Musings about Who fandom and haters

[gogmagog]

This comment on doctorwho pretty much sums up my feeling about Who fandom:

I think half the fandom doesn't actually like the show. I guess it's the "Star Wars fans hate Star Wars" phenomenon.

I'm not a good Doctor Who fan. I like it too much.

...SO MUCH WORD. But then, most of the fandoms I've ever been in have been like that; as bad and wanky as Who fandom gets, it will never be as self-destructive as Buffy or even the smaller Veronica Mars fandom (in which there was actually talk of a campaign on LJ to get the show CANCELLED during its final season, because canon wasn't going the way some shipper fans wanted it to).

Honestly, the only Doctor Who episode I've actively disliked was "Fear Her," and that's only because the script was ridiculous (though even it had its moments) and the guest actors were just REALLY BAD (and unfortunately really prominent). I haven't seen any stories from Old Who that I really disliked (though of course quite a few stories had some bits that dragged, overall I've enjoyed every story I've seen; though I do have yet to see some of the infamously bad stories like "Time-Flight" or "The Twin Dilemma").

I guess I just feel that if, for example, I'd disliked every episode of a season of a show, I'd stop watching, y'know? (And I do know a couple of Who fans who got quite tired of the show's direction in season 2 of New Who, and instead of getting wanky about it on the Internet just stopped watching it until it improved in their eyes with season 3.) I mean, it's one thing to stick with a show you used to like a lot for a bit because you hope it'll get better, but seriously, I've seen people who have disliked pretty much every episode of New Who because it's not Old Who, and yet KEEP WATCHING (and then bitching). And that completely puzzles me, because life is too short to spend that much time on something you don't enjoy (but maybe that's just my philosophy).

And the obvious response is that I should take my own advice and just ignore the bitching; and I try to, but frequently it's on public communities/sites and not clearly labeled, so I end up stumbling on it. And honestly, it's not so much that it bothers me (I'm not a "HOW DARE YOU HARSH MY SQUEE" kind of person, really!), it just puzzles me.

Comments

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

Heh, I saw a post on this topic, trying to reject the idea that if you don't like the direction of a show, you should quit the fandom. The OP (sorry, can't recall the link) said blah blah they should be allowed to criticize the show plus people who like sci fi/fantasy just don't have a lot of options so they need to keep watching sci fi/fantasy, even if it has all kinds of writing problems and is possibly offensive on political/feminist/racial/whatever grounds. While I obviously agree that everyone should be free the criticize a show on whatever grounds, maybe it's because I'm an anime/manga fan that it vaguely comes off to me like someone continually complaining about their significant other and how terrible he is, and I'm like 'okay, so what IS your deal-breaker, if all of the things you're complaining about are not it? and if you are not enjoying it, why not just break up already? Even if you've already invested a lot in it, that just means that the time to cash out is now before you can get even deeper into it.' And, after all, unlike a real person, the show is not going to reform just because you don't like what it's doing.

But then again, if you're an anime/manga fan, there are plenty of fish in the sea, I guess.

[yoshitsune.livejournal.com]

Well, I definitely agree that one should be able to criticize, but like you, I don't see the point. And actually, I think the significant other parallel is a good one, since it seems like frequently it IS the lack of an alternative; I've noticed that with people like that, they stay with someone they bitch about because they're afraid they won't be able to find someone else, and I guess it's the same with shows.

But really, I think that's SO not true with sf/fantasy...I mean, this is pretty much one of the best times for sf/fantasy fandoms evar, just because there are so MANY shows and TV series and books and such and they're all quite accessible through the magic of the intarbutt. So I just can't buy that as a good reason to stick with something you hate. The only real reason I can see for staying in a fandom for something you no longer enjoy like that is if you really like the people, and even then it's not THAT difficult to keep friends once you move out of a fandom if they genuinely like you and you both do want to maintain contact (especially on LJ-based fandoms, it's as easy as hitting "friend user").

I guess I see it as a phenomenon almost like those people who write FF7 fanfic having only read plot summaries and looked at fanart; what's the point of being in fandom if you're not a fan of the source material? It's like being an atheist monk, it seems kinda ridiculous and defeats the point. XD

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

I guess with some people they have a tendency to get attached to things, but when I'm at that point... generally I just say 'okay, I'll come back to it when it's finished and read up till the end,' and then go watch/read something that is worthwhile. But seriously, it's like I have SO MUCH stuff to watch/read/listen to, that I can just go and read something else super easily, so why should I bother criticizing something unless it is bad in a super interesting way? But then, I wouldn't consider myself a 'fan,' then, just a 'reader' or 'viewer.'

I guess if you have really specific tastes though? Like you want both fantasy and you want it to have a close m/m relationship so you can slash it or you demand pretty actors or there are certain genres you refuse to watch.

I think that does make sense, but if it's like a whole bunch of people are disgruntled, that means that you do have some compatriots. I mean, I'm in genuinely unpopular and nonexistent fandoms, so I feel all like 'eh, why not try and popularize something you LIKE instead?' Especially since a lot of US TV shows have hiatuses anyway.

LOL, for the community, I suppose. Let's join the monastary just so that we can make brandy with the rest of the monks and enjoy monastic life? XD