Fan Disillusionment: Difference between revisions

The word "fan", originally descended from "fanatic", suggests a sense of loyalty to something, usually a particular media franchise. And most fans are, for the most part, a fairly resilient breed who will put up with a lot. However, you can only push them so far; if a fan perceives their loyalty to have been abused or betrayed, the disillusionment that follows can be bitter indeed. Whilst some may soldier on, resulting in the formation of various [[Broken Base|Broken]] and [[Unpleasable Fanbase|Unpleasable Fanbases]], true [[Fan Disillusionment]] occurs when a fan abandons the show, book, or whatever it was that they lost faith in for good.

 

 

Occasionally, however, the reason for a fan's desertion, or loss of enthusiasm, is because they feel that the people who create their favourite show, book, game, or songs have let them down in some way. Sometimes this is justified when the person in question is deliberately cruel to their fans, but sometimes this is entirely the fans' fault for crying [[Ruined FOREVER]] at every sign of something happening that they don't appreciate.

 

 

Compare [[Artist Disillusionment]]. See also [[Ruined FOREVER]] for just how many times fans will claim this is happening in perfectly healthy franchises.

 

'''[[No Real Life Examples Please]]''' This is entirely too subjective in reality and impossible to prove outside of only your personal experiences. This page focuses on examples of this trope taking place in fiction.

 

== [[Comic Books]] ==

*** ''Zombies'' has a more dramatic example, as Brendan Surn (a member who ''did'' become a success) has an assistant who used to be a normal fan. She loved his works and wanted to become friends, but when she got to his house she found an old man with Alzheimer's who needed help, and took it upon herself to care for him. Another of the group relates a similar story from her own fandom, but says that she eventually realized that fans tend to build up authors to be more than are or are capable of being, which is a disservice to everyone involved.

* Annie Wilkes of ''[[Misery]]'' views her favorite book series, ''Misery'', and its author Paul Sheldon, with an almost religiously positive view. Unfortunately for Annie, when she happens to save her favorite author from a deadly car crash and take him to her home to heal, he turns out to be different from her zealous expectations. Unfortunately for Paul, Annie is a profoundly [[Axe Crazy]] [[Serial Killer]].

 

 

* ''[[Hey Arnold]]''

** An episode depicted Arnold in search of a missing children's author who has turned extremely bitter and reclusive. {{spoiler|Through sheer persistence and a massive guilt trip, Arnold gets the woman to write again; her first new book begins with "A boy with a strange-shaped head and a nasty witch who no longer believed in magic".}} The author's name, Agatha Caulfield, is a reference to real-life [[Artist Disillusionment|reclusive author]] J.D. Salinger.

** In another episode, Phoebe meets a famous pop star whom she idolizes and finds out that he's really a shallow [[Jerkass]] -- Phoebe's friend Helga, who wasn't initially enthusiastic about meeting him, ends up thinking he's really cool, and she and the pop star talk for hours while Phoebe sits with them looking bored.