July Question Meme: Day Two

[rogueslayer452]

Asked by giallarhorn:

How do you feel regarding the generally increased scrutiny that accompanies a lot of shows and how it impacts your ability to enjoy shows?

I think critical thinking is important, of course, and I do enjoy reading and joining in the discussion that further examines the media that we consume.

However, some people tend to take it too far from actual critical thinking to just being plain negative. Fandom can become quite a toxic environment when such negativity about tearing down something someone loves, going so far as saying someone is the problem for enjoying a show they deem problematic, or always scrutinizing every little detail and pointing out what was wrong and why. Some people end up judging far too quickly, already making up their minds on something (especially if it doesn't fit into their little box of perfection) before it even has a chance on proving (and improving) itself. It's not just unfair, but the behavior and attitude that comes from such negative thinking is kind of immature, imho. It's one thing to have honest critique, it's another to get so hung up on and completely immerse oneself in negativity and thereby ruining the enjoyment for everyone involved.

As for me, while being within fandom can be difficult to get away from such scrutiny, it hasn't hindered my enjoyment for the things I like watching in the slightest. I'll listen to the arguments and discussions that I feel offer something to think about, and ignore the negative side of things that are just there to be loud noise.

Comments

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

The problem is, I think, that people sometimes measure quality by what they want. I haven't been that involved with a fandom in... years, and it's changed so much in that time, but from what I remember, people would often project their own interests.

I think so many have certain expectations about something, and when that particular thing doesn't meet those qualifications it turns into placing everything underneath a microscope and criticizing pretty much everything that was wrong with the thing. It's become more and more common now with social issues, which isn't a bad thing to address because it's worth having an open discussion about especially when social issues are brought up in media. But some people tend to go overboard with scrutinizing everything when something isn't being done the way they want it. And it can be exhausting to deal with in fandom spaces.

Like you, I do voice what I want more of in fiction and media in general, but unless there is a blatant disregard for those things I don't immediately bash something for not including it. I may say it's something that they could improve on, but that's basically it. Not everything can make everyone happy, even the most progressive of things in fiction can be missing certain elements that might not please someone out there.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

. It's become more and more common now with social issues, which isn't a bad thing to address because it's worth having an open discussion about especially when social issues are brought up in media. But some people tend to go overboard with scrutinizing everything when something isn't being done the way they want it. And it can be exhausting to deal with in fandom spaces.

Yeah, I've tried following stuff on representation and it makes my head spin. Not because I don't 100% agree that representation is important - I do, and seriously, I think movies and shows and so forth should get with the times. It's uncomfortable when the only black character acts like a stereotypical black character from a 1970's TV series. It's not the 1970's anymore, did they not get the memo? But I feel like fans almost have checklists anymore, and that's... kind of exhausting, and to me, not really the point of fandom. I honestly think the fan in "fandom" has been lost a bit.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

But I feel like fans almost have checklists anymore, and that's... kind of exhausting, and to me, not really the point of fandom. I honestly think the fan in "fandom" has been lost a bit.

I do feel like genuine fan discussion and participation has lessened in the community. Perhaps it's the different venues that fandom has migrated to where it's less likely to engage in such activity, idk. But it does seem like there's a more cynical approach to things more through litmus testing than there are positive ones, at least from my own observations.

(Tumblr has a lot of this, which while I like some of the meta that appears there, it can be very hard to engage with and sometimes it's just rather polarizing to the point where it feels very isolating as a fan, you know?)