I don't know...I thought it was unnecessarily snarky. While I think that some can get a little tinhattish about Mary (and hell, I include MYSELF in that club), why piss in someone's cornflakes if they're having fun and loving fandom?
Dasha: Information please: What does "tinhattish" mean? I'm not sure what country you're in (I'm in US; Connecticut), but I've never heard that expression and it intrigues me!
I'm in the U.S., too. Minnesota, to be exact. No, I don't sound like I'm in Fargo. ;-)
"Tinhat" is a reference to certain mentally ill people who have sometimes donned hats of tin to avoid mind-control rays or something like that. The term, as far as I know, came into fandom vogue to describe a subset of rather insane Lord of the Rings fans who believed that Elijah Wood and Dominic Whatshiname were secretly in true love and that their love was being kept under wraps by studio flacks. They actually believed that Elijah and Dominic were sending secret messages about said love THROUGH THEIR CLOTHES.
Now "tinhat" can be used to describe obsessed fans in general. I like to use it about myself in a self-mocking manner.
My opinion? Fine, I won't be objective about it. :)
I didn't make the secret, but I agree with it for the most part. I think Mary probably does care a bit about her fans--she seems like a caring, compassionate individual, and appears sincere at times when she's with her fans--but at the end of a day, this is a paycheck for her. This is her job. She works hard at a con, it's hard work, and she's doing it because it's her job. And the best way to get paid, i.e., remain in demand, is to grow your fanbase and make them feel like they're special.
I think there's a tendency, in the fandom, to take Mary's affections too seriously. To the point of wanting to be her best friend and wanting to be the closest one to her with the best experiences with her, better than everyone else's experiences. At times, I question the motivation behind all of that.
Well, yes, definitely. I think that happens in just about every fandom, where certain fans start feeling a certain ownership over certain stars and it can get SCARY. I remember how nuts people in XF fandom got over DD and GA and would sometimes play these silly games of oneupmanship (how the hell do you spell it?) over how many times they'd met them and what kinds of interactions they had with them and how freaking SPECIAL they were. And then when everyone was soliciting donations to buy a "thank you" add for the XF cast? I was like, "I'm NOT going to spend my hard earned money on that. Shit, every time I watch the show or buy DVDs I'm thanking them."
So, yeah, I question that attitude, especially as someone who never really wants to meet stars I like because I don't want to ruin the illusion. On the other hand, if it makes people happy, who am I so say?
Having said that, like I said before, I just think it's wanky and not helpful to make a fandom secret about it. Got something to say to certain someones? TALK TO THEM. Really.
Gee whiz. We're putting her kids through school??? Huh??? I doubt she's that desperate for money that this would be the only reason she goes to cons. I like her customer service and I don't care if anyone thinks its false. I can think of quite a few other celebrities who are rude to their fans and I'd like to think she will never be like that.
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Information please: What does "tinhattish" mean? I'm not sure what country you're in (I'm in US; Connecticut), but I've never heard that expression and it intrigues me!
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As far as I understand it, it's a stubborn insistence on or devotion to a pairing or an event in a fandom.
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"Tinhat" is a reference to certain mentally ill people who have sometimes donned hats of tin to avoid mind-control rays or something like that. The term, as far as I know, came into fandom vogue to describe a subset of rather insane Lord of the Rings fans who believed that Elijah Wood and Dominic Whatshiname were secretly in true love and that their love was being kept under wraps by studio flacks. They actually believed that Elijah and Dominic were sending secret messages about said love THROUGH THEIR CLOTHES.
Now "tinhat" can be used to describe obsessed fans in general. I like to use it about myself in a self-mocking manner.
Does that make sense?
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I didn't make the secret, but I agree with it for the most part. I think Mary probably does care a bit about her fans--she seems like a caring, compassionate individual, and appears sincere at times when she's with her fans--but at the end of a day, this is a paycheck for her. This is her job. She works hard at a con, it's hard work, and she's doing it because it's her job. And the best way to get paid, i.e., remain in demand, is to grow your fanbase and make them feel like they're special.
I think there's a tendency, in the fandom, to take Mary's affections too seriously. To the point of wanting to be her best friend and wanting to be the closest one to her with the best experiences with her, better than everyone else's experiences. At times, I question the motivation behind all of that.
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So, yeah, I question that attitude, especially as someone who never really wants to meet stars I like because I don't want to ruin the illusion. On the other hand, if it makes people happy, who am I so say?
Having said that, like I said before, I just think it's wanky and not helpful to make a fandom secret about it. Got something to say to certain someones? TALK TO THEM. Really.
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