10 Unpopular Fandom Opinions
About half are generic fandom opinions, a handful are specific to Stargate. But all were developed from observations in and around Stargate fandom. Some apply to me personally, some apply to you personally; just don't feel the need to take it as a directed insult. (Although 'taking things as a directed insult' seems to be the way of Stargate fandom lately.)
10 Unpopular Fandom Opinions
Popular ≠ Canon. A fandom majority on your piece of fanon does not make it canon. A fandom majority on the favourite character does not make that character the star (or the 'heart and soul') of the show. A fandom majority on your preferred pairing does not make it canon. Canon is the show and the show is canon. Some pieces of fanon can march in parallel with canon, while others are not only marching perpendicular to the plane of reference but also in the opposite direction - however, neither are canon.
Fans ≠ Viewers. The former are people who are dedicated to the show, buy the merch, go to cons, discuss the concepts the show brings up. The latter are people who watch the show on a regular basis but are otherwise uninvolved in the show.
Shows are made for Viewers, not Fans. The merchandising is bonus pocket money after the advertising companies have paid big grand for the privilege of screening their products in the show or in the ad-breaks of a show. What keeps a show going are the Viewers, not the Fans.
Fans should not always get what they want, anymore than children should not be indulged with every whim and tantrum they throw. Life is about winning some, and then sighing and dealing when you lose others. It's as much about something that our society doesn't promote any more - being a good sport when your numbers don't come up - as it is about striving to be more than we presently are.
Fans tend to pick their favourite ship by selecting the character they most resemble, resonate with, or idealise. Then they pair him/her up - usually with a hero-character, although often the pairing is related to the dynamic that the fan would most like to see echoed in their own relationship. This bleeds into the next unpopular opinion.
The reason that shipping is such an emotional situation is because a lot of fans have an idealised over-identification problem: they're not shipping two characters - they're shipping an idealised version of themselves as a character from the show with their idealised mate. This is particularly a problem among fans who've endured social backlash for being technical, bookish, geeky, or fannish, because the character they're over-identifying with is usually technical, bookish, geeky, or fannish, yet also good-looking, socially apt, or accepted/appreciated by the people who 'matter'.
John Sheppard is TPTB's Mary Sue Insert. In spite of being 'a dork', 'never seeing these things coming', and the 'Mensa' factor, John Sheppard is very much every fanboi's dream self: intelligent without being too intellectual; no suave, charming Romeo, yet has with the women falling all over him; is always the saviour of the day - carrying out the physical action no matter whose idea it was, or who has set up the situation he's saving; yes, even the emotional screwed-upness is part and parcel of his self-insert power. Tragic past, anyone?
The Stargate Universes are basically a galactic conceptualisation of America's Power In The World. The only peoples who really matter are Americans Earth. The only peoples who've ever truly saved the day or sacrificed for someone else are Americans Earthlings. The only enemies worth fighting are those who have a personal vendetta against Americans Earthlings. The only people who've ever had a brilliant idea in the history of all civilisation through all galaxies are Americans Earthlings. And the only people fighting for democracy freedom for all peoples are Americans Earthlings!
No pairing between main characters has or ever will be 'outright vindicated' in Stargate universe. TPTB will hint and they will point. They will suggest and imply and make comments in interviews and all. But there will never be an open declaration of affection from anyone on the regular cast to anyone on the regular cast. Anyone expecting their pairing to be vindicated requires a cricket bat upside the chin, because it will hurt less than the letdown at the end of the show when there are no kisses or bedroom scenes, nothing to suggest anything more to the unshippy mind than friendship.
The sense of fannish entitlement - that fans 'deserve' something for being faithful followers of a show - is never a pretty thing. Ever. It's not pretty in people I despise, it's not pretty in people I respect, it's not pretty in myself. We, the fans, don't 'deserve' anything. We don't. Really. Not from TPTB, not from the actors, not from our fellow fans. There are things we'd like, sure, but it is not our God-given right to have them. Anyone who thinks it is needs a good smack and a lesson in 'you are not the center of the universe', because they clearly didn't learn it at age five.
