Tuesday, January 9, 2024

More on Fan Meltdowns - Both Percy Jackson and Nancy Drew

I'm just going to say it.  The complaining on Reddit about the new Disney+ Percy Jackson series has now reached an insane level.  Some of the complaints make no sense.  These people are toxic, and all they want to do is make every other fan as miserable as they are.

Here is one bizarre complaint that astonishes me.  Some fans are complaining that the scenes fade to black for commercial breaks when there aren't commercials.  They act like this is not a thing on streaming services.  Somehow, this new Percy Jackson series has reverted to an earlier time, back when commercials actually existed.

Insane.  I'm sorry, but this is insane.

Some viewers do have commercials.  Not everyone pays for the more expensive service that is commercial-free.  Second, the shows might air on television at some point.  It's crazy, but television does still have commercials.  I know.  It's so hard to believe.

That's how toxic they've become.  They are complaining that the show fades to black where a commercial might be placed.  Okay...

They are also fixating on the episodes being too short.  If a show is 30 minutes instead of 40 minutes, then this is the absolute worst development ever.  I assume that they would rather not have the show exist at all than have an episode shorter than they would like.

In a bizarre twist, some fans are now complaining that author Rick Riordan was too involved in the production and that he should have been less involved.

I captured a few comments from this Reddit post that I feel are worth quoting here.

elitist bookreaders with superiority and gatekeeping complexes ruin modern entertainment for everyone else

Yeah, I agree.

Guys this is done on purpose because they are trying to ruin your experience bc they are angry with Rick still about "casting". This isn't just your average criticism.

They are trying to ruin everyone's experience.

That's what's behind the hyper-negativity here, I think: This intense assumption among some fans that

(1) they are OWED certain details in the show,

(2) the series should look like what they have had inside their own heads for years, or else it's "wrong," and

(3) they know as much about TV production budgets, directing, casting, acting and writing as people who do these things professionally.

Criticism if it's realistic and comes from some understanding of what making a show actually involves, is fine. But much of what's here isn't criticism; it's just bashing something for Not Being What Is Inside My Head.

People are too entitled these days.  How about being grateful for what we have? 

Nancy Drew fans complained a bit much about CW ND, but a least they didn't complain about totally stupid things.  

So, this is the subreddit which is the most toxic.

r/PercyJacksonTV

The problem is lack of moderation.  The moderators need to bring it under control.  There are ways that this can be done, but it will be very unpleasant for the moderators.  I really can think of no worse position a moderator can be in than serve as a moderator during a fan meltdown.  I was in that position in late 2019.  It was awful.

The Big Nancy Drew Fan Meltdown of 2019
Finding a Middle Ground to Discuss CW's Nancy Drew

When the CW show ended, I finally made a confession.

From Reflecting on Allowing Discussion of the CW ND Television Series:

In 2019, I stood my ground on allowing discussion of the CW ND television series, despite strong opposition that came from quite a few collectors.  On May 31 of this year, I posted the following to the Collecting Vintage Series Books group on Facebook.

... I am following through on a promise that I made to myself in late 2019: I will not allow bullies to prevent me from allowing discussion of an adaptation of a legacy vintage series just because they don't approve of it.

I was treated rather badly in late 2019 when Nancy Drew premiered.  I received some pretty hateful private messages.  I was compared to Joseph Stalin.  That was when I promised myself that I would not back down.  It is reasonable that a group devoted to Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys should be able to allow discussion of modern adaptations of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.

The series finale aired on August 23.  I posted the following right after I made my final episode post.

And it's a wrap!  I have fulfilled my promise to myself that I made in late 2019.  I was bullied about allowing and facilitating discussion of this series in this group.  I promised myself that I would post about every single episode in the series until it was over.  And so I have.

I am very proud of myself for following through, and I have felt slightly uncomfortable the entire time.  Every single time I posted about the latest ND episode, I felt discomfort.  Yes, all 62 times. 

It took a toll on me.  The haters did keep us from discussing the show as freely as we would have, which is sad.  I am certain that most fans who watched the show didn't comment in the group because they were afraid.  I was nervous myself, but I kept posting the weekly discussions.  I wasn't going to allow the haters to win a complete victory.  They wanted the CW ND show out of the group, and I kept it in there the entire four years it was on the air.

I believe that I would never had kept up with the weekly discussions throughout the four years if I had been treated better in late 2019.  I stood my ground due to how unfairly I was treated.

The Percy Jackson subreddit moderators could reduce the toxicity, but it requires great inner strength and the resolve to stay the course despite extreme criticism.  Haters really dislike being brought under control.

I began writing this post several days ago.  Since then I have seen signs that the moderators of the Percy Jackson subreddit are trying to reduce the toxicity.  I wish them well.

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