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I wish I were spending less time writing about other people's stuff (much less other people's comments *about* other people's stuff), but this has been annoying me for several weeks now, and I must rant.
Why is it that people stick with a show/book/whatever when there is a huge element that they hate so much and that they can't really escape? I don't just mean a character they don't like. Obviously, it's perfectly commonplace to love a story that has a villain you hate, mostly because you know they'll probably eventually get their comeuppance, or at the very least you know that the creators intend for you to feel that way about such a character.
I'm talking about Xander-haters in the Buffy fandom. Ron-haters in the HP fandom. Ziva-haters in the NCIS fandom. Doctor Who fans who think Steven Moffat is a revolting misogynist and is ruining the institution (or Davies-haters who thought *he* ruined it, yet kept on watching). HP fans who used to lambast JKR for being a terrible writer. People who have a burning hatred for something that is not going away any time soon and is meant to be liked and yet they STAY IN THE FANDOM for the Thing that is no longer (or perhaps never was) that appealing to them.
I'm not saying it's strange (much less impossible) to be a fan of something and like the other elements (or characters) enough that they make up for the undesirable features. But I don't get how someone can hate Xander Harris so much - to the level that every word that comes out of his mouth elicits a response of "SHUT UP, XANDER! PLEASE DIE IN A FIRE SO I DON'T HAVE TO ENDURE YOU EXISTING ANYMORE" - and yet remain a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I truly don't get it. Because Xander is not going anywhere. He is one of the three main characters, he is not a villain, and he is deeply loved by both Buffy and Willow (heck, even Giles has affection for him) - characters who don't tend to like people who don't deserve to be liked (and even dislike cool characters on occasion). Do they sometimes side-eye Xander for his insensitivity? Certainly, but they don't think he's a creep the way SO MANY fans do - and they spend way more time with him than we do! I can understand Mark's response to his character. Mark is exceedingly sensitive about gender and orientation issues, and Xander tends to bump up against that kind of thing a lot (though I didn't notice many people complaining about it back when the show originally aired). But he still has affection for the character - I suspect at least partly because he gets that he's supposed to and he loves Buffy and Willow enough that their affection for Xander rubs off. But it AMAZES me the things that get said about Xander in the comments of his posts. Bitter, raving reactions to things I have always thought were funny and hilariously awkward and awesome. I am so afraid to comment there (and generally don't) because my view of his character (and lots of things in the series besides) are so dramatically different than the crowd.
I always used to boggle at HP fans who hated Ron (as I know most of you did), and not just because I thought he was a generally likable guy. It's more basic than that. He's one of the Main Characters and the eponymous hero's BFF. Harry has an immense affection for him (and Hermione, well... :P) and he is clearly meant to be a Good Guy. He wasn't going anywhere, and anyone who hated him as a character was going to be constantly forced to read about him again and again if they continued reading the books. (Just like Buffy fans are forced to continually see Xander on the show playing a major role.) If you hate Draco, you don't have to read about him all the time. You get long periods of respite from his pointy face and drawly voice. If you hate Cordelia Chase, you don't have to deal with her all the time on Buffy (and eventually you don't have to deal with her at all). If you hate Ginny Weasley, there are several hundred pages in HP where you can escape her. You can't do that with Xander if you keep watching Buffy. You can't do that with Rachel Berry if you keep watching Glee. You can't do that with Ron if you keep reading Harry Potter. They are in most scenes and on most pages. You are stuck. Why, then, do you KEEP READING/WATCHING?! If you think JKR is a terrible writer, you can't escape her terrible writing while you CONTINUE TO READ THE BOOKS SHE WROTE. If you hate the way Steven Moffat writes Doctor Who, you can't get away from it AND still watch the episodes he's written. That's counter-productive, to say the least.
I've had characters and elements of stories that I couldn't stand. I hated potential slayer Kennedy with the heat of a nova in the 7th Season of Buffy, but I knew it was the last season, and though she threatened several times to push her way into the core group of main-main characters, she never quite did (thank GOD - I HATED HER!). And if there was something I hated *enough* (say, Joey/Pacey on Dawson's Creek, I would drift away from the work rather than subject myself to further irritation. But that's usually an extreme situation, and I always at least *try* to like what I'm given, especially a character that I'm supposed to like. Being both an utter authorial intent slave and a person who has a not-small amount of personal self-loathing, I can't really compute the idea that someone I'm clearly meant to sympathize with is a more horrible person than me just because I don't happen to like them.
What I hate the most about the raging Xander-hate on Mark Watches, though, is that as I re-watch the episodes I find myself tensing up whenever Xander is on screen and thinking "Oh, I bet people will be bitching about that" or "Ack, what are they going to say about this?". They are ruining my enjoyment of the show and a character I love and find hilarious and awesome. A similar thing happened to me, though to a smaller extent, with HP and Ron. I'd read something with Ron that I would normally have thought was brilliant and have a nagging thought of "Oh dear, the haters are going to pounce on this" or "Yeesh, I don't envy Steve Kloves if he uses this in the movie." And I *hate* that other people, people who have nothing to do with the creation of the story, have an effect on how I feel about something like that.
Obviously, I could just avoid reading the comments these people make, but I find myself curious if there is ANYTHING Xander can do right for his detractors. I dread Friday, when Mark reviews the Xander-centric "The Zeppo," because I have no doubt the vitriol will be at a peak. I'm still BOGGLING over a comment someone made about his heroic turn in "Grave," which strikes me as a particularly emphatic example of trying REALLY HARD to find something to complain about.
I honestly can't think of a show I ever watched or book I ever read where I hated a good-guy-main-character so much and then kept reading/watching. When there's a fly in my soup, I'd rather just have something else. There's too much out there to enjoy to stick with something I don't (or that irritates me on a regular basis).
