#fandom problem 15049

[damnfandomproblems]

Fandom Problem #15,049:

"fake fan" discourse drives me crazy because like, I guess I have a nuanced view of it?

Like, if you just got into a long running franchise, and you really like the newest installment, and then people are going, "That installment isn't the best version of it, check out the older stuff! You'll probably like it even more!" Sometimes that is calling new fans not real fans, but often times it's just trying to invite new fans to have more stuff to sink their teeth into.

Honestly, if you watching something new and have no interest in even trying out the rest of the franchise I feel like it would be weird to call yourself a fan of the general franchise. So like, when I first got into GI Joe it was because of GI Joe Renegades. I had seen the first live action movie and a few episodes of the original cartoon when I was a kid, and both of those I was meh on. I considered myself a GI Joes Renegades fan only, until I started reading the comics and watched another cartoon (Sigma Six... it's a 4kids dub so uh... depending on how entertaining you find 4kids dubs you might be entertained.) Now I would consider myself a GI Joes fan because I've actual interacted with a fair amount of the franchise, and I like the comics which is the basis of the story.

Things are so much more accessible nowadays, even if you don't have the hardware to play a game, you can watch a lets play. I've had more people agree than not agree that watching a lets play of a game is probably the least you could do.

idk I don't understand the mentality of "ugh why do people keep saying that I need to actually like the stuff that put this series on the map to be considered a fan! They're just gate keepers >:("

Yeah there are gate keepers who say if you like a certain iteration you're not a real fan. That's annoying. But if you only like one iteration in a franchise... are you a fan of that entire franchise? Or are you a fan of that specific thing? There's no shame in being a fan of a specific iteration. To take my GI Joe example, if I found that I didn't like the original comics, I probably would consider myself just a GI Joe Renegades fan. And as it stands, those are my favorite versions of the characters. Another example! I'm a The Wolf Among Us fan! I read most of the fables comics and... I would definitely call myself a TWAU fan more than a fables fan.

[damnfandomproblems]

Response thread for Fandom Problem #15,049:

(Currently 1 reply)

Reply 1 - Anon

That's not a nuanced view that's the same thing people always spout (especially for huge franchises) *Like oh you like batman ? Well you only watched the movies approved and distributed by DC and don't feel compelled to look at his comics because thats not a medium you're into so you're not a REAL batman fan* (never mind that even batman fans rarely have consumed his entire catalogue cause geez ) As long as they're not pretending to be the authority of the WHOLE franchise based on that one aspect they've interacted with they are a fan even if its only of the part of it they want to engage with/have had a chance to engage with Sonic people who only watched the shows or movies but not the games are still fans...of the shows or movies I hate new she ra but I would never say they aren't fans of she ra. They are fans. They're just fans of new she ra. People who enjoy persona 3 4 5 and find it hard to get into the older games are still persona fans Most people haven't seen zorro outside of his 2 antonio Banderas movies despite also being a legendary character with many comics and series Wicked the book and wicked the musicals are very different beasts Precure has many seasons that its ok if you didnt start at the beginning or have only seen one because all the info needed in each season is there Especially with franchises that are very multimedia its always been very easy for people who consume everything to rag on people who are introduced and enjoy an aspect of something that isn't its primary media and that should honestly be fine Annoying if you know thats not the norm? Yes. Completely normal on the part of some person who just checked something out and said hey i really liked that? Yes