The State of Fandom

[Beauregard]

http://www.cinematical.com/2009/12/30/the-geek-beat-why-we-do-what-we-do/

I think this is a fascinating and very true and interesting article I found linked from IMDb today. Take a peek, if you will, and let me know what you think.

-Beau

 

[Drtooth]

It frankly depends on the fandom or fanbase of certain projects and programs. I still say Star Wars episode 1 suffered from spending too much time establishing ideas and too many bouncy CGI figures that just made everyone else look even more wooden. But a lot of complaints I heard were that characters that weren't even born in the time continuity weren't in the film. Problem is, I guess everyone was expecting some insane popcorn flick where Han Solo blows up a bunch of stuff, which would then be condemned as being a popcorn flick. Phantom Menace is just an example of what happens when an energetic young wizkid turns into a perfectionist curmudgeon. People should have expected that when he added scenes he thought he wanted with new technology.

Which, frankly, is not half as bad as what Spielberg did to the special edition of E.T.

I have seen fanbases consumed by gaming poseurs that aren't even young enough to remember the 80's (and trash talk everyone they can on the message boards and never actually get punished for it) and fanbases consumed by perverts that had odd crushes on cartoon characters when they were kids that evolved into tiresome fan fics and fan arts that have a varying level of adult-ness to them. Mostly people that ruined Tiny Toons and Rescue Rangers for me. It reminds me of an internet cartoon I saw once where Sega unveiled a new Sonic character, and as soon as it was revealed, you see a nerdy guy with a pencil saying "New Sonic Character... MUST...draw...porn!"

But I have to say this... the Muppet fanbase is the nicest fanbase I've ever gotten into. people who actually seem to care about the product and not latching onto it to keep their childhood memories intact, posting "Hey! Remember that episode of X? That was a great episode!" I'm proud to say that MC is the only message board I even bother visiting regularly anymore.

 

[Beauregard]

True.

I do think that this person had some valid points though, that people when feel really strongly about or against films this isn't a new thing and that it's just having an outlet for that kind of strong feeling.

But, yeah, I do get how some fandoms can destroy what they have...instead of adding to it constructively.

I love what we do here at MC, and think we have a great balance of retro and new.

 

[Drtooth]

But, yeah, I do get how some fandoms can destroy what they have...instead of adding to it constructively.

Or, they keep pestering companies for stuff that cannot be done. Like a new Tiny Toons series that only focuses on the girl characters. I've seen annoying requests for stuff like that that make any other fan request, like new merchandise or continuing the actual DVD sets, seem worthless.

I really thought that Avatar was going to flop. The last time a film was getting nothing but internet buzz was the humongous bomb Snakes on a Plane. Sounds like it is a good movie, just not something I'd go see right away (especially since I haven't even seen Princess and the Frog yet).

 

[dwmckim]

Fandom by nature is a passionate activity - we strongly relate to something and want to see it at its best. Hence when fans find outlets to connect with each other and express their passions things can really get amplified.

The Muppets have a good fanbase. Are there flaws and problems with its various fan forums? Yes. But as others have noted, they are really small potatoes (mmm...po-TA-toes...) compared with other fan forums.

Besides Muppet/Henson forums the other main forums i participate in are for Eurythmics/Annie Lennox/Dave Stewart which is very well behaved (it helps that they inspire and reach out to a bit more evolved [for lack of a better word] type of fan to begin with) and ones for One Life to Live - and let me tell you there are the extreme WORST fan forums and the BEST when it comes to soaps (the closest modern day example to a lot of the historic examples cited in the article). Some are just filled with very scary nutcases (the John/Natalie vs John/Evangeline and Todd/Blair vs Todd/Tea wars and the people that make them up are legendary in their viciousness and make many OLTL fans cringe in embarrassment) and i stay away from those type of places as much as possible. But there are thankfully a few excellent forums made up of intelligent discussions about the more advanced parts of storytelling and the overall art form and those discussions are civil, fun, respectful (even when there's disagreements) and intellectually engaged.

A lot just really depends on group dynamics - are there a lot of bad eggs or a healthy mix of people who recognize their commonality that brings them together and strive for positive shared experiences even when debates and disagreements happen.

 

[D'Snowth]

The text of that article was so small, I couldn't even read it.

 

[sesameguy]

The text of that article was so small, I couldn't even read it.

I know, I wish more sites would make reading easier on us. If you press "control" and scroll forward with your mouse, that zooms in on the computer image. Another way is to copy and paste the text into an empty text document. Then you can bump up the point size manually.

 

[sesameguy]

But I have to say this... the Muppet fanbase is the nicest fanbase I've ever gotten into. people who actually seem to care about the product and not latching onto it to keep their childhood memories intact, posting "Hey! Remember that episode of X? That was a great episode!" I'm proud to say that MC is the only message board I even bother visiting regularly anymore.

Very high praise. I must agree that this is one of the friendliest message boards there is. Thanks to you all for making it that way.

 

[RedPiggy]

I used to enjoy going to Pokemon forums, which were the first type of forums I ever went to and joined. However, I eventually stopped for the most part, keeping to debate threads and trying to post the odd fanfiction. I really do despise unoriginal Pokefics, LOL. I can't stand thinking about how often a story would come up that was either the author living out the games or a "borders on porn" shipping fic. I have my "I want to live with those characters" moments, too, but here I try to keep them to Dorm fics.

I did participate in the forums on fanfiction.net in the Labyrinth section, but quit after I was accused of being a rude person who didn't even deserve to be a fan all because I pointed out that it isn't canon that Sarah loved Jareth, considering the plot has her break free of him at the end. I was flamebroiled to a crisp over that one.

I don't run into too much drama here. There's the occasional spat. I also concede that sometimes I take things too personally, particularly one week out of four, LOL. There seems to be more of "outlines" and such here than in other places, where that sort of thing is considered no-no, or is given a sub-forum such as "outlines and story ideas". I can't decide if the Pokemon forums I used to attend or this site has fewer people who get offended by honest criticisms and offers of assistance. Back when there was a site called Pokeschool, I loved this one teenage boy's reviews: they were always so in-depth and demanding and professional-like. I credit him with the improvements I've made over the years writing fics. I'm probably too lazy a reviewer, but it seems like fanfiction can be just as "sacred" as the franchises on which they're based. I mean, I spent a lot of energy doing Comeback King, but if someone wanted to offer criticism (not griping, mind you, but honest mature criticism), I'd be more than happy to accept it, because a story should be justifiable or it should be fixed so it is.