EDITORIAL: The Fanboy (and Girl) Epidemic - A CBMTrolls Production

EDITORIAL: The Fanboy (and Girl) Epidemic - A CBMTrolls Production

Ever wonder why die-hard fans can't seem to just enjoy anything? Stay tuned for a smashing good read!

Editorial Opinion
By Tittie - Feb 29, 2012 07:02 PM EST
Filed Under: Other
Source: CBM

The big question here is:

As fans of various genres, heroes, and entertainment...

Why the hell can't we enjoy anything?

I've noticed for a few years running now, I have become one of those jaded movie-goers and it's been ever since I started getting in to comics and becoming a nerd.

The reasoning, you ask?

Because we are all too close to the source material. We've made bonds and connections with these characters, so we tend to nitpick and overexamine every single aspect of a story, be it the origin story or crucial battles in which our protagonist learns a hard truth or valuable lesson.

Those of us who enjoy the movies and TV shows still have to find something wrong with them.

Even great movies, like The Dark Knight or X-Men: First Class
give us even more to whine and carry on about until nobody wants to hear it anymore.

We're like spoiled kids telling Santa what we want for Christmas. We either get crap movies like Ghost Rider or X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which everyone has to rag on and belittle(with good reason). Or we get high-quality films that we STILL ridicule for some minor adjustment they made.

Hell, some of us may know more about Batman's love life than what's going on with the world.

It's because of this deep connection that we don't want to see our favorite heroes get the short end of the stick.

A great example of this naysaying stems from the upcoming The Amazing Spider-man. Once the first image of The Lizard had been released, the fanboy community was split in two. One half was all for the classic Ditko look of the scaly villain. The other was against it, wanting him to look more like he did in animated form in the 90's cartoon.

The one exception to this whole article is Star Wars. George Lucas, and I'm sure we're all in agreement on this, is that douchebag in the family you wish would just go to jail for his crimes against humanity. It's idiots like him that piss us off even further. Han never shot first? Are you kidding me?

Guys and gals, let's just consider ourselves fortunate enough to get decent quality movies, regardless of costume changes or backstory modifications. At least we're not getting anymore Batman & Robins, right?

I'm going to start approaching movies with a new method. Considering there is already so much awful crap in the world, without having to include cinematic disasters, I'm going to take a deep breath, step out of my own little critical world, and enjoy the show, no matter how unbearably eye-gouging and vomit-inducing it may be.

Let's all just get ready for this awesome year, overflowing with silver screen goodness.

CBMTrolls

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nuck82
nuck82 - 2/29/2012, 11:21 PM
[frick] you 1st class was great. minus the "x-men" yes it was good.
thewonderer
thewonderer - 2/29/2012, 11:37 PM
BOA HANCOCK FROM ONE PIECE FTW
THRILLHO
THRILLHO - 2/29/2012, 11:58 PM
ecksmanfan
ecksmanfan - 3/1/2012, 12:26 AM
Great write up Tittie!

MORSOAL!

WeaponX
WeaponX - 3/1/2012, 1:27 AM
What is "SOAL"?

X-Men: First Class, isn't X-Men. Once one can get past that, it's an alright movie.
sarahsatire
sarahsatire - 3/1/2012, 1:51 AM
Haha, one of my kitchen's walls has that chalk board paint laid over it, and written in huge letters on it is, "WHY DOES GREEDO SHOOT FIRST?" ... It's a good conversation starter for when people come over.

Anyway, this critic mentality I think is brought on by not only a fondness for the source material, but also over exposure and age. Entertainment is there at our fingertips with the invention of the internet -- we can instantly gratify our desire to constantly fill our minds to the brim with things that will "amuse" us, which in turn makes us spoiled, giving up good old-fashioned "patience" and "appreciation". And with age comes an inherent jaded mindset, once the magic of being a naiive child slowly fades with every passing year, we can no longer be so easily wowed by a movie simply starring our favorite superhero without having a list of demands before we even enter the theatre doors.

