I’ve been a Final Fantasy fan since the 90s and while my adoration for the games has waned of late, the scores composed by maestro Nobuo Uematsu have never lost their charm or virtuosity.
Distant Worlds is a symphonic or mixed-piece performance series that has been touring for years and when my RevPub partner and I found out it was coming to our town we knew it was a must-see. It just so happens my friend Mike and his fiancee found out about it at the same time and went as well. We all pretty much had the same opinion: it was fantastic.
Several of the pieces were from the “Final Fantasy 2002-0220” performances from over a decade ago and haven’t needed to change a bit. Surprisingly a few of the pieces were VERY new, including one from the latest Lightning Returns, which made conductor Arnie Roth’s statement about short rehearsal times REALLY have impact. The music was synched to a video screen showing clips from the games, re-cut to go with music. It was definitely a nice touch, especially for those not accustomed to seeing an orchestra live.
My Final Fantasy CD collection.
There is something unique about seeing symphonic music live. The sound of a symphony orchestra fills and surrounds a venue like no other kind of music, and with pieces as well-loved and recognizable as Uematsu’s scores it made for a terrific atmosphere. Most of the time orchestras play classical/romantic music, or music composed just to be music. Uematsu composed his music as a score for a story or capture the personality of a character. Even more impactful than film scores, Uematsu’s scores provide the ambiance for a story YOU help tell. So when you hear them it puts you back in the narrative; recreates the mood and the emotion of events and characters we know so well. Not one that is an hour or two, but maybe one that was 16, 28, or 65 hours or more… That’s a lot of time to spend with characters. A lot of time to get attached to their personalities and motives; Uematsu’s music always masterfully captures the essence of each.
From the jaunty and upbeat “Chocobo Theme,” to the intense strains of “Don’t be Afraid;” and from the profound passion of “Eyes on Me” to the mournful and delicate tone of “Aerith’s Theme,” every piece allows you to re-live that story again, put you back in that “distant world” and relate hours and storytelling magnificently in less than four minutes.
The performance was topped off by a surprise encore (that doesn’t happen much in symphonic music, even though it’s where the term originated!) where Roth asked the audience to sing the choral lyrics to “One-Winged Angel” while the symphony played the music. We were asked only to sing the “SE-PHI-ROTH” portion but in an audience full of fans, many of us sang the rest of the lyrics in Latin. Short of a surprise performance of Koichi Sugiyama’s Dragon Quest title music or Uematsu himself coming out to play the Advent Children version of Sephiroth’s inimical theme with The Black Mages, it was an performance that couldn’t have been improved upon.
Uematsu composed his first Final Fantasy music for 8-bit video games. As the technology progressed he composed for 16-bit cartridges, CD-ROM midis, and later full orchestral scores for Final Fantasy games on DVD and even for films. But the purity and beauty of his music is it works in ALL forms. There is as much heart in “Dear Friends” whether you heard it on a Super Famicom, PS1, or in a symphony hall. There is true beauty to be found in the simplicity of it and it is worth traveling to Distant Worlds to find it for yourself.
Uematsu (on the big Korg keyboard) performing One-Winged Angel with an symphony orchestra, full chorus, and his band The Black Mages.
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, but a recent conversation with my muse of a RevPub partner provided inspiration. A lot of stock is placed on “multiplayer” in video games nowadays. I admit, I don’t care for the feature for one simple reason: Anonymity. Playing a game online to me is playing a video game in a chat room from the 90s. Everyone is anonymous, which for some reason increases the a-hole quotient by 75% in about 85% of people.
In the arcade days, you had jerks that ran the machine, kids that tried to step up, and challenges face-to-face, but in the skating rink I played arcade games in people would get cocky, talk trash, and laugh about it later. Even losing didn’t seem so bad. With online gaming now, the lack of a person to play face-to-face with just makes a lot of people act 12 even if they’re 30… With the prevalence of online gaming, it seems we’ve started missing out on one of my favorite kinds of gaming: two player games…the kind you play when you’re actually IN the same room as your player two.
