By Courtney Lockhart
 |
| Or Is It? |
Somewhere along the path, things changed. It started small. Maybe you didn’t get around to watching every episode as soon as it came out. That character you used to find quirky and charming suddenly became poorly written and annoying. Eventually you find yourself just reading the recaps. . Suddenly, you've missed an entire season. Instead of swearing vehemently that you will marathon that show at the next opportunity, you are left with a feeling of apathy. You aren't a fan anymore.
The great thing about being a nerd or geek right now is that there is a lot of choice out there. That, in addition to our parents' warnings that there are only so many hours in the day, means something has to give. There are the shows you never have time for, and then there are the shows that you try and just don't seem to hold your attention. Usually an admission of this sort is followed by the person still watching the show gasping and explaining that you gave up "too soon" or you " missed the best part." However, trudging through a show that long ago lost its appeal means that even when the big payoff does occur you are less likely to be appreciative since it took so freaking long for anything to happen!
Breaking up with a fandom carries a lot of the same baggage as ending a relationship. Anger, guilt, resentment, and maybe even a little bit of pity. On the other hand, after some time you might decide to give the fandom another chance. None of this makes you a bad nerd or a bad fan. People change and so do long running franchises.
But one day, when you least expect it , you'll meet the one. Everything you have every watched will be compared to this magical universe. So go ahead, try something new. You never know what will happen.
That totally happened to me with Sherlock. I should've never got on Tumblr because that's what did it. People were saying how Moffat's writing was horrible: the Doctor and Sherlock sharing lines, both made misogynistic comments, female characters were a joke. I have the Davies and Eccleston/Tennant shows to fall back on, at least, for Doctor Who. Sherlock, I'm afraid, is ruined for me.
ReplyDeleteit's hard to break up with a fandom...and I usually find it's gradual. Like you dip one toe into the reverse-pool or whatever. Take for example, my recent breakup with Teen Wolf. I knew somewhere in the middle of season 3A that the passion was leaving, but I stuck it out for the rest of that season. I didn't watch 3B, I'd stopped caring - but I still read fanfic for it and tumblr-watched to see what happened for the rest of the season. That behaviour stopped when I couldn't take the creative decisions (cause they were stupid - 'lets kill off all the women' just doesn't work for me hahah).
ReplyDeleteI find that's how it happens, it's not an abrupt breakup...it's slow and you indecisively wander back and forth until you either get pushed off the edge or fall back in.