Fandom Is Being Ruined by "Fans"

Major League is a classic baseball movie from the late 1980s. It has basically the same plot as Ted Lasso season one but without any of the emotional intelligence. The new owner of a particularly bad Cleveland Indians baseball team wants the team to lose so she can move the club to Miami. The team wins to spite her and ends up making the playoffs.

A great movie in its own right, Major League paved the way for a surprisingly solid sequel in the early 90s. Major League 2 has almost the same plot as the first movie, except this time the team is just bad (and the rating drops from R to PG for some reason).

There's a character in Major League 2 whose character's name I don't know; we'll call Outfield Guy. Outufield Guy sits in the bleachers and comes into the season really excited, ready for a great year. After all, the team went to the playoffs the previous year! But when the team starts losing, Outfield Guy flips his hat inside out, draws a giant X on his shirt, and starts jeering the team.

Outfield Guy is a "fan" of the team. While he seems to enjoy attending games, he doesn't actually like the team. He has all the appearances of a fan, but his actions show he's really just an angry man whose only hobby is trying to convince the true fans around him to also be miserable.

While Outflied Guy is a character from a movie, he represents real-life personas in every fandom.

Star Wars: The Acolyte is currently airing on Disney+. The show has released five episodes to date (with a sixth coming out tonight). Critics (and myself) are thoroughly enjoying The Acolyte, giving it an 83% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience score, on the other hand, is sitting around 14%.

The Acolyte's audience score tanked the same day the first two episodes were released. There is no shortage of dudes with microphones on YouTube explaining why they hate the show. The arguments vary, but most ultimately boil down to racist and misogynist statements hidden behind the show not being the right kind of Star Wars.

All of these dudes with microphones are the Star Wars equivalent of Outfield Guy. These "fans" don't actually like anything unless it's something they deem acceptable. And, because of the way YouTube monetization works, they want everyone to join in their misery and also hate the show. I mean, why should I bother watching the show when some guy on YouTube told me it was bad?

"Fans" are ruining fandoms. If they aren't happy with a new installment, they want to prevent others from enjoying it — or, even worse, from being able to enjoy it.

Many "fans" engage in review-bombing tactics, leaving negative reviews from fake accounts across the internet. Review bombing is likely to blame for The Acolyte's extremely disproportionate audience score.

The review-bombing tactic came to light late last year in Goodreads, of all places. Aspiring author Cait Corrain had her publishing contract and book canceled when it came to light that she was responsible for review-bombing other authors' works in similar genres. Corrain's goal was to disparage these other works to drive people to her book.

Unfortunately, review-bombing happens all the time in all different types of venues. These "fans" are trying to influence people into hating something they hate. In many ways, it's no different than the plague of book censorship in school systems nationwide, based solely on online reviews or politically motivated talking points.

Review-bombing is a form of censorship and gatekeeping. It's a way to try and assert power over artists to only create things acceptable to the "fans." It's gross.

After putting up with him all season, the team's real fans swatt Outfield Guy away in the playoffs. They make him leave the stands so he stops infesting their enjoyment. Frankly, it's time for real fans of all fandoms to swatt these angry "fans" out.

Art of any kind is to be enjoyed. Yes, it's ok to be critical of something. However, what is not ok is hating something just because it's not what you wanted or expected.

Additionally, we shouldn't let reviews influence our enjoyment or experience of any art. We're all different people with different tastes, likes, and preferred styles. Art speaks to people in different ways. Just because someone didn't enjoy something, it doesn't mean we won't.

If you do decide to check out reviews, take a few minutes to consider if the person is a fan or a "fan." If they're a "fan," do your duty and move on.