The Geek Beat: Take a Stand

by Elisabeth Rappe Aug 5th 2008 // 1:02PM

Filed under: Action, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, The Geek Beat



If you're a faithful Beat reader, you may remember that one of the very first installments dealt with the nasty, critical side of fandom. You know the types – the ones who spend so much time hating that nothing could satisfy them. (Seth Rogen summed it up in a pithy quote that, somehow, I only just caught: "They could find out Jesus Christ was making a movie with Frank Miller and they'd say, 'That's a terrible combination!'") But now, I'd like to address the other side of the coin – and yes, one side of it is defaced to help me decide these things – and that's the uncritical element of fandom. It's a side I didn't really grasp until I started writing here, where anything vaguely critical can be followed by screams of "You're such a hater!! You want it to fail!"

When I was at ComicCon, I tried to keep up with the news of the outside world. One of the "quietest" geek stories (and something I would have talked about much earlier, had con and editorial demands not sidetracked me) was the release of The X-Files: I Want to Believe. The bad reviews were pouring in right and left, even garnering heavy discussion on sites where the interests of geekdom are generally disdained. And no matter where you went, the comment fields were populated with X-Philes, and for every one who was verbose and rational, there were ten saying "F--- the haters! They want it to fail!"




Now, before the X-Philes single me out to flame again, let me say I get it. I was an Agent Scully from the olden days. I loved the show so much, I nearly had "I want to believe" tattooed on my person. (What? I was like sixteen! Thankfully, there's consent laws.) The fact that I no longer had any interest in the franchise is insignificant – plenty of my friends did, and I respected that. I hated not being able to share their enthusiasm. But as the footage continued to be uninspiring, and the reviews bad, the refrain became "We have to see it anyway! Screw the haters! If we don't, there will never be anything X-Files again! They want it to fail!"

It was baffling to me. How could a segment of fandom be so blind? The advertising had been lazy, the trailers uninspiring, the interviews bland. Here I sat in a position of secretly wanting to be sucked in and won over by the new film. I wanted it to erase the sloppy television finale. I wanted a reason to dig out my Scully suit and wear it to ComicCon. It didn't happen. I knew X-Philes were being set up for a fall, and I hated to see it. And I don't know what frustrated me more – that the faithful were ignoring the blinking red warning signs, or that they were telling me that I needed to put the footwork in, make my own excitement, and pay to see a movie because it would be better the next time around.

Fans! This is not the way. Why should we continually let ourselves be abused? Why do we engage in this culture of obsessive, apologetic fandom. We need to stop apologizing for poor films, even if they herald the return of our favorite characters. When the bad press comes in, we need to heed it. We need to abandon this "I'll see it anyway" mentality because it doesn't work. It doesn't tell studios that you liked the concept, the characters, but not the film. It only says that you'll settle for anything. They'll keep giving you the cheapest and most poorly written installment possible because they know we'll keep apologizing for it.

I know it's difficult. I may have been able to turn my back on X-Files, but there are other movies where I might not be so strong. I like Wolverine, for example. I'm one of those dreadful geeks who still perks up any time his name is mentioned. (I don't buy the comics, but I still read them at Borders. I'm very cheap.) I'm pretty excited for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but if bad press starts pouring in, will I be able to stay away? I don't know. My own weakness makes it difficult for me to wag my finger at fans who plug their ears with a "lalalalaitwillbeawesome lalalala" when everyone is telling them not to bother with a movie. We all succumb, we all decide we need to make our own minds up, critics be damned. But we really do need to start being more discriminating. We need to stop funding sloppy filmmaking just because it's a brand we adore. We need to stop funding it in general, but the temptation is so much stronger when it's Mulder, Scully, Indiana Jones or Wolverine. It's easy to ignore a bad movie, but it's difficult to shun on your childhood friends when they're waiting, patiently, for you to come see them at the multiplex.

But, perhaps we can all take the first step here online. And that's admitting we have a problem. When bad criticism pours in, let's not start flaming the critics and bloggers. I say this because I'm one of "them." I get called a hater and a naysayer the moment I dare to criticize anything – and I'm not alone, it plagues all of us who dare put pen to paper. I can assure you that none of us want a movie to fail. We don't get up in the morning and pray, fervently, that X-Files, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, or The Spirit will fail. "Oh, please let it be bad! Oh, let it be horrible so that my reporting can crush the hopes and dreams of fans!" None of us want to watch bad movies, none of us want to write about them. And we aren't gleefully jumping on a bandwagon of hate. If we're all complaining about a movie, that's because it's not very good. And as someone who wears her fandom on her sleeve, I know what it's like to be disappointed. Just because I'm on the reporting end of the movie world doesn't mean I have shed my mortal coil. I'm subject to the same passions as the rest of you, the same elation and disappointment. So are my colleagues. It's why we do what we do.

Now, if you excuse me, I have to go to Borders. I'm way behind on Wolverine: Origins. I think this next issue will be the one that explains away the crappy son he never knew.

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