Fandom, seriously...!

[kriadydragon]

Get all your facts! Just because you happen to be around a lot of people who like a certain thing doesn't mean everyone is into that thing. Just because people are not into that thing doesn't mean there is something wrong with them or that they are boring or that they are the exception to the rule. Not everyone reads or writes fic for the reasons you assume. Life is not that black and white and conformist.

Oi :P

Comments

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Hee, boy, ain't that the truth!

[ga-unicorn.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Been noticing a distinct lack of fandom tolerance recently.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

I see a lot of explanations for why people do what they do - or don't do what they don't do... if that makes sense :P I love a good speculation as much as the next person, but when you start lumping people together for the sake of an explanation, or assuming "this" is what everyone does just because it happens to be popular with a large group, that's when I start to get riled up (not that I haven't been guilty of it myself, though, but I do try to be careful about it. Everyone has different reasons for why they do what they do).

[ninja007.livejournal.com]

Boy! You can say that again!

I got so riled about a year ago when a certain faction of SGA fan fiction (I think it was just prior to the cancellation of the series) that was attempting to put a petition in front of the producers to make McShep canon. Someone finally talked some sense into them, but they got A LOT of people riled.

The one thing that kept going through my brain was, "B*#ch please!" I've been kinda blacklisted from one LJ community (they just won't respond to any of my emails) when I said I wasn't into McShep... The mod has since deleted any post I made....and I never said anything mean. I swear!

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Oh, I remember that :P It ticked me off so bad. McShep might be the most popular pairing but it isn't the only pairing. It's also a point of view. Some may see McShep but not everyone does.

[ninja007.livejournal.com]

Yep!

[crashbarrier.livejournal.com]

here here...

what is vaguely worrying to me is that in general "fandom" is becoming more secular and less tollerant of other "fandoms".. bit worrying really

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... I'm not sure what you mean by this. Do you mean fandoms as in SGA fandom and Supernatural fandom? Or are you talking more genres like slash, gen, het, etc. I see a lot of the latter, especially when it comes to pairings. People can be very protective of their OTPs, or absolutely despise certain OTPs (McKeller, for example).

[crashbarrier.livejournal.com]

I was actually thinking the individual series when I made the post but on reflection I think that can be spread across all aspects of fandom. I mean being a whumper or a slashficcer is a fandom of its own.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Heh, SGA is pretty much the only fandom I'm deeply into, so I don't really see any fandom on fandom hate ;) I do see a lot of gener wars, though, most especially when it comes to pairings (which I totally get. I have my personal views of Sheppard that I'm rather protective of myself, and it is rather frustrating when a story seems to challenge those views. I often have to remind myself that we all view the same character in different ways).

[crashbarrier.livejournal.com]

I often find it interesting that people see things in basically the same character that I missed.. I find it broadens the perception of the character.. although there are some things I can't see..

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

*Nods* It definitely broadens your horizons. There are a lot of things I take into consideration that I hadn't before, and it makes writing a character more interesting. Some viewpoints boggle me, though - Sheppard the sociopath, for example :/ I can't even begin to fathom where that characterization comes from.

[crashbarrier.livejournal.com]

I can see Shep-sociopath but only because i saw the look in his eye in is it irresistable or irresponsible...?? the episode where he finally kills Kolya and has that annoying shyster guy in it (I still want to genuinely see an "evil" Sheppard in a goatee or even actually a McKay in a goatee, David Hewlett has the perfect face for a goatee beard, but i digress)

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

I love dark-side Sheppard, can see him going totally off his rocker if one of his team is in danger, but can't really see him with a sociopathic personality. Sociopaths don't care about anyone, and Sheppard cares about his team and Atlantis.

[(Anonymous)]

Wise words. But perhaps I could point out that on this first page of your journal you criticize writing and reviewers at least three times because they do not match your way of thinking. I guess it has to be this way. Everyone is entitled to express opinions, but perhaps we should all consider whether our opinions are just personal taste, which is fine to express in places like this, but not in reviews where we risk demoralizing writers who are trying their best and perhaps have good reasoning behind what they do. Maybe we should accept that fan fiction encompasses all ideas and all genres and read the ones we like, and stop heckling people who have differing views. Constructive criticism is good, destructive - not so much. All shows and characters are open to interpretation, and people will see different aspects in characters and storylines. That's what makes us interesting as a species - variety. So what if people use characters and plots in ways we wouldn't do ourselves? It is up to us as intelligent readers to make choices. If we don't like something we should stop reading and find something more to our tastes, rather than badgering writers into changing their stories.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Actually, my complaint has nothing to do with what people are writing. People can write whatever they want. Sure, I may complain about it at times, but that's just me venting (I take writing a little too seriously, sometimes). This current vent, however, is not about what's being written and who's writing what. It's about... well, it's about a myriad of things but the best words I can come up with to sum it all up is assumptions and generalizations - people trying to explain why this group does A, and this group does B, and assuming that just because C is popular then, of course, everyone must be into C, and those who aren't obviously have something wrong with them. Not just in fandom but also in life.

I'll use porn as a vague example. I sometimes come across comments of "fanfic is porn!" and that the only reason anyone reads or writes fanfic is for the porn. Which bugs me to no end since I know good and well that everyone is into fanfic for their own personal reasons. Yes, some are into it for porn purposes and that's their business, but not everyone is into it and I can't stand people going around claiming that everyone is, and that if you're not then it's for "this" and "this" reason (I once came across a comment where I swear it was believed that when someone refuses to write a sex scene it's because they're asexual:P). I'll use religion as another example (as I've been seeing this often in the media and on the news): "Christian equals fanatic. If you're a Christian, then of course you must be a fanatic." Yes, some people believe that :P

Stuff like that. But I focus on fandom because I see it happen quite a bit in fandom. Hope it made sense. I'm not trying to tell people how to write this time, honest ;)

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

If we don't like something we should stop reading and find something more to our tastes, rather than badgering writers into changing their stories.

Interesting given the fact that I do not chose to read slash yet many believe it necessary to 'badger' me about reading it........actually feel compelled IMO to shove it down my throat with assurances I am just not understanding it totally or it is light and airy so not much to worry about.
Bottom line is it is about respect.
I would not do that to anyone else and frankly am tired of having it done to me and if I cared enough to cite examples I would but don't see the need.
Suffice to say, there are many examples
Finally, had you commented on my journal, I would not have dignified it to respond given you did not even have the courtesy of identifying yourself.