Fan Myopia: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"You're referencing literature I have no way to be familiar with!"''|'''[[Humanity Ensues|Anya]]''', ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''}}

* Failing to understand why a cherished TV show was canceled, or why a book, movie, or video game doesn't sell highly, when in fact hardly anyone was interested in it aside from its cult fanbase. It's even conceivable that it wasn't [[Screwed Byby the Network]], but rather that people simply weren't into it.

* 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: theThe 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.

* Making demands that an actor must "give to fans" by doing cons or DVD commentaries, or demands that actors become as fannish as fans and always refer to the work as the highlight of their career. Notorious examples of actors being bashed by certain fans for not being fannish: Sarah Michelle Gellar by ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' fans, Christopher Eccleston by ''[[Doctor Who]]'' fans, Josette Simon by ''[[Blake's Seven|Blakes Seven]]'' fans.

* Assuming that the work is known worldwide. For an example, lots of [[Anime]] series which are known in the United States and Japan aren't well known outside. It may be surprising for fans to hear that series like ''[[Haruhi Suzumiya (Light Novel)|Haruhi Suzumiya]]'' and ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion (Anime)|Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' aren't that well known outside a few selected countries, or even in the countries where they are available.

* 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: theThe 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]]''.

* In anticipation of angry reactions to the above sentence, refusing to acknowledge that a work was intended for children. Many perfectly respectable works were intended for children, and many of them are still enjoyable when you're an adult, yes, but (to pick a random example) ''[[Sonic theSat Hedgehog (Animation)AM|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' was still a kids' show, and acknowledging that doesn't reduce the work's quality. In fact, one might even argue that attracting a [[Periphery Demographic]] is a symptom of ''higher'' quality. But let's not argue too hard.

Tropers are not immune to Fan Myopia, nor do they claim to be. Indeed, much of this wiki could not have come about if it weren't for zealous fans of television and other media. However, generalizing from your own experience is usually a bad idea. Assuming that other people know more than they do can result in incomprehensible attempts at [[Two Words: Obvious Trope]] or similar, or telling the world that the ending to something is [[It Was His Sled]] when it wasn't, really.