What the Hell is Wrong with Fans?

I’m afraid that I’m going to come across like a cranky fan sitting in my rocking chair complaining about the kids running around on my lawn. Nevertheless, recent instances of fan entitlement are starting to get on my nerves.

I’m not talking about previously discussed situations such as fans coming up with all sorts of excuses for stealing material and claiming that it’s okay to do so. Those are entertaining as always, but not really big on my mind at the moment.

No, I’m thinking about the current fans of “Once Upon a Time” who are not only convinced that their views are not being represented on the series, but are going after such blameless targets as the actors, targeting them with hostile tweets and such. And you thought it was bad when a villainess in a soap opera couldn’t go food shopping without being harassed by customers.

I know this is nothing new. Back in the days of original STAR TREK, there were–hell, still are–fans of slash fiction. Kirk and Spock together as a couple. It wasn’t relevant to them that that wasn’t remotely based in the reality of either character, any more than modern SUPERNATURAL fans are deterred in coming up with Wincest stories.

But the difference between now and then is that slash fans were a subset of Trek fandom and that’s all they were. No one ever expected for half a second that stories in which Kirk and Spock romantically hooked up would be manifested on the TV series or in any of the subsequent films.

Now we’re in a different mindset, though. Now fans seem to believe that not only should their views be reflected in the series, but if they aren’t, then the producers are doing something wrong. That they are overlooking or neglecting the needs of the fans and, in doing so, are displaying the fact that they are uncaring about particular aspects of fannish priorities.

For instance: while fans get worked up over the relationships of Belle and Rumple or Emma and Hook, there are some fans who stridently believe that Emma and the Queen should be an item. It doesn’t matter to them that both characters are straight or that the two characters have a history of personal antipathy. They want Emma and the Queen as an item. Which is fine if they want to restrict that view to fanzine stories. But instead they go on binges where they launch attacks on writers or, for that matter, actress Jennifer Morrison (who plays Emma) because they believe that not only are their views not being represented (which is true) but that they are being a disservice because their views are not being represented (which is false.)

And the problem is that if writers say they understand where the fans are coming from but aren’t going to write what the fans want to see, then the fans are quick to condemn the writers and call them hypocrites. Sure, the writers or producers may SAY they support gay rights, but they don’t really. The proof of that is that they won’t write what the fans want to see.

I’m not sure where or when this fandom mentality developed. I’m not sure why this sense of entitlement has swelled to such proportions that fans feel the need to write entire essays about how various programs or writers or whomever are letting them down by failing to represent their views. It may well be because of the rise of the Internet because once upon a time, fans would simply rage in a vacuum. But now writers and producers not only see what they’re saying but respond to it, sometimes in self-defense. And it’s a shame that that sort of fan mentality has brought matters to this situation.

I just wish that the fractional number of fans who were obsessed about unworkable offshoot stories would be happy with sharing their stories and beliefs of what characters should be doing with each other and keep it to themselves.

PAD