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<blockquote data-quote="DEFCON 1" data-source="post: 7772680" data-attributes="member: 7006"><p>Sounds to me that it all comes down to personal ego. Everyone feels like they need to be part of the "real" fan group. And when the "real" fan group's product changes (entirely decided by those who control the product of the fandom and not the fans themselves)... the fans who are left behind feel betrayed. Because they are no longer the "real" fans of the "real" product.</p><p></p><p>If you were a fan of the Star Wars Expanded Universe (IE the "canon"), at one point you were a part of the "real" Star Wars fans because you were a fan of the "Star Wars canon" (the mythical identity of what the "real Star Wars product" was.) But as soon as the people in charge of Star Wars changed the canon, if you didn't forsake the EU and immediately join up with those fans who focused on all the new stuff, then you didn't follow the new "Star Wars canon", and thus couldn't be considered a "real" fan of Star Wars anymore.</p><p></p><p>Here's the problem though... the only person who cares whether you are a fan of the "new canon" or got left behind when the product changed... is *you*. Nobody else cares. You've created this idea in your own head that there is this mythical group of "true fans" that has you as a member because you enjoy the "canon" of the product. As though this group actually exists (which it doesn't), and that being a "true fan" grants you some privilege (which it doesn't).</p><p></p><p>It is a group and an idea purely created of your own ego, which you have done to make yourself feel good about caring so much about this thing. There is genuine fear in all of us that our enjoyment or obsession about this particular thing might be a little... much... so by creating this concept of "true fans", we can join a larger group in our own heads that make our obsession a little less odd because we are not alone. But then, when our "group" gets destroyed out from under us and we have such a visceral reaction to it... we realize its because we truly *are* alone. We alone like whatever it is we like <em>in the way we like it</em>.</p><p></p><p>And that's been true all along. No one else likes what we like in the manner we like it. Despite our best attempts to deny that is true and create a "group" to belong to. So when someone asks "Why does the canon of the Forgotten Realms mean so much to you, when it is obvious that it doesn't mean anything to the people in charge of it?", you have no choice but to fictionalize that it matters so that you don't feel alone in your desires and enjoyment of it.</p><p></p><p>Our egos can't stand the thought that what we love is not actually universal and that we are truly alone in how we love it. And our egos usually can't handle that. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite3" alt=":(" title="Frown :(" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":(" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DEFCON 1, post: 7772680, member: 7006"] Sounds to me that it all comes down to personal ego. Everyone feels like they need to be part of the "real" fan group. And when the "real" fan group's product changes (entirely decided by those who control the product of the fandom and not the fans themselves)... the fans who are left behind feel betrayed. Because they are no longer the "real" fans of the "real" product. If you were a fan of the Star Wars Expanded Universe (IE the "canon"), at one point you were a part of the "real" Star Wars fans because you were a fan of the "Star Wars canon" (the mythical identity of what the "real Star Wars product" was.) But as soon as the people in charge of Star Wars changed the canon, if you didn't forsake the EU and immediately join up with those fans who focused on all the new stuff, then you didn't follow the new "Star Wars canon", and thus couldn't be considered a "real" fan of Star Wars anymore. Here's the problem though... the only person who cares whether you are a fan of the "new canon" or got left behind when the product changed... is *you*. Nobody else cares. You've created this idea in your own head that there is this mythical group of "true fans" that has you as a member because you enjoy the "canon" of the product. As though this group actually exists (which it doesn't), and that being a "true fan" grants you some privilege (which it doesn't). It is a group and an idea purely created of your own ego, which you have done to make yourself feel good about caring so much about this thing. There is genuine fear in all of us that our enjoyment or obsession about this particular thing might be a little... much... so by creating this concept of "true fans", we can join a larger group in our own heads that make our obsession a little less odd because we are not alone. But then, when our "group" gets destroyed out from under us and we have such a visceral reaction to it... we realize its because we truly *are* alone. We alone like whatever it is we like [I]in the way we like it[/I]. And that's been true all along. No one else likes what we like in the manner we like it. Despite our best attempts to deny that is true and create a "group" to belong to. So when someone asks "Why does the canon of the Forgotten Realms mean so much to you, when it is obvious that it doesn't mean anything to the people in charge of it?", you have no choice but to fictionalize that it matters so that you don't feel alone in your desires and enjoyment of it. Our egos can't stand the thought that what we love is not actually universal and that we are truly alone in how we love it. And our egos usually can't handle that. :( [/QUOTE]
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