The China Files - Is this Hardcore Geekery Fanboyism?
Well, I decided to go write more stuff about being a whiny internet Robo-fanatic that nobody ever seriously listens to. Special thanks to Justy Ueki, the man behind the RDF Underground Podcast, for showing me the article in which I will use to eviscerate myself.
Oh yes, the article in which I speak of can be found in the GamePro website, entitled "Are you a fanboy or just a spirited debater? Our six-point guide will put you on the path to self-discovery" Let's take a look shall we?
There are two types of fanboys in the world: those who passionately
support a team, product, company or organization in a balanced way,
and those who passionately support something to the point of becoming
an irrational, spitting tornado of anger.
Who am I among these two fan types? Take a frickin' guess, Einstein. It's not like I've been singing praises to the beautiful masterpieces of spawned from the mind of Harmony Gold's current Creative Director since the guy "revived" the franchise in 2000. Oh yeah, big fan of Love & War and From the Stars here! NOT. What a lousy way to reinvigorate the franchise. Shadows? Meh.
Next up , the meat of the article - The 6 points to my path to self-discovery and s**t (slightly edited -ed)
# 1. You become upset when something you like is questioned.
Fanboys almost universally interpret criticism as a bad thing,
generally responding with hostility. The irony of this is that
unbridled enthusiasm benefits no one in the long run. When consumer
products are blindly followed without criticism, improvement is
frustrated and buyers ultimately get the shaft. It's in everyone's
best interest to honestly evaluate what's being sold.
This first point does not really apply to me because I like to criticize Harmony Gold any chance I get in the web. Lets first look at it in a way when someone does not like my point of view on Robotech.
Well, as I said earlier, I am not popular enough for my opinions to be criticized by anybody. I am not a Darkwater, nor am I a Creative Director, or even a flippin' Marketing Guy. I am MedMapGuy, the wannabe artist guy (what?? are you high or something? -ed). I suppose I can accept some criticism, since I have a very specific point of view that only few agree with. But again, who knows?
#2. You are intellectually dishonest.
If you truly believe you are always right and can never be wrong, you
-- my friend -- are intellectually dishonest. Common side affects
include an unwillingness to hear out opposing arguments, an overlying
fear of facts, a rejection of the truth, and opining without requisite
context or knowledge (even worse, without thoroughly reading the
issues being discussed!).
Me? Afraid of facts? Afraid of truth? Look, if the truth is simply the overeagerness of Harmony Gold's boys to tell us that the movie is number one in Amazon, or that the Shadow Chronicles feature is number one in some anime website, then I say fuck the truth. The truth is that the fandom is dead. Just about everybody regards Robotech as something that isn't worth investing time in.
Sadly, these are the instances where I make mistakes. It's that I still think Robotech is a bigger property than it truly is. I always think that things would get better with the franchise, but I am usually proven wrong. It's truly amazing how many times I've heard it said that Robotech isn't well known, or that there's no budget, or some shit. I am always wrong in this regard.
Do am infalliable? Hell, no. Do I fear facts? Do I fear the truth? Maybe I just can't handle the truth. Or maybe, I can handle the truth, but it is simply my blind love for the original show that keeps me going.
3. You resort to personal attacks during debate.
Fanboys let their myopic revelry define who there are. Pinning your
very existence on the success of a product like the Shadows feature can
be a scary thing. Thus, personal insecurity often drives
fanboys to spew trite insults and hateful speech when engaging
with others in a discussion. The Urban Dictionary aptly describes the
occurrence, "[They] put down people who don't like whatever it is they
like and will disregard any factors that differ from their point of
view." If you have a tough time separating emotion from discussion,
you might be a fanboy.
Lets not look at this point like I actually support Harmony Gold. Lets look at it as if someone debates with me regarding my point of view on Robotech. Hmm... Do I resort to personal attacks? Of course not! It's not like I was bashing the Creative Director of Robotech, or even their Marketing Guy for such a wonderful job during the year-long delay of the Shadow Chronicles movie! Heck no! I fully support those chumps because I love their works and the effort placed into them.
Nah. I hate em'. And voila, they hate me. It's not like they're thrilled about my art and shit.
#4. The defeat of your enemy is more rewarding than your victory.
