OK, minor intro to a lame rant. I was given copies of the two latest Laurell K. Hamilton Anita Blake books. I absolutely loved them and decided to read the whole series. Along the way, I found out that the last two are basically being wished into non-existance and that only a small handful of Blake fans actually read through them and liked them at all.
Anyway, I found a “fan” message board, and thought what a really great place to learn more and share my appreciation. Sounds reasonable, right? Wrong. I have gone through multiple threads for a couple of days and have yet to find even ONE positive thread/thought. Some are kinda positive, but there are som many conditions bafroe anyone can come out a nd say “I like SO-and-SO” or “I like the scene that…” Some of them call the main character a liar and one even went so far as to say they HATED the main character. I had to give up in disgust because this group sounded so damn negative. I want to shake the lot of them and ask why they are reading the books if they hate them that much. And why do they do nothing but bash the books? LOusy goat-fechers. I just hope they’re not harming innocent hampsters in their need to spew vitriol about a fictional book they apparently hate, but can’t stop talking about.
Wow, Morelin, I totally agree. I’m a huge Buffy fan, but can’t deal with any discussions of the show, even here on the SDMB. Everyone has some character they hate and some character they want to have sex with, and they complain and bitch and whine and sheesh! All I wanted to do was discuss the show!
I don’t mind SOME bashing. I understand when an author goes bad. I’ve read Robert Jordan, Terry Brooks and Terry Goodkind. But I wouldn’t start up or join a fan board if I couldn’t think of ANYTHING nice to say. But maybe that’s just me.
As a fan of Hamilton’s Anita books I can see what you mean. I avoid the stuff about the books because I like to take them on their own merit not on what everyone else says.
That said I can see how some would say they have gone downhill, and in some instances I agree, but at the same time I still find them interesting on their own.
Weeelll . . . I’ve thoroughly disliked the last few books, with the probable exception of Obsidian Flut----Butterfly (dammit!).
And I enjoy discussing the whys and wherefores with fans. I’m occasoinally passionate about things like this. If I liked (or loved) the early stuff, I almost feel betrayed if the quality slips or if it moves in a different direction. I have few nice things to say about Jordan (sorry, Kyla) at this point, or George Lucas, or, to be honest, Laurell. Dammit, the first few books/movies/episodes were good! Why should they suck so badly now! Bastards!
But I agree–I would never join a fan group if I only had negative things to say. But sometimes my affection of the early stuff is obscured by my frustration at the later stuff. And it sounds like that’s the sitch you’ve encountered with the Blake fan board.
I wonder the exact same thing about the Dopers here who do nothing but bitch and moan about how crappy The Simpsons is and how FOX should have cancelled it 5 years ago etc…yet these are the same Dopers who start up the threads dissecting each new Simpsons episode.:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
It’s disappointment I suppose. The first few books were fun, but the latest are getting kinda weird. And everyone who used to wait eagerly for each new one now has their feeling of the whole series coloured by their downturn.
As andros said, it’s kind of a feeling of betrayal, like with Star Wars.
But yes, I agree that nothing but complaints sounds foolish. Have you tried a thread in CS here?
But don’t you see? These people are the biggest and best fans! They know so much about the book/show/series that they actually know more than the author/creator.
It’s my experience that fan culture is as much about bitching as it is about devotion.
I don’t mind when people are critical about a work, but often this progresses into attacks upon the character of an author, artist, writer, etc., etc. Look at how often “sellout” is cried by fans worldwide.
This is especially ironic in the case of Metallica, who were called sellouts by so called fans who were pissed off that Metallica was suing Napster, whose file sharing program was depriving Metallica of rightfully owed and rightfully earned income, yet these fans were accusing Metallica ofr selling out. Apparently these fans weren’t quite smart enough to grasp the fact that they were (illegally) getting something, which legally they should have paid money for, for nothing.
It’s okay. I have few nice things to say about Jordan at this point too. You’ll note, however, that I don’t go to Jordan websites and constantly bitch about how fucked up the series has gotten.
If you think that’s bad, you should try some of the larger comic-book based MBs, especially those devoted to the books with revolving-door creative teams (e.g. X-Men). Nuthin’ but shiv fights, but I like 'em anyway.
I think that a lot of fandom bitching does come from those who are, simply, disappointed. There can also be a feeling of betrayal from those who have invested a lot of time, emotion, and money in a series who feel that the author hasn’t given the fans his best effort. “Shelters of Stone” – Jean Auel’s latest steaming offering – comes to mind. To a lesser degree, so do “Order of the Phoenix” and the Star Wars prequels (I liked them, but mostly for the very pretty Obi-Wan). I disliked the Anita Blake series tremendously from the first book, so I haven’t read enough of those to form a solid opinion, but I get the same vibe from some of my friends who did read the series (my SIL still loves them though, just for the sheer absurdity in the later part of the series). It’s really very frustrating to wait for a book or movie and then have it be an obviously slip-shod piece of shit with no passion behind it other than the thought of all the $$$ that’ll come with the release.
Of course, there are always those in any fandom who have a bloated sense of their own self-importance and enjoy being wankers just to get other people riled up. Not much to do about those people but avoid or ignore them.
Nothing more need be said since everything I said in my post about the whole Metallica situation is true. Another reason that Metallica sued Napster was that demo versions of Metallica songs were showing up on Napster and Metallica rightly and legally didn’t want them out there for the public to hear unless it was on Metallica’s terms. I see no problem with that.
Not trying to hijack, but I’ve noticed computer game message boards have the same phenomenon…I think some people have the mentality that you have to endlessly crack or 2nd guess on X in order to establish their credentials as an expert on X…
I’ve alway found that criticizing something on its own fanpage to be bad manners - kind of like insulting someone in his own living room. If you want to start spewing vitriol, do it on neutral ground like the SDMB.
There ought to be some kind of Internet Law: “All fan message boards tend to become more negative over time.” I have found it to be universally true in the soap opera/television message board world. I think ultimately it’s a function of the universal constant: “Things Change”. Every fan joins a message board at a point when he or she truly loves a TV show, band, video game, comic book, etc. Inevitably, the thing he loves is going to change, and it’s not going to be quite the way it was when he first encountered it. In addition, individual tastes grow and change. The music you loved five years ago might not feel quite as satisfying now. The result is a growing sense of disappointment that manifests itself in ranting about the good old days when the characters were well-written, the music was sweeter, the sun shone brighter, and life was just generally not the suckfest it is today.