When I first started home-gaming this was THE way to play many games — my favorite of which was the side-scrolling beat ‘em up. My best friend Mike and I (friends for over 20 years) became good friends during games of Streets of Rage 2, Street Fighter II, and Final Fight. My lovely but vicious RevPub counterpart, Raven, and I played the new Double Dragon Neon and proved how effective we could be as a fighting team, as well as a writing team. You learn a lot about the people you play with during the course of these games. I submit that you can tell whether someone could be a good friend, fair-weather friend, or mortal enemy based on how they behave during a side-scrolling beat ‘em up. It’s the basics of life in a microcosm of 16-bit simulation. Here are some benefits to playing these games with perspective friends, co-workers, mates, whatever. It’s a great relationship barometer. So just some basic thoughts on finding (and being) a good player 2 in a beat ’em up world:
Cardinal Rule of two-player side scrolling beat ’em ups:NO friendly fire! Working as a team is pretty easy. You can even do team moves, but you start punching me on purpose in the game someone’s getting hurt out of game!
Axel is whacking Blaze…with a weapon no less. Breaking the cardinal rule of co-op beat em up gaming!
1.) Does everyone share the Found Food? There’s really an etiquette to this. Found food power ups go to the person with the lowest health, or failing that, the one with the weakest constitution (usually the girl or kid character…sorry PC people) if a player rushes in to take that roast turkey when you’re in the red and they’ve got nearly full yellow they might be the “out for themselves” type.
Roasted fowl found on the street. It’s good for everyone!
2.) Similarly, how are found weapons treated? Did you know weapons can be found EVERYWHERE? Trash cans, mail boxes, phone booths; everything hides a weapon. Two players with weapons are a juggernaut of insurmountable proportions. Beware the second player who drops his or her pipe (thereby maybe making it mysteriously vanish) to grab the recently found sword rather than keeping his pipe so you can have the sword and making a stronger team.
From the SoR remake. Axel with a pipe, Blaze with a knife. Life is good.
3.) A good friend won’t leave you in the midst of a multithug pummeling. Even if it means taking half the damage, the idea behind two player co-op is twice the enemies, twice the damage. Good player twos are there to thrash and get thrashed in turn right there with you.
Streets of Rage 2 bosses…and yep good player 2’s would be right there with you!
4.) If player two ever says “Ok, I’ll let them target me…it’ll give you the chance to take them out…” they’re a keeper. We all need more friends like these. As long as they don’t hog all your shared continues…
Shiva…anyone willing take take hits from this guy for you is a true friend…
5.) Real friends will avenge your untimely demise by viciously beating your assailant into blinking pixels. If you drop dead from a well-placed punch, kick, pipe, sword, barrel, whatever, a good player two should turn into Wolverine in a berserker rage and, in the words of Mack from, Predator cut your name into them!
Cody’s Down, Haggar to the Rescue.
With Wil Wheaton’s Table Top bringing tabletop gaming back into vogue, I can only hope Felicia/Ryon Day’s show Co-Optitudecan do the same for playing video games in person!
This is kind of a case study of the quintessential “bad fan.” Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons as a character pre-dates the spread of internet criticism, but it seems every forum, website that allows commentary, or YouTube video is packed with almost nothing but Comic Book Guys (hereafter referred to as “CBGs”).
What makes the CBG type such a bad fan? He’s the one who loves something so much he ends up obsessing about it without end; then his love (as love of anything can do) turns to passive-aggressive hatred. He can’t wait to take something he loves, and tell the world why it’s not good, not what it used to be, or somehow a “betrayal” of his obsessed loyalties. He knows everything about it. He’s the kind of “fan” who takes the time to learn all things about something (including it seems watching entire films in slo-o-o-o mo-o-o-o-tion) just so he can point out its flaws.
