Fandom and let fandom, y'all
Apr. 1st, 2019 07:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rogueslayer452There is this fandom meme I've seen that I may or may not do in the near future, but there were some questions on there that I felt deserved to be answered separately since they were more generic instead of specific fandom based.
Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion?
When it comes to LJ, not really. I don't think I've ever defriended anyone who had different fandom views or opinions unless they were starting unnecessary drama with others who disagreed with them. On Tumblr, however, yes I have unfollowed people who have had certain opinions, viewpoints, or attitudes about fandom that I felt I didn't want to see all over my dash, especially since many over there can be so damn aggressive to the point of being annoying. But I find that with Tumblr, it's a very impersonal space where you can follow/unfollow/block people on a whim and it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, as opposed to LJ where there is more of a personal connection between you and your mutual online friends. Honestly, I love it when online friends have different opinions on things, I love reading what other people think about something that we mutually like, we don't always have to agree. Just don't be a dick about it.
Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?
Unfortunately, yes. I usually try not to let fandom opinions ruin my fun or my preferences, but sometimes the shipping wars and pushy fanatical shippers of certain pairings that I actually like can be so persistent and overwhelming that it seems impossible to avoid unless you distance yourself from the fandom altogether. This can even happen with pairings that I was mostly indifferent towards but ended up hating because of the sense of entitlement of the fandom itself. It's why I try to stay away from the intensity of certain sides of fandom.
Does not shipping something ‘popular’ mean you’re in denial and/or biased?
Absolutely not. I never understood this mentality that you had to ship what the majority of people in the fandom shipped, as if that ever made a difference in anything. It implies that if you're not on board with the most popular thing in fandom then you're in the wrong, which is just ridiculous and immature. This is kind of entitlement is what fuels most, if not all, shipping wars. It doesn't matter if you ship something that is popular or not, canon or fanon, just ship whatever the hell you want to and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.
What are your thoughts on crack ships?
Love them. Listen, I have plenty of crackships myself, and there's just something I enjoy with seeing the "what ifs" of characters being together, especially if they aren't even from the same fictional universe. It's just fun imagining the concept. That is the beauty of what makes fandom so great, we have so many options and possibilities to make what seems the impossible work.
Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion?
When it comes to LJ, not really. I don't think I've ever defriended anyone who had different fandom views or opinions unless they were starting unnecessary drama with others who disagreed with them. On Tumblr, however, yes I have unfollowed people who have had certain opinions, viewpoints, or attitudes about fandom that I felt I didn't want to see all over my dash, especially since many over there can be so damn aggressive to the point of being annoying. But I find that with Tumblr, it's a very impersonal space where you can follow/unfollow/block people on a whim and it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, as opposed to LJ where there is more of a personal connection between you and your mutual online friends. Honestly, I love it when online friends have different opinions on things, I love reading what other people think about something that we mutually like, we don't always have to agree. Just don't be a dick about it.
Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?
Unfortunately, yes. I usually try not to let fandom opinions ruin my fun or my preferences, but sometimes the shipping wars and pushy fanatical shippers of certain pairings that I actually like can be so persistent and overwhelming that it seems impossible to avoid unless you distance yourself from the fandom altogether. This can even happen with pairings that I was mostly indifferent towards but ended up hating because of the sense of entitlement of the fandom itself. It's why I try to stay away from the intensity of certain sides of fandom.
Does not shipping something ‘popular’ mean you’re in denial and/or biased?
Absolutely not. I never understood this mentality that you had to ship what the majority of people in the fandom shipped, as if that ever made a difference in anything. It implies that if you're not on board with the most popular thing in fandom then you're in the wrong, which is just ridiculous and immature. This is kind of entitlement is what fuels most, if not all, shipping wars. It doesn't matter if you ship something that is popular or not, canon or fanon, just ship whatever the hell you want to and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.
What are your thoughts on crack ships?
Love them. Listen, I have plenty of crackships myself, and there's just something I enjoy with seeing the "what ifs" of characters being together, especially if they aren't even from the same fictional universe. It's just fun imagining the concept. That is the beauty of what makes fandom so great, we have so many options and possibilities to make what seems the impossible work.
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no subject
Date: 2019-04-02 11:06 pm (UTC)Oh yeah, that's definitely a pet peeve of mine as well. Some get super defensive and aggressive when you don't agree with their headcanons or don't like a particular f/f or m/m ship. There are some ships out there that I just don't like because I don't see the chemistry. It's not homophobic, it's just a shipping preference. And when it come to headcanons, well, they're a personal thing that not everyone needs to agree on. So I dislike it when a specific headcanon becomes universally accepted within the fandom that if you don't agree with it then you're wrong and might get attacked for, which is....not how fandom works.
no subject
Date: 2019-04-03 06:48 pm (UTC)So I dislike it when a specific headcanon becomes universally accepted within the fandom that if you don't agree with it then you're wrong and might get attacked for, which is....not how fandom works.
Exactly! I get wanting to have trans* or disabled characters for representation, but if it's not canon, not everyone has to accept that.