Rooting for the success of a "team" is one thing. In fact, millions of
Americans do this daily for professional sports teams, favored
products, even company stock. But relentlessly celebrating the loss of
another in place of your own victory is problematic. I'm not talking
about cheering when the Yankees lose; I'm talking about finding
pleasure in spamming rival console forums, sabotaging Wikipedia
entries, and disrupting the peaceful assembly of others.
No! I do not take pleasure when something bad happens to the company! Remember the time I kept bashing Harmony Gold when the film was delayed and they wouldn't reveal any details? And how good it felt that all the company could do was literally say "Um..."
Nah. I'm not that mean. Please be sure not to read my previous posts in this blog.
#5. You bring nothing new to a conversation.
Harmony Gold's marketing is weak? We've all heard that tired argument a
thousand times. Does it really matter? If you feel strongly about a
subject, make an informed, creative case while backing it up with
facts and cross-references. Look to enlighten the argument, not rehash
the same points ad nauseum. Better yet, try a different approach if
you feel you're not being heard. If "you suck" is the best counter
argument you have, you're not even trying.
Ah, the glory days of my 50 plus post thread on bashing Harmony Gold's marketing without any facts... I don't think I'll be able to do that ever again. I love the way the Marketing Guy lost his cool there.
I feel guilty.
#6. You are anti-fanboy.
Don't get me wrong -- no one likes a troll. But if you've made it your
life's work to counter and antagonize fanboys, you're only adding to
the problem. Anti-fanboys regularly accuse others of being fanboys in
derogatory fashion. It's a vicious cycle. The name gets loosely thrown
around yet tells more of the individual using the term than the person
it's directed at. Calling someone a fanboy without proper cause is
merely evidence of a weak mind trying to get noticed.
No, I don't do this. In fact, I complain that there are too FEW fanboys. Robotech is dead, remember?
Whew! The verdict? I think... Oh gosh... I think I am an extreme fanboy... Oh well. It's not like the casual Robotech fan would create a blog simply to talk about Robotech.
Man-Faye, pushing the extremes of fanboy-ism.
Problem is: You're just like me, give or take a few years of experience in either direction. I feel a certain connection to what I'm seeing here on this website, and that bothers me a whole lot. In the years past, I dreamed of someday being respected for my work and insights into the world of Robotech, and I am not ashamed in any way to say that. The subsequent months, adding to years, would reveal to me that the very downfall of looking for respect through work on Robotech is because it is dependent upon FAR TOO MANY variables which, no matter how skillful the artist, cannot be simultaneously overcome.
--We have a stagnant fandom; the fandom which is willing to be active views Harmony Gold and their disgrace of a website as the tell-all hub for Robotech information; Harmony Gold is a small company, unwilling to make any major changes unless something is absolutely, positively, profitable and marketable; Harmony Gold has, for all intents and purposes, revealed itself to also be at the mercy of an owner-operator who is too conservative to attempt something as experimental as accepting and acknowledging the ideas of a fan-creator such as you or me; and once one sees these for what they represent and finally adds the truth that Robotech fans nowadays are too old, tired, and busy with their own, non-artistic, non-Robotech-inclined jobs to make a difference, then yeah, being a Robotech artist sucks.
But all is not for naught, my dear man. I've gone through all of these debates in my head too many times to remember. I've written one-hundred page Robotech stories, deployed role-players into a seamless Macross-Robotech hybrid universe, and written and published a complete guide to the original Southern Cross. The only thing I have to show for this work is that I'm a better writer and publisher than I would have been otherwise. Yes, I have the U.N. Spacy "kite" logo permanently tatooed upon my left bicep, and I'm proud to say that Robotech means that much to me!--But in the end, no one will give a damn about my Robotech works and I know why: Robotech pulls itself down every time it finally gets a leg-up.
As I stated previously (in far less words), you have too much promise to waste your time on this crap. Like a cheap whore always looking for more money but never willing to make a commitment in one way or the other, Robotech doesn't love you. Robotech loves being the bitch-dog of a company which doesn't know what it's doing. But make no mistake, sir, I love you as a friend and as a comrade in this sick battle, and when you're ready to talk--to SERIOUSLY talk--about using your skills for something big, let me know.
My e-mail is MyleneBowman.at.yahoo.fr.
And that's where we can begin...but you have to take the next step.
