Unpopular Opinions

[Joe]

7 minutes ago, starri said:

George RR Martin is never going to finish A Song of Ice and Fire, and we all know it.

That's unpopular? From my random internet browsing, I've noticed that a lot of people feel that way. I suspect that it's the popular opinion.

[Katy M]

7 minutes ago, Joe said:

That's unpopular? From my random internet browsing, I've noticed that a lot of people feel that way. I suspect that it's the popular opinion.

I think it's unpopular in that we're not happy about it:)

[GaT]

4 hours ago, starri said:

George RR Martin is never going to finish A Song of Ice and Fire, and we all know it.

Maybe he's hanging out with Jim Butcher watching him never finish Peace Talks.

[Joe]

Actually, my I&FUO is that I prefer all the adventury stuff to the political stuff. Jon, Arya, Bran (eventually) there's some really good stuff. But every other chapter, back to King's Landing or somewhere else that while good, doesn't work as well for me.

[Haleth]

11 hours ago, starri said:

George RR Martin is never going to finish A Song of Ice and Fire, and we all know it.

 

7 hours ago, GaT said:

Maybe he's hanging out with Jim Butcher watching him never finish Peace Talks.

And Patrick Rothfuss.  The Name of the Wind.

[DearEvette]

50 minutes ago, Haleth said:

And Patrick Rothfuss.  The Name of the Wind.

Why do you hurt me so?

 

Maybe they can all do what Jordan's estate did and just hire Brandon Sanderson to finish them out.  That guy writes a ripping story.  And he's juggling multiple series and they're getting written and published.  I love his blog because each year he writes a 'State of the Sanderson' where he keeps everyone updated on his various projects.  And he hadn't lied yet.  He just said he's starting the fourth book of the Stormlight Archive in Jan 2019 with a 2020 pub date (this series is my crack!).  He has a frickin' progress bar on all his projects to let you know where he is on each one.

[nodorothyparker]

13 hours ago, Joe said:

Quote

George RR Martin is never going to finish A Song of Ice and Fire, and we all know it.

That's unpopular? From my random internet browsing, I've noticed that a lot of people feel that way. I suspect that it's the popular opinion.

It's unpopular among the really hardcore book fandom.  Off the top of my head I can think of a couple of discussion groups where that opinion or the mere suggestion that Martin may die before ever putting out another book within the series is enough to get you bounced.  I think the rest of us have pretty much accepted that any resolution is going to have to come from the show unless, despite Martin's expressed wishes to the contrary, another Sanderson emerges.

[Joe]

1 hour ago, nodorothyparker said:

It's unpopular among the really hardcore book fandom.  Off the top of my head I can think of a couple of discussion groups where that opinion or the mere suggestion that Martin may die before ever putting out another book within the series is enough to get you bounced.  I think the rest of us have pretty much accepted that any resolution is going to have to come from the show unless, despite Martin's expressed wishes to the contrary, another Sanderson emerges.

Wow. I'm glad I never never got into the fandom in a big way.

[Snow Apple]

I have a copy of The Name of the Wind. Now I'm afraid to read it since the series may never be finished.

[Haleth]

19 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

I have a copy of The Name of the Wind. Now I'm afraid to read it since the series may never be finished.

It's good, worth the read, but like Martin I think Rothfuss got so caught up in world building that he lost sight of the story he was going to tell. 

Spoiler

It was supposed to be the life of his protagonist told over 3 volumes, but since he was still a teenager at the end of the second book I knew it was going nowhere.

[Black Knight]

15 hours ago, Haleth said:

It's good, worth the read, but like Martin I think Rothfuss got so caught up in world building that he lost sight of the story he was going to tell. 

  Reveal hidden contents

It was supposed to be the life of his protagonist told over 3 volumes, but since he was still a teenager at the end of the second book I knew it was going nowhere.

We'll see if the Showtime adaptation spurs Rothfuss on to writing more than the HBO adaptation has Martin.

For all the crap GRRM gets, at least he's gotten five books out to Rothfuss's two, and the wait for the next installment for both authors has been exactly the same since each of them released their last installment in 2011.

And for an Unpopular Opinion - I actually quite liked both AFFC and ADWD. Yes, even Tyrion's travelogue chapters. Actually, those were some of my favorite chapters.

