#audience response

A very interesting and nuanced discussion about responses to art that’s created by deeply flawed individuals, using the example of Star Trek. “The actual story of Star Trek fandom is the story of the young people who took the work and were inspired to become better people.”

“We should, never ever blind ourselves, or say that liking a television show or a book or a comic or a song somehow negates any human suffering behind the scenes. And where we draw the line will be tremendously inconsistent, not just from person to person, but as individuals. We will forgive and overlook capriciously, or we’ll never be able to watch a movie or read a novel ever again.”

Message to YouTube essayists and FilmTwitter:

Don't use highly generalized audience reactions and ratings as accrued by highly failable online sites to boister your own opinion.

Just give me your own opinion so I can either agree with you or thrust my index finger out boldly to object to. I didn't click on one person's video for some "consensus."

Especially when it comes to female characters. Maybe, juuuuuuuust maybe, Arcane doesn't need to be this standard bearer when we could have a variety. I'm sure that for everyone who worships Vi at the alter, there are some who's prefer something else.

Sincerely,

Examples?

Well, first off I must clarify that at least a good majority of the fan backlash towards criticism is overreacting at best. Like, you’ve got your legitimately full of shit snobbish takes from people like Liz Ryerson or Yussef Cole, but most of it is more questioning than the flat out condemnation.

That being said, honestly I’d say that the constant hemming and hawing over review scores of games is a big one. IE, people getting angry over their favorites getting lower scores or “bad” games getting scored higher than “good” ones.

And, as an aside, I really fucking hate the belief that games; and in particular what games we consider “important” should be scraped of all pulp influences before we decide they’re valid. IE, the people who say gaming has no Citizen Kane it’s all just dumb fluff, which is why I tend to be so harsh on people who treat non-”art” games as holding the medium back.

While these reactions are wrong; especially in the horrifying extremes they go to, a lot of people dissecting why point to some pathology but never point to the way fans are constantly; silently told “Hey, if what you like goes out of favor, it will disappear!”

And the worst part is that that’s happened in cases that aren’t based around overreaction. For Exhibit A, see the death of 3d Platformers, JRPGs and survival horror in the Xbox360/PS3-era of games.

Like, my issue is less addressing the fact that they’re overreacting and more that we’re not accurately tackling why in a way that actually engages with the public to make change.

(Well, except for Jim Sterling who actually does a really good job at advocating for the audience/against Capital without being reactionary, but I digress)

We as critics really need to start talking about how “Stop liking what I don’t like” is less a question of individual evil and more a question of the perverse indoctrination regarding production economics.

Here at the Fandomentals we talk a lot about the importance of stories, but the people involved in bringing them to life matter too. Writers, actors, directors, showrunners, game designers, illustrators… creators and artists in general. Sometimes we don’t even pay attention to their names, but sometimes their names are part of the reason we’re interested in that story in first place.

These are the names that make you buy the ticket, or the comic book, or the game. These are the people that constantly create stories you love. The people whose performances always cause a lasting impression on you. The people who inspire you to create art yourself. Or maybe you just really love what they say in interviews or in their social media. Maybe you have a huge crush on them. Maybe they use their influence to defend causes you care about. Whatever the reason, these people become your favorites.

IFFIWood – प्रदर्शनादरम्यान प्रेक्षकांकडून मिळालेली उत्साहजनक प्रशंसा आणि आश्चर्यचकित करणाऱ्या अनुभवानंतर, दिग्दर्शक गॅब्रिएल मस्कारो यांनी साउंड डिझायनर्स मारिया अलेजांड्रा रोजास, आर्टुरो सालाझार आरबी आणि अभिनेत्री क्लॅरिसा पिनहेरो, रोजा मालागुएटा यांच्यासह 56 व्या इफ्फी मध्ये प्रसार माध्यमांशी संवाद साधला आणि त्यांच्या ‘द ब्लू ट्रेल’ चित्रपटाच्या प्रवासाचा मागोवा घेतला. गॅब्रिएल म्हणाले, “मी…

अजय कांडर लिखित – रघुनाथ कदम दिग्दर्शित ‘युगानुयुगे तूच’ नाटकाच्या चर्चेत ज्येष्ठ रंगकर्मी डॉ. राजेद्र चव्हाण यांचा विश्वास देवगड येथील पहिल्याच प्रयोगाला रसिकांचा प्रतिसाद कणकवली – कवी अजय कांडर लिखित युगानुयुगे तूच हा नाट्य दीर्घांक कांडर यांच्या कळत्या न कळत्या वयात या नाटकाचा पुढचा भाग आहे. अभिनेता सचिन वळंजू हे हा दीर्घांक अतिशय प्रभावीपणे सादर करतात. या नाट्य दीर्घांकाचे दिग्दर्शक रघुनाथ…

Hey Dave – I think I’m getting pretty good audience response while on stage. Even when I feel most of the crowd is with me I always notice the people not laughing. What would other comics do? Focus on the ones not laughing to get them with me or ignore them and just keep going? Thanks – A.J.

Hey A.J. – No lie. I was just talking with a comic about this. The conversation was about connecting with…