(Head's up for some language as well as potential spoilers at the 4:58 mark if you haven't caught up on the entirety of My Hero Academia yet.)
Really, you could take any show, book, game, whatever and apply what the creator of this video is saying to it. It's absolutely 100% true.
Ultimately, fans can engage with a medium however they'd like. But I agree it's pretty out there how people will project themselves onto certain characters or whatever and base their enjoyment of the medium on that one thing, then get angry the story doesn't go the way they wanted. And other such craziness.
One person in the comments believes that the video creator is trying to push a mindframe of toxic positivity, but I don't think so. Toxic positivity, according to Psychology Today, is described as "the act of avoiding, suppressing, or rejecting negative emotions or experiences. This may take the form of denying your own emotions or someone else denying your emotions, insisting on positive thinking instead."
I've personally had a few experiences with toxic positivity, including within fandoms setting. Back when I was still part of the Elena Of Avalor subreddit over on... well, Reddit, there was an episode of that show that I found pretty subpar, and said so in a discussion thread. Not in any way that was insulting to fans who enjoyed it, just that I didn't think it was a good episode when they'd done better ones in the past. I explained why I thought this. Well, this new guy jumped on my case because I was very critical towards Elena's character and saying the episode was excessively corny to the point of cringe. You could tell he was already on the defense and just getting madder and madder that I wasn't agreeing with him that his cartoon girlfriend was the coolest.
Afterwards, this guy would come after me not only whenever I had a negative opinion about EoA, but would also start baiting me by insulting stuff I like even when I wasn't being critical of EoA in an effort to get under my skin. And then the whole subreddit started turning into that. Now that's toxic positivity right there.
Nothing wrong with criticism. But if something I like starts turning into garbage and there's no signs of improvement, I jump ship. I'll fuss about it from time to time, but I don't keep watching/reading/etc because I feel like I'm having my time wasted (which is a massive pet peeve of mine's, especially these days), and I don't want to see something I originally enjoyed go down the drain. In the case of EOA, I just started writing fanfiction.
//But I agree it's pretty out there how people will project themselves onto certain characters or whatever and base their enjoyment of the medium on that one thing, then get angry the story doesn't go the way they wanted. And other such craziness. //
ReplyDeleteRight? That's not right that they think they have the right to dictate how a story goes when really, it's up to the creator/writers/etc. to make the call. Of course we can absolutely disagree with them if they take the story in a way we don't like, but to expect them to comply with every demand from their audience? That's not realistic and it's not fair to the creatives for what they do with their craft. Also, they don't want to get into trouble with the law if they accidentally steal from fans in any way, shape or form.
//I've personally had a few experiences with toxic positivity, including within fandoms setting. Back when I was still part of the Elena Of Avalor subreddit over on... well, Reddit, there was an episode of that show that I found pretty subpar, and said so in a discussion thread. Not in any way that was insulting to fans who enjoyed it, just that I didn't think it was a good episode when they'd done better ones in the past. I explained why I thought this. Well, this new guy jumped on my case because I was very critical towards Elena's character and saying the episode was excessively corny to the point of cringe. You could tell he was already on the defense and just getting madder and madder that I wasn't agreeing with him that his cartoon girlfriend was the coolest.
Afterwards, this guy would come after me not only whenever I had a negative opinion about EoA, but would also start baiting me by insulting stuff I like even when I wasn't being critical of EoA in an effort to get under my skin. And then the whole subreddit started turning into that. Now that's toxic positivity right there.//
Toxic positivity is toxic. I'm all for being optimistic through the rotten periods but there is a need to take an inventory of the crummy stuff that's out there and not try to hide it, thinking it will go away. Heck, I would argue that it's because of garnering a self-awareness about what's off-base with whatever we're looking at that we can build off the positives and figure out how to improve something. Either way, that's really rough you were subjected to that. :(
//Nothing wrong with criticism. But if something I like starts turning into garbage and there's no signs of improvement, I jump ship. I'll fuss about it from time to time, but I don't keep watching/reading/etc because I feel like I'm having my time wasted (which is a massive pet peeve of mine's, especially these days), and I don't want to see something I originally enjoyed go down the drain. In the case of EOA, I just started writing fanfiction. //
Hear, hear! In many forms of media, there's usually something to improve upon and we can take that opportunity to make it grow and become better than what it was before. I'd say it's a fun challenge to take on myself.
I completely agree with you. Many fans are entitled to a degree that I would describe as them honestly needing to seek some kind of counseling about it. Something. I've seen some WILD stuff. If they can't get their way, then they have to spin some sort of bizarre conspiracy theory about the creator/company hiding the truth from the public, or trying to invalidate the offending material. And other fans just buy into it with no questions asked.
DeleteSome pple really need to get lives.
//Toxic positivity is toxic. I'm all for being optimistic through the rotten periods but there is a need to take an inventory of the crummy stuff that's out there and not try to hide it, thinking it will go away. Heck, I would argue that it's because of garnering a self-awareness about what's off-base with whatever we're looking at that we can build off the positives and figure out how to improve something. Either way, that's really rough you were subjected to that.//
I find the best lesson that I took away from this incident was realizing I didn't need to waste my mental energy and time on fan communities and engaging with other fans. There's a few great individuals here and there in fandoms, but in general fandoms have just never been worth bothering with. It's been smooth sailing and loads of creativity for me ever since. My one regret is not having disengaged from the toxicity earlier.
//Hear, hear! In many forms of media, there's usually something to improve upon and we can take that opportunity to make it grow and become better than what it was before. I'd say it's a fun challenge to take on myself.//
Yeah. Even with stuff I enjoy I can probably say "Yeah, this could've improved in this one area." Doesn't really take away from my enjoyment of it.