Can't we all just get along?!

[citrinesunset]

I'm of the revolutionary opinion that fandom should be, well, fun. Don't confuse that with "mindless," because I like entertainment that makes me think. And I love a good discussion. But it should be, overall, enjoyable.

I don't really care if people share my opinions or tastes on fannish things, unless I find their opinion offensive for reasons that go beyond canon or character interpretation. Like, calling characters they don't like "whores." Things like that. But if you just don't like my favorite character or something, I don't care, as long as you're not a jerk about it.

I still have fun with Torchwood fandom. I like writing fic for it still, and it's still my fandom of choice for fic when I get around to reading some. But I hate how polarized discussions have become. Either you have to think COE was great drama and that season four will be wonderful, or you're a hater who hates the actors and writers and everything. There's no room for ambiguity anymore, and people on both sides are far too quick to cast aspersions on people who don't share their own opinion. No wonder people are leaving the fandom.

I miss the good old days when we could talk about how dumb parts of "Cyberwoman" are without hating on the show or having our fannish-ness questioned, and when we could squee over stuff without having to justify it or expect others to follow suit. It shouldn't be this hard for people to accept that people can have differing opinions and even *gasp* discuss their thoughts without being inflammatory or having to win the other person over.

These days, I don't seem to fit in anywhere. I miss having fun, drama-free discussions, but the attitude that I should just leave fandom if I'm not interested in season four or COE is off-putting. And even the positive, drama-free spaces feel exclusionary. Being a fan shouldn't mean you have to prove anything in order to have fun.

Comments

[coldwater1010.livejournal.com]

I don't say this very often, but it seems appropriate. Here, here. heh. I don't really get why people seem so threatened by the idea of people having differing opinions/ interpretations etc. from them or why it has to descend into being ugly or patronising with one another, but there you go.

I've also never understood the idea why you have to justify your likes or dislikes or even why they even have to be all that reasonable when it comes to tv shows and the like. Much like I'll defend anyone's right to write bad fic in fandom (hey, it's not like I actually have to read it) I'm happy to defend someone's right to like/ dislike a character, show whatever for perfectly silly, unsupportable reasons.