Oh yeah -- I think the canon stuff is where this can get messiest. Because for a lot of fans, the only way they can stay positive about a fandom is to reject some of the canon -- but then there are a lot of fans like you, too, who need to like the canon, that finding the good things in it rather than dwelling on the negatives is crucial to your enjoyment.
I've been on both sides of this -- there are some shows (e.g. Smallville) that I came to hate the canon, but I still loved the fandom and the characters and the fic, and basically treating the canon as an OOC AU was the only way I kept loving them. But then there are other shows that I love the canon, and even if it's flawed I don't want to dwell on that; it will make me like it less.
And then there are mixed cases like Guardian that I absolutely love parts of the canon and hate other parts, and I can simultaneously be upset with people who dismiss the show as not worth watching, but at the same time when I call it a trash show it's not just to dismiss it, but a defense mechanism, because the only way I can really enjoy it is to remind myself not to take it too seriously, or it will break my heart. But increasingly I'm trying to keep those thoughts more to myself/to people who agree with me, and not interfere with others' enjoyment.
And yes, fandom is a community thing, very much so. We play off each other so much that it's easy for us to encourage or discourage our fellow fans, whether or not we mean to...
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winterfish
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Date: 2019-11-18 10:53 am (UTC)I've been on both sides of this -- there are some shows (e.g. Smallville) that I came to hate the canon, but I still loved the fandom and the characters and the fic, and basically treating the canon as an OOC AU was the only way I kept loving them. But then there are other shows that I love the canon, and even if it's flawed I don't want to dwell on that; it will make me like it less.
And then there are mixed cases like Guardian that I absolutely love parts of the canon and hate other parts, and I can simultaneously be upset with people who dismiss the show as not worth watching, but at the same time when I call it a trash show it's not just to dismiss it, but a defense mechanism, because the only way I can really enjoy it is to remind myself not to take it too seriously, or it will break my heart. But increasingly I'm trying to keep those thoughts more to myself/to people who agree with me, and not interfere with others' enjoyment.
And yes, fandom is a community thing, very much so. We play off each other so much that it's easy for us to encourage or discourage our fellow fans, whether or not we mean to...