The most famous and now apparently meme-worthy quote ever uttered by CBG was from the “Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show” episode of The Simpsons. After Poochie’s “hilariously unfunny debut” CBG commented that it was the “Worst. Episode. Ever.” And later went on to state that “As a loyal fan I feel they owe me.” To which Bart responds, “What could they owe you? They’ve given you thousands of hours of entertainment for free! If anything, YOU owe THEM!” CBG’s retort, “Worst. Episode. Ever.” This exchange pretty much sums up what bad fans like CBG are all about. There’s a bit of narcissism to them — they feel that entertainment is all about what should entertain them personally, and they are somehow owed this for their patronage. I can see CBG on every 4Chan, Bell of Lost Souls, YouTube, and TV show webpage I’ve ever been to. Even sometimes quoting CBG proudly, “Worst. ::WHATEVER::. Ever.”
This guy is one bad fan…
In my Warhammer experience I see it a lot. Games Workshop comes out with new models. Annoying posters all say, then build on each other’s comments like, “Wow that’s ugly I won’t get one.” “Why are they so expensive!!! I’m quitting.” “They ruined xxx by changing the rule to do xxx.” Yet…they still sell the miniatures, special editions of books, and these people are coming to the site day after day…just to say how much they hate everything? One post I saw kind of summed these posts up, “Will you all quit complaining? You’re going to end up buying them…” I bet that person was right.
Another point is, like CBG did to Poochie (who was designed to be awful), focusing on something bad and channeling all fan hatred on it. Nothing shows this better than Jar-Jar Binks. People were severely disappointed with Phantom Menace. It was kind of a slow, mediocre movie, but it had its fun parts. I liked Darth Maul. But for some reason what everyone heaped their rage on was Jar-Jar Binks. He was almost a scapegoat. Fans didn’t like the movie like they thought they would, so it became Jar-Jar’s fault. I don’t find him any more annoying that C3P0 or the Ewoks honestly…But all the fury was directed right at him. I thought Anakin’s “chosen one” story was far more tired than the comic relief character.
I won’t say CBG doesn’t have a point; any kind of entertainment eventually suffers from its age. Again from that episode of The Simpsons, Lisa points out that over the years the innovation and characters can’t maintain the same impact they once had. To try to make the show, comic book, music, whatever fresh creators try all kinds of things. They add new characters, kill someone off (often only to bring them back…somehow), or totally change their style (say going from hard rock to techno or rap). Some fans actually love these changes. Some don’t. But I actually feel it’s more impactful to simply change one’s own behavior than complain without end about the new status of whatever you’re obsessing about.
Going back to The Simpsons, for its first 9 seasons it was close to my favorite show ever. After season 9 it seemed to get a bit “stupider” in its jokes and, to me, became more about watching Homer scream and guest stars. Now that was to ME. My response was to try it for a bit. Watch the odd one here and there…and then give it up. I haven’t watched a full episode since season 11. I didn’t continue to watch it just so I could go to the forums later and complain about how it was the Worst. Episode. Ever.
One of my favorites, that I came to very late, is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I love that Joss Whedon style of humor+drama+weird. But even it made the classic changes. It went for “introduce new character” (only kinda made sense, even in fantasy world), then “kill character” as options for extending its life. It was still great, but not as good. Same goes for Eureka. TERRIFIC sci-fi show. Then they went back in time, changed the reality, and kind of rebooted the show. Still great, but I personally preferred the original set up.
The same goes for The Walking Dead. Great show. Great story, fresh characters, interesting take on the zombie apocalypse. Halfway through last season I kind of lost interest. The show wasn’t any different really, but I just stopped watching unless I wanted to catch up later.
