When I join a fandom

I go all out.

So, the same person who forced me to watch Doctor Who and who introduced me to Adventure Time has been trying to get me to watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic for months now. I was doing really good at avoiding it... before he got the rest of my family to go Pony's crazy. And then they started playing Pony's music, and I got caught up with Discord's story, and I discovered I really like Fluttershy, and today I spent three hours singing a cover of the Super Ponybeat remix of the Discord song, and I had an idea for a crossover fic I might write later when I have the time, and he brought over Equestria Girls today and we all watched it. And all this within the past week. I thought I'd post here because I know there are lots of Pony fans here.

And I posted to advertise that I have a new song in my music thread, so... yeah.

 

Yeah, you get it. You're a cool guy.

 

This may just be me, but I don't like fandoms. I don't like the results of people gathering over a single united interest and participating in the echo chamber group think that define fandom. I like the idea of bonding with people over shared interests and I understand that fandom is in a way an extension of that, but there's more to it clearly. So what do I have a problem with? I'm not sure how to say, but I'll do my best.

First, fandoms spawn fanfic. What's wrong with fanfic? It's a dependent art. Like all referential humor it is entirely hinged on a common knowledge base. That common knowledge base it used as a crutch by less skilled writers and perpetuates the flaws in their writing. But what's more of a problem, is people form their "headcanon" and "ships" and whatever else. These are harmless but irritating. They undermine authorial intent and can at times become so prevalent that they affect people's perceptions of the source material. I feel like that is a kind of heresy. So to be most specific, while I'm open to individual interpretation I've never been a fan of group interpretation. It just seems like herd behavior and is by and large completely inane.

Second, fandoms like to rave. Okay, who doesn't like to share their opinion about something they really like? Fine, I'll accept that; but when you belabor the point, when you take it to the illogical extreme, when you express a feeling that is so ludicrous and obsessive that it cannot truly be the spawn of your own devices,, we have a problem. The problem is that someone should only feel what they feel and what they feel alone. They shouldn't tap into the feelings of the group and exaggerate their own opinions because of that feedback from the conglomerate. That's subconsciously subjugating your own decisions to the will of a majority. You should be allowed to like what you want and express that how you want, but I feel like that's not what's actually happening. Whether people are aware of it or not, they're being pressured and that's not good for them.

Third, they have a group identity. I don't like that people seem to justify themselves by clinging to a group. I don't like when people justify themselves by intentionally setting themselves against the group. Both ways are meta and have nothing to do with the actual topic. I personally like a lot of things that have fandoms large and small, but I would never in my life associate myself with a fandom. I want my opinions, thoughts and feelings to be very distinctly my own. I don't want to be a member of some club that thinks it's better than other people who aren't in it. I don't want to be a part of a cult with a uniform opinion or agenda. I wouldn't want to be called "Otaku", "Brony", "Whovian", or whatever other flavor of the week tag you've decided to attach to a group. I just want to be me.

I realize this is a poorly explained position and I'll be kicking myself for writing most of it later, but I do want to get it out there in some form. Now, I'm not just a hater, there are some good things that come out of communities surrounding a certain topic. It's just the fact that some if not all seem to get out of hand in some way or another that really bothers me whenever I take a closer look at it. In the end, I don't care if you are a fan and feel the need to connect with others, I just can't find it in myself to join any of you and that's truly no loss for anyone.

Good fucking night.

 

+9001 respect points for Jiku Neon