But I'm not crazy. While I do think we'll see TWOW at some point after the TV show ends, I've given up on seeing a book 7, much less the book 8 that I'm sure would end up being necessary to actually finish ASOIAF.

[Haleth]

8 hours ago, Black Knight said:

We'll see if the Showtime adaptation spurs Rothfuss on to writing more than the HBO adaptation has Martin.

 

I didn't know there was going to be an adaptation of NotW.  Interesting.  But if people are expecting another GoT they will be surprised to find out it's more like Harry Potter than GoT.

Edited October 13, 2018 by Haleth

[Bo-Peep22]

This is more of an unpopular opinion wrapped in a popular opinion I guess ? in the PJO series most can agree that Piper isn’t fan favorite for multiple reasons- most prevalently her insecure/jealous nature when it comes to Jason Grace and her relationship with him (all of which I agree with- I can’t stand Piper.) 

My unpopular opinion is that I can’t undertand how people can hate Piper but like Annabeth Chase. Annabeth is literally just a smarter Piper with a slightly more developed storyline. Despite her supposed “knowledge and wisdom” befitting of her mother Athena, Annabeth becomes irrationally jealous of any girl that talks to Percy (

Spoiler

Even before they officially begin their romantic relationship 

and constantly takes out her misplaced feelings on Percy (snapping at him and insulting his intelligence when he does not understand why she is upset.) She only puts a lid on this behavior when it becomes clear that her IMAGINED romantic rival has responsibilities that conflict with any future involvement with Percy (she basically only stopped being a total heel because she felt she “won” over the other girl.) 

  Annabeth’s feelings of insecurity (with Percy as well as her family) are annoying only because she literally complains about how she feels like the odd one out... to PERCY who 

Spoiler

Lives with his abusive stepfather and mother, who works long hours and does not have much time for her child. 

Whereas Annabeth has two younger half siblings and a step mother who WANTS to get to know her like ?

She makes poor decisions and hides things that are detrimental to herself as well as others but acts holier than thou when the same is done to her ?

i just CANNOT with her character. 

[starri]

I'm not sure if this quite fits into this subform, but given that it's often on lists of great novels:  Watchmen is a good graphic novel, and it's certainly an influential graphic novel, but it's not the greatest one ever.

[Haleth]

Another UO about ASOIAF:  Aegon would make a better ruler than Dany.  He's been raised to be king, surrounded by teachers who have prepared him to unite the 7 kingdoms again.  Does it matter if he is who they claim he is?  Not really.  Dany has dragons, pretty hair, and good intentions, but so far her leadership skills have proven disastrous.  And she's about to abandon the mess she created-- a war, a political vacuum, and a ruined economy.

[proserpina65]

On ‎10‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 11:37 PM, Black Knight said:

And for an Unpopular Opinion - I actually quite liked both AFFC and ADWD. Yes, even Tyrion's travelogue chapters. Actually, those were some of my favorite chapters.

Now THAT is an unpopular opinion.  ;-)

I liked parts of both books, but the parts I didn't like, I really, really hated.

6 hours ago, Haleth said:

Another UO about ASOIAF:  Aegon would make a better ruler than Dany.  He's been raised to be king, surrounded by teachers who have prepared him to unite the 7 kingdoms again.  Does it matter if he is who they claim he is?  Not really.  Dany has dragons, pretty hair, and good intentions, but so far her leadership skills have proven disastrous.  And she's about to abandon the mess she created-- a war, a political vacuum, and a ruined economy.

I never really thought about it, but you make a lot of sense.  Of course, I don't really expect either of them to make it to the end of the series.

[Hanahope]

On 10/12/2018 at 11:37 PM, Black Knight said:

We'll see if the Showtime adaptation spurs Rothfuss on to writing more than the HBO adaptation has Martin.

I think i'll wait till I know the whole show/story is done before I start watching.....

[Black Knight]

On 10/16/2018 at 4:58 AM, Haleth said:

Another UO about ASOIAF:  Aegon would make a better ruler than Dany.  He's been raised to be king, surrounded by teachers who have prepared him to unite the 7 kingdoms again.  Does it matter if he is who they claim he is?  Not really.  Dany has dragons, pretty hair, and good intentions, but so far her leadership skills have proven disastrous.  And she's about to abandon the mess she created-- a war, a political vacuum, and a ruined economy.