I’m not saying voicing your opinion isn’t positive. But it should be constructive and not just bitching for bitching’s sake. Constructive complaints are what happened with Futurama. The show was cancelled. The fanbase came together and made its support so publicly known that they eventually released new episodes on DVD and then returned to TV (sadly ending this year…). THAT is how fans should work. The constructive way to voice your beliefs about something you’re a fan of is to do so positively, seeking to change what’s wrong, not just repeating what you don’t like in snarky and anonymous form in the internet. The positive way I expressed my dislike for the newer Simpsons was to stop watching. I didn’t like it, but people do, so why should I spend my time complaining a.) The show is bad now, b.) These new stupid fans are the reason it’s bad c.) They should just go back to “the way it was.” Who am I to say what other people should like? New fans like the new version, they shouldn’t make a show just for me…and maybe, just maybe, I’m the one who changed. Maybe the things I once obsessed about don’t, as Lisa said, have the same impact.
So many of us fans still watch shows they no longer love just to make bad jokes (usually just quotes from something else, or different versions of memes that have been around since 2006) on forums and sites later. THAT’S being a bad fan I think. If the toys you once loved aren’t fun anymore…stop playing with them, and maybe, pick up something new. It’s the only way to grow. Staying with the same-old-same-old that you now hate is to decay. Again, it only breeds hostility and negativity. Why do that to yourself, or worse, inflict your negativity on others?
The Simpsons gave us many perfect caricatures of nerd fans. I remember one who asked, “In episode 2F09, when Itchy plays Scratchy’s skeleton like a xylophone, he strikes that same rib twice in succession, yet he produces two clearly different tones. I mean, what are we to believe that this is some sort of a…a magic xylophone or something? Boy, I really hope somebody got fired for that blunder.” Homer’s response, “I’ll field this one. Let me ask you a question. Why would a man whose shirt says “Genius at Work” spend all of his time watching a children’s cartoon show?” Yep. That about sums it up.
For the sake of all fans, please don’t be the Comic Book Guy…
The next post ties into this one, Don’t Build Them Up Just to Tear Them Down.
In my “Just War” philosophy course in grad school, we learned that during any kind of conflict there comes a time where combatants start to see the situation as “us” versus “them.” Viewing an opponent this way essentially dehumanizes them and makes it easier for people to do horrible things to each other they wouldn’t do in any other circumstances.
While that might seem like a strange opener for a series about fandom, the same holds true for disagreeing fans. We all fall victim to it, but recently I’ve started to catch myself doing it and tried to curtail it when I feel it creeping in.
I remember during what James Rolfe calls “The Bit Wars” between Sega and Nintendo; I was in the Sega camp. But I don’t remember hating Super Nintendo. I just never played it and vehemently disagreed with comments disparaging Sega’s games or systems. I still do. I had loads of fun on Sega CD and 32X!
It’s gotten much worse with Xbox and Playstation fans. I’ve had both systems from previous and current generations. I prefer Playstation simply because I’ve found it to be more reliable, more a fit for my gaming needs, and more consumer-friendly. I admit I have sunk down to the “us versus them” mentality, especially when the now recanted Xbox One specs were announced. But the truth is both are good systems for their fan bases, both have a good line up of games, and we NEED both to keep competition healthy. Monopoly is always bad for the consumer.
Here are some thoughts on one opinion versus another opinion and ways that have helped me avoid “Us Versus Them” situations:
Realizing Nothing is Perfect: I love my PS3. I had a launch system that lasted 5-6 years in the same time my bro-in law had 3-4 Xboxes that red-ringed. That being said, I know lots of people apparently had disc read problems with launch PS3s. Even when mine died, it did so while a disc was in, and I had to take the #*%^@#$%@&$ apart to get the disc out. PS3 isn’t perfect, just a better fit for me. Because Xbox is a better fit for you doesn’t make you wrong, just different from me. Everything has issues and we enjoy them in spite of them.
