The General Public's Perception of This Genre

[caritas08]

Part of the reason I enjoy these boards so much is I can post about my favorite shows without being judged or teased for being a "nerd" (even if I do go on long hiatuses when I'm not doing a rewatch).

It kind of annoys me though how the general public has such a judgemental, negative view of the sci-fi, fantasy genre. Normally awesome human beings who I associate with, just don't "get it" because they have such a harsh preconceived notion of shows like Buffy.

For example, I have good friends (who are awesome people) tease me and jokingly call me a "nerd" for wanting to see X-Men First Class. No one will give Buffy a chance to the point I don't even like to tell people I watch it. My brother teased me the other day for reading Wizard's First Rule. My coworkers teased me for wanting to see Harry Potter. Yet all of them love Avatar and Twilight (I guess cuz they're "mainstream")

Now I know some of you think that I should get new friends and family 😛 but these really are nice people. I'm just curious where the hate for this genre comes from? Why it has to be as big and popular as Avatar to get people to give it a chance? Just because it's not realistic doesn't make it childish but it's like they think it is childish if it couldn't happen in real life.

The only luck I've had is as a teacher with my ten year olds. There are some great sci-fi, fantasy books out there and I personally keep a full library with tons of different genres in my classroom. The kids have a choice of genres but the ones they seem to enjoy most (especially the ones who aren't keen on reading) are the fantasy/sci-fi and nonfiction selections.

Do any of y'all have this problem?

 

[Zeppo]

Oddly enough, I don't really have this problem. And if I do I'm oblivious to it.

I surround myself with people who are pretty open about likes and dislikes. Usually I'm the one to open up about Power Rangers before they do and I've brought out the Ranger in a lot of people. Some people are like, "OMG!" and I say, "Like you never watched it, princess." I found out there were many girls who actually preferred to play the yellow ranger instead of pink in their young days! Huh, who knew?

I don't talk about Buffy too much but everyone knows I love it. I think it's a combination of who I surround myself with and how I present myself with how I feel about it is what makes me not get ridiculed like alot of other people.

Also, getting made fun of for wanting to see First Class? By who, girly-girl types? I know tons of girls who wanna see it an guys of all ages! I hear it's great!

Everyone has a geek in them over something, only the brave wear the geek badge on da sleeve. 😉 And it's easier to make fun of the badge-wearers than to get over your own psychosis of why you don't. Lol

 

[zobothehobo]

I'll be honest, this is how I thought of the genre... then i watched Buffy. I didn't want to watch the show at first because I felt like it was a show for "losers." It doesn't irritate me that that's how people view the genre... because the fans of the genre are so cool. If others don't want to see the awesomness that is us, I say their loss.

 

[NY State of Mind]

Well some people have laughed at me saying the show but they know its a fav of mines and won't judge to hard cause they know I don't play games lol

 

[Gum Gnome33]

I haven't had much experience with being judged for liking the genre as a whole, because I am pretty much just loyal to Buffy, and haven't explored much more in the "sci-fi" realm except for Star Wars, which I think is great but don't give all that much thought to.

Honestly, I'm so proud of the show that it's never bothered me to be upfront about my love for it, around others. Back in high school, it was considered cool to like Buffy as it was airing on the WB--same went for Dawson's and Roswell and all that other stuff that was on at the same time.

I think it can always be a bit embarrassing to appear to be "obsessed" with something. I imagine that's where the judgment comes in. Sometimes when others see that you have so much loyalty toward any piece of art in particular they peg you as overly-emotional, (which they consider a bad thing). There is this view in society that those who wear their hearts on their sleeves are considered weaker than others. And of course, those who share more of themselves are more likely to get knocked down. There's just more opportunity for it to happen, that way. But I think, ultimately, it means that they are very strong.

 

[OhWow]

I feeeel ya!! Lol

No, really I know exactly what you mean. I have the same issue with my friends and some of my family. I don't like telling people that I watch Buffy either, but the people who know: All my core friends (unfortunately) and my sister.

Buffy is sort of like my guilty pleasure or at least it used to be. I've always been down on myself because I watch such disliked shows. But recently I think that I have come to terms with my geeky-ness. Yes, I am a geek and I don't really care how people or my friends/family respond to that.

 

[caritas08]

I haven't had much experience with being judged for liking the genre as a whole, because I am pretty much just loyal to Buffy, and haven't explored much more in the "sci-fi" realm except for Star Wars, which I think is great but don't give all that much thought to.

Honestly, I'm so proud of the show that it's never bothered me to be upfront about my love for it, around others. Back in high school, it was considered cool to like Buffy as it was airing on the WB--same went for Dawson's and Roswell and all that other stuff that was on at the same time.

I think it can always be a bit embarrassing to appear to be "obsessed" with something. I imagine that's where the judgment comes in. Sometimes when others see that you have so much loyalty toward any piece of art in particular they peg you as overly-emotional, (which they consider a bad thing). There is this view in society that those who wear their hearts on their sleeves are considered weaker than others. And of course, those who share more of themselves are more likely to get knocked down. There's just more opportunity for it to happen, that way. But I think, ultimately, it means that they are very strong.

