Ellen Skonce
Which of the following do you think is a “real fan”?
Fan A: Has only seen a few of the movies in the franchise.
Fan B: Has seen all of the movies.
Fan C: Has seen all of the movies and read all of the books.
Fan D: Has seen all of the movies and read all of the books multiple times.
Fan E: Has seen all of the movies, read all of the books multiple times, owns 75 dollars in merchandise and attended several cons in full cosplay.
The answer? They’re all real fans because they all identify as such!
I know what you’re thinking. “How can somebody be a fan of Harry Potter if they haven’t read the books?” “You can’t say that you’re a fan of The Avengers unless you’ve seen every movie!” “Don’t even think about watching the show unless you’ve read the manga.” “Real Starkid fans are the ones who have made the trip to Chicago themselves to see them in person.” “You can’t like Batman unless you’ve read the comics.” I used to think this myself. I would scoff at the people who believed that they were Harry Potter fans when they didn’t know the names of Percy Weasley’s daughters. I would roll my eyes at people who didn’t know the traits of Hufflepuff House. I, too, used to be an elitist fan.
However, one day over the summer, my entire view of fans and fandoms changed dramatically. I was at my job at an overnight summer camp supervising some of the younger girls while they played at the courts. One little girl knew that I was a Harry Potter fan and was eagerly discussing her favorite scenes from the movie with me. Another girl, about two years younger than the first, overheard us and asked if she could join in.
“No,” the original girl said. “You’re probably not a real fan.”
“Yes, I am!” The other girl said.
“Oh really?” the first asked. “Then what’s the flavor of Bertie Bott that Dumbledore ate in the Hospital Wing in the first book?”
“I don’t know,” the other girl admitted.
“See?” the first kid said. “You’re not a real fan.”
After breaking up this little fight (the first girl apologized and convinced the second girl that she was a real fan, too), I couldn’t help but think about the adults I knew who had similar conversations. Sure, it sounds like a petty playground fight when this dialogue is exchanged between two little girls, but when it happens on my Tumblr dash, it gets 45,000 notes. If you really think about it, conversations like these among adults sound just as petty, stupid and downright mean as it did among my campers. Actually, they sound even more pathetic than they do among the kids, because we’re supposed to be the adults in this situation.
So by all means, brag about that autographed picture of Stan Lee that you have framed in your dorm room. Show me all of the items that you purchased from the Noble Collection. Tell me about your experience as an extra in the second Captain America movie. Teach me your theories on how Sherlock survived the fall. However, don’t put down the fans that “aren’t on your level.” All that it does is give your fandom a bad name.