I did say they were unpopular opinions...
10 Unpopular Fandom Opinions
Popular ≠ Canon. A fandom majority on your piece of fanon does not make it canon. A fandom majority on the favourite character does not make that character the star (or the 'heart and soul') of the show. A fandom majority on your preferred pairing does not make it canon. Canon is the show and the show is canon. Some pieces of fanon can march in parallel with canon, while others are not only marching perpendicular to the plane of reference but also in the opposite direction - however, neither are canon.
Fans ≠ Viewers. The former are people who are dedicated to the show, buy the merch, go to cons, discuss the concepts the show brings up. The latter are people who watch the show on a regular basis but are otherwise uninvolved in the show.
Shows are made for Viewers, not Fans. The merchandising is bonus pocket money after the advertising companies have paid big grand for the privilege of screening their products in the show or in the ad-breaks of a show. What keeps a show going are the Viewers, not the Fans.
Fans should not always get what they want, anymore than children should not be indulged with every whim and tantrum they throw. Life is about winning some, and then sighing and dealing when you lose others. It's as much about something that our society doesn't promote any more - being a good sport when your numbers don't come up - as it is about striving to be more than we presently are.
Fans tend to pick their favourite ship by selecting the character they most resemble, resonate with, or idealise. Then they pair him/her up - usually with a hero-character, although often the pairing is related to the dynamic that the fan would most like to see echoed in their own relationship. This bleeds into the next unpopular opinion.
The reason that shipping is such an emotional situation is because a lot of fans have an idealised over-identification problem: they're not shipping two characters - they're shipping an idealised version of themselves as a character from the show with their idealised mate. This is particularly a problem among fans who've endured social backlash for being technical, bookish, geeky, or fannish, because the character they're over-identifying with is usually technical, bookish, geeky, or fannish, yet also good-looking, socially apt, or accepted/appreciated by the people who 'matter'.
John Sheppard is TPTB's Mary Sue Insert. In spite of being 'a dork', 'never seeing these things coming', and the 'Mensa' factor, John Sheppard is very much every fanboi's dream self: intelligent without being too intellectual; no suave, charming Romeo, yet has with the women falling all over him; is always the saviour of the day - carrying out the physical action no matter whose idea it was, or who has set up the situation he's saving; yes, even the emotional screwed-upness is part and parcel of his self-insert power. Tragic past, anyone?
The Stargate Universes are basically a galactic conceptualisation of America's Power In The World. The only peoples who really matter are Americans Earth. The only peoples who've ever truly saved the day or sacrificed for someone else are Americans Earthlings. The only enemies worth fighting are those who have a personal vendetta against Americans Earthlings. The only people who've ever had a brilliant idea in the history of all civilisation through all galaxies are Americans Earthlings. And the only people fighting for democracy freedom for all peoples are Americans Earthlings!
No pairing between main characters has or ever will be 'outright vindicated' in Stargate universe. TPTB will hint and they will point. They will suggest and imply and make comments in interviews and all. But there will never be an open declaration of affection from anyone on the regular cast to anyone on the regular cast. Anyone expecting their pairing to be vindicated requires a cricket bat upside the chin, because it will hurt less than the letdown at the end of the show when there are no kisses or bedroom scenes, nothing to suggest anything more to the unshippy mind than friendship.
The sense of fannish entitlement - that fans 'deserve' something for being faithful followers of a show - is never a pretty thing. Ever. It's not pretty in people I despise, it's not pretty in people I respect, it's not pretty in myself. We, the fans, don't 'deserve' anything. We don't. Really. Not from TPTB, not from the actors, not from our fellow fans. There are things we'd like, sure, but it is not our God-given right to have them. Anyone who thinks it is needs a good smack and a lesson in 'you are not the center of the universe', because they clearly didn't learn it at age five.
I did say they were unpopular opinions...