This is a bit of a rant, but I needed to get it out of my system.
There are two types of people in fandoms based around franchises.
The first type is the fan. The fan is a member of the fandom who really enjoys the franchise. By that, I mean they are actively engaged by the backstory and characters. They buy the merchandise because its fun or neat or interesting, in addition to being related to the main story. They enjoy it all, for better or worse.
The other type is the collector. All that matters is the merchandise. They have a language unto their own consisting of acronyms you need a pocket manual to understand. NRFB, MISB, NMOC, VHTF, to name a few. These people do not understand ‘playability’. They are driven to attain ‘completion’, or owning each figure in a certain line no matter its scarcity. Most of them do not even open their merchandise, in the hopes that some day a natural disaster will wipe out the collections of all the other collectors, driving the value of their collection through the roof.
Almost noone fits into any one category. Everyone has some of both types in them, but at the same time, everyone leans one way or the other. I like to think I lean toward the fan. I have had some moments in my past, where I have without a doubt leaned the other way, but mostly I am a fan. I concentrate my interest in the Marvel Comics franchise and the Transformers franchise. I make no secret about this, nor am I ashamed in any way. I enjoy my interests and seek out others who feel similar.
Lately, I have had the utmost pleasure in sharing my interests with others via powet.tv. I made a video showing a very cool toy and what I thought was so cool about it. At the same time, I also tried to share a little knowledge some people may not have known. I plan to continue doing this and have already filmed the second episode. It is currently being edited.
There is a site called TFWire.com. It is a weekly Transformers podcast. I want to preface this by saying that I have only listened to a couple episodes, but I couldn’t really sit through them. The guy who runs it seems like a good guy. A fan, if you will. He did a review here. Very informative and concise. I look forward to the second part of the review. Another guy on that site though, has done about 11 reviews. You can see them here. My next video happens to be on one of the same figures the second guy did. Mine isn’t up yet, so I’ll stay away from that one, but he did do a 2 part review on Cybertron Primus, the same figure I did for the last video.
Compare them to understand why I felt the need to rant.
His Primus video: Part 1, Part 2
My Cybertron Primus Video
I had trouble watching that as an adult, nevermind any child that may come across it. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard someone so angry during a review, nevermind so off-base. I’m not sure what he was expecting the planet to do, but I don’t think he would have given it a good review no matter what it did short of fellating him. I know everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but come on guy. This is someone I would not consider a fan. I’m not just basing this off of one video. Watch the other videos. He could not be more inconsistent and miserable if he tried. Fan is one letter off from Fun, and that is not what this guy is about.
Whoop-dee-freaking do!
/end rant
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