I am a hardcore cynic, and it's begun to bother me, because I love movies but it doesn't seem like I can watch one in it's entirety anymore without feeling like it's a soul crushing journey to reach the end. My affinity for making jokes (think Mystery Science Theatre) during a movie i'm not enjoying has gotten worse, too. Don't get me wrong, there are some gems and I love them to death, but the bulk is just so... blah. Case in point, I had read the Sword of Truth books before knowing there was a show that had come out based off of the novels. I was excited! Until I saw it. I am still struggling to get through an episode a day because of it's severe departure from the source material. I even went into it with the mindset of, "it's for television, it's going to be different, just give it a chance"... so far, not so good. Sad part, if I had seen it before reading the books, I probably would have enjoyed it! But seeing it's potential wasted is the killer.

Anyway, it's 4AM and i'm rambling so i'll stop there. ;)
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 3/1/2012, 4:29 AM
Well..thanks for stating the [frick]ing obvious Tit!;)

I jest, good stuff man. People be crazy sometimes. Seriously though, I find rampant fanboyism can either lead to what you describe, or the opposite..an acceptance of something obviously subpar. Like that Avengers poster.. the cries of "epic..I CAAAAme" for a badly photoshopped, disproportional mess was hilarious to me.
repairman13
repairman13 - 3/1/2012, 4:57 AM
Great right up and agree on many levels, another problem I think causes this is the over saturation of the news, clips, spoilers amd so forth and so on. Before a month of each movie I have to refrain from coming to this site and watching tv because I learned so much about the movies that it's all nitpicking from then on out. That's my two cents
@ tea you're the most rational person on the gosh darn Internet lol oh and way to hang it to what's his name on the. Avengers article lol i was all like wow tea put that ahole in his place! Ha cheers
@ sara try not to worry legend of the seeker is just a bad show I tried to love it, but just changed way to much and it surely should have been a hbo series ala game of thrones. My favorite fantasy novels were truley filtered down way to much. Well this article just proved its point I guess lol the nerd in me makes me hate the show even though I looked forward to it from the moment I heard about it. Ok enough rambling
marvel72
marvel72 - 3/1/2012, 5:17 AM
i'm fine with slight changes to the source material i.e watchmen,v for vendetta,iron man,captain america,kick ass,the incredible hulk & so on,its just the piss takers i.e x-men first class,fantastic four & daredevil.

@ nolanite

you could never join soal,check your username you're already in a group.
Bandrews1
Bandrews1 - 3/1/2012, 5:28 AM
Great article, I agree with everything you said.
Hawksblueyes
Hawksblueyes - 3/1/2012, 6:07 AM
Great write up <>. Very well said. I find that I can enjoy almost every CBM made (excluding Catwoman, Electra and Batman and Robin) for the simple reason they were not my favorite characters. I know that if The Avengers turns out to be a stinker (which I'm fairly certain it won't) I'll be one of those crying fanboys.

I loved First Class by looking at it the same way as The Ultimates comics...completely forgetting the fact that they were supposed to be Avengers. The Ultimates is great but it has zero to do with anything resembling an Avengers comic. Same with First Class.

It all boils down to which movies hit close to home and whether or not they drastically change something near and dear to our hearts.
Hawksblueyes
Hawksblueyes - 3/1/2012, 6:11 AM
I posted an editorial on that topic a while back that you may be interested in...(((Are We Just Picky Little Bastards?)))
MassExecutions
MassExecutions - 3/1/2012, 6:45 AM
Who knows? TT knows!



I think the key to using our embarrassing level of familiarity with the source material is to make sure it enhances your enjoyment more than it detracts from it. You can recognize when things are changed, BUT if it still manages to create a great film moment, recognize that. Take what you can get. But nobody's saying recognized crap as anything other than crap.
Jer3miah
Jer3miah - 3/1/2012, 6:46 AM
Jer3miah Approves!, D'uh...
Denn1s
Denn1s - 3/1/2012, 7:01 AM
i don't have a problem with lucas. it is his movie, he can do whatever he wants with it. don't like it? don't buy/watch it... as for changes in movies compared to the source material? i don't mind them either. you hate the change? don't watch the film and just stick to the comics.
JackBauer
JackBauer - 3/1/2012, 7:22 AM
Spot on Tittie. I've also grown tired of people finding fault with a movie for no other reason than it's DC or Marvel.

