![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Fandom
DW fandom has made me cranky of late. Some days it's just really hard to be zen about it, especially when the fandom group you're in is constantly accused of being these rabid, vicious fans -- but no one ever POINTS to any examples other than shippers having the gall to defend themselves in a D/R community or in their own journals, and I've yet to see a D/R shipper storm a Martha community -- while at the same time being kicked at, being called stupid and ignorant and 16-year-olds because what we ship is flat-out wrong. And lately, called even worse for continuing to ship a pairing no longer onscreen.
This essay is by someone who I don't think is a D/R shipper - I believe her main fandom is Harry Potter. But it has all caught her eye, and she directly addresses what's been going on in Who fandom. It's very well thought out.
"The great difference between voyages rests not with the ships, but with the people you meet on them."
A while back, a locked Doctor/Rose community was created because of people just outright tired of the berating. It seemed like a fantastic plan (it still is) - we're playing with our own ball in our own corner. No one bothers no one. But apparently that was also wrong in that the ones doing the kicking no longer had as much stuff to kick - and so now Doctor/Rose shippers are "anti-community" as well for locking stuff up. Which conveniently ignores the fact that they themselves are the reason we have gone elsewhere.
People don't like a pairing. That's fine. Or don't like a character. Also fine. But how that's somehow turned into it being acceptable to smash fans just for liking what they don't, I really will never understand.
This essay is by someone who I don't think is a D/R shipper - I believe her main fandom is Harry Potter. But it has all caught her eye, and she directly addresses what's been going on in Who fandom. It's very well thought out.
"The great difference between voyages rests not with the ships, but with the people you meet on them."
A while back, a locked Doctor/Rose community was created because of people just outright tired of the berating. It seemed like a fantastic plan (it still is) - we're playing with our own ball in our own corner. No one bothers no one. But apparently that was also wrong in that the ones doing the kicking no longer had as much stuff to kick - and so now Doctor/Rose shippers are "anti-community" as well for locking stuff up. Which conveniently ignores the fact that they themselves are the reason we have gone elsewhere.
People don't like a pairing. That's fine. Or don't like a character. Also fine. But how that's somehow turned into it being acceptable to smash fans just for liking what they don't, I really will never understand.
no subject
Just lately? Oh, honey. *hugs*
What I don’t get is how taking the author at his word makes us the nutters.
And how rooting for the hero to get a happy ending makes us the bad guys.
And how playing quietly in our own corner so we don’t bother anyone makes us “anti-community.”
Oh, well. I guess if it made sense, it wouldn’t be fandom.
no subject
Heh heh. Okay, DW fandom has always made me a bit nuts. For the longest time I had a natural flinch reaction to anyone who mentioned they'd watched Who prior to 2005. But lately is really when the cranky face has come out.
What I don’t get is how taking the author at his word makes us the nutters.
Heh. So often I have this, "We're the insane ones? No really, *we're* insane? How does this work?"
And how rooting for the hero to get a happy ending makes us the bad guys.
I've given up on trying to figure that one out long ago.
And how playing quietly in our own corner so we don’t bother anyone makes us “anti-community.”
Like the person mentioned in the essay, it seems we must do everything in public to give everyone a chance to smack it down - because it isn't valid unless it can be countered. Where it will be countered to show it isn't valid. Basically, they're pissed at the thought of people shipping without them getting to point out how wrong they are.
Oh, well. I guess if it made sense, it wouldn’t be fandom.
This is true.
no subject
Ooh, I'm very aware of that too. I don't see why, if you haven't watched the old series, you should feel less secure in your fannishness.
I freely admit I haven't watched Old!Who, though I have some knowledge (thanks to you, in part :D) and I don't really want to associate with people who think that if you only enjoy the new series then you SUCK. Because some people like me just like things shiny and new.
It's sad that some people feel the need to hide that. I'm proud of my ooooh!shiny opinions :D
(Sorry for rambling on about one point you made.... :D)
no subject
no subject
no subject
I know the feeling. I just started watching the classic series. (Seven and Ace! So cute!) For the longest time, I was afraid that what I thought about the new series would be contaminated if I watched the old one.
no subject
no subject
See, I wasn’t D/R OTP-ish to begin with. I didn’t get that way till after “Doomsday”—that’s when I went back and took a closer look at the Doctor’s journey. Till then, I’d been completely focused on Rose. I saw her as the heroine of the story. (Still do, as a matter of fact.)
But I knew that the original series was Doctor-centric. And I knew that there were people—Season Twenty-Seven fans—who saw the new series as an extension of the old one. I was afraid that watching Classic Who would turn me into one of them.
(Doesn’t seem to have happened so far. Then again, I’ve only seen one episode. If I start babbling about how “Doctor Who is all about change” and “Companions come and go,” could you slap me or something? Thanks.)
no subject
Oh, that's interesting. Most people I've heard usually have gotten sucked in along the way, but not until the end, eh? Nothing bad or good about that, just interesting to me. :)
(Doesn’t seem to have happened so far. Then again, I’ve only seen one episode. If I start babbling about how “Doctor Who is all about change” and “Companions come and go,” could you slap me or something? Thanks.)
*snickers* Well, I'm almost up to episode 100, and I hate seeing companions leaving. Yeah, most times it's for the best - people have their own lives and all that - but more often than not, the Doctor just looks lonely when it happens. Makes me sad for him. Or I could be subtexting my own ideas on it.
no subject
I can’t imagine liking it. I cried buckets when Mickey left. Sure, it was a good thing for him. But all I could think was, “I’m never going to see him again.”
Anyway, I went ahead and posted my journal entry from last January, if you’re interested. (I’ve been keeping a journal for about two years, but most of it is offline.) It was so weird, rereading it.
no subject
no subject
Yeah. And if Billie hadn’t left… I think that’s when it started, actually—when we got the news that Billie was leaving. I assumed the worst—I thought I’d completely misunderstood the story. After all, if Rose wasn’t a permanent character, then she couldn’t be the heroine, could she? So I shifted my focus to the Doctor. And you’ve already seen what came of that—I ended up writing “She Had This Family.” And in the process, I became a hardcore Doctor/Rose shipper.
no subject
But sometimes they come back. Gandalf came back. So…
*hopes*
no subject
Don't understand why? I became a fan back in, oh, 1981, I think. Liking Old School doesn't mean I don't like New Who...the new series is better in many ways. Not the least of which is the effects and the monsters. (You can only laugh at the Tereleptils in "The Visitation.")
There's a lot of room in the Doctor Who tent...some folks dpn't seem to realize it. I can like Ten/Rose and still like Five/Tegan too.
no subject