Even the chaos god of perfection isn’t perfect…poor, poor chaos god…
Understanding That a Difference of Opinion is OK: It’s good to truly enjoy something. If you immerse yourself entirely into the world of whatever your love may be (Star Trek or Star Wars, Final Fantasy, Mario, Legend of Zelda, X-Men etc…) it’s good for you. Any kind of learning exercises the mind. I even think it’s ok to drive your friends crazy with your enthusiasm. You’ve learned ALL this stuff; you want to share it. Your friends always have the right to say, “You know I’m a little tired of hearing about Spiderman…,” and if they do, that should be respected. Going a step further, it’s even ok for them to say, “You know I really don’t like Spiderman…” If they do, even though it may seem incomprehensible to your obsessed brain, it is OK too. It doesn’t matter what it is, how popular, how important it is to your day, if someone else isn’t interested or doesn’t like it…they don’t like it and they aren’t crazy for having that opinion. Recently I’ve seen TONS of this. I was shown three episodes of Game of Thrones. It was like a high-production value, fantasy realm soap opera to me. I didn’t care for it. I’ve had family and friends get me to watch some of Dr. Who. It was mediocre sci-fi TV to me; I just couldn’t get into it. I like Joss Whedon, but I don’t feel like trying Firefly right now. I’m not WRONG for these beliefs. Certainly not just because someone else thinks these are the greatest things ever. If you absolutely despise Warhammer, or history, or boxing, or Lovecraft it doesn’t make you wrong just because I love them. Again, what fits for you, isn’t necessarily what fits for me. And judging each other because we don’t share obsessions doesn’t help anyone.
The Running Man audience. Definitely the worst kind of obsessed, bad fans!
Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off: Debating is good. If you want to explain to me WHY Christopher Nolan’s Batman films weren’t a pretentious drag that essentially told the same story three times (someone tries to make fear take over Gotham, so the city destroys itself…) feel free. I will explain why I feel how I feel. We can show counterpoints, logic, and conclusions — we can attempt to persuade through example. It can be fun. It can be enlightening. It’s almost always mentally stimulating. It’s a debate, and it’s good. Arguing is bad. Arguing is what occurs when respect and logic abandon a discussion in favor of bias and hostility. If we’ve both made our points, repeating them or insisting, “You just don’t get it,” “You need to see it from the beginning,” or “I’m not surprised you don’t like it, you’re into stupid stuff like XXXX” doesn’t add to the discussion. Once points are made and opinions finalized, if neither side budges, in the terminology of the Napoleonic Wars, we should both be allowed to “leave the field with our weapons and colors.” It’s a sign of respect of each other and our opposing opinions and an acknowledgement that we’re agreeing to disagree.
Methinks any kind of debating with this guy…likely won’t be fair…
With all there is out there to become a fan of, no one can ever be a fan of everything, and even amongst the closest of relationships there are bound to be differences, sometimes VAST differences, of opinion. If we all agreed on everything, imagine how dull life would be. But it’s important, no matter how much you love something, how much you devote your life to it, and how much you know about it to respect the opinions of others who may be neutrally disinterested or actively opposed to it — even if they insist on sinking to the negative level — take the high road…people who take the low road probably do so often, and it won’t be in anyone’s best interest to pursue them into the depths.
And finally, maybe most importantly, share the things you are a fan of with those you care about as long as they are receptive, but not if they suggest they are not. Our interests are a big part of showing who we are. But people don’t necessarily need or want converting. Respect that and respect them for their opinions, even if they directly oppose yours. You’ve said poe-tay-toe, they’ve said poe-tah-toe…so yeah…
We’ve been talking a lot about things that make geeks mad. Bad movies. Bad fans. Bad practices. So I thought I’d tell a story that happened to me, something that usually makes nerds mad, but has a pretty happy ending.
When XBOX 360 and PS3 came out I opted for the PS3. I’d had both PS2 and Xbox and wasn’t as into the Xbox so I stuck with PS.
My brother in law received an Xbox basic model from his brother as a gift and had the system suffer catastrophic hardware failure, aka the “Red Ring of Death.” (I think he has had 3-4 console vines snap for similar reasons while swinging from the Xbox tree). He upgraded to an “elite” or “pro” or something and generously offered the DOA machine to me if I wanted to call and deal with Microsoft to get it repaired. I gratefully accepted, it’s not every day someone gives you a current gen console for basically free after all and it was awfully nice of him.