Oh don't get me wrong. I'm proud to be a Buffy fan. But I don't talk about it with people who won't watch it or give the show a chance. The conversation usually goes "My favorite show is Buffy" "Yeah I don't like sci-fi shows like that" "Okay, you're missing out though" and then I drop it. I don't think anyone thinks I'm obsessed. They just have a really negative view of the genre as a whole.

If we're going to the movies. I'll want to see X-Men First Class, Thor or Harry Potter. And they'll want to see something like Fast Five, Friends with Benefits, Horrible Bosses or some other action movie. I'm the oddball who wants to see the fantasy/sci-fi movie.

These people are normally nice and not judgemental. It's a mix of women and men and different generations mostly white and hispanic. I'm just curious where this negative perception comes from. And even if you've never encountered it I truly believe it's out there that's why these cult things remain cult.

 

[Tome]

Personally I've tried to get most of my friends into BtVS. And all of those who gave it a shot loved it. 🙂 The rest, well... Their lost.

As for the haters, they can think/say what they want. It won't make me enjoy or cherish this show less. Not everybody like the same things. I say, let's just respect everyone tastes and distastes. 🙂

 

[VisionGirl]

I have always loved this genre, but re-discovering Buffy has gotten me back in touch with my Inner Geek. I was raised by a father who watched Star Trek (the origin series thankyouverymuch), Highlander, Xena etc. He also read comic books (& thus I discovered my love of the X-Men & Jean Gray), & was a member of several Sci-fi/fantasy bookclubs that allowed him to amass a huge collection of hardcovers. He died 5 years ago and those bookshelves are still full. My mother has warned us that we are NOT to sell them! I have snuck off with his Dragonriders of Pern series recently, but to read, not sell.

Also as my boys are growing I'm introducing them to a lot of this. They are huge WWE fans (ok so not exactly genre) which would have made him very happy. I clearly remember him watching WWF on TV with my grandmother watching with him. She would be doing her knitting, yelling at the TV in Italian.

So yeah, since I've started watching Buffy I have redeveloped my love for Sci-fi, frequenting comic book stores (thank you Dark Horse!), & I've even started watching the epitome of geekitude: Dr Who (although I probably love Torchwood better).

 

[wickedtiger86]

I am open about my Buffy love. But I'm soo used to being called a geek or a loser that it hardly matters to me anymore. High school was awesome! lol

My dad is the only one that gives me a hard time about Buffy. But he loves Doctor Who!

He's just stuck on the title. I mean, Joss picked her name because he couldn't take it seriously. So I guess that reaction is expected.

I've always been close to the geekiness. Grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation and Xena and Highlander. Then I got a little older and there was Buffy. And then Doctor Who. And I was lost forever to the realm of geekdom. But it's ok I love it here!

Also, I read a RIDICULOUS amount of fantasy books. Two of the bookcases in my library are dedicated to just that. Actually . . . now that I think about it, probably 3 bookcases. . . holy crap. That's nuts.

 

[caritas08]

LOL. I didn't mean for this to be a thread about whether or not people were shy about discussing Buffy with their friends or not.

I was curious why this genre is not considered mainstream while comedies, courtroom/cop/medical dramas, action movies and reality tv etc is?

 

[wickedtiger86]

Ah! Well that is probably one of those eternal questions that will probably never get properly answered.

I mean, reality tv is cool and everything but I would much rather watch things that take me away from reality.

Maybe that's one of the things actually. I know a lot of people who aren't interested in watching anything that couldn't really happen. Like the only way they can relate to a story is if it's a realistic as possible. And Law and Order type shows and reality TV are firmly rooted in the world that we live in, on a day to day basis.

Maybe those people outnumber us.

I think a lot of people got into Avatar because it was hyped as being visually stunning and a lot of people want to see impressive computer generated feats. Just for something new and different on occasion. Perhaps.

I'm not sure about Twilight, except that so many young people got into it, and then dragged their parents into it. . . My dad even watched Twilight. And that's weird! For serious. But he watched it because my younger sisters liked it. So there's that.

 

[Goby]

LOL. I didn't mean for this to be a thread about whether or not people were shy about discussing Buffy with their friends or not.

I was curious why this genre is not considered mainstream while comedies, courtroom/cop/medical dramas, action movies and reality tv etc is?

Because people are dumb. lol

I haven't had TV for 8 years for a reason. Mainstream TV stinks. For me, the very worse show is Law and Order. How many different versions? They steal their stories from news articles. Absolutely NO character development. 100% BS court scenes. I could go on and on and on. I really, really hate Law and Order.

Don't get me started on Reality TV.

I wasn't a SciFi geek. I'm not quite sure I am. But good Sci Fi is so much deeper that Law and Order - Boise.


The most popular shows will always be mediocre. But the best shows will last forever. I haven't searched, but is there an active Seinfeld, Cosby Show, or Friends board?

