It seems like you're not alone in wanting to leap to the defense of hated characters; I've seen others express the same thing (I had that essay about "everybody loves X" and the reverse is true for quite a percentage of folks, it seems...)
I don't work quite like that, but I can sympathize because I walk my own fannish path, and quite often like what others don't. So I loved Bulma (and bore no animosity towards Yamcha - I didn't even know people didn't like him. I was never that active in DBZ fandom, what was the beef there? It wasn't like he was any threat to Bulma/Vegeta...oh, fandom, you so strange!) And Gnine and I once traumatized a good friend who expressed dislike of Nami on One Piece, and we were a bit, um, overly enthusiastic in our defense ^^;
The wanting to ruin it for others is a dangerous impulse, I think - not dangerous as in actually seriously harmful; but I think it can damage one's own fanning as easily as others'. I think some of this Keller-hate conflict is because there's these different impulses - some fans really are out to get the Keller-fans, try to ruin the show/char for them. Other fans aren't trying to ruin it; they just want other fans to see it their way. They're similar urges, but not quite the same.
And then, there's the differences in approach - there are few outright Keller-fans; most of the people who defend her don't love her, they just don't hate her and don't like the hate. But in absence of Keller-love, their tactics are more offensive than defensive - rather than explaining to Keller-haters why they like Keller and emphasizing her good traits, they're more likely to attack the other characters, insist that she's no worse than any of them. Which just ends up ruining everybody's fun, because it doesn't help the Keller-haters like Keller anymore, and it makes the defenders dislike everyone else.
Then, too, sometimes the debaters are just from totally different angles. To a non-OTP fan, it's hard to explain why OTP-breakage is so painful...
I'm trying to curb my own negative impulses, because I enjoy myself a lot more when I'm squeeing. But I do get frustrated (especially when I see blanket statements made about other fans; canon opinions bother me less for some reason.) And I do like debate and analysis to an extent. And then, sometimes I just lose it, and, yes, want other fen to be as upset as I am...
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winterfish
no subject
Date: 2009-02-25 09:10 am (UTC)I don't work quite like that, but I can sympathize because I walk my own fannish path, and quite often like what others don't. So I loved Bulma (and bore no animosity towards Yamcha - I didn't even know people didn't like him. I was never that active in DBZ fandom, what was the beef there? It wasn't like he was any threat to Bulma/Vegeta...oh, fandom, you so strange!) And Gnine and I once traumatized a good friend who expressed dislike of Nami on One Piece, and we were a bit, um, overly enthusiastic in our defense ^^;
The wanting to ruin it for others is a dangerous impulse, I think - not dangerous as in actually seriously harmful; but I think it can damage one's own fanning as easily as others'. I think some of this Keller-hate conflict is because there's these different impulses - some fans really are out to get the Keller-fans, try to ruin the show/char for them. Other fans aren't trying to ruin it; they just want other fans to see it their way. They're similar urges, but not quite the same.
And then, there's the differences in approach - there are few outright Keller-fans; most of the people who defend her don't love her, they just don't hate her and don't like the hate. But in absence of Keller-love, their tactics are more offensive than defensive - rather than explaining to Keller-haters why they like Keller and emphasizing her good traits, they're more likely to attack the other characters, insist that she's no worse than any of them. Which just ends up ruining everybody's fun, because it doesn't help the Keller-haters like Keller anymore, and it makes the defenders dislike everyone else.
Then, too, sometimes the debaters are just from totally different angles. To a non-OTP fan, it's hard to explain why OTP-breakage is so painful...
I'm trying to curb my own negative impulses, because I enjoy myself a lot more when I'm squeeing. But I do get frustrated (especially when I see blanket statements made about other fans; canon opinions bother me less for some reason.) And I do like debate and analysis to an extent. And then, sometimes I just lose it, and, yes, want other fen to be as upset as I am...