Hate and its place in fandom!
As many of you know, I am fan of Supernatural, have been since the pilot. In that 8 year time period, I've seen alot of crazy things done and said in that fandom. Most of the fans have divided themselves into categories, Sam Girls and Dean Girls. And, that was the predominate ship, as well. However, during Season 4, another character, the angel Castiel was introduced, and fandom was never the same. It took me well into Season 5 to succumb to the Cas love, but I adored the actor who portrayed him, Misha Collins, immediately. He has an awesome sense of humor(always a hot button of sexual attraction for me 'grin's), and he is an activist for many causes such as world hunger, among others.
With all that being said, many fans began to hate direction of the show, saying that focus was taken off the main characters. And, this hate became transferred to Castiel especially. This hate grew, especially when the popularity of the Dean/Castiel pairing became the top pairing in the fandom. I don't ship those two myself, but I greatly respect it. I mean, it's apparent in every scene that Jensen and Misha have together, for gods sake!!!! It writes itself! Anyway, apparently some hateful creature, who was "Anonymous" BTW, posted a petition on Tumblr to have Misha Collins fired so as to rid SPN of his character, and it will be sent to the CW network. The whole thing makes me want to vomit, as it specifically listed hate for Misha, not only his character. Why hate someone because of a character that they play on TV???? I mean, damn, have we, as a fandom, really gotten this petty and ridiculous???!!!! I've made no secret of characters that I have disliked on shows, but I never held any ill will towards the actors themselves.
My sympathies for Misha, Jensen Ackles, and Jared Padalecki grows with each post that I read. They are damned for their TV characterizations, family obligations, and professional interests. These men produce a product, honing their craft, for our entertainment. That is all we should get from them, nothing else. That they give their time to attend cons and communicate through Twitter and other avenues is a gift and should be treated as such.
With all that being said, many fans began to hate direction of the show, saying that focus was taken off the main characters. And, this hate became transferred to Castiel especially. This hate grew, especially when the popularity of the Dean/Castiel pairing became the top pairing in the fandom. I don't ship those two myself, but I greatly respect it. I mean, it's apparent in every scene that Jensen and Misha have together, for gods sake!!!! It writes itself! Anyway, apparently some hateful creature, who was "Anonymous" BTW, posted a petition on Tumblr to have Misha Collins fired so as to rid SPN of his character, and it will be sent to the CW network. The whole thing makes me want to vomit, as it specifically listed hate for Misha, not only his character. Why hate someone because of a character that they play on TV???? I mean, damn, have we, as a fandom, really gotten this petty and ridiculous???!!!! I've made no secret of characters that I have disliked on shows, but I never held any ill will towards the actors themselves.
My sympathies for Misha, Jensen Ackles, and Jared Padalecki grows with each post that I read. They are damned for their TV characterizations, family obligations, and professional interests. These men produce a product, honing their craft, for our entertainment. That is all we should get from them, nothing else. That they give their time to attend cons and communicate through Twitter and other avenues is a gift and should be treated as such.