 

[sisterofmercy]

Because it's not cool to be interested in academia. At school if you do well then you're called a nerd or a geek and get made fun of, so I think the same translates over to the sci-fi genre as it's concerned with science and space and things that are usually concerned with the 'heavy' stuff. Having a passion for something educational is when you become labelled as a geek I suppose.

I'm ok with that though. I'd rather be a geek than have only a shallow interest in the world.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I was curious why this genre is not considered mainstream while comedies, courtroom/cop/medical dramas, action movies and reality tv etc is?

Demographics, cost to produce and ROI. Lower cost to produce enables you to flood the market with the product thereby giving it a de facto 'norm' status.

 

[kittenpoker]

I think it can always be a bit embarrassing to appear to be "obsessed" with something. I imagine that's where the judgment comes in. Sometimes when others see that you have so much loyalty toward any piece of art in particular they peg you as overly-emotional, (which they consider a bad thing). There is this view in society that those who wear their hearts on their sleeves are considered weaker than others. And of course, those who share more of themselves are more likely to get knocked down. There's just more opportunity for it to happen, that way. But I think, ultimately, it means that they are very strong.

I think you hit the nail on the head here! I'm really hesitant to talk to people in "real" life about Buffy mainly because when I do I get really emotionally intense and I think I get embarrassed by that for the very reasons you describe.

Buffy touches something very deep and real in me. Part of my journey of development and growth has a lot to do with finding and owning my power...strength and confidence...Buffy really helps with that and I feel like communicating that will make me sound terribly corny.

 

[Blondie Bear]

I've got a theory (it must be bunnies!) that this is a mainly American problem (and some of the comments above seem to bear this out, at least in part) that's based on our lingering Puritan ethics. Fiction is bad because it's not real and therefore a waste of time. Reading is bad because it doesn't bring any immediate, tangible profit. Fantasy is REALLY bad because it's not even trying to be real, and what can you possibly get out of something that's essentially a pack of lies?

I think we're starting to see a slide away from this as the Puritan thing becomes less and less acceptable, Young Adult lit becomes more and more interesting and fantasy-laden, and young people grow up accepting fiction and fantasy as perfectly acceptable breaks from the real world that still teach them things about people. AND come to accept that the occasional break from the real world is okay and not a sign of dangerous instability or a lack of a work ethic that will bring the whole economy crashing down.

I'm actually really really interested to hear what people in other countries think about how fantasy is generally thought of where they live, though if it turns out that that's too far off topic for this thread, I'll gladly create a new one.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

mainly American problem (and some of the comments above seem to bear this out, at least in part) that's based on our lingering Puritan ethics.

DO you think that being in the Bible Belt has slanted your view a bit? I dont really see the same problem that you do and when you look at box office receipts for Thor and GL and I am sure Captain America, when you look at sales of genre novels, I don't really think its is far to say an American problem.

 

[Kean]

I've got a theory (it must be bunnies!) that this is a mainly American problem (and some of the comments above seem to bear this out, at least in part) that's based on our lingering Puritan ethics. Fiction is bad because it's not real and therefore a waste of time. Reading is bad because it doesn't bring any immediate, tangible profit. Fantasy is REALLY bad because it's not even trying to be real, and what can you possibly get out of something that's essentially a pack of lies?

I think we're starting to see a slide away from this as the Puritan thing becomes less and less acceptable, Young Adult lit becomes more and more interesting and fantasy-laden, and young people grow up accepting fiction and fantasy as perfectly acceptable breaks from the real world that still teach them things about people. AND come to accept that the occasional break from the real world is okay and not a sign of dangerous instability or a lack of a work ethic that will bring the whole economy crashing down.

I'm actually really really interested to hear what people in other countries think about how fantasy is generally thought of where they live, though if it turns out that that's too far off topic for this thread, I'll gladly create a new one.

I find it really hard to discern the Irish experience and attitude of fantasy as something separate from the American because the field is so dominated by American shows and the American experience.

What I do think hampers all types of fiction being accepted is a a society dominated by religious zealots.

I've have people laugh at me or look at me as if I am some sort of leper for watching Buffy or Battlestar Galactica. But at the same time those shows are in constant syndication here. As are the Stargate and Star Trek series. So I think people act in a certain way against SciFi but never stop to think about what they are doing or how they have made SciFi part of their lives.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

What I do think hampers all types of fiction being accepted is a a society dominated by religious zealots.

What I do think hampers all types of fiction being accepted are the sci-fi zealots. When you mention scifi you think of classic Star Trek geek loser that translates everything into Klingon, etc.. the stereotypical zit-faced, tape on glasses nerd. THAT is what hampers sci-fi. Because really, even if you are a fan you would be hard-pressed to mention that to a non-fan because of that stereotype. Honestly, things like Comic Con don't exactly shed a positive light on people. Really. They show they are fringe society, and they act like fringe society, so they are treated that way. You cant really do this:

and expect people that are not fanatics to understand. You just come across as being weird and slightly 'out there.' But then again, thats what they want, innit?

It's a double-edged sword.