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moonshaydeI'm going to talk a little bit about my emotional attachment and how it differs between a show/movie/book and fandom.
Despite my rants on character or plot points that I occasionally fall into in the SG-1 fandom, I started to distance myelf from the show a couple of years ago. When I get into a show or movie or book, whatever, I throw myself into it. When I was into X-Files, I was hypersensitive to all the changes, the parts of story that I thought took away from the show, and poor plot arcs, etc. I have had the same feelings about Star Wars and the prequels, and the choice in their EU book series. However, with X-Files and Star Wars, I've had the chance to put some distance between myself the shows/movies. Time gives you a different perspective. And I am sure the same will happen with SG-1 as time passes and Smallville.
But it's already started to happen with me with Stargate and Smallville. At times it makes me sad and at times it makes me feel like I'm entering a "healthier" place.
The more I am "into" a show, the more sensitive I am to details. I used to get irate and hot-headed about things I didn't agree with. It used to sour my whole mood. But I can't do that anymore. If it's a choice between my enjoyment or being in a complete funk because I take everything personally, I will choice the former.
That doesn't mean I wiping clean poor writing and bad acting. I am not condoning series problems I see in the shows that I watch. I still don't agree with choices made on X-Files, on SG-1, Smallville, and in Star Wars. I'm just saying I can't get my hackles up over a tv show, a movie, or a book anymore. Especially in the cases I've listed above. I'll either enjoy it or I won't. And if I don't enjoy it anymore, I'll just stop watching like I did with The X-Files.
With SG-1, as far as I am concerned, the show pretty much ended for me at the end of season 8. (In fact, I think I am in a minority that don't even want Sam or Daniel shipped off to Atlantis -- I like my original team together. Whenever SG-1 ends, I don't think they should spin-off with Sam, Daniel, or Teal'c. Guest spots? Okay. But I just let the original team -- Jack, Daniel, Sam, and Teal'c rest in peace as the team we saw by the end of Season 8. Yes, I am the minority.) But I'm still watching the show for enjoyment and because I do still have some emotional investment with the characters. The SG-1 characters still speak to me, some on a nostalgic level, some by their own merit. (This is something I can't say for SGA but that's a diffrent story.) The same goes for Smallville. I still have this love of the characters, even if some of the plot and character arcs are disagreeable with me.
This is my way of distancing and keeping tv as something that is fun and enjoyable, not something that gives me stress. I am not saying that my way is the right away. It just works for me.
So, I can stil continue to watch my shows, enjoy them, but walk away without a feeling of doom and gloom (most of them time). The fandom? Now that is a different story.
I find that the majority of my emotional investment is in the fandom. I get bent out of shape more over stuff that happens in the fandom versus what happens on the show. And if you have noticed, most of my rants are in the fandom -- in particular SG-1 -- not for the show.
Is it possible to have more investment in a fandom than a show? Oh yeah. For me, the beauty of a show can be found in its fandom, though so can its darkest flaws. I enjoy meeting people who watch the show, who read and write fanfic, and who enjoy art. We take what we love about our shows and then translate that into our fandom. Sure, there are horrible things that happen within the fandom, whatever show you watch. Character wars, ship wars, whatever. It's in SG-1, Smallville, X-Files, and Star Wars. But within the fandom, we have the power to tease out what we like, tease out what we dislike, and build our own happy place.
That doesn't mean we're ignoring the bad stuff in a show. It doesn't mean we're blind. It doesn't mean we're tossing out canon either. It doesn't mean anything of the sort. It's just a different view on the show and fandom. Maybe even a coping mechanism ;)
I'm not saying anyone should not rant and vent. I'm just stating what is working for me. For me, the way I can keep enjoying a show is to distance myself from it, leave the hypersensitivity behind, and find my little spot in the fandom. It stays fun for me this way. Other things work for other people. And that is cool, too.
