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

[likeahiphopsong.livejournal.com]

*Yes, people, as a whole, are stupid.

*I have to say, because I always stick up for the hometown hero, that Stephen King is a much better writer than he's given credit for.

*I think I agree with you on the bad slash getting many a rec, but I can't completely agree as I don't know what fic(s) you're talking about. Am deply intrigued, though.

*Chris and Justin? Desperately, madly, wonderfully inlove.

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

[sirndipiti.livejournal.com]

...well, of course i would agree with you, where you say, ("... whereby you think ... not what you think...", except i'm not inclined to call it a syndrome, it's just that when you're right, you're right! It is, sadly, the untutored masses who suffer from the pervasive syndrome you so clearly describe -- SNITS, Simple Native Intelligence with Tasteless Selection -- ample opportunities abound to observe the U.M. going about their daily activities blissfully unaware that they suffer from a severe case of the SNITS -- sadder, even, are the incurable or those who refuse to be cured ... -- do you feel better now? heheheheheh

[strangelette.livejournal.com]

It all comes back to the unfortunate fact that most people are stupid. Mediocre writing will get great feedback from people with mediocre intellects because they can understand it and that makes them happy.

[cjmarlowe.livejournal.com]

Without getting into detail, because unfortunately I'm at work and I can't, I just have to say, agree 100% and thank you for saying it. =)

Haha, that's life isn't it

[kwirbx.livejournal.com]

Kind of like Dead or alive 3 compared to Tekken 4. Sure, doa 3 has really pretty girls, mad-looking tags, chasm falls and crazy stuff like that which would make someone passing by say "Hey, doa 3 looks better because of the cheap gimmicks!" But we all know that Tekken 4 has 10 layers of depth BEYOND doa3. Cheap button mashers get a kick out of doa 3 because they randomly push buttons and do exciting things. Cheap button pusher get their asses kicked in tekken 4 because tekken was built with the pro players in mind. (ecept for maybe christy/eddy and that just-frame kuma) Yeah, most people are stupid and just don't understand and it is annoying that doa 3 is heralded as one of the best fighting games ever. (stupid xbox) I hope that wasn't too off base. I mean, I wouldn't dare comment on what good slash is because I've read so little of it. Point being, I'm relating it to video games, because that's what I know a lot about so don't get mad and call me stupid for saying what I said because it DOES make sense if you think about it and it shows that I understand. That's what the whole point of this is right??

[silviakundera.livejournal.com]

::taps foot::

I write TONS of maudlin, predictable, mischaracterized repetitive bullshit! Where's my feedback? ::looks pointedly at the unwashed masses::

Some people get all the luck.

[but. er. yes. I agree with you. It's frightening and frustrating and yes. Just on principle. It drives me nuts when crap TV gets good ratings too. People should not support crap! We're dumbing down our culture! blah, blah, blah...]

[tavella.livejournal.com]

Oh, god yes. lotr_rps is driving me crazy with that. I see pages of gush over some of the stories, and I just want to shake them and scream 'every character is talking and behaving like a 14 year old girl! An *immature* 14 year old girl!'