternate viewpoint. And I honestly don't understand the appeal.