The dreaded red ring…
Honestly it took me a couple weeks to get it sorted out. I was playing Oblivion at the time and couldn’t be bothered. But after a while I decided to give it a go. So I set it up, plugged it in, and sure enough…Red Ring! I went through the motions a couple times, checking connections, etc. but still…Red Ring!
So, saying a small prayer to the helpline gods, I called the number provided and connected…to Microsoft helpline.
Now I’ll say I usually don’t mind the helpline, or even automated responses…but I loathe the automated responses that make you talk to them. Let me hit numbers, but talking to Hal 9000 always has done nothing but infuriate me. I’d rather have called Skynet than deal with what Microsoft provided…
It rang only once and what answered wasa thing of putrid, rage-inducing evil. It was a voice halfway between cartoon character and sleazy Bill and/or Ted. It was clearly a corporate-created personality designed to “relate” to the adolescent video game audience:
Voice of corporate-designed evil: Hi! I’m Maaaax. Let me know how I can help you todaaaay.
In response I made this expression:
Appalled Me:You have got to be f*ckin kidding me…
So Max began to walk me through auto repair:
Max:Try unplugging it…and plugging it back in. Did that help? Say ‘yes’ or ‘no’…
Me:No…
Max:Nooooow try unhooking the connection from the baaaack of your Xbox and reeee-connecting it. Did that help? Say ‘yes’ or ‘no”… (as though the idiot needed to repeat these advanced commands at this point)
To my horror, I found that the power was connected in the back of the Xbox with these wire attachments that are a pain to get off with two hands, let alone one hand and the world’s most annoying computer assistant growling his dude-voice in your ear.
While fiddling with the stupid thing I happened to, as anyone might, utter a profanity…
Annoyed Me: Sh*t…
Max: I’m soooorry. I didn’t get thaaat. Can you say it agaaaain?
Exceedingly Annoyed Me:I said SH*T!
After going through the motions with Max a few more times, the smarmy bastard finally relented…
Max:Sorry I couldn’t heeeelp you. I’ll connect you with a customer service rep now.
I still hate Max.
While on hold, I heard voices in a Central Asian language speaking as though it was a radio news report. I don’t speak any Central Asian languages, but I kept hearing the name “Bhutto,” which I was familiar with from the news and ascertained I must have been connected to Pakistan, where Benazir Bhutto had sadly just been assassinated. When the customer service rep picked up I was relieved to hear a human voice. He had a heavy Pakistani accented but easy enough to understand:
Rep: Hello, sir, how can I help you?
Me: Yes, hello, I have an Xbox 360 that has had the hardware failure and I wanted to get it repaired.
Rep: Yes, sir, very good sir. Have you tried testing connections, checking power supply, sir?
Me: Oh yes, I went through all of that with the automated service.
After briefly running through some of the troubleshooting the rep got me to the repairs section.
Rep: OK, sir, I will send request to have your machine repaired. You will receive box. Inside box will be label. Simply put machine in box with label and it will be sent in for repair.
Me:Thanks. About how long will it take to get the box, and how long do repairs usually take?
Rep:Yes, sir, box will arrive in couple days. Repairs usually take a week or two.
Me (after receiving reference numbers, etc): Well thank you, I’ll look for the box and have it sent off.
What he said next really made me think…
Rep:Yes sir, thank you sir. Oh and sir? I would like to thank you for being courteous with me on the phone. And not curse at me.”
Me:No problem. It’s not your fault the thing’s broken.
Rep:Yes, sir, thank you again sir.
After I hung up I started to think… I wonder how many calls he gets from angry teenagers whose game machines cost more than he makes in a week trying to earn a living? Even though I’m not a supporter of outsourcing, it’s not his fault for finding a job. It’s Microsoft (or their contractor) who chose to send the calls abroad. Despite all the abuse the poor guy must usually endure, he was still helpful on the phone. And just by being decent someone who I never met it might have helped him have a bit of a better day.