Aegon's a completely unknown quantity, as he has yet to rule anything. Just being raised to rule isn't enough, as any number of lousy rulers throughout history, both real and Westerosi, amply demonstrates. Dany is certainly a flawed ruler, but it's impossible to be able to say that Aegon would be better or worse than her. Both are viable possibilities.

The one thing that can be said for certain is that Aegon would be a flawed ruler too. GRRM doesn't write perfect rulers. They all make mistakes. Some make more, and/or worse, mistakes than others. Where Aegon and Dany would fall in relation to each other on that continuum is unknown.

Edited October 18, 2018 by Black Knight

[SmithW6079]

On 10/12/2018 at 7:39 AM, Haleth said:

It's good, worth the read, but like Martin I think Rothfuss got so caught up in world building that he lost sight of the story he was going to tell. 

  Hide contents

It was supposed to be the life of his protagonist told over 3 volumes, but since he was still a teenager at the end of the second book I knew it was going nowhere.

I never realized there was never a third volume. To be honest, I got bored with the second, where so much of the book 

Spoiler

seemed devoted to the main character have lots and lots of sex with supernatural beings. It got tedious and read like a teenage boy's fantasy diary.

[Blergh]

Would it be too UO to say that since it seemed to revel in incestuous rapes and child abuse rather than actually condemn these actions despite a few hollow attempts at pretending to do so, I was unable to finish Flowers in the Attic much less bother with any of the sequels or anything else the writer/s of that enterprise put out?

[Wiendish Fitch]

5 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Would it be too UO to say that since it seemed to revel in incestuous rapes and child abuse rather than actually condemn these actions despite a few hollow attempts at pretending to do so, I was unable to finish Flowers in the Attic much less bother with any of the sequels or anything else the writer/s of that enterprise put out?

Hey, your opinion is fine by me, Blergh. I read Flowers in the Attic at the tender age of 15, and it was more than enough for me. Honestly, the idea of reading an entire series devoted to incest, rape, and abuse is just too gross and depressing to me. 

[Melgaypet]

What can I say? These books are like crack. I can't actually defend them on any kind of merit basis. I read them around the sixth grade, which I think is a fairly typical age for people to first read VC Andrews. It all felt incredibly adult to a kid who was only a few years past reading The Babysitter's Club.

Now, of course, I find them pretty juvenile, not in the sense that they're appropriate for kids, but that they're shallow and don't require - or reward - a lot of critical scrutiny.

[DearEvette]

6 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Hey, your opinion is fine by me, Blergh. I read Flowers in the Attic at the tender age of 15, and it was more than enough for me. Honestly, the idea of reading an entire series devoted to incest, rape, and abuse is just too gross and depressing to me. 

Yeah, that was about the age I read it.  I remember liking it at the time cuz I was 15, it was the 80s what the hell did I know?.  But still never had a desire to read any of the sequels.  But as I got older any time the title came up I got more and more squicked out by it just from memory.  Until it got to the point where I can't even see VC Andrews' name without being squicked out.  LOL.

[Neko]

You're not missing anything by not reading the sequels.  I only read Petals On the Wind, but it was disgusting. 

[proserpina65]

On ‎10‎/‎31‎/‎2018 at 12:35 PM, Sweet Summer Child said:

You're not missing anything by not reading the sequels.  I only read Petals On the Wind, but it was disgusting. 

I read both of the original sequels, and kind of liked Petals on the Wind, but I was in 10th grade, with not the best taste.  I wouldn't describe it as disgusting, but definitely trying way too hard to be shocking and titillating.  I'd never recommend it to anyone, that's for sure.

I did think Flowers in the Attic had some interesting ideas, but overall, eh.

Edited November 1, 2018 by proserpina65

[Neko]

I thought it was gross, mainly because of Cathy's rape-y relationship with her middle-aged legal guardian.  That still gives me the heebies.

Having said that, though, I will say that the sequel certainly has more going on in terms of story than the first book.  And there are some interesting little details about how damaged Cathy is from the attic, like when she starts hiding food under her bed.  I liked that kind of stuff.

[Black Knight]

The Flowers in the Attic series has no redeeming value whatsoever.

And yet it is freaking awesome. In a trainwreck kind of way, of course. It's the book version of hate-watching a TV series while drinking.

I loved the term Entertainment Weekly used for it: trashterpiece

[andromeda331]

11 hours ago, Sweet Summer Child said:

I thought it was gross, mainly because of Cathy's rape-y relationship with her middle-aged legal guardian.  That still gives me the heebies.

