fandom and entitlement in the digital age

May 28, 2019 22:21

This is a bit of a mini-rant but I was finally able to put my finger on one of my angry!fangirl triggers and it is entitlement ( Read more... )

random, ranty mcranterson, fandom, twitter, internetz

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Comments 34

eurydice72 May 29 2019, 18:56:03 UTC
I don't watch GoT, but I've noticed something among my friends who do. The ones who spend a lot of time online as a fan were vastly more disappointed than the ones who don't. In fact, I don't have a single real life/offline friend who didn't enjoy the finale and this season. And there's at least two I would consider huge fans of the show, the type that buy merchandise/spend a lot of time talking about/schedule other events around viewing, who fall into that latter category ( ... )

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orangerful May 30 2019, 03:11:55 UTC
That is a fascinating observation and I wonder if it is the same for these Star Wars "fans" who hated Last Jedi and took it as a personal attack on their lives.

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verdande_mi May 29 2019, 20:50:58 UTC
I broke up with Game of thrones a long time ago (too much changed from the books), and I have not seen the final season.

I very much agree with this: Second, it is just so entitled and immature to demand that the artist remake THEIR story in YOUR vision.

To be unhappy and wishing a story went a different way is all fine. I do feel like many people just yell these days because it is difficult to get their opinions out in any other way.

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orangerful May 30 2019, 03:13:18 UTC
And I don't even mind them sharing their opinions but it is the attacks on people involved with the programs/movies that is just wrong.

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sideshow May 30 2019, 09:28:57 UTC
I totally agree. I understand being angry, I (mostly) understand wanting to vent your frustrations, but this whole situation was step too far. I don't watch GoT but I've had similar experiences with shows in the past, and I get how disappointing it is to have a show end differently than how you wanted, especially when it's been a big part of your life. But write/read fic, make up your own headcanon. Even if you, realistically, know nobody's actually going to remake the show to your liking, this kind of reaction is pretty insulting.

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a_phoenixdragon May 31 2019, 03:43:26 UTC
I completely understand this. The narcissism of fandom/individual fans has always been an issue, but the almost stalkery-entitled mentality has rather been treated as more the norm over the last few years, rather than an anomaly and something to be frowned upon...which means it almost seems to encourage these types. I totally get petitions (I signed the Save Angel petition YONKS ago), but the 'you must make it the way I want it and I'm pissed over such-and-such a thing' has become all too common. It seemed to really start with fandom-fandom things (fiction, art, etc) and then started spilling over onto creators, actors, etc over the last 10 years. We used to be 2nd hand embarrassed over the 'crazy' fandoms, or aspects of fandom (SPN and Harry Potter fandoms come to mind), but now it is almost STANDARD. And that is...not good. And yes, total ticks me off, really.

*HUGS*

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twissie May 31 2019, 13:13:44 UTC
I agree with you on this, fandom culture has exploded and become completely unrecognizable, and I was never 100% with it to begin with it ( ... )

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orangerful June 1 2019, 02:35:14 UTC
YOU GET ME! This is exactly what I was trying to say LOL.

And now I'm realizing...perhaps fandom culture, back in the day or at its core, was populate with creative people. Like, we all made things so celebrate the fandoms we loved, be it graphics, stories or something else. That was what being a fan was all about. But now that these types of stories have gone mainstream, there are less kinds of people that know how to use their creative side to "fix" their shows? Or maybe it is the access to the writers etc. because of social media.

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twissie June 2 2019, 06:43:29 UTC
I dabbled in fanfics at one point, but there was too much drama and gatekeeping for me to bother keeping up with it. I took a huge step back from fandom culture as a whole. It doesn't mean I don't enjoy things or create my own head canons for the things I follow. I just keep them to myself, hahahaha.

There are plenty of examples of creative ways to use social media to expand upon a fandom, I've been amused by twitter accounts that tweet as specific characters, for instance.... there's still plenty of creativity around, but there's so much entitlement. Fans feel they OWN their fandoms, and that's just not what creators mean when they say "this is for the fans".
The only scenario I can justify creating a petition to have something changed, is if it's a project funded by fans. Like a Kickstarter or other crowdfunded project, where the writing just didn't match the project description of what was promised.

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orangerful June 2 2019, 14:55:36 UTC
Right - I don't mind "Save our Show" petitions or hashtags to try to something positive because a show you loved was cancelled. But the character or writer hate just gets to be too much and childish (and sometimes is a screen for racism/sexism/homophobia, which makes it more frustrating/gross)

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