the poor taste of the unwashed masses

[cimorene]

also. for those of you who, like me, have this syndrome whereby you think you're always right, and everyone who disagrees with you is probably wrong although you don't want to be too mean and unaccepting about it and of course other opinions are acceptable but it's just how could they think that. especially when it's not what you think?

uhm. so yes, have always been of the opinion that the vast majority of people are stupid. evidence the kind of books that get to be vastly popular, with, of course, the notable exception of harry potter--except that hp isn't even the best of its genre (british children's fantasy) out there, and it just figures the best wouldn't come close to it. right. but look at tom clancy, stephen king, danielle steele, that dude who wrote jurassic park, and the guy who writes all those exactlythesame!lawyer novels that are supposed to be dramatic. even within sff, look at mercedes lackey, marion zimmer bradley, anne mccaffrey, david weber. the list goes on.

pop music is obviously the exception here, because the only criterion for it isn't absolute quality of music/etc, but also includes catchiness, sparkliness, cool dance moves, appearance in eye makeup.

ahem. so. my point is that i shouldn't be surprised when the very slash stories that i find the most maudlin, insipid, predictable, mischaracterized repetitive bullshit ever garner pages of feedback and squishy gushing goodness from hordes of fans. why? well, evidently brain damage, or simple native lack of intelligence and good taste. so why am i surprised? but i always, always am.

naming no names of fics. hey, i'm probably not talking about any of the people who are reading this.

someone agree with me to make me feel better.

*pout*

Comments

Agreed in full

[(Anonymous)]

I agree. It's astonishing that some people remember how to breathe sometimes. >_< And yeah, too often the fics that get rave reviews make me want to pound the fics and the reviewers both with an aluminum baseball bat until my arms get so tired I can't lift them anymore.

At any rate, mediocrity gets the lion's share of praise-- partly because many people are too lazy to try to understand more involved or deeper works, Partly because many people may be too dumb to fully appreciate them, and partly because most people, even the smarter ones, are jealous of others' intellects.

In other words, I think a lot of people praise the mediocre or bad fics simply because they don't have to be jealous of the minds that created them, and because they don't have to bear the burden of having *their* minds challenged or bettered by reading them.

This happens to such an extent in fandom that I've known a few authors who actually worry *when they get* a lot of praise, for fear that it means they're becoming mediocre, or for fear that it means the story they just put out there wasn't as good as their usual level.

*sigh*

I know I'm not right as often as I'd like to think I am, and I know that I'm occasionally far too short and nasty with people when I think they're being stupid... but Jesus. Sometimes you just want to shake the writers and scream, "TRY, FOR GOD'S SAKE!" Or in the case of readers, "HELLO? FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DISCRIMINATE A LITTLE!"

This is also why good shows get cancelled in a year or two and crappy ones linger for aeons, IMNSHO.
--A Fellow Author

Re: Agreed in full

[cimness.livejournal.com]

hee. thank you. i feel much better after being agreed with. --although that's a good point about the praise; now i'm worried. effusive praise is a mark of inferiority? damn.

maybe just quantity of praise, not effusivity thereof? *hopeful look*

Re: Agreed in full

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, I meant quantity, not quality. Like that received by people who come on list a day after posting Gawdawful Heinous Crap that they tossed off in half an hour and brag about having gotten anywhere from 40-100 locs instantaneously and now they're carrying them home in a dump truck, etc. And you know they're not completely lying because at least a couple dozen of them were on list, and YOUR last fic that you slaved on for weeks got, oh, three or four.

>_<

--Your Anonymous Author. I'm not bitter about this! Really!


...okay, so I'm bitter. :-P

Re: Agreed in full

[cimness.livejournal.com]

yeah, well, don't worry. i'm bitter too!