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I see that it's Panto season again in fandom. You know what I mean, a sudden rash of posts being made by individuals declaring that [insert character name here] in [insert fandom here] is mean/a prig/boring/a Poet-killer/not very attractive/etc. This then provokes a chorus of "OH NO HE/SHE ISN'T" type of response posts from all the fans of the character, followed shortly after by a chorus of "OH YES HE/SHE IS" by those who agreed with the original poster.
This then goes back and forth for a while until the argument degenerates into people muttering in locked posts on their LJ's about people who don't like [insert character name here] aren't watching/reading the same tv series/film/comic/book etc as them, usually accompanied by some declaration about how long that individual has been in the fandom and eventually it all dies down.
Occasionally, someone with an over developed sense of humour will do the equivalent of shouting "LOOK BEHIND YOU" and the whole thing will rumble to life again and if everyone involved gets particularly worked up the whole damn mess will end up on Fandom Wank.
While I do find this kind of behaviour hugely entertaining, every time it happens I am left wondering why people get that worked up about other people's opinions/interpretations of characters. Everyone has their own view and interpretation of characters and while fandom itself does influence this a large part of that opinion will be based on that individuals own personal experiences, ethics and beliefs.
This means people will frequently not agree with you about your interpretation.
Part of the fascination for me of fandom is reading and hearing other people's opinions of characters I love. I rarely agree with people's interpretations of characters, but I do like seeing them through other people's eyes. Often in doing so I come across nuances and ideas I have never thought of and it generally adds to my understanding and enjoyment of the character.
What gets me about a lot of this Panto behaviour is that it isn't a discussion of the character in question it's usually a thinly veiled attack on anyone who holds a contrary opinion, usually with carefully cited examples of how various scenes *should* be interpreted in the eyes of that particular poster and then usually backed up by a load of the poster's friends all 'Me tooing' in the responses.
This bugs me for two reasons.
1. It never fails (even if I agree with the essence of what the poster is saying about that character) to make me want to do the internet equivalent of donning a t-shirt with [insert character name here] SUCKS printed in large letters on it and dance around in a provocative manner. Thankfully I have many good fannish friends who can usually judge when such an outburst is brewing and then they sit on me. Let's face it people, such behaviour while fun at the start, just leads to the dark place with the babies on spikes.
2. I find it insulting that people should try and dictate my view and opinion of any character.
At no time do such posts make me change my mind about how I view a particular character. I can't really imagine it does anyone. So why bother with this kind of behaviour? All it seems to do is kill of any real discussion as everyone retreats back into their corners and licks their wounds and it also leads to stories which only fit in with one particular definition of the character being written and thus the fandom suffers in general.
So next time you feel the need to post an impassioned rant on why X is so misunderstood in fandom, ask yourself if it's really worth it and put the energy into something more worthwhile like writing a story, or sending me flowers or posting pictures of nekkid pretty people to your LJ. I know I will thank you for doing that and I suspect fandom in general will thank you as well.
Remember people, pantomime season is only fun when it involves John Barrowman.
Now if you'll excuse me I have to go think up new Methos/Connor scenarios to try and get people to write. Oh and if I ever show signs of any panto type behaviour myself please feel free to come hit me round the head with a large rubber frying pan.
N/B If you are in any way offended by anything in the above post please don't bother telling me as I don't care. Instead go whinge about it in a locked post in your LJ. It will be so much more fun for everyone that way.
Occasionally, someone with an over developed sense of humour will do the equivalent of shouting "LOOK BEHIND YOU" and the whole thing will rumble to life again and if everyone involved gets particularly worked up the whole damn mess will end up on Fandom Wank.
While I do find this kind of behaviour hugely entertaining, every time it happens I am left wondering why people get that worked up about other people's opinions/interpretations of characters. Everyone has their own view and interpretation of characters and while fandom itself does influence this a large part of that opinion will be based on that individuals own personal experiences, ethics and beliefs.
This means people will frequently not agree with you about your interpretation.
Part of the fascination for me of fandom is reading and hearing other people's opinions of characters I love. I rarely agree with people's interpretations of characters, but I do like seeing them through other people's eyes. Often in doing so I come across nuances and ideas I have never thought of and it generally adds to my understanding and enjoyment of the character.
What gets me about a lot of this Panto behaviour is that it isn't a discussion of the character in question it's usually a thinly veiled attack on anyone who holds a contrary opinion, usually with carefully cited examples of how various scenes *should* be interpreted in the eyes of that particular poster and then usually backed up by a load of the poster's friends all 'Me tooing' in the responses.
This bugs me for two reasons.
1. It never fails (even if I agree with the essence of what the poster is saying about that character) to make me want to do the internet equivalent of donning a t-shirt with [insert character name here] SUCKS printed in large letters on it and dance around in a provocative manner. Thankfully I have many good fannish friends who can usually judge when such an outburst is brewing and then they sit on me. Let's face it people, such behaviour while fun at the start, just leads to the dark place with the babies on spikes.
2. I find it insulting that people should try and dictate my view and opinion of any character.
At no time do such posts make me change my mind about how I view a particular character. I can't really imagine it does anyone. So why bother with this kind of behaviour? All it seems to do is kill of any real discussion as everyone retreats back into their corners and licks their wounds and it also leads to stories which only fit in with one particular definition of the character being written and thus the fandom suffers in general.
So next time you feel the need to post an impassioned rant on why X is so misunderstood in fandom, ask yourself if it's really worth it and put the energy into something more worthwhile like writing a story, or sending me flowers or posting pictures of nekkid pretty people to your LJ. I know I will thank you for doing that and I suspect fandom in general will thank you as well.
Remember people, pantomime season is only fun when it involves John Barrowman.
Now if you'll excuse me I have to go think up new Methos/Connor scenarios to try and get people to write. Oh and if I ever show signs of any panto type behaviour myself please feel free to come hit me round the head with a large rubber frying pan.
N/B If you are in any way offended by anything in the above post please don't bother telling me as I don't care. Instead go whinge about it in a locked post in your LJ. It will be so much more fun for everyone that way.
