Fan Myopia: Difference between revisions

* Being appalled when the creator or writer of a show/song/book doesn't know as much as the fan knows about their work, and seemingly isn't interested in something they wrote or starred in many years earlier. Perhaps an effect of assuming that the creator shares exactly the [[Fan Disillusionment|same attitudes]] as the fans. This can lead to fans thinking they know the show better than the people who created it. Also leads to accusations of [[It's Popular, Now It Sucks|selling out]] just because somebody stopped writing obscure cult music or TV and became more mainstream. Parodied on ''[[Saturday Night Live (TV)|Saturday Night Live]]'' in the famous "Get A Life!" sketch with [[William Shatner]]. In the sketch, a Trekkie brings up the scene from the ''[[Star Trek the Original Series (TV)|Star Trek the Original Series]]'' episode "This Side of Paradise" when Kirk gets his effects out of a safe. It turns out the fan wants to know what the combination on the safe was and, of course, Shatner has no clue.

** This was probably inspired by several [[Real Life]] incidents at ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' conventions where various actors were asked highly technical questions about various gadgets featured on the show. For instance, James Doohan got asked so many times about how things like warp drive or the transporter worked that he actually made up explanations to reply to those questions with.

* Telling their fandom [[In Joke|in-jokes]] constantly, seemingly unaware that most of the people who are listening/reading won't understand what they are running on about.

* Assuming that their favored work (or media, or genre, etc.) is superior to and/or "different" from all other similar types of work, media, or genre, not realizing that their favored work (or media, or genre, etc.) is, in fact, very similar to all similar works.

* With respect to certain franchises, fans may occasionally assume the position of "We are your customers and the customers know what they want". Or they may play various appeal cards such as "You wouldn't be here if it weren't for us fans so it belongs to us as much as you".

* Insisting that creators and producers should tell the story that the fans want to tell. This story might be a story highlighting their favorite underrepresented character. Or a story that answers certain unanswered questions, shows a backstory, [[Great Offscreen War]] or [[Noodle Incident]] which was never meant to be shown, or providing closure to a character or incomplete or open ended story. For example, many ''[[Star Trek the Original Series (TV)|Star Trek the Original Series]]'' fans are still demanding a canonical final fate for the surviving original characters (while the surviving actors who played them are still alive). This mentality tends to disrupt the artistic integrity of the franchise in question due to the fan (not creator) tendency to treat their favorite franchise as if it were just a product to them (as it is for the studios and sponsors). To non-fans, unanswered questions, ambiguous endings, and interesting characters or subplots that don't get enough screentime are integral parts of any story and force us to use our imagination to fill in the blanks. And beloved characters, whether they get closure or not, leave the stage when their story has been told.

** A significant number of ''[[Robotech (Anime)|Robotech]]'' fans insist that it is Harmony Gold's duty to satisfy its customers (ahem...fans) by going back and completing ''The Sentinels'' (which will never happen).

* With franchises that last several generations, it is inevitable that the reins of power over creation and production will be passed on to new individuals, some of whom may not have been born when the franchise began and are tasked with keeping said franchise up to date and relevant. Typically, the original creator/producer is deceased so fans take it upon themselves to decide whether or not "he" would approve of the direction the current producer is taking with "his" creation. This includes the obvious nerd fare like ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'', but also - and somewhat surprisingly - kids' shows like ''[[Thomas the Tank Engine]]''.

[[Category:Common Fan Fallacies]]

[[Category:Fan Myopia]]