What Really Grinds My Gears: Fandom Edition

So, I have a somewhat random rant to embark upon.

I saw the teaser trailer for Star Wars: Rogue One this morning, and was suitably pleased. I felt that the look remained reasonably true to the original trilogy, as much as a movie that was made nearly forty years after the original using mostly CGI could. 

I am a child of the original trilogy. While I don't believe I saw the first movie in the theaters, as I was not even three years old when it came out, I did see it later, and I remember seeing Empire Strikes Back at the local drive-in. My brother and I had the action figures and other assorted toys; somewhere in a box of toys my Cloud City Princess Leia may still reside, without her blaster but still in her plastic sleeveless robe. I love the original trilogy. It had a tremendous impact on my lasting love for science fiction.

I will admit to being disappointed in the prequels. I just didn't really get attached to many of the characters. While I don't revile Jar Jar Binks, as many of my peers do, I didn't feel the same swell of emotion for Padme, Anakin, or any of the other characters as I did for Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie. I've watched them a few times, certainly not as frequently as I have the originals. And that's fine. Here's a key point: I don't denigrate anyone for their enjoyment of the prequels. I know there are plenty of kids who grew up on the prequels in the same fashion as I did on the original trilogy, and that means it's part of their childhood. Perhaps they saw magic in the story that I did not. AND THAT'S FINE.

I enjoyed The Force Awakens, although not as much as the original trilogy. I was happy to see the old familiar characters (older, but still as comfortable as a pair of slippers or R2D2 Underroos), and I liked the addition of Rey, Finn, Poe, and BB-8. I did not fear Kylo Ren as I did Darth Vader and the Emperor, but it did not affect my enjoyment of the story. I felt that the storyline was, in fact, a little too similar to the original trilogy, but I figured they did so to pay homage to the original trilogy and "ease" the fans of the previous two trilogies into the new storyline. I started to cry when the Lucasfilms logo hit the screen and continued through the initial screen crawl. I teared up when Han and Chewie hit the screen for the first time. I sniffled a bit when (spoiler!) Kylo Ren killed Han. I enjoyed the movie, but I know some other diehard fans didn't. AND THAT'S FINE.

So, here's where my gears start to grind: I made the mistake of reading comments viewers had made about the trailer, and I saw the same sentiment repeated several times: "This isn't Star Wars." The gist of it seemed to be that, since it wasn't part of the initial storyline and/or since it is a female protagonist when the viewers don't remember seeing any female pilots or rebels in the original story (except, you know, PRINCESS LEIA, but whatever), this story shouldn't be considered canon. Several people said the same thing about The Force Awakens, and about the prequel trilogy, and some people complained that The Force Awakens had uncanonized Star Wars novels that had previously been considered canon. And blah de blah de blah, ad infinitum.

What I took away from all of this is that a lot of people seem to think this: "I didn't like [insert whatever it is], and therefore no one else should either."

This is part of a larger issue that I have noticed lately with regards to many participants in what we call FANDOMS (a fandom is a collective group of fans and subculture surrounding a particular subject, whether that subject is a person, a show, a movie, a music genre, etc.). I repeatedly see people post things like, "Well, I've been a fan since the beginning; you're a n00b compared to me" and "People think they are fans of [whatever], but they only know the songs from one album/the characters from one season/one book/etc." "You've only watched three seasons of [whatever]? I've watched the entire show seventeen times."

I don't understand why people feel the need to belittle others and the things those others like, especially when they like some of the same things. Doctor Who: "Oh, you like the Tenth Doctor best? Have you EVEN SEEN the Ninth Doctor? He's definitely the best, hands down." Harry Potter: "You say you like Harry Potter but you haven't read all the books? Whatever. You aren't a real fan." Star Trek: "You like ST:TNG? It wouldn't even exist without TOS. Kirk is a way better captain than Picard."

Here's the thing. Why can't people be fans and enjoy things the way they want to? Just because one person has the opportunity to cosplay a character and attend a convention doesn't automatically make them a bigger fan that someone who doesn't. Just because you happened to be born at a time when you could watch the original Star Wars when it first came out doesn't give you superiority or authority over someone who was born at a different time and couldn't. Just because you've seen a particular band in concert doesn't make you a bigger fan than someone who hasn't. And your fan-ness isn't required for that movie or that show or that actor or that band to continue existing. While it is true those things all require audiences, you alone aren't the hinge upon which these things turn. You are one in thousands, in MILLIONS. GUESS WHAT, BUTTERCUP? YOU AREN'T THAT SPECIAL, despite what your momma has always told you.

If you decide that, IN YOUR MIND, the original Star Wars trilogy is best and you won't watch any of the other movies, that's fine, but you do not have the right or the privilege to tell anyone else that their opinion doesn't matter. Their opinion matters just as much as yours does (and in the grand scheme, that is NOT AT ALL).

So get over yourself. Stop telling people what to like and what to dislike. Let them find out about it in their own way, and let them enjoy it in their own way. That doesn't mean you can't recommend something to someone, but if they happen to not like what you like, THAT'S FINE.

End of rant.