Just sharing how I treat tv and fandom these days ;)
Despite my rants on character or plot points that I occasionally fall into in the SG-1 fandom, I started to distance myelf from the show a couple of years ago. When I get into a show or movie or book, whatever, I throw myself into it. When I was into X-Files, I was hypersensitive to all the changes, the parts of story that I thought took away from the show, and poor plot arcs, etc. I have had the same feelings about Star Wars and the prequels, and the choice in their EU book series. However, with X-Files and Star Wars, I've had the chance to put some distance between myself the shows/movies. Time gives you a different perspective. And I am sure the same will happen with SG-1 as time passes and Smallville.
But it's already started to happen with me with Stargate and Smallville. At times it makes me sad and at times it makes me feel like I'm entering a "healthier" place.
The more I am "into" a show, the more sensitive I am to details. I used to get irate and hot-headed about things I didn't agree with. It used to sour my whole mood. But I can't do that anymore. If it's a choice between my enjoyment or being in a complete funk because I take everything personally, I will choice the former.
That doesn't mean I wiping clean poor writing and bad acting. I am not condoning series problems I see in the shows that I watch. I still don't agree with choices made on X-Files, on SG-1, Smallville, and in Star Wars. I'm just saying I can't get my hackles up over a tv show, a movie, or a book anymore. Especially in the cases I've listed above. I'll either enjoy it or I won't. And if I don't enjoy it anymore, I'll just stop watching like I did with The X-Files.
With SG-1, as far as I am concerned, the show pretty much ended for me at the end of season 8. (In fact, I think I am in a minority that don't even want Sam or Daniel shipped off to Atlantis -- I like my original team together. Whenever SG-1 ends, I don't think they should spin-off with Sam, Daniel, or Teal'c. Guest spots? Okay. But I just let the original team -- Jack, Daniel, Sam, and Teal'c rest in peace as the team we saw by the end of Season 8. Yes, I am the minority.) But I'm still watching the show for enjoyment and because I do still have some emotional investment with the characters. The SG-1 characters still speak to me, some on a nostalgic level, some by their own merit. (This is something I can't say for SGA but that's a diffrent story.) The same goes for Smallville. I still have this love of the characters, even if some of the plot and character arcs are disagreeable with me.
This is my way of distancing and keeping tv as something that is fun and enjoyable, not something that gives me stress. I am not saying that my way is the right away. It just works for me.
So, I can stil continue to watch my shows, enjoy them, but walk away without a feeling of doom and gloom (most of them time). The fandom? Now that is a different story.
I find that the majority of my emotional investment is in the fandom. I get bent out of shape more over stuff that happens in the fandom versus what happens on the show. And if you have noticed, most of my rants are in the fandom -- in particular SG-1 -- not for the show.
Is it possible to have more investment in a fandom than a show? Oh yeah. For me, the beauty of a show can be found in its fandom, though so can its darkest flaws. I enjoy meeting people who watch the show, who read and write fanfic, and who enjoy art. We take what we love about our shows and then translate that into our fandom. Sure, there are horrible things that happen within the fandom, whatever show you watch. Character wars, ship wars, whatever. It's in SG-1, Smallville, X-Files, and Star Wars. But within the fandom, we have the power to tease out what we like, tease out what we dislike, and build our own happy place.
That doesn't mean we're ignoring the bad stuff in a show. It doesn't mean we're blind. It doesn't mean we're tossing out canon either. It doesn't mean anything of the sort. It's just a different view on the show and fandom. Maybe even a coping mechanism ;)
I'm not saying anyone should not rant and vent. I'm just stating what is working for me. For me, the way I can keep enjoying a show is to distance myself from it, leave the hypersensitivity behind, and find my little spot in the fandom. It stays fun for me this way. Other things work for other people. And that is cool, too.
Just sharing how I treat tv and fandom these days ;)
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Date: 2006-08-05 06:19 pm (UTC)I thought Season 8 was a nice place to end. It felt right. Team goes fishing. People could see ship if they wanted. Jaffa are free. Goa'uld are defeated but not in a nice clean way. It felt right.
Mind you, I like Cameron and all. I think he would have made for a great spin-off though.
So, I just keep watching because I still like the characters and actors. Of course, they aren't as solid as they used to be, so many year ago. This is a common fault in all long running shows (imo). But I haven't switched off yet, and that is all that matters to me at this point. In terms of enjoyment, I should say.