From the Champion of Kirkwall to Rey from Nowhere: Why Do Fans Hate the Franchises They Claim to Love?

"The term plot hole gets tossed around a lot whenever
someone doesn’t want to give a story a chance..."

If, like me, you try to keep up with the news surrounding things you enjoy, a great deal of your social media usage is aimed at reading news articles and blog posts meant to be shared within a particular fandom. If, also like me, you are a life-long lover of Star Wars, you have seen these sorts of online places I mentioned become cesspools of hatred and negativity, all originating from people who claim to be staunch fans of the franchise. How can this be? How can The Last Jedi have a critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes of 91%, denoting almost universal critical praise, yet be chided by the most vocal portions of the Star Wars fanbase as the death of the property?

Let’s compare this situation with another oft-maligned entry in a popular fantasy genre franchise—Bioware’s Dragon Age II (2011). As with The Last Jedi, I will never say that Dragon Age II did not have issues and imperfections, but are we truly so jaded that we must have perfection served up and spoon-fed to us each and every time we interact with art?

From the beginning, Dragon Age II demonstrated that parent company EA kept Bioware on a shorter leash in terms of budget and creative manpower than on the franchise’s first installment, Dragon Age: Origins (2009). The world seemed smaller (though far fuller), some locations (particularly that one cave system) were reused over and over, and much of the inventory system from the first game had been streamlined in a greater emphasis on combat. But with that came a slew of characters that you cared about who had compelling stories to tell, up to and including the character you play as, Hawke. And focusing so heavily on a single city as the setting for the game made that place, Kirkwall, a character unto itself with its own stories to tell.

At the end of all of this, chief amongst the criticisms of this game was that it was not its predecessor, and that was that. It was hated for providing something new, even though it was part of a franchise that had only existed for two years. And we now see this on a much grander scale with Star Wars.

Before The Last Jedi even came out, it was being panned by supposed fans who said it was likely to be a point-by-point retooling of the plot of The Empire Strikes Back, being as the previous installment in the film series, The Force Awakens, was seen by many of the same dissatisfied supposed fans as being a retread of the original 1977 Star Wars film. When The Last Jedi came out and proved itself to be unlike any other Star Wars film, that was then met with complaint for rocking the boat.

The term plot hole gets tossed around a lot whenever someone doesn’t want to give a story a chance, and I hate that, mostly because Star Wars has always been filled with questions and what other people see as unfilled holes. Sadly, a great many of these holes can be filled with a little critical thought, or by accepting Star Wars as the first truly viable and successful piece (on this scale) of transmedia—a cohesive story told across various media, be it novels, reference materials, comics, films, television series, video games, or something else. Yes, you can find many of your answers simply by reading books. This is not weakness; this is the evolution of storytelling.

And start with this one.

All of that aside, the largest why still remains—why do so many fans feel so entitled not only to these franchises, but to particular versions of them? First, you must realize that the audience is not the author and never will be. Next, you must let go of the past. I understand that you suffered for your love of nerdy things back before they were cool; I did as well. But we cannot hold back a story from growing. Learn to share. Make new friends and new loves who also enjoy what you enjoy for once. This point is paramount: let people enjoy things! There are so many franchises out there, that if this one has become unrecognizable to you, then try something else. You have no right to call for its destruction. Finally, and I hate to break this to you, to call yourself a fan of something, you actually have to like it. Nerd culture does not need any more fair-weather fans. Think it’s impossible? Try being a Batman fan in the summer of 1997 and get back to me. ​

This is what I mean.

What’s your take on all of this? How do you answer these questions I posed? Let me know in the comments below, but please do keep it civil. Thanks for reading!

Author

Jeremy