It once again shows the value of one of the greatest modern axioms:
Wheaton’s Law
Coda: The fate of the repaired Xbox.
I ended up trading in the Xbox after a couple months. I tried Mass Effect and Dead Rising and couldn’t get into them (didn’t like them on PS3 either btw…) So if nothing else, the helpful customer service rep who finally helped me get the Xbox repaired, helped get me some good trade-in credit too. Whoever ended up with it should be grateful they didn’t have to call Max…plus they might have been a bit more aggressive with the customer service rep!
It’s interesting that people judge your level of interest based on when and how you first discovered said interest. This feels like it’s been around forever and pertains to any kind of fan. I remember in middle school “true” Nirvana fans looked down their noses at the ones who just liked Nevermind. It was the “pop” album. The “sellout” album. And a great album. Instead of sharing the interest with the newcomers and welcoming them, they were thought of as “posers” and not really into the grunge scene.
Recently I’ve seen it occur with other things. I’ll give some examples of a few that I’ve found through other means, and I believe it doesn’t make me any less of a fan than those who have been with it from first release, day one:
Warhammer/Warhammer 40k: I admit freely that the Space Marine PS3 game got me into it. From there, I played the Dawn of War games, started reading the books, collecting miniatures (I have four 40k armies and two fantasy armies) and playing practice games. It doesn’t make me any less of a fan that I found it through the video game, and since discovering the world and hobby, I’ve done my best to learn all about it. I’ve got a long way to go, but I’m still a fan of it and love every aspect of the world and gameplay.
This game was wicked and brought the uninitiated into a new world of sci-fi adventure!
The Dresden Files: A friend at my previous job recommended the TV show to me based on our similar interests. I thought the show was a great, fun, and an innovative take on fantasy and magic + detective story. So I picked up the first book and was hooked. I’ve read all of them but the last one (I’m in the midst of another reading marathon right now…). They’re obviously different from the show, but like Jim Butcher himself said, the show is the show, the books are the books, they aren’t the same thing and are to be appreciated differently. Just because I found the books due to the show, doesn’t mean I appreciate the books any less than someone who found the books first.
Good show and terrific books. To be enjoyed for what they are.
Frank Sinatra and The Ink Spots: I first heard lots of Frank Sinatra music in the mediocre rom/com What Women Want. I loved what I heard and got a box set right after I saw the film, and I still periodically listen to it as great background music that is also a blast to sing along to. The Ink Spots I first heard in Fallout 3. Loved the tenor and melodies and they introduced me to the world of 30s and 40s jazz. I actually remember listening to a new Ink Spots song on YouTube and seeing a comment “God I’m so sick of people who found them because of Fallout showing up here…” Even then, all I could think is “Why? Can’t anyone appreciate good music?”
Great group, no matter how you found them!
It’s this last judgment I see constantly. I’ve even seen a meme “I liked the book before it had the movie poster as a cover.” Reading that one I think the same thing, “So? Does that somehow make you better or a bigger fan, who for some reason appreciates the book more? We’ve both read and enjoy them.” I go back to something James Rolfe said when discussing MonsterVision, “to be a fan of anything, you have to be exposed to it first.” Maybe some fans don’t spend as much time in used bookstores, or scrounging through old records, or browsing the Web, or didn’t grow up in a house where reading, playing games, or listening music was something they “did.” It DOES happen after all.
So why, because I found out about something via adjunct media, does it make me less of a fan? I’d like to think that people who share common interests, who reach the same destination, can be more open and accepting rather than exclusionary no matter how they got there. We don’t need to take the hipster route of fandom! If someone says to me, “Oh I love Lord of the Rings I read them all right after I saw the movies!” I don’t roll my eyes and judge them because they saw the movies first. My first thought is, “How did you like them in comparison? What do you wish they should have included/left out of the film? Read anything else or seen any other films in the genre, maybe I’d like what you’ve found!”
Thinking on those terms expands the culture instead of limiting it. And the more we expand it, the more there is for all of us to enjoy!
Revenant Publications 