Really, we're not all psychopaths

[author_by_night]

So as a shipper (if in the most moderate form) and active member of two fandoms and a dabbler in some others, I had mixed feelings about how Castle portrayed fandom. I suppose it just bugs me when shows and books and movies try, in some weird way, to wink to their fandom-based fans... by portraying fans as "not quite there" weirdos who live with their parents at the age of forty. I have issues with The Guild for the same reason.  The Guild purports to be about rebutting that very stereotype, and yet all of the characters are extremely socially and/or emotionally awkward. Zaboo is a stalker who you can't even call a stalker because he's like a five year old who just didn't know better, Vork has no real personality and lives off his deceased grandfather's social security checks, and Clara neglects her children. So basically, even though Felicia Day wants to show the world not all internet users are screwed up individuals with little to no sense of reality, most of the characters are screwed up individuals with little to no sense of reality. That's not to say I don't still enjoy The Guild - I do, it's a guilty pleasure. But I just don't see what stereotypes it's supposed to go against. (Of course, they're gamers, not necessarily fandomers. But the stigmas apply all the same.)

Let's go back to Castle. I will try and summarize part of the plotline without spoiling anything, mainly for those of you who haven't seen the episode and those of you who have no interest in doing so. Essentially we find out a murder victim, who happens to be a writer for a popular TV soap, has an active fanbase. We learn that there's very rabid "shippers", and one of them ends up being a suspect. She is a heavyset woman, very socially awkward, and still lives with her parents despite being in her thirties or forties. She claims that a group of fans were going to go to the studio with axes in protest of writing decisions. We never see or hear of other fandomers who are as into the series, but less rabid. We know Beckett is a fan of the show itself, but there is little to nothing that indicates whether or not she is a shipper apart from knowing what a shipper is, which could indicate some fandom dabbling but could also mean she stumbled on a website once that mentioned it or someone else told her. Knowing /=/ involvement.

All of this being said, I do think that there can be validity behind these stereotypes, as annoying as we may find them, which is why I didn't have too much of a problem with Castle's approach to fandom. Fiction is all about exaggeration, an in this case, they exaggerated something that does happen. I have seen very, very obsessive fans. People who seem to have no scope of reality beyond the fictional universe they are a fan of, and/or the actual fandom. Even that's an extreme, and it's rare, but I do think that's probably the aspect Castle was talking about.

I suppose what I would like to see is a show or movie or book approach fandom as it really is: a group of very, very different people who range in interests and motivations. It's like fans of anything; there's sports fans who just go to games when they can and watch them on TV, then there's fans who are really into it, do whatever it is big sports fans do to show they love sports (I'm... not a huge sports fan), and then there's people who stalk baseball players. Look, I don't get sports, but I would never claim that all sports fans do things like that. OTOH, maybe "sports fan just likes sports" just isn't quite as interesting as "sports fan is a murder suspect." 

What do you guys think?

Comments

[fairest1.livejournal.com]

I can accept Castle's handling of the situation because of the context -- people who are reasonable and moderate in their stances on a subject are not as likely to become murder suspects, so of course the rabid fan was the suspect.

Also, I'm fairly certain that Castle is aware of his own fanbase and probably trolls some of the Nikki Heat fansites.

[h-loquacious.livejournal.com]

I had a moment of annoyance about the whole thing, when the woman said she lived with her parents. That was one step into fandom member cliche I could have lived without. The rest, the rabid fangirling, the strong emotions, the investment, I was fine with because she was meant to be a red herring. And red herrings look guilty. If she'd just been a normal fan who'd walked in and then had to leave because of some real life issue, she wouldn't have looked at all suspicious. So I can deal with it within the context of the show.

Still, I'd have loved her to be a rabid, ultra-invested fan, and still somewhat socially integrated. It is possible. And it would have been a refreshing change from the fangirl as uber!nerd.

Also, I'm beginning to wonder if Beckett lurks on Castle fansites. Not sure if she actually is massively participating in fandom, but something about the way she talks makes me think it's a little more than seh's read some of the terms.

[asim.livejournal.com]

Also, I'm beginning to wonder if Beckett lurks on Castle fansites.

She does; it came out in the 1st Season that she participates on them, and we might even know her login ID for at least one forum. She's been acknowledged in the show to be a huge fan of Castle's writing -- if, at first, not Castle himself.

