Last Updated on August 5, 2021
If you scanned the news over the last few weeks, you have likely seen an uproar surrounding STAR WARS fans driven to extremes because they don’t like one decision made by the studio. It is infuriating, rude, and frustrating as hell when a minority of fans spoil it for the rest.
Movie fans can be some of the most accepting and interesting people you will ever meet. A true movie fan can talk intelligently for hours about any type of movie. But, there is a darker side to fandom. There are fans out there who are so full of vitriol and hate that they ruin it for everyone else. These are the fans that piss me off and likely annoy the hell out of you too. It is okay to not like something, but there are fan bases that have crossed a line. Here is a ranking of the ten types of fans that really need to take it down a notch and chill the fuck out.
If you disagree or think we missed a contentious group of fans, let us know in the comments below.
Star Wars Purists
When the Prequels were released, fans shit themselves because the movies were so different from the Original Trilogy. When the new films hit theaters, fans shit themselves because there were more female characters and more racial diversity in the cast. Not once did George Lucas intend for STAR WARS to be an Aryan propaganda film. Yes, it is fine if you don’t like THE LAST JEDI. Of course it is okay if you don’t like Finn or Rose or Poe or any of the other new characters. But, the moment you cross the line into the real world and attack the actors, you have become an emotional terrorist and undermined the entire message behind STAR WARS. In simplest terms, you have joined the Dark Side.
DC Fans Who Hate Marvel and Marvel Fans Who Hate DC
This may shock you, but you are allowed to like both Marvel and DC. It is not like owning an Android phone versus an iPhone where you are stuck with one and cannot use the other. The wonderful thing about movies is that you can like both. There are elements of both the MCU and DCEU that are good but also things they could improve on. But, there are fans who hate on one brand over the other. I admire being faithful to your favorite, but to say that one company is garbage and the other is flawless is ridiculous. It is okay to like both Batman and Iron Man without one having to be better than the other.
Comic Book Purists
Whether it be making Jimmy Olsen into Jenny, casting Donald Glover as Peter Parker, or even making the Mandarin a plot twist, there is no reason to get your undies in a twist because feature films differ from the hallowed pages of comic books. Like novels adapted for the big screen, comics will undergo changes when turned into movies. Seeing an exact recreation of a comic to the screen is a rote and pointless exercise. Film will respect the source material, but there will always be changes to reflect modern sensibilities and tastes. Nothing changes if a character that is male is now female or their ethnicity is different. What is important is that the soul of the character is true. If you can’t handle that, you are not a true fan.
Film Snobs
There are movie fans and there are film snobs. A movie fan can go to see a double feature of ACE VENTURE: PET DETECTIVE and SCHINDLER’S LIST where a film snob would turn their nose up at such a pairing. Movies are for everyone, but not every movie will be enjoyed by every person. But just because you love the films of Francois Truffaut and Cecille B DeMille doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with the works of The Farrellys or Tyler Perry. To love film is an admirable trait. To demean or refuse mass marketed entertainment because it is not art is just dumb.
Celebrity Apologists
Actors are like real people: some are cool and some are assholes. For every decent person like Tom Hanks, you have a glut of shitheads like Mel Gibson, Johnny Depp, and Harvey Weinstein. While some have made amends for past mistakes, like Gibson, there are people out there who defend these people without abandon. Just look at the fans still supporting Bill Cosby despite the overwhelming evidence to his crimes. While I don’t like the way Tom Cruise handles his personal life, it doesn’t stop me from enjoying his movies. But, it also doesn’t excuse his behavior. I fully support anyone who chooses not to enjoy films starring actors they deem to be bad people. But, there is no excuse for people to blindly defend actors who have done something wrong and act like it never happened.
Franchise Haters (Who Have Never Seen The Films They Hate)
Personally, I don’t really like the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise. Yes, I enjoyed the action set pieces in the film and admire the technical prowess that went into realizing them. But, there are those who hate the series and have never watched a single film. The same types of fans hate on HARRY POTTER, STAR WARS, TWILIGHT, FIFTY SHADES OF GREY and so many other successful film series. Look, it may not be your particular brand of entertainment, but people are able to enjoy whatever they like. The rule I live by is if you watch something and don’t like it, you are free to criticize it. But, if you are hating based on popular opinion alone, you need to shut the fuck up.
Amateur Box Office Prognosticators
SOLO: A STAR WARS MOVIE was dead on arrival when it debuted a couple of weeks ago and yet has still grossed hundreds of millions of dollars. The quality of a film is not intrinsically connected to the box office receipts but there are fans out there who think they are Russell Crowe in A BEAUTIFUL MIND and base the merits of a movie on how much money it makes. There are so many movies made than didn’t come close to grossing ten million dollars let alone a hundred and they are some of the best films ever made.
Fans Who Hate Modern Movies (And Think Everything Was Better Back In The Day)
I have been guilty of comparing films today to those from a bygone era. I miss the days of traditional special effects and trailers that didn’t spoil the entire movie. But, there are people out there who downright refuse to allow any enjoyment to come from modern movies and media. You can like both classic and contemporary films in equal measure, even if you think the older movies were better. Yeah, there is a lot more crap available to you today than decades ago, but don’t pretend the past wasn’t chock full of shitty films.
Extreme Conservatives AND Liberals
Whether you were a Trump supporter or voted for Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton, you likely have strong beliefs that align one way or another. But, just because you disagree with the other side of the aisle doesn’t mean that you can decry entertainment for being biased and therefore bad. I am not a conservative, but I enjoyed the revival of Roseanne. Entertainment has always carried a political undercurrent both from those who make films and the story presented on screen. But, lambasting something simply because it doesn’t align with your political beliefs is downright ignorant.
Trolls
You know who you are. There are countless of you out there, many likely reading this right now. Trolls are those whose sole purpose in life is to hate anything and everything that anyone truly enjoys. Every single time I see an article posted on any site that features a comment from someone truly excited or happy about a new movie, game, or television show, there is someone right there to cut them down for their personal tastes. The anonymity of the Internet is a blessing and a curse. But, just because no one can see your face doesn’t give you permission to be an asshole just for the sake of being one.
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