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Figured out, finally, why I don't want to jump into any other fandom. It isn't because of the potential for wank - well, not entirely - over something I really enjoy and just use to relax from real life. It isn't the effort of getting used to new fans and a new canon/fanon - I've done that a few times before and it was always enjoyable, never looked it as "effort" per se.
It's the difference between problems in the POTC fandom and problems I've seen in the previous fandoms to which I belonged. To wit: The cheerleaders and jocks moving into the geeks' and nerds' sandboxes without playing by the geeks' and the nerds' rules. Back in school, the popular kids could make fun of the less popular and their interests without ever going to the trouble of explaining why they held such disdain - as if it should be readily apparent without having to stoop to justifying it. I'm seeing this more in fandoms now, both where I've been involved and in others in which I am not involved but have an observational window of sorts through friends who are part of those fandoms.
In other words, it's OK to disdain and make fun of and put down what you don't like without deigning to give any explanation for it if asked. If somebody goes to the trouble of leaving a critical or questioning comment with their ID attached to it, or sending the writer/essayist a private message (via e-mail, USPS mail, in person at a convention - whatever), back in the day the receiver usually replied and a dialogue was opened. The two may not have agreed, but at least the commenter felt valued and the receiver got the satisfaction of having produced a story or essay that made someone want to go to the trouble of asking a question. But I've left comments and asked questions in my current fandom that were never answered - either at all or beyond a flippant, brief bit of sarcasm - as though I were beneath such effort.
Well, excuse the fuck out of me for not being a cheerleader or a jock. I certainly won't make that mistake in the next fandom - I'll stick with the nerds and the geeks, with personalities who are all too used to being questioned and critiqued and don't see it as beneath them to offer more than a one-sentence reply to a real question/concern. (This isn't based on any recent activity I've had. It's just one of those things that occurs to you while you're doing dishes, from the back of your brain where it's been hiding and figuring things out for several months.)
It's the difference between problems in the POTC fandom and problems I've seen in the previous fandoms to which I belonged. To wit: The cheerleaders and jocks moving into the geeks' and nerds' sandboxes without playing by the geeks' and the nerds' rules. Back in school, the popular kids could make fun of the less popular and their interests without ever going to the trouble of explaining why they held such disdain - as if it should be readily apparent without having to stoop to justifying it. I'm seeing this more in fandoms now, both where I've been involved and in others in which I am not involved but have an observational window of sorts through friends who are part of those fandoms.
In other words, it's OK to disdain and make fun of and put down what you don't like without deigning to give any explanation for it if asked. If somebody goes to the trouble of leaving a critical or questioning comment with their ID attached to it, or sending the writer/essayist a private message (via e-mail, USPS mail, in person at a convention - whatever), back in the day the receiver usually replied and a dialogue was opened. The two may not have agreed, but at least the commenter felt valued and the receiver got the satisfaction of having produced a story or essay that made someone want to go to the trouble of asking a question. But I've left comments and asked questions in my current fandom that were never answered - either at all or beyond a flippant, brief bit of sarcasm - as though I were beneath such effort.
Well, excuse the fuck out of me for not being a cheerleader or a jock. I certainly won't make that mistake in the next fandom - I'll stick with the nerds and the geeks, with personalities who are all too used to being questioned and critiqued and don't see it as beneath them to offer more than a one-sentence reply to a real question/concern. (This isn't based on any recent activity I've had. It's just one of those things that occurs to you while you're doing dishes, from the back of your brain where it's been hiding and figuring things out for several months.)
