Okay I realize that this may (read: most likely) ignite a flame war if you answer this, but I'm curious as to what is going on with the McElroy's. I'm not an avid consumer of their content, but they seem to be a group of nice people and from what I gather, have been trying to be more inclusive. Why would the fandom be angry at them?
The cycle of a large fandom is as follows:
- Golden Calf Phase: the fandom swells in size for months or even years as those who love the work put it on a pedestal, proclaiming its virtues from the mountaintop. Any flaws in the work they are a fan of are ignored and those who bring them up are burned as heretics. This phase is often viewed nostalgically, but the blind love heaped upon the work inevitably leads to phase two…
- Fallen Idol Phase: as the work foes on, the fandom eventually can’t ignore the fact that it was made by flawed humans who occasionally fuck up, and not by the gods themselves. Furious at the deception (which they themselves caused by refusing to think critically from the start), the fandom curdles and turns against that which they once loved. People who hated it from the start fan the flames, glad to convert former fans into fervent haters. Where once every flaw was ignored, they are now magnified and blown out of proportion. Creators who were once lauded as geniuses are now reviled as the worst scum of the earth.
- Look On My Works Phase: the bulk of the fandom has moved on to a new god to worship, leaving only those who can still see the good in the work despite the fact that it was made by human beings who are flawed, and thus isn’t perfect.
The McElroys have been in the Golden Calf phase for a while. They are now shifting to the Fallen Idol phase.
I don’t revel in the Fallen Idol phase, so if you want someone to dig up receipts on the McElroys, you’re going to have to ask someone else.