[h-loquacious.livejournal.com]

You're right. Perhaps I should have clarified what I meant. I meant serious lurking, because like everything else there are degrees of lurkdom. And from her comments in the S1 episode it is possible that she joined the fansite recently solely to learn more about the character based on her (a definite possibility, and I think something a lot of people in her position woudl consider doing).

I was thinking more dedicated lurking. As in, she'd done it long before she met him (I know she's a fan, but you can love an author and not have any desire to follow them on the internet), as in she lurks in more than one fandom, and uses fandom to decompress, even if she doesn't participate.

Her comments in S1 (as I remember them) don't really put her on any specific place on a lurkdom scale, just confrim that she has at the very least visited a fanboard. I was putting her at the higher end. Not insane, but seriously invested.

Which, reading my original post back probably wasn't clear at all.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I think they had a sports fan is a murder suspect plot in an earlier ep, where the suspect was v much the same sort of stock character. For me, Castle, Ryan and Esposito have all exhibited serious fannish behaviour for particular shows though the course of the series -- you know that cosplaying Captain Mal was more than just a bit of Firefly fanservice ;-)

[dawnofme.livejournal.com]

I have been involved in Soap Opera fandom in the past. We are rabid people. Seriously. I shipped a particular couple and found a bunch of other fanatics online who also shipped them. We had campaigns to keep the couple together. We threw in money to buy the actors cookies with the couples smashed name on them. We've bought them flowers and t-shirts.

Many of the fans I knew were socially awkward. Not all fans were or are, but it's safe to say that the more rabid ones probably are.

I have a husband and five children, but some of those ladies were single and living at home. Not many of them were 40.

There's always a group of crazies, or one really crazy fan. I had no problem with what they did in the episode.

[missymeggins.livejournal.com]

I did feel a little squirmy at the portrayal of fans as completely over the top, crazy obsessed, irrational beings. But there are definitely some fans like that. As much as I'd like to see a portrayal of the other side of fandom - those of us who are rational, thoughtful, intelligently passionate people - I can understand why that doesn't happen. I'm not sure there's much scope in storytelling there. But I suppose perhaps they could have made a small mention maybe of the fact that being a fan doesn't necessarily lump you in with the crazies.

Still, I tend to think that Castle leans more towards stylised drama than realism when it comes to the crime stories so I'm not too concerned about the portrayal.

[thatwordgrrl.livejournal.com]

I dunno...knowing the backstory for some fan shenanigans that Fillion has been subjected to in the past (note to fans: *DON'T GRAB TALENT'S ASS.* If you would object, don't be surprised when Talent does.), as well as having seen in person how he deals with fans who push that boundary, I found it more wryly amusing than anything else.

I think, at some level, if you develop a fan base as an actor, you should expect the crazies to come out of the woodwork. Being grateful for the well-behaved fans doesn't mean you should have to put up with the crazycakes ones.

[chocolatepot.livejournal.com]

I pretty much agree with you - I didn't have much of a problem with this example (I about died when they first said "shipper") but in general I don't quite understand the point of winking to the fans by being insulting about them. Doctor Who did it as well a few times.

[daintress.livejournal.com]

Skipping this because I was too sick to stay up and watch Castle....but I'll come back to it. :)

[jncar.livejournal.com]

I agree. Not all fans--even shippers--are mal-adjusted.

I think that's why I like Troy on Community so much. He is clearly a fan of science fiction, but he has plenty of other interests and a wide variety of friends. He dates. He is an athlete. He dances. Sure, he says crazy fannish stuff sometimes (like his pact with Abed to stage any accidental death to look like a suicide in protest of the cancellation of Firefly), but it's all in good fun. No one takes it seriously. He may not be "smart," but he's a fairly well-rounded guy who just happens to do fannish stuff from time to time.

I think he's the closest we're going to get to an accurate portrayal of fandom on TV.

[scionofgrace.livejournal.com]

Oo, I didn't like The Guild either, but I think that had more to do to my inability to laugh at people who are so blatantly pathetic.

I can see both sides. I cringe at most fictional "fans", but on the other hand, anybody obsessed enough to commit murder for the sake of their fandom would be, well, nuts.

What I'd really like to see is someone who "hides" their geekiness: not because they think it's shameful, but because they know most people aren't interested. They aren't socially awkward, they look "normal", they've got a career, maybe a family of their own, and their idea of a vacation involves cosplay at a con.

Is there a character out there who's like that and I just don't know?

[jo-blogs.livejournal.com]

The characterisation of the shipper made me roll my eyes, and the really heavy-handed meta-ness of it all made me wince. "Esplainey" made me grin though.