Having said that, though, I will say that the sequel certainly has more going on in terms of story than the first book.  And there are some interesting little details about how damaged Cathy is from the attic, like when she starts hiding food under her bed.  I liked that kind of stuff.

That's really what sets the Flowers in the Attic series apart from all other VC Andrews series. You see how damaged Cathy and Carrie are in Petals on the Wind Christopher probably is too although its harder to see with him. I hate the next book in the series If There Be Thorns but you see how damaged Cathy still is and its effecting her parenting her own children. The other series bad things happen but there's never really sense again your seeing the girl and/or her siblings still effected by what happened in the first book follows them into the next books. They still have stuff to overcome but there not really damaged or dealing with what happened to them. You get that with following FITA books. What happened to them in the first book, aftermath and trying to lead normal lives afterwards but still damaged by everything that happened to them, the third book now as parents how they are still being effected by it. Cathy is damaged in so many ways. Hiding food under her bed, so still afraid that food will be cut off like it was for two weeks when they were locked up, terrified of being her mother but also not sure how she's suppose to be or act with men. Sometimes she's flattered with creepy Paul hitting on her, other times she doesn't know what she's suppose to do because she's still fifteen and doesn't have anyone to help her, one time she thinks maybe she was suppose to do something or should do something because he took in her family and stuff, she worries about being like her mother who used her looks to manipulate men and yet she was also intrigued by it which scares her, she worries about locking her kids in the attic. And Carrie. Poor poor Carrie. Paul should have put all three kids in therapy as soon as he got them.  

[Black Knight]

On 11/2/2018 at 2:01 AM, andromeda331 said:

she worries about locking her kids in the attic.

The ending to Petals on the Wind is pretty chilling in that respect. But the remaining books telling Cathy's story end up going in a different direction. I wonder if VC Andrews ever intended to follow through on the threat of the PotW ending, or if she tried and just couldn't quite make it work so she did something else instead.

[BookWoman56]

I wish writers of post-apocalyptic novels would acquire some basic math skills. If you postulate a pandemic that wipes out 90% of the population, that does not mean that a city that previously had 500,000 people in it is only going to have a small group of a dozen survivors. Also, what's with the idea that 24 hours after the end of the pandemic, all the male losers and would-be rapists in a region have immediately banded together in gangs, hellbent on shooting all non-gang males and raping any female from age 15-50? Is there some secret society of these people just waiting for the apocalypse to occur, reviewing their post-apocalypse instruction manual on a regular basis to be prepared? Also, are there hordes of women out there waiting for the apocalypse so that they can latch onto some male they just met, and threaten to kill any other woman who looks at that male or that the male finds interesting/attractive? Because I know if I'm in a group of a dozen survivors, and a guy I like is also interested in another woman in the group, I sure as fuck am not going to kill that woman because (a) she might have skills that would help us survive, (b) demographics have just changed radically and concepts such as monogamy probably need to be revisited to ensure survival of the species, and (c) unless I was a psycho before the apocalypse, I'm not prone to murdering people anyway. 

My UO is I would really like to see a post-apocalyptic novel in which 90% of the human population gets wiped out, and the survivors realize they have an opportunity to create a much better existence by making smart decisions about the environment, energy sources, population density, etc. And then 5-10 years after the apocalypse, most of the survivors are much happier than they were previously, having come to terms with the loss of loved ones, and living in a much less crowded and hectic environment. 

[Pachengala]

9 minutes ago, BookWoman56 said:

My UO is I would really like to see a post-apocalyptic novel in which 90% of the human population gets wiped out, and the survivors realize they have an opportunity to create a much better existence by making smart decisions about the environment, energy sources, population density, etc. And then 5-10 years after the apocalypse, most of the survivors are much happier than they were previously, having come to terms with the loss of loved ones, and living in a much less crowded and hectic environment. 

I would read the crap out of this book—please write it! Have you read Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon? It’s not exactly what you’re describing but it’s about an older woman who contrives to get left behind when her community evacuates the planet they’ve colonized, because they’re all annoying and she wants to be by herself already. 

Oh, I’ll add the unpopular opinion that if I found myself in a dystopian future, I would not care *at all* about the survival of the species. 

[Mabinogia]

17 hours ago, Pachengala said:

I would not care *at all* about the survival of the species. 

