So far most of my fangirl
lessons have been all about doing whatever the hell you want with the
characters you love; whether it’s shipping,
slash
or fan
fiction. Generally I stand by this sentiment but there is a limit. I think
we have the right to play with other people’s characters but that doesn’t mean
that TPTB owe it to you to change their narrative to fit your vision. There’s a
difference between really wanting
something and feeling like you are entitled to it… let’s talk about that shall
we.
Even though it pains me as a writer to say: the author is dead and
once the characters are out there the fandom can do what they will with them. The
powers-that-be can only do so much and there is no way to ensure that the
audience will read the text exactly the way you want it to. It’s something TPTB
just have to deal with – and do not get me wrong I think they should buck up
and deal with it, there is no wrong way to read a text.
Here’s the thing though, just because you choose to read the text in
a certain way doesn’t mean TPTB are obliged to change the text to fit with your
interpretation, even if the majority of the fandom agrees with you. It doesn’t
matter if TPTB are wrong – and I will be the first to admit that sometimes they
are wrong. It’s their story and therefore it is their prerogative to make any
mistakes they want to, just like it’s your right to be able to fix their
mistakes in fan fiction.
Look you have every right to be pissed off when TPTB abuse the
characters love by failing to live up to the potential they created… I’m
looking at you Glee. But you can’t
just demand that they change something because you want them to.
Fan entitlement
has always been a thing – it stems from a good place because we really care
about these characters and what happens to them but in recent years the rise of
the Internet and social networking has given fans a direct line to the TPTB
that would have been unheard of before. This can be really cool, it’s bridging
the gap between the creator-god and the fans that are on the front line but it
also breeds a whole new form of entitled asshole.
Not only does it present a new way for fans to make demands it also
gives them a whole new bunch of expectations. Fans now expect a steady stream
of information direct from the source. While this kind of up to date
information is fantastic we are by no means entitled to it.
For an example of this I’m going to point you to a blog
by the wonderful Neil Gaiman. In this blog he answers a fan’s question about
whether or not George R.R. Martin was obliged to keep fans updated about his
next book on his blog and considering that he was not doing this, did the fans
have a right to be upset. Neil wrote a long detailed reply
about fandom and entitlement, which you should definitely read if you have the
time, but it can be summed up in one line:
I realize that this is a specific example (personally I have issued
with George R.R. Martin in regards to his stance on fan fiction) but the
sentiment stands. The writer is not your bitch. Neither are the actors, or the
producers, or directors, or singers, or musicians, or anyone involved in the
creation of the things you love. Don’t forget, and I’m paraphrasing Mr Gaiman
here, people are not machines.
Yes it is their job and yes you are paying them for goods and/or
services but you are also paying for their vision not yours. There is no way to
guarantee that it will live up to your expectations but you know that going in.
When you get involved in a fictional universe, whether it’s buying a book or
tuning into the television show, there are inherent risks involved. It’s a
gamble and it’s a gamble that doesn’t always pay off but when it does there are
very few fans that will say it wasn’t worth the risk.
It’s like when you go to the cinema. You go hoping that the film
will be good but buying the tickets doesn’t come with a guarantee. If the film
turns out to be awful then you are not entitled to a refund because it’s on
you. You chose to pay to see that film, you made the bet that it was going to
be worth how ever much you spent on the tickets. It sucks when the gamble
doesn’t pay off but what’s done is done. You can hate the people that made the
film and never see anything else they make or you can refuse to trust the
person that recommended it to you but there is nothing you can do to go back
and change the fact that you paid to see that film.
Fandom is the same. You choose to like a text, you choose to engage
with it, you choose to be part of the fandom but you don’t choose what happens
in the text.
There is the capacity to show your support for certain storylines
over others, especially with television or long running film/book series, in
the hopes that it will affect the outcome. But TPTB are by no means obliged to
give you what you want. You can suggest a certain storyline but you can’t
demand it. Seriously imagine a text that just catered to the whim of whatever
fandom was the loudest; that is a truly horrific image. You’re trusting TPTB
with the characters you love and I’m not going to lie sometimes they abuse that
power but that’s a risk I am willing to take.
I know this is getting long and a little bit preachy and I promise
it will be over soon but I want to talk about another side of fan entitlement
and that is celebrity and entitlement. First off, I should say that I am of the
school that anyone that chooses to engage in a career that takes place in the
public eye (such as acting or politics) has to expect a loss of privacy, to a
certain extent anyway. The sacrifice for fame is that you kind of sell part of
yourself to the collective.
This means that people will ask for an autograph, take a photo and
want to know things about their personal life. I’m not going into whether or
not this is right; I’m just saying it’s inevitable. The thing is that just
because I think celebrities should be prepared to have their privacy invaded
doesn’t mean that fans have the right to demand anything. It’s going to happen,
stuff will get out, but we are not entitled to it.
Fans sometimes think that just because celebrities live part of
their lives in public, that they know them. You know the public persona, which
is cool. It’s the part of their personality that they willing to share with you
and it’s generally more interesting than the real thing anyway. Sometimes the
line between fan and celebrity begins to blur and tends to result in two kinds
of interaction.
There are those that still buy into the idea that celebrities are
not like us – that they have the right to say whatever they want to a celebrity
because that’s the price of fame. Social networking gives them more opportunity
to do this – and that’s not cool. They might be prettier and wittier than your
friends but celebrities are people too, which means they have thoughts and
feelings that can be hurt but the awful things you say. Just because they work
in the public eye doesn’t give you the right to treat them horribly and then
expect them to take it. They are people and such deserve the same treatment as
any other person.
On the other side there are those that get a little bit too close.
They start to treat the celebrity like a close friend. Just because you can
tweet someone and they tweet back once and while doesn’t make them your friend.
Which means you can’t hold them to the same expectations as you would a friend.
You can expect them to tweet you back all the time. You can’t expect them to
remember you because you spoke to them that one time. That’s ridiculous. You
can expect them to be polite to you (only if you extend them the same courtesy)
but that’s it.
Finally I just want to add that even though I think you should not feel entitled to get everything you want do not let anyone (even TPTB or your fav celebrities) tell you than fans deserve nothing. You deserve respect and you deserve to have those in charge to their best with the characters that you love... even if it's not exactly what you wanted. Fandom is powerful - and TPTB should never forget that, just don't use your power to be an entitled ass, you're making the rest of us look bad.
And with that I am done. It got a bit serious there but I think we
pulled through in the end. I hope you have a better understanding of fandom and
entitlement but remember if you need have any further questions do not hesitate
to ask either in the comments, on the Facebook page or you can
send me angry anonymous messages on Tumblr.
Read more Fangirl 101 lessons here.
