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i-want-my-iwtv · 2 years

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I don’t understand why VC fans that are genuinely upset about and deeply dislike the stuff they’re finding out about the AMC show keep…. engaging with AMC IWTV content and posting about it? Like, I’m sure it’s not fun for them and it’s certainly not fun for the people who are enjoying the show…. Like, clearly this show isn’t going to magically turn into something they like, why keep baiting themselves?

These kinds of asks are so, so, so hard! Writing a short response feels too limited, but writing a lot feels like I’m doing too much... if this makes anyone at least consider the issue(s) in a different light, then it was worth the effort.

And you know, answering this shouldn’t be so hard, we’re talking about fictional vampires, can we all keep that in mind? It’s sad that this is the heart of so much tension right now.

People are not going to stop criticizing media. That much is true. We can try to unpack why they do, and I will take a small stab at it in this response.

Okay so here are my TL:DR main points:

1) Curate your experience. People are not going to stop criticizing media. You can stop yourself from seeing it, though. The block button is your personal bouncer! Or, use Xkit’s blacklist feature which is more of a softblock.

2) I still say it's unfair to call the criticism vs. praise all purely a binary. There's a spectrum of feeling that isn't linear, bc you can like some changes and not like others.

3) People criticize media, and everything in VC. People are criticizing this bc they are getting smtg they didn't expect, and want to say so. Rollin Jones has even invited criticism, as a person in the film industry, he knows his work product is subject to criticism!

4) Criticism of VC in general, including about the show, from what I’ve seen on Tumblr, is meant more as intellectual exercise and a way to find like-minded people. How many decades have we criticized VC? “VC is a trilogy!”, or “X is a problematic character and you can’t like him!” or “Anne Rice endorses the problematic content she writes in real life, it’s propaganda!” People are seeking other like-minded people, and they make their arguments. Whether this comes from deeply disliking/upset by their topic, it varies a lot, but I would say that some of the criticism could be that, but some is coming from other emotional states, some more neutral than negative. Some is curiosity more than a negative place. Some people really enjoy criticizing things! Academic fans, for sure.

5) People who enjoy the AMC show: Try not to take criticism of the show as a personal attack. If you’re hurt by that criticism, block the person! From what I’ve seen, criticism is often disclaimered with “this is only my opinion.” Even if it is intended as a personal attack, it’s words on a screen. Nothing more. “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” - Eleanor Roosevelt. People have to control their feelings and emotions because each person is responsible for their own feelings and emotions.

6) Engagement is engagement, negative or positive, and that’s ratings for the show. Content that draws engagement must be compelling to do both! After all, the opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference. People don’t engage with content that’s boring. So the AMC show, at the very least, doesn’t appear to have committed the sin of being boring, and that’s a crime, canonically.

Rollin Jones: [X geffenplayhouse, Aug 20, 2015]:

“If there’s any problem with me as a writer, it’s that I’m crippled by, ‘Oh, I don’t wanna bore them!’” he says. “Mostly, it’s fun. There’s no other reason to do it. Nobody’s getting rich off it. So you want to have some fun, drink with some actors after, make sure one or two of your cast are having sex with each other. You wanna have created some love.”

