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Fan Myopia: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''"You're referencing literature I have no way to be familiar with!"''|'''[[Humanity Ensues|Anya]]''', ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''}}
Fans of a particular work or medium see things differently from people who aren't fans of the same things. For instance, a fan might assume that the work they are a fan of is much better known than it actually is. Or, conversely, they might assume that nobody knows a different work simply because they and their circle never heard of it. The fan's perspective is a little warped because they are so close to certain materials and so distanced from others.
Fan myopia is aided and abetted by having a circle of friends who share a narrow interest, making it seem much less obscure than it is. The Internet can be an enabler here: If you spend all your time talking to people who are fans of the same things you like, it's easy to jump from there -- even unconsciously -- to the assumption that ''everyone'' is a fan of the same things you like.
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* 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]]'' 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|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]]'' 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]]'' fans, Christopher Eccleston by ''[[Doctor Who]]'' fans, Josette Simon by ''[[Blake's
* Telling their fandom [[In
* 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.
* 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]]'' and ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' aren't that well known outside a few selected countries, or even in the countries where they are available.
* Assuming that the work somehow "transcends" other examples of the genre simply because they are fans of it.
* 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|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.
** Many ''[[Doctor Who]]'' fans refuse to take "no" for an answer whenever they ask producers Davies or Moffat about the series ever showing the Great Time War or the fate of the 8th Doctor.
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* Adding images that are [[Just a Face And A Caption]].
* [[Trope Namer Syndrome|Naming tropes after a character or quote from their favorite work]], without realizing that people unfamiliar with the work will not understand the trope name or quote, or without realizing that ''most people on the planet'' are in fact unfamiliar with that work.
* [[Pothole|Pot Holing]] to the characters/situations/quotes without identifying the work they come from out of the belief that it's so [[Self Explanatory]] that ''everyone's'' seen it and knows instantly who or what is being discussed.
* Using the phrase "in a recent episode", which [[Examples Are Not Recent|is useless to anyone who doesn't know what the episode is, and dates quickly]]. It's better to use the episode's title and/or number if you know it.
* Quoting or referencing a show or video game on a page that has nothing to do with it, out of the assumption that everyone will get the reference.
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