Very sincerely yours in the protoculture,
Khyron_Prime
Praise Haydon! (Comment this)
Give me near the end of the year Khyron. See where my not-so-blind devotion to Robotech would lead me to. I know based on your experience with the fandom that it may lead to no recognition, but lets see. Who knows? Maybe the Creative Director would get a heart attack and a new one would replace him with a much more open mind to fan-related content.
BTW, please feel free to email me at tephandchar@yahoo.com. I already emailed you so I can hear out just what the heck you're blathering about me diversifying myself and getting better recognition and stuff rather than sticking to worn out ol' Robotech. (Comment this)
He is "the provider"
Most people who defends him to death it's because of the beneficits kissing his ass brings. They know that if you want to get something in the "Robotech comunity" (read here Tommy Yune ass kissers comunity) they get Robotech gifts, exclusive interviews, exclusive meetings, exclusive info, points or ranks at robotech.com. They also know they got what they got because they proved to be loyal ass kissers and they better dont fuck with him. Remember when through people close to Tommy Yune and Tom Bateman, Darkwater used to get all kind of cool info and interviews, even appearences in robotech.com website (what a jackasses, they promote his website as being the example of Robotech fan and they provide him with the material) and when he started to say things they didnt like they put the fans against him. Now they are doing the same with the the new brand of "perfect fan", the ones they create to their image and convenience, like the guy of the radio talk show, isnt Justy Ueki?. He better dont bother them, because he is going to the unknown side, even worse, to the "dark side of fans who are against Robotech", just as Darkwater (Comment this)
And of course, MedMapGuy, I can relate -- honestly, I should probably be pursuing creative endeavors of my own making at this point as well -- but for some reason, here I still am, in about my tenth year or so of internet Robotech geekery. I think literally the only thing that would put me off of the franchise and my pursuits relating to it at this point is if, I don't know, Tommy Yune kicked me in the shins or something. (We'll see if that happens in California this summer.) And that would only put me off of it until his departure. Robotech is bigger than any individual working on it -- moreso than other franchises, there is no one "creator" of Robotech (no, not even Macek). Robotech wouldn't exist but for the work of many, many hands on two continents, and it will be passed through many more hands as long as Harmony Gold sees a market -- however small it may be -- for it. Who knows, MedMapGuy, if crazed folks like us keep plugging away at it, maybe some of those hands in the future might be yours and mine. And if not, oh well, we're all having fun with all this crap, right? I know I am. (Comment this)
Did I do it? Hmm... I realized, nah, I wouldn't be honest to myself praising him for the work this man has put out. Yes, it is indeed a Herculean task to resurrect something like Robotech, and that is to be admired, but again, if we look at his track record, his effort seems to be in vain. It's all so ho-hum for a man who claims to love Robotech!
Darkwater is an example of... erm... I don't know... The guy did get invited to see the Shadows film early... so... Yes, Mati, he is the symbol of an "Ideal Fan" who would go out of his way to promote the Creative Director (and Marketing guy)'s agenda! (I.e. promote their movie)Yes he is cynical at times, but he has admitted that it is all a facade. He likes Harmony Gold I believe. :) But the guy's great if he puts that 'mask' on during his blogging days. *sigh*
Now, Chris "Robotech Master" Meadows is the example of a "perfect fan". Open-minded, extremely optimistic, and willing to do work the company should be doing (I.e. Marketing). He never badmouths the company, always looks at the bright side of a bad movie, or comic.
We all want to be these two people. We want to be featured in the front page. It is the ultimate sensation to see your beautiful mug in the RT frontpage. Right, Mr. JLS? :D (Comment this)
To have your name PRINTED in the back of a Robotech book. What I would give for my name to be printed on an Art Book as a contributor or somethng. Agh.
Man, at least you, Mr. JLS, have a Masters Degree in Robotech comics lore, what do I have? Damn, Photoshop and the temper of a rabid bulldog?
But yeah, it seems like for the time being, Robotech's rich universe has that pull to it that, despite the efforts of the current Creative Director (even though you said the current RT franchise is headed by more than one man), you just can't get away from.
No matter how so-so the movie was compared to other franchise, no matter how ugly the current Robotech.com site it.
I do hope you mention to Tommy to improve the site's look (bring it up to date) and improve the fan art/fic section. Please... (Comment this)