BTW, when are one of you [frick]ers gonna send me an invite for the SOAL FB page ? :)
sarahsatire
sarahsatire - 3/1/2012, 7:28 AM
@NOLANITE

That's pretty nifty. Homes are meant to feel like home, which in my opinion includes expressing your interests through the decor.

@Jollem

Perhaps realist is a nicer way of putting it. But sometimes I sure do feel cynical. ;)

@repairman13

For real, I keep hanging on thinking that once I get to the Mord-Sith things will get better. I think that's just a pipe dream, though. I might abandon it altogether pretty soon here. I agree that if the attention that Game of Thrones has was given to Sword of Truth as well, it would have the potential to be downright amazing.
Parrotbay
Parrotbay - 3/1/2012, 7:33 AM
I have no problems with liberties taken, but when you deviate from the source material then you are in fact making a different movie. TDK is not a batman movie, but it is still entertaining and that is as far as it should go. I didn't like X:FC at all but that's just me. There were several "busts" that I liked, Scott Pilgrim for example. Lucas deserves to go to a special level of hell. A level they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theater!
sarahsatire
sarahsatire - 3/1/2012, 8:09 AM
SOAL?

ChubbyDeadpool
ChubbyDeadpool - 3/1/2012, 8:15 AM
The problem with CBM's is that while the true die-hards are excited to see a film honest to the source-material, money-grubbing producers who have no clue step in and try to turn the film into something with a broader appeal to the 'masses'. If Wolverine had stayed with the Origins comic, it could have been awesome. First Class was a pretty decent stand-alone, but it doesn't follow ANY of the cannon of it's own franchise! Blade, IM1 and even Spider-Man were some of my fave's and if Fox sticks strictly to the leaked Deadpool script and since Reynolds is a Deadpool fan, there is SOO much potential for it to be one of the best CBM adaptations - IF it's done right. We criticize because we just want to be respected as comic lovers and they're messing with our characters and backstories. Make a CBM honest to the source material for "us" and hopefully the film-going public will join in
IwasGroot
IwasGroot - 3/1/2012, 8:37 AM
I think it's funny how he cited 2 of the most overrated movies in history, and called them "Great" HAHAHA This isn't just a fanboy talking here either, this is a realist! Dark Knight was ok at best! Heath Ledger's performance was the only great thing about it! X-Men "first class" was such a boring, self important piece of shit that it doesn't qualify as a CBM in my book! That is all!
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 3/1/2012, 8:39 AM
I think the point here..and correct me if I'm wrong Tit!..is that finding problems in adaptation etc is all well and good but when people allow that to ruin EVERY aspect of the movie then it becomes irrational. The biggest example of thsi are Singers X movies, particularly X2. People hate that movie..not because it's a bad movie, it clearly isn't (I realize there is no accounting for taste but that's another matter) but because Nightcrawler has tattoos and doesn't wear red or Cyclops isn't in it enough or some shit. Crazy
MassExecutions
MassExecutions - 3/1/2012, 8:42 AM
Ditto to Ror.
WonderMoose
WonderMoose - 3/1/2012, 9:35 AM
I personally see the movies as just being another storyline. Smallville wasn't connected to the superman comic continuity, neither are any of the batman series or any of the comic book animated movies. Even in the comic books themselves there are alternate storylines like the Ultimates from Marvel, or more recently the New 52.

Though sometimes I'm just as susceptible to getting too close to a character and bitching when things dont go my way. I completely stopped reading Star Wars books past where they killed my 2 favorite characters. Didn't happen in my mind.
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