Oh, SGA, what happened?

[deaka]

Even though I'm not involved in SGA fandom on an active basis, it bothers me inordinately to see some of the things that were coming out of it in the last season and are coming out of it now. I have a strong knee-jerk negative reaction to any character bashing -- I don't like it and can't stand reading it, no matter how I feel about the character

Comments

[archaeologist_d]

Fandoms tend to take things too far, disliking characters or pairings or situations that they don't agree with or have already invested time into with fanfic or discussions - and just take it to an extreme. I'm getting tired of the ones that say if it doesn't go this way or that, they are leaving the fandom. Okay, leave. I know I left SW fandom after they killed off Mara and Jacen.

I'm finding it happening again in my Merlin fandom.. sigh. I just don't like character bashing (They've been bashing Gwen as being a trollop for kissing 2 guys within the same season - [a single kiss each and on different episodes] go figure). I don't read pairings that I don't like but I don't bash them because others do like those pairings.

Perhaps it's just that fans need something to feel passionate about and unfortunately, if they can't find anything, they use vitriol instead.

[deaka]

Merlin probably has a fair amount of potential for messiness in this regard, doesn't it? I was going to say that at least people have an idea in advance of how the 'ships are heading, but in this incarnation that's not even really certain.

(How is season 2 so far, by the way? I'm getting a favourable impression from what I've seen generally, but I'm trying to avoid those oh so tempting spoilers so haven't read anyone's reaction posts yet.)

[archaeologist_d]

It has a huge potential for messiness. A lot of people like Arthur/Merlin as a ship and that directly conflicts (in some eyes) with Arthur/Gwen. Yes, the writers seem to be going towards canon Arthur/Gwen but it's not certain.

I'm really loving season 2. I didn't like the first episode of this season that much, only because the characterizations for both Merlin and Arthur were way off (based on last year) but they got their groove together and it's been getting better all the time. The plots are more complex, too. In the latest episode (Lancelot and Guinevere) I really liked the Arthur&Merlin dynamic. It was hilarious at times and heart-warming, too.

I don't get them broadcast here since I'm in the states but I've been watching them online. I've pre-ordered the DVDs (I have a multi-area player) already. :D

[deaka]

I wondered about whether they were going to stick to Arthur/Gwen last season because there was so little sign of it initially, and I couldn't figure out Morgana's role. But they did kind of start to hint at things with Arthur and Gwen towards the end of the season which, I admit, hooked my curiosity about what they're planning...

I was thinking about getting hold of it online. At this point it depends on how long it takes to air here, because I'm not waiting another year. :p

[gabri_jade]

I don't know SGA, but the phenomenon you speak of seems to be pretty widespread (again, hi, Star Wars EU!), and it is tremendously frustrating both because it's a determinedly shallow view of life and because it does speak of underlying misogyny that is so entrenched that people don't even bother to recognize it as such. Both things tend to get me fairly rage-y and I have to take many deep breaths.

Hey, let me know how the HHGttG book is, will you? I have the same reservations, but I'm definitely curious.

[deaka]

I'm always amazed at how calmly you manage to take on certain arguments over TFN way (I've no doubt you can guess which arguments and against whom). You must have the trick of channeling that rage-yness in a productive way. Which is something I need to learn, I think. I tend to stay out of it because I know I'll just get over-involved in a way that's bad for my blood pressure and general sanity. *facepalm*

So far, the book's not terrible, but I'm quite bothered by how Trillian's written. She's sort of gone from the most sensible and intelligent person in the group to -- love interest? And to a side character originally meant as a joke at that. There are some other elements I'm quite pleased about, but that one's not great. I'll see how it plays out, I suppose.

[astridv]

I saw this post late while surfing for meta (I've been jotting down notes on this topic and may someday make my own lengthy post about it, if I can summon the nerve...) Anyway, I just wanted to stop by and say that I agree so hard. These are points I've been trying to make, while large part of the fandom's reaction was "lalala I can't hear you, stop playing fandom police, it's just fiction, besides everybody knows that female characters are badly written anyway and all het romance conforms to gender stereotypes, plus criticizing your fellow female fans makes you a misogynist so there!" and the whole thing is just so exasperating. I'm always ridiculously relieved when I see that other people are bothered by these trends, too. I'm tired of people coming up with excuses for the constant bashing of women characters.

it's hard for me to buy any argument that tries to sell it to me as a valid method of fan engagement. Nor can I really parse it as justified because it's an age-old technique from the romance genre; so is rape as a prelude

[deaka]

It has been depressing to watch the character hate snowball over the last couple of years. Sure, everyone has a right to express their opinion, but I honestly can't believe how disproportionate and downright ugly some of the bashing has been, and some of the justifications are boggling. And as you say, the response to any kind of dissenting opinion is often a blanket of defensiveness, if not downright flaming. SGA fandom is hardly alone in any of that, but it's unpleasant to see.

Good luck with the notes and potential post. (Be ready with that flame armour...)