occasionally I think about the Incorrect Quote Generator as a really poignant example of the flaws in fandom culture
So you're in a fandom right. People love fandoms. You love your little characters and your little situations the characters are in and, of course, the relationships between the characters. There are many people like you, with the same interest in these characters and their relationships. They have slightly different opinions on what exactly those relationships are like, but they aren't really expressed so it comes across as everyone agreeing on everything. These two are lovable weirdos who are united by being strange in front of other people. This one is the normal one, who points out how strange the other two are being. Et cetera.
Now people are making "incorrect quotes." When you see a certain exchange in some other media that resembles the dynamic between the little characters, you might rewrite the context as if it is the characters saying that. By taking your perception of the media with you to everything else you see, anything becomes a way to reinforce the ideas you have about what the characters are like. Some other show has characters united by being strange in front of people. Just like these ones. You have now created a separation from the context of two different things. Neither your favorite media, nor the media you are comparing it to, have any bearing on your perception of their dynamic. They're the loveable weirdos. Everyone agrees on this.
But why notice and think about things yourself? If you boil it down enough, every story can be seen as the relationship between loveable weirdos. A machine, that knows nothing of the characters or the media they come from, will now tell you about how they are loveable weirdos. Because no matter what names you put in, the resulting dialogues will always fit the oversimplified view of the dynamic you hold in your mind. It's genius, really. Once you've recursively iterated on your own perception to fit in with others' perceptions, everything is the same, and therefore anything that comes out of the machine will be accurate.
You don't need to think about the media. You don't need to think about the characters. You don't even need to think about your idea of the characters. Because everyone knows everyone thinks the same thing. Nuance isn't fun, and analysis isn't easy. Don't bother. Just go along with what everyone is saying. Everything is the loveable weirdos. You can even get something else to go along with it for you.
I never thought about that before. I actually have a separate tumblr account on which I'll admit I've posted some incorrect quotes, and some of them just came from the incorrect quote generator. Some of them were ones that I came up with myself, and I think I should just stick with coming up with my own. I'm hesitant to take down the ones that I used the generator for because of the number of people who have liked and reposted them, but I probably should because I technically wasn't the one who came up with them.
This is the separate account in question. I know a lot of people liked some of those posts, but I think it's for the best that I've taken down the ones that I got from the generator. As OP mentioned, it takes away the fun and creativity of making incorrect quote posts.