Interview with the Vampire:

~~~~~

1) Curate your experience

Ultimately, we're all sharing this space together, at least for now. Anyone who doesn't want to see IWTV AMC criticism, or, conversely, anyone who doesn't want to see ppl enjoying it, the block feature is your personal bouncer! I also use Xkit’s Blacklist feature, which is a friendlier softblock.

2) I still say it's unfair to call the criticism vs. praise all purely a binary.

Some people love the changes AMC is making and some people don't, but I still say it's unfair to call it all purely a binary. There's a spectrum of feeling that isn't linear, bc you can like some changes and not like others.* Personally, I get why they had to age Claudia up, bc of the child actor labor laws, I assume that was of the issues back in 1994, too (tho, they did audition a ton of 5-6 yr olds, and none of them could act as well as Kirsten, so I think talent was - and is! - still a bigger factor than canon compliance for that role, it is for me, anyway, if I was casting that character).

*Obviously, there will always be the outliers who well and truly want a book-accurate adaptation and those who want a completely revamped version (pun intended!) that brings the story up to more current issues and morality. Neither can be totally satisfied bc the visual medium is necessarily different than the act of reading! Even the original LOTR trilogy, widely praised for canon-compliance, still changed things. I haven’t seen anyone on tumblr really seriously deeply upset about that, we all know here that that’s impossible. There are probably people on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube who think 100% canon compliance is possible, and to them, I say, Wow you must be fun at parties 😅.

3) People criticize media, and everything in VC.

People who don't express their criticism/opinions are essentially accepting what they're given.

Re: fictional content, people who are served something that isn't up to their expectations criticize it. "I ordered X and it's not X!" You know? We want to know why it's not what we expected, was it an intentional change, like someone decided to give me blueberry pancakes when I ordered chocolate chip? Maybe I should prefer blueberry pancakes, bc fruit is the healthier option, but it's still not what I expected, and maybe I dislike the texture of fruit in bread. Maybe I'm allergic to blueberries. IDK! But people instinctively want to say something so that the people who made the item are at least aware, and whether the criticism is in good faith, or whether the creators listen and/or accept the criticism or not, well, that's up to them.

Anne Rice herself was famous for not accepting criticism, but that hasn’t stopped the fandom from criticizing VC canon itself for decades. More on that in a bit.

Rollin Jones said he’ll take criticism [X, Den of Geek article, July 22, 2022]:

What fan backlash are you predicting?

Look, if you can make it through these first seven episodes, I’ll be back at Comic-Con next year, and if you’re still upset with me, I will set myself up at a booth, and you can kick me in the shins. I’ll be there for you. I really do think [the fans] will be surprised at how we are constantly going back to the book.

We’ll see, I’m open to being pleasantly surprised. I’m ready to see this cover band rework and play these beloved songs, so to speak. Johnny Cash did such a moving cover of Trent Reznor’s “Hurt” that Trent said it was Johnny’s song now.

Once Johnny Cash covers your song– it’s not your song anymore.

Here’s a few more Johnny Cash covered and commentary about them.

4) Criticism of VC in general, including about the show, from what I’ve seen on Tumblr, is meant more as intellectual exercise and a way to find like-minded people.

Criticism of the show is an intellectual exercise, especially in a fandom full of ficwriters and fanartists, we’re challenged with our own creative choices, I write fic, we want to know the reasons for the changes to canon. We like to speculate. And we have our own taste. Are these blueberry pancakes better than chocolate chip? If not, why not? Ultimately, maybe it’s a flavor preference, maybe you just prefer fruit and I prefer chocolate, but we can still talk about the merits and faults. I don’t think of this as “baiting” oneself. More on that later. If people can talk about specific reasons they’re enjoying the show, the other side of the coin can certainly be that people want to talk about the specific reasons why they dislike the show.

It’s also a way of finding like-minded people. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people state "VC is a trilogy!" in a way that was clearly intended to fish for more people who agreed with them, which is totally normal fandom behavior. Or how many times people have critiqued Antonio Banderas' Armand being aged up and not auburn-haired; they wanted a canon-compliant Armand, and they were disappointed with what they were served, no matter how pleased other people were with Antonio's performance. It doesn't matter that some people loved him! Other people didn't like it, they criticized it, and they continue to do so, as is their right. Personally, I loved Antonio's performance but I'm not a huge Armand fan, I'm fine with saying that I'm not as invested in him as the disappointed fans are/were.

I also disagree that it's not fun for people to criticize AMC, bc it's fun for other people to criticize things! We've been doing it in VC fandom for decades. I’m pretty sure that the "VC is a trilogy!" advocates have fun saying so, because they’ve kept it up for years.

I confess I don’t really know what “baiting themselves” means. I assume it means tormenting themselves? Trying to be angry about it? Well, people do that, too. In our fandom, there's always room for more sadists and masochists! 😂

5) People who enjoy the AMC show: Try not to take criticism of the show as a personal attack.

I think one of the major fandom problems we have is this feeling that disagreement = attack. There’s a lot of tension right now. There are people who want to escalate it. Even if the criticism is an attack, please try not to engage with it, seek like-minded people to enjoy the show with <3

6) Engagement is engagement, negative or positive, and that’s ratings for the show. Kind of already explained this one!

#ask #anon #vampire chronicles #interview with the vampire #iwtv amc #advice #on fandom #on criticism #quote #actual quote #boredom is the one true crime #rollin jones #articles #long post

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