Haha, I don't care about it now. 

[SmithW6079]

On 11/20/2018 at 6:08 PM, Mabinogia said:

Haha, I don't care about it now. 

Sometimes I think an extinction event for humans would be the best thing for the planet. 

[Pachengala]

On 11/20/2018 at 3:08 PM, Mabinogia said:

Haha, I don't care about it now. 

I wish I would have said that.

[Spartan Girl]

This one has been gnawing at me for a long time. It's probably going to get me in trouble, but I want to get this off my chest as civilly as possible without offending anybody:

The Harry Potter fandom is getting as toxic as the Star Wars fandom.

Let me finish.

You don't like Cursed Child? Fine. You don't like the Fantastic Beasts movies? Fine. You find some elements of the story problematic and want to nitpick about it? That's fine too. But I really fail to see why any of that justifies unleashing all this vitriol toward JK Rowling. People crap on her from everything from the Johnny Depp casting (which I don't like either, but whatever her statement supporting it was, I don't think she is the one in charge of casting, so I'm not sure she got final say on that choice), to the Nagini revelation (I get why people are upset over that one, but at the end of the day it's just a story). People act like she personally victimizes them somehow, just because they don't agree with her canon or like how she uses Twitter to express her opinion about political issues. It's just as bad as post-Last Jedi Star Wars fandom. I don't agree with everything she says or does, but I don't think trashing her at her on social media is much better. 

Maybe I'm biased as a passionate HP fan, but whatever her faults are, she always seems nice; I don't know her personally, so I can't make judgements on her character.

This is only my opinion, of course. 

[Haleth]

If nothing else, she made reading cool again for kids.  Kudos for that.

[HazelEyes4325]

On 12/1/2018 at 12:20 PM, Spartan Girl said:

This one has been gnawing at me for a long time. It's probably going to get me in trouble, but I want to get this off my chest as civilly as possible without offending anybody:

The Harry Potter fandom is getting as toxic as the Star Wars fandom.

Let me finish.

You don't like Cursed Child? Fine. You don't like the Fantastic Beasts movies? Fine. You find some elements of the story problematic and want to nitpick about it? That's fine too. But I really fail to see why any of that justifies unleashing all this vitriol toward JK Rowling. People crap on her from everything from the Johnny Depp casting (which I don't like either, but whatever her statement supporting it was, I don't think she is the one in charge of casting, so I'm not sure she got final say on that choice), to the Nagini revelation (I get why people are upset over that one, but at the end of the day it's just a story). People act like she personally victimizes them somehow, just because they don't agree with her canon or like how she uses Twitter to express her opinion about political issues. It's just as bad as post-Last Jedi Star Wars fandom. I don't agree with everything she says or does, but I don't think trashing her at her on social media is much better. 

Maybe I'm biased as a passionate HP fan, but whatever her faults are, she always seems nice; I don't know her personally, so I can't make judgements on her character.

This is only my opinion, of course. 

I'm not too deep in the Potter fandom, but I agree with this.  I think the issue is that fans took such ownership of Harry Potter, which is a good thing, and they've adopted their own history of it, which is fine, that they can't deal when the creator of HP comes up with something that flies in the face of what they want.

I totally understand when fans get upset when a story/franchise/whatever does something that is either just morally objectionable or completely out of place with the cannon, but just not liking the direction of the story doesn't really warrant going after the author.  You know what?  I didn't like Fantastic Beasts and you know how I handled it?  I didn't see the second movie and went on with my life.  It's not that hard.

[Wiendish Fitch]

20 minutes ago, HazelEyes4325 said:

  You know what?  I didn't like Fantastic Beasts and you know how I handled it?  I didn't see the second movie and went on with my life.  It's not that hard.

Same here. I intensely disliked it, so I'm not going to bother with the franchise. I might piss and moan about it with friends should they bring it up, but other than that, it's really not worth my time and energy.

[Mabinogia]

23 minutes ago, HazelEyes4325 said:

I didn't like Fantastic Beasts and you know how I handled it?  I didn't see the second movie and went on with my life.  It's not that hard.

Wow, crazy concept. lol Hope it catches on.

