Does the fandom influence you ?

[Athena]

if it makes you hate big chunks of the show... Isn't that a bad thing?

No, I don't think so, because disliking something so intently makes you appreciate everything you do like a hell of a lot more. Plus, the more you care about something, the more you hate or love passionately. If people were indifferent about these things, that'd be worse in my opinion.

 

[Zenseem]

Yes, a lot. The fandom sometimes makes me appreciate or hate something/someone even more. Spuffy, for instance. I loved their relationship at first but after my second watch through the show and reading a lot of reasonable anti-spuffy arguments now I just loathe it. It happens, people change their minds about a lot of things and hearing what other people have to say about something - hearing about the other side of things - helps with it.

 

[thetopher]

So basically, what you're all saying is - fandom was a mistake. I mean, if it makes you hate big chunks of the show... Isn't that a bad thing?

Not really. It simply means my opinion evolved as I became more discerning.
You can grow to appreciate something more or less as you come to understand it better. That's how art works.

 

[Guy]

No, I don't think so, because disliking something so intently makes you appreciate everything you do like a hell of a lot more. Plus, the more you care about something, the more you hate or love passionately. If people were indifferent about these things, that'd be worse in my opinion.

But they weren't indifferent before, they liked it (correct me if I'm wrong, but that's the impression I got). I think that liking something is better than hating it, even if it's not as good as LOVING it.

Not really. It simply means my opinion evolved as I became more discerning.
You can grow to appreciate something more or less as you come to understand it better. That's how art works.

Of course, opinions change over time, nothing wrong with that. But I got the impression (and again, please correct me if I'm wrong) that your opinions didn't just change - they were changed by the fandom, and for the worse. That's less natural, I think, and it seems like it's a problem.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Taake]

So basically, what you're all saying is - fandom was a mistake. I mean, if it makes you hate big chunks of the show... Isn't that a bad thing?

Well, my quote that you used didn't relate to fandom but my re-watching of season 6-7.

So fandom hasn't made me hate big chunks of the show, the show has.
Fandom has however made me look at certain events and characters in new lights. Some things I now like more, some things I now like a lot less.

So either I'm a flip-flooping slinky spine or I'm clearly more evolved than you. 😛

So flip-flooping slinky spine it is then 😀

 

[Guy]

Well, my quote that you used didn't relate to fandom but my re-watching of season 6-7.

So fandom hasn't made me hate big chunks of the show, the show has.

Ah, I see. Sorry, my bad.

 

[Taake]

Ah, I see. Sorry, my bad.

No prob 🙂

I do think you have a point, that fandom can be bad in certain ways. While it is amazing that a 20 year old show still generates so much discussion, overthinking and dissecting the show can be bad in the sense that it makes it harder and harder to get back to the original experience of watching it and what it was that made you fall in love with it.

Being critical of something is generally how I love stuff though so, I suspect you guys won't get me out of this fandom no matter how much Buffy-talk I'm exposed to, good and bad 😛

 

[thetopher]

But I got the impression (and again, please correct me if I'm wrong) that your opinions didn't just change - they were changed by the fandom, and for the worse.

No, not at all. But I do- from talking with others- now think about certain events a different way; I have been 'enriched' by others opinion and have modified some- not all- of my opinions. But my opinion still remain my own.
Surely that's what its like in most things in life; you talk to somebody and are informed by their views and that may or may not influence what you yourself think.

 

[NeonNightLight]

Yup, I definitely think the fandom has a huge influence. I remember when finishing Buffy I immediately went to the internet to see what everyone else had to say about it and do something about all my feels lol. The first thing I was totally surprised by was all the love for Spuffy and Spike, neither of which I hated (although Spuffy made me uneasy during season 6 & 7), but neither stood out to me when compared to other relationships and characters in the show. Fourteen year old me thought the show pretty much drove it home that Buffy and Spike being in a relationship wasn't meant to be and really shouldn't be, and that Spike did a great thing sacrificing his life for everyone, and that was that. It was especially jarring because the discussion boards that I first visited were very pro-Spuffy and Spike (and also anti-Angel and anti-Xander, my favorite male characters 🙁) where people were saying that Spike was the only good character, that years from now Spike and his arc would be the only things remembered from the show, etc. This, combined with rewatching the series, reading debates and essays about the disturbing aspects Spike and Spuffy, made me grow to dislike them.

But on a positive note, the fandom did make me appreciate Faith, Dawn, and Riley more! I already liked Dawn and Riley, but seeing the largely senseless hate they received made me more protective towards them. I would still hate Faith if it weren't for Angel and the fandom, but seeing her complexity in Angel and reading others' interpretations of her and her relationship with Buffy made me really enjoy her character and story.

 

[GoSpuffy]

The answer is both yes and no.

When I first joined BB I was so excited to find people who liked the show as much as me. Then I realized for the first time that for reasons I couldn't understand people existed in the world who did not like Spike and Spuffy. I was so confused. How could anyone not see the mad brilliance?

Then I started seeing the Xander and dawn and Riley and Kennedy hate etc. and for a time I was on board thinking "yeah that is terrible, I hate that characters actions".

Then I realized that many fans hate characters, arcs, ships, etc to a point where I question how they even consider themselves fans. Now I find myself back to the beginning. I love everything. Some characters resonate more than others but I don't hate anything or anyone. It's all thoroughly enjoyable. I don't enjoy the Bangel storyline for example but I don't hate it. It existed. It ended. Many more interesting things happened.

So yes I was influenced. But then I came to my senses and realized I must love it all in order to join a fan forum, even the warts.

 

[GoSpuffy]

@Priceless you're kind of mad brilliant too