The Lounge: Official Spamzone Community Thread

Generalizing an entire subset of a particular medium and saying you don't like it or the way stories are told in it but you do like a character that comes from it means you only like that character because of their iconic status. You may have read wiki articles of popular stories about that character to gain a basic understanding of the character's past, but if you don't like the industry the character comes from on a fundamental level you're probably not experiencing the character's history first-hand, which means you're not exploring the character and getting to know what that character is all about, which in turn means you're not validating your own supposed "fandom". Essentially, you're wearing the emblem on your chest but not knowing what it stands for. Yeah, you can tell me that Spider-Man is largely about personal responsibility, but anyone who reads literally any article about Spider-Man ever can know that; you need to read his stories to understand what exactly responsibility means to the character and why it is so important. Today movies often act as a substitute for people who would rather not read the source material, and in some ways act as their own source material. I'm not going to go so far as to say that if you've only seen movies and claim to like a character you're being hypocritical, but if a person likes a character they should, on some level, want to branch out and get to know more about that character. That's how I got back into comics. At a certain age I started falling away from them, but a couple years ago I got into a big superhero movie kick, and here I am back into comics because the movies simply weren't enough to satisfy my enjoyment of the characters. Since so many of these characters are cultural icons it's understandable that they will have a following of people who only know as much about the character as the general public knows, but these characters come from places, and if these people exercised the inherent qualities of a fan, the superhero comic industry would not be in the state it's in now. Like what you like, have your reasons for liking what you like, but understand there's a vast history to a character worth exploring beyond his most recent summer blockbuster.. That's not even that good. And was based on a story that did it better.

And of course I don't mean you specifically. And I'm not saying you're a fan of whatever, just (hopefully) making a point.


Side-note: Hacktivist was amazing and every single one of you should be reading it.

 

You bring up some good points and some less good points. You're right that a lot of people don't know much about these long running generational superheroes nowadays and frequently just hop on the bandwagon because it's what's popular at the moment but to say that people need to go further than the films to call themselves a fan is ridiculous. You can like the films and hate the source material. That's really easy. You could also really like the film and think, "That's all I ever want to see of that!" Again, really easy. Delving deeper isn't the only natural behavior after discovering something you like.

Anyhow, your first comment was not at all indicative of the content of this one and was incredibly derisive and incredibly targeting only me, so yeah, I still think you shouldn't have said it that way.

 

That's not exactly what I mean, in fact

but imo people should want to go further. It doesn't make any sense to me to remain stagnant in what you enjoy and not seek out more if it's something you advertise yourself as being a fan of. Maybe that's just me. I mean, I totally get if comics is just not an entertainment form you enjoy at all, but if you like some comics and like superhero movies, but then say you don't like superhero comics, there seems to me to be some non sequitur going on imo. To me it just seems that person is not giving something a proper chance. Like what you like but, I don't know, have an open mind I guess is what I'm trying to say?

I was being somewhat satirical with that post but sorry if it offended you. I'm clearly losing my patience to articulate what I want to say so I'm gonna call it quits here.

 

I read that part and it seemed like you still had some distinct disdain for those people. Wasn't sure exactly how to put it but yeah, you get the idea.

I actually like some superhero movies and some comics. But I can't stand superhero comics. I don't like the long history. I don't like the value system of the companies. I don't like the art as a general rule. I don't like the format. The list goes on. I don't like the long history because I think they should be making way for new characters and new creative prospects. Reinvent the wheel all you like you can't go to space on it. I don't like the value system of the companies because it makes the prohibitively expensive to buy long running comics and forces chapter arcs to a pacing that I find awkward. I don't like the art because a lot of them lack fluidity and dynamism that I find in more experimental or foreign comics. This one isn't as hard and fast a rule because it partly has to with the outdated costume designs and it's true across all superhero comics that even the big two run. I don't like the format because of the update schedule and I find the paneling to be distasteful. Anyhow, there's a lot of stuff I think makes superhero comics not worth my time but a movie that is a one time only investment that never follows me anywhere else I don't mind it. And with a different genre of comic I end up with a deeper or more relatable story and character set and a more artistically interesting visual experience. I feel like a lot of people could very easily feel the way that I do.

That's fine, talking with me is pretty tiring.

 

The thing is you're in the minority of people who don't like superhero comics and have actual reasons why they don't beyond "comics are for kids", a notion that hasn't been wholly true since like the 60s.

I have nothing to say to any of that except wow do I disagree. And the ones I do agree on don't bother me to the point of not taking part in the form. To each his own, though.

I know I said I was done but I couldn't resist

 

Nah, I'm holding it against you forever, you are a bad person and don't deserve to breathe the same air as humans.

 

i'm offended. wounded, even. hurt.

 

kinda maybe sorta on topic but i've just discovered the Fantastic Four movie is one of my guilty pleasures. Part of it is due to my girlie crush on Jessica Alba < 3

 

Is Rise of the Planet of the Apes any good?

 

Average film imo. Not totally terrible, but it wasn't great either.
Unless you're looking to kill time, I wouldn't really recommend it

 

It's on FX now and I'll occasionally look over and watch a minute of it, and from what I've seen it seems really good. Though five cumulative minutes isn't exactly enough to judge a film by so

 

It's bad. I saw it in theaters because I had nothing better to do and I can get in for free. Waste of time.

 

That's strange :v most people I know who watched Rise of the Planet of the Apes told me it was a great movie

 

LETTHEHUNTBEGIN

 

Well I loved it......

 

The original was better.

 

Here. You guys can have this.

 

rise of the planet of the apes was a good time.

 

How come no one posts in the literature section anymore :(

 

Obviously because no one actually reads books anymore.