I'd dare to add, if you (not you, personally Hazeleyes, you seem to have a pretty good grasp on things, but the faceless you) are so caught up in your vision of, say, Harry Potter, just avoid reading what JK says about it and carry on with your fanfiction or whatever. It's a much healthier than threatening someone's life, whether you really mean it or not, or badmouthing the person who created the characters you are now so passionate about. I just don't get why people would want to wallow in the hate rather than appreciated the gift JK (in this example) has given us. 

[ouinason]

I agree. I also hate the shit fits STILL being thrown about the epilogue of HP. Like the readers get to dictate the outcome of the story. 

[Mabinogia]

11 minutes ago, ouinason said:

I agree. I also hate the shirt fits STILL being thrown about the epilogue of HP.

haha, I really, really hated the epilogue. But I just don't read it when I reread the books. I was just disappointed that nothing had really changed and the prejudice against Slytherin's still existed even after everything Harry and his generation went through. None of the shippy stuff or who ended up doing what job bugged me. Just that it was still "eww, I hope I don't get into Slytherin." It doesn't ruin my enjoyment of the other ten million pages of Harry Potter by any means. JK created an absolutely amazing, fully realized world and not agreeing with a few of her choices doesn't change that. This are her children, after all. She knows them better than any of us. 

[salmondean]

17 minutes ago, ouinason said:

I agree. I also hate the shit fits STILL being thrown about the epilogue of HP. Like the readers get to dictate the outcome of the story. 

I didn't care much for the epilogue but I agree with this. It happened over ten years ago, it's time to stop acting like JK Rowling murdered your childhood. I mean, she pretty much had to write some sort of epilogue and I don't think anything she could have come up with would have satisfied most people. It was just a tall order. 

[Annber03]

2 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

I'd dare to add, if you (not you, personally Hazeleyes, you seem to have a pretty good grasp on things, but the faceless you) are so caught up in your vision of, say, Harry Potter, just avoid reading what JK says about it and carry on with your fanfiction or whatever. It's a much healthier than threatening someone's life, whether you really mean it or not, or badmouthing the person who created the characters you are now so passionate about. I just don't get why people would want to wallow in the hate rather than appreciated the gift JK (in this example) has given us. 

I think this is good advice for fandoms in general. And YES to your mention of fanfic. Given how popular fanfic is nowadays, that makes some of the complaints and anger over what happens in the canon of a show/book/movie all the more puzzling. You have a means to write the story your own way, might as well take advantage of it :D. 

There are valid critiques to be made regarding what actually happens in canon itself, mind, especially when it comes to serious issues like gender, race, sexuality, and the like. But yeah, whatever the reason for one's criticism, be it big or small, I don't get what people think harassing and threatening the creators/writers/cast will achieve. It's like the people who yell at retail and restaurant workers because they didn't get what they wanted for whatever reason. I've been on the receiving end of that, and all that behavior does is make me want the person to go away rather than help them. 

[Mabinogia]

20 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

There are valid critiques to be made regarding what actually happens in canon itself, mind, especially when it comes to serious issues like gender, race, sexuality, and the like.

The irony is that the most vicious attacks don't even seem to be about important issues like the ones you listed, but about silly, trivial things or ships. Lots of it is about ships. At least it was back when I was still in the "fandom". I've more than aged out of it at this point and just don't have the patience to suffer through the vast expanse of idiocy to get to the truly interesting discussions anymore. 

[Annber03]

I can't speak to the HP fandom in that regard, but I've seen a mix of both in other fandoms. Nowadays, from what I'm seeing, the main issue is over whether or not a particular ship is problematic for whatever reason, and people assuming that if the creator/writers come up with a pairing that's got some questionable and bad qualities to it, or if a fan likes a pairing with those qualities, they must approve of that bad stuff in real life and therefore are bad people themselves. 

I hate ship wars, too. Whenever I see one starting up I just find my quiet little corner of fandom and stay there until the whole thing blows over. I have very few pairings in my fandoms I genuinely do not like (the perks of being a big ol' multi-shipper :D), and I've never been bugged one way or another about pairings I like becoming canon (I've shipped both canon and non-canon pairings involving the same characters), so I think that's a large part of why I don't get caught up in those kinds of fights. That and I'm just too old for that kind of thing :p.

And yes to your comment about having to wade through that crap just to get to genuinely interesting fandom discussions and debates. 

[Hanahope]

On 12/1/2018 at 3:20 PM, Spartan Girl said:

to the Nagini revelation (I get why people are upset over that one, but at the end of the day it's just a story). 