Why is it that people stick with a show/book/whatever when there is a huge element that they hate so much and that they can't really escape? I don't just mean a character they don't like. Obviously, it's perfectly commonplace to love a story that has a villain you hate, mostly because you know they'll probably eventually get their comeuppance, or at the very least you know that the creators intend for you to feel that way about such a character.
I'm talking about Xander-haters in the Buffy fandom. Ron-haters in the HP fandom. Ziva-haters in the NCIS fandom. Doctor Who fans who think Steven Moffat is a revolting misogynist and is ruining the institution (or Davies-haters who thought *he* ruined it, yet kept on watching). HP fans who used to lambast JKR for being a terrible writer. People who have a burning hatred for something that is not going away any time soon and is meant to be liked and yet they STAY IN THE FANDOM for the Thing that is no longer (or perhaps never was) that appealing to them.
I'm not saying it's strange (much less impossible) to be a fan of something and like the other elements (or characters) enough that they make up for the undesirable features. But I don't get how someone can hate Xander Harris so much - to the level that every word that comes out of his mouth elicits a response of "SHUT UP, XANDER! PLEASE DIE IN A FIRE SO I DON'T HAVE TO ENDURE YOU EXISTING ANYMORE" - and yet remain a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I truly don't get it. Because Xander is not going anywhere. He is one of the three main characters, he is not a villain, and he is deeply loved by both Buffy and Willow (heck, even Giles has affection for him) - characters who don't tend to like people who don't deserve to be liked (and even dislike cool characters on occasion). Do they sometimes side-eye Xander for his insensitivity? Certainly, but they don't think he's a creep the way SO MANY fans do - and they spend way more time with him than we do! I can understand Mark's response to his character. Mark is exceedingly sensitive about gender and orientation issues, and Xander tends to bump up against that kind of thing a lot (though I didn't notice many people complaining about it back when the show originally aired). But he still has affection for the character - I suspect at least partly because he gets that he's supposed to and he loves Buffy and Willow enough that their affection for Xander rubs off. But it AMAZES me the things that get said about Xander in the comments of his posts. Bitter, raving reactions to things I have always thought were funny and hilariously awkward and awesome. I am so afraid to comment there (and generally don't) because my view of his character (and lots of things in the series besides) are so dramatically different than the crowd.
I always used to boggle at HP fans who hated Ron (as I know most of you did), and not just because I thought he was a generally likable guy. It's more basic than that. He's one of the Main Characters and the eponymous hero's BFF. Harry has an immense affection for him (and Hermione, well... :P) and he is clearly meant to be a Good Guy. He wasn't going anywhere, and anyone who hated him as a character was going to be constantly forced to read about him again and again if they continued reading the books. (Just like Buffy fans are forced to continually see Xander on the show playing a major role.) If you hate Draco, you don't have to read about him all the time. You get long periods of respite from his pointy face and drawly voice. If you hate Cordelia Chase, you don't have to deal with her all the time on Buffy (and eventually you don't have to deal with her at all). If you hate Ginny Weasley, there are several hundred pages in HP where you can escape her. You can't do that with Xander if you keep watching Buffy. You can't do that with Rachel Berry if you keep watching Glee. You can't do that with Ron if you keep reading Harry Potter. They are in most scenes and on most pages. You are stuck. Why, then, do you KEEP READING/WATCHING?! If you think JKR is a terrible writer, you can't escape her terrible writing while you CONTINUE TO READ THE BOOKS SHE WROTE. If you hate the way Steven Moffat writes Doctor Who, you can't get away from it AND still watch the episodes he's written. That's counter-productive, to say the least.
I've had characters and elements of stories that I couldn't stand. I hated potential slayer Kennedy with the heat of a nova in the 7th Season of Buffy, but I knew it was the last season, and though she threatened several times to push her way into the core group of main-main characters, she never quite did (thank GOD - I HATED HER!). And if there was something I hated *enough* (say, Joey/Pacey on Dawson's Creek, I would drift away from the work rather than subject myself to further irritation. But that's usually an extreme situation, and I always at least *try* to like what I'm given, especially a character that I'm supposed to like. Being both an utter authorial intent slave and a person who has a not-small amount of personal self-loathing, I can't really compute the idea that someone I'm clearly meant to sympathize with is a more horrible person than me just because I don't happen to like them.
What I hate the most about the raging Xander-hate on Mark Watches, though, is that as I re-watch the episodes I find myself tensing up whenever Xander is on screen and thinking "Oh, I bet people will be bitching about that" or "Ack, what are they going to say about this?". They are ruining my enjoyment of the show and a character I love and find hilarious and awesome. A similar thing happened to me, though to a smaller extent, with HP and Ron. I'd read something with Ron that I would normally have thought was brilliant and have a nagging thought of "Oh dear, the haters are going to pounce on this" or "Yeesh, I don't envy Steve Kloves if he uses this in the movie." And I *hate* that other people, people who have nothing to do with the creation of the story, have an effect on how I feel about something like that.
Obviously, I could just avoid reading the comments these people make, but I find myself curious if there is ANYTHING Xander can do right for his detractors. I dread Friday, when Mark reviews the Xander-centric "The Zeppo," because I have no doubt the vitriol will be at a peak. I'm still BOGGLING over a comment someone made about his heroic turn in "Grave," which strikes me as a particularly emphatic example of trying REALLY HARD to find something to complain about.
I honestly can't think of a show I ever watched or book I ever read where I hated a good-guy-main-character so much and then kept reading/watching. When there's a fly in my soup, I'd rather just have something else. There's too much out there to enjoy to stick with something I don't (or that irritates me on a regular basis).
aggravated