Creativity, Fandoms, and Social Media – Part Four (Entering the Dark Side)

Moving on … The Dark Side of Fandom …

Today’s fans know nothing of respect.

Before you get riled … let me clarify …

If certain fans do not get their way, they hit social media to voice their displeasure – to the creators, the producers, to the writers, to the network and even to the actors – begging them to change the story line, what to write, and almost dictate how the series should go.

Here’s a breakdown of their jobs:

The creators – typically the person who pitches a new TV show idea and sees it through (as of note, they may or may not remain with the series after it is “picked up”)

The producers – either employed by a production company or independent, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting script, coordinating writing, directing and editing, and arranging financing

The writers – a television writer is a skilled writer responsible for the developing, writing, and revision of scripts so that they are ready for the silver screen. They are responsible for creating all plot lines, characters, dialogue and situations

The network – a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers

The actors – one who portrays a character in a performance

The actors shouldn’t be involved in these disputes or issues at all. They’re contracted to do a job for payment. In most cases they have no creative input and do not run the show. Asking them to “make things right”, “rectify a wrong”, and to “keep their co-stars on the show” is not in their job descriptions, nor likely in their capacity.

Yet, the “fans” do not see that. All they see is what they want – how they’re wronged, how they’re grossly misrepresented, how they have been “let down”, and how they’ve been “screwed around with”.

They point to the trending topics in Twitter and use that as justification for what they’re doing – and in some cases, they are a small faction of the fandom.

That’s the darker side of the fandom, as a New York Times writer (Penelope Green) wrote when talking about fantasy writer Cassandra Clare. Green wrote fans were “Deeply possessive of the characters Ms. Clare has created, the fans can turn on her for plot directions they don’t approve of”. (Green, 2016). And, Green refers to this as fantitlement.

Additionally, fans on social media also face some disapproval or even contempt in the fandom when it comes to characters and “shipping”. Wikipedia describes shipping as: “initially derived from the word relationship, is the desire by fans for two or more people, either real-life people or fictional characters, to be in a relationship, romantic or otherwise. It is considered a general term for fans' emotional involvement with the ongoing development of a relationship in a work of fiction”.

Anyone offering a different perspective than what the self-deemed majority want is deemed a “hater” and dismissed if not bullied into privatizing their tweets or deleting their account entirely.

I saw that with NCIS in 2013 when Cote de Pablo abruptly announced that she wouldn’t renew her contract. This was in June when the writers had gone back to start scripts for the upcoming season.

Anyone who looks it up will know what a debacle that turned into.   

Shipping …

What about that “shipping” stuff?

I have discussed this for close to three (3) years. I will say it here:

ACTORS ARE PEOPLE TOO

Just as we wouldn’t want malicious (mean) or erroneous (fake) information spread about us … I don’t think they appreciate the malicious or at best erroneous information being spread about them.

It’s great to pair their characters together. In some cases, it provides the creative team input as to where to go with regard to things. But, as a writer, I would be quite protective of my creations (people and storylines) – and I would be, pardon my language, “damned” if I would let anyone mess with that.

But … getting to the actors who bring these people to life:

They are playing pretend. Like we used to when we were children? We’d be mommies, soldiers, doctors … people like that.

These “actors” get paid for doing that. They get paid to act out someone else’s story. Their families don’t get paid to be stalked, harassed, called losers, or having their spouses “shipped” with a co-star simply because they’re “cute together”.

The actors signed on for losing some privacy, but not for the fans to control who they date or marry, let alone their personal choices (having families).  Fans have no right to dictate who an actor can date.

They also do not seemingly respect the actor when the actor has repeatedly denied the accusation of dating or being involved with a co-star. And, that stuff does stress their real-life relationships and marriages.

After all, would these fans like it if they were accused of being in a relationship with a co-worker when nothing existed? I doubt it. I doubt their spouse or partner would like it either.

And, while having a “fantasy” is a fine thing to build an imagination – it becomes a potentially dangerous thing with real people involved.

These people do not understand the dangers: the danger of a fan taking it too far and thinking they’re making something right.

While it hasn’t happened – this kind of behavior could create a potential for disaster.

And, no actor’s family signs up for that. I also don’t think the actor really signed up for that as well.

When certain lines are crossed … the respect had ended (saying it was there to begin with).


Part five (5) will be posted later ... 

References:

Faraci, D. (2016, May 30). Fandom Is Broken. Retrieved June 04, 2016, from http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2016/05/30/fandom-is-broken

Green, P. (2016, April 23). Cassandra Clare Created a Fantasy Realm and Aims to Maintain Her Rule. Retrieved June 04, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/24/fashion/cassandra-clare-shadowhunters-lady-midnight.html

Twitter MAU worldwide 2016 | Statistic. (n.d.). Retrieved June 04, 2016, from http://www.statista.com/statistics/282087/number-of-monthly-active-twitter-users/