Why are people upset over this?  I just saw the movie last weekend, so I haven't read critiques/opinions.

[Spartan Girl]

23 hours ago, Hanahope said:

Why are people upset over this?  I just saw the movie last weekend, so I haven't read critiques/opinions.

I'm not sure if I'm the best person to explain, but basically the fact that some people think that casting a POC actress to play Nagini -- who will one day permanently become a snake and Voldemort's pet -- is racist.  

[MaggieG]

Joining the HP discussion. I have been a fan since childhood and I definitely agree the fandom gets out of control. I didn't like Cursed Child and enjoyed FB but wasn't totally wowed. I was discussing the latest FB movie with a friend who is also a big HP fan. I told her a few things that I didn't like and she basically said "if you can't enjoy it, you're not a true fan." Which is stupid, but unfortunately people in the fandom feel that way. Or they they judge the heck out of people who only watch the movies, but don't read the books. 

Don't even get me started on the Star Wars fandom. I'm not a SW fan, but my husband is and I have watched all the movies with him. We saw TLJ and I made a joke in our friend group that the only interesting thing about it was a shirtless Kylo Ren. I was pretty much raked over the coals by a friend who said that since I was not a "true" fan, I was not allowed to have an opinion. She also asked why I watched it since I don't really like it. I mentioned I saw with my husband because he wanted to go. She then told me I should have let him go see it alone. I didn't speak to her for 3 weeks after that. That was maybe a little petty on my part but I thought she was being ridiculous.  I vowed to never take Harry Potter that seriously.

[Katy M]

2 minutes ago, MaggieG said:

Joining the HP discussion. I have been a fan since childhood and I definitely agree the fandom gets out of control. I didn't like Cursed Child and enjoyed FB but wasn't totally wowed. I was discussing the latest FB movie with a friend who is also a big HP fan. I told her a few things that I didn't like and she basically said "if you can't enjoy it, you're not a true fan." Which is stupid, but unfortunately people in the fandom feel that way. Or they they judge the heck out of people who only watch the movies, but don't read the books. 

Don't even get me started on the Star Wars fandom. I'm not a SW fan, but my husband is and I have watched all the movies with him. We saw TLJ and I made a joke in our friend group that the only interesting thing about it was a shirtless Kylo Ren. I was pretty much raked over the coals by a friend who said that since I was not a "true" fan, I was not allowed to have an opinion. She also asked why I watched it since I don't really like it. I mentioned I saw with my husband because he wanted to go. She then told me I should have let him go see it alone. I didn't speak to her for 3 weeks after that. That was maybe a little petty on my part but I thought she was being ridiculous.  I vowed to never take Harry Potter that seriously.

This isn't a direct comment to your HP critiquing or your SW comment, but it can get kind of annoying when people hate watch and then go on boards to list all the things they hate about the show/movie/books and call people stupid for liking them.  When that happens enough, you get a little hyperdefensive.  But, honest critiquing if you're a fan, but have some issues is fine. Doesn't mean you're not a fan. And a one sentence hate thing with a group of your friends ought to be fine.  People are just so sensitive and protective.  Of course you can watch movies that aren't really your thing with your significant other and you're absolutely allowed to have an opinion.

[MaggieG]

31 minutes ago, Katy M said:

This isn't a direct comment to your HP critiquing or your SW comment, but it can get kind of annoying when people hate watch and then go on boards to list all the things they hate about the show/movie/books and call people stupid for liking them.  When that happens enough, you get a little hyperdefensive.  But, honest critiquing if you're a fan, but have some issues is fine. Doesn't mean you're not a fan. And a one sentence hate thing with a group of your friends ought to be fine.  People are just so sensitive and protective.  Of course you can watch movies that aren't really your thing with your significant other and you're absolutely allowed to have an opinion.

I think honest critiquing is important and I agree that hate watchers get annoying. In my situation, I am a true fan of HP so I feel like I am allowed to have an opinion if I don't really like the FB part of it. I can still enjoy the HP books and movies.

I just thought it was ridiculous that I was told I should let my husband go see a movie by himself because I am not a "true" fan. Basically, I am not allowed to watch this movie. I'm sorry, but that is dumb as hell. I don't even hate SW, I'm just not into it. And I went with him because he went to see all the HP movies with me. Should I have said "No dear, stay home, you are not a true fan."