#toxic star wars fandom

[starnerd1]

Anyone else absolutely terrified about the Mando S3 finale?

So much is going around the internet (as it tends to do) about people wanting/expecting Bo-Katan to die in the finale. Vague and/or Cryptic comments from actors and producers and directors are fueling the flames and it's getting me all kinds of nervous.

Some root for her to die because they hate that she is 'taking the spotlight' or 'sidelining Din' or fill in the blank generic "i don't like having more than one main character" type of schtick. Other say it's the 'logical conclusion' to her story arc. That she needs to be redeemed for being a terrorist and they only way to do that is for her to die.

On this second point, I have to push back hard on this. Rewatch the Clone Wars. Rewatch fucking Rebels. She owned her bad choices and mistakes. Demonstrated massive guilt and regret. Refused leadership several times until Sabine convinced her through the rallies clans who chose to support her. And then, as she did the first time after the Siege, she was crushed by the Empire as all others were. This time was just 10000x worse than Gar Saxon betraying everything Mandalorian and throwing in with the Empire. So, what's the redemption she needs?

Anyway, I could go on a rant for AGES about this particular point. So I'll stop myself here.

There are others who want/expect her to die so Din will be motivated to take up the dark saber, take revenge, and then rule.

I'll only say this once: STOP KILLING WOMEN TO FURTHER THE PAIN AND/OR STORY OF MALE CHARACTERS. See Satine Kryze's murder as case-in-fucking point.

So, I guess the whole point of this post is to ask: is there anyone else out there nervous/terrified that they are going to kill Bo-Katan off in the finale? I just...I can't shake the onslaught of posts and speculation and rooting for her to die. It's so depressing and disheartening.

I need a hug.

[charlottepollard63]

Star Wars “fans”: there was such BAD WRITING in the acolyte!”

Me: “no there wasn’t, you had a specific idea about what the show’s story would be and when it ended up being the opposite, you got mad, but you need an excuse to b!tch about it on the internet.”

Star Wars “fans”: “NUH UH, bad writing is a fair excuse because they were retconning all the legends stuff like Ki Adi Mundi’s age!”

Me: “information from books that George doesn’t give a single fck about? THOSE books?”

Normalize watching a show, saying “I don’t think this is my cup of tea” and TURNING IT OFF

[kathrahender]

Is it just me or the fandom of animes/shows/movies are too damn toxic nowadays?

Like seriously GROW UP ALREADY, and for the love of God, GO ON with your life. If people don't like the canon/fanon ships or the characters you like, just ignore them or block them and enjoy the things you like instead of harassing or sending death threats to other people. If you do that and the other doesn't, you're only proving who's the real morally superior person here. (Hint: if you're the one harassing them, you're not the morally superior person)

[book-stacks]

the acolyte is arguably the coolest star wars show to be released since the mandalorian and y'all had to go fuck it up

[writer-reader-skater]

@niobiumao3 I think another thing we need to discuss in the Bad Batch fandom is how we respect people’s interpretations of characters.

This is one example of a comment I got about on one of my stories. Obviously they were too much of a coward to comment from a real username, but it pretty much sums up the majority of hate comments I get.

People need to realize that having Tech be Aro or Ace or Autistic is literally 3 spectrums. You much know someone who is those three things and acts a certain way but you cannot expert Tech to act that way as well. There are Ace people who enjoy sex. There are Aro people who date. There are autistic people who have relationships. The idea that an autistic person cannot be happy in a relationship or a family is EXTREMELY harmful and ableist, as is assuming that an AroAce person is essentially a celibate robot.

Autistic people show their “passion” for people in a variety of ways. AroAce people show their love and attraction in a variety of ways.

You would not believe how many aroace and/or autistic people I have met who are offended by Tech’s relationship with Phee because Tech is not EXACTLY like them and/or their perceptions of an aroace/autistic person. Then they try to excuse their bigotry by “I just want more representation of people like me.”

For the last time….

IT.IS.A.SPECTRUM!!!!!!

You get representation by having aroace/autistic characters that showcase a variety of the traits from those communities. You cannot expect every person to be just like you or your perceptions of aroace/autistic people.

Thank you for coming to my Tech talk.

-Sincerely, an AroAce Autistic person

[autistic-ben-tennyson]

A rant about Jedi Stans from an ex-Jedi fangirl

After some time I've had to reflect on my own behavior as well as my time in the pro Jedi fandom, I decided it's time to call this shit out. Some people take it really personal if someone criticized your favorite characters or their beliefs. Ironically, you all act more like the Sith than the Jedi with how obsessive you can be and insisting any criticism is equal to wanting genocide.

I'm going to start by saying I was in the pro jedi fandom for a few months. Truth be told, I was using it as an outlet for some of my anger issues with my hate towards Anakin, seeing him as similar to a lot of people I've had to deal with. Some of it was wanting more followers and fear of being disliked by the majority. I would pick fights with Anakin fans and was a bit of an asshole and I apologize for that. I still don't like him but no longer HATE him. Seeing how fandoms treat abuse victims who aren't perfect angels like Shinji Ikari or Lapis Lazuli has caused me to loosen up a bit. Many Jedi stans would probably hate those characters for not being “perfect” victims. In retrospect, this wasn't a good community for me. It was very puritanical and I often felt like I was wrong for enjoying media that went against the beliefs Jedi Stans put on a pedestal. Three of my favorite ships (Madohomu, Reishin and Hodaka x Hina) involve "burning the world for one person" and I felt like I couldn't talk about them without being a hypocrite. That and me agreeing less and less with Luca's beliefs pushed me to leave.

It's fine to enjoy a fictional character and defend them if you feel that they're being unfairly criticized. I've done it myself and have written essays defending my faves. The problem is that Jedi stans don't know when to stop. So many are quick to compare the Jedi to minority religions or marginalized groups as a shield against criticism, not recognizing how insulting that can be. Jewish, asian and aroace people are the ones normally used due to the Jedi beliefs being based off Eastern religions as well as Judaism as well as some aroace people identifying with the Jedi.

One thing I noticed about Jedi stans is their similarities to Jumblr which is full of religious chauvinism reworded to sound progressive. Many of them talk about how the Jedi shouldn't have to change their traditions with the times or to accommodate a few individuals like Anakin or Ahsoka. This can be similar to how a lot of people are quick to defend minority religions from outside criticism based on how they were treated by Christian colonists or missionaries. The problem is that this can veer right into ableist or queerphobic territory. You know who else believe that their religion shouldn't have to change with the times to accommodate people? Conservative Christians who hate being told to be affirming of LGBTQ people. Also, schools and parents/guardians do have a responsibility to accommodate kids with disabilities, mental health issues or trauma, even if it may be inconvenient or force you to bend the rules. Claiming they need to just suck it up is honestly disgusting.

This was all a big reason for why I left this garbage pit of a fandom. While there are some who hate the Jedi because they stan the empire or think people need 50s nuclear families to live fulfilling lives, not everyone does that. Believe it or not, some people have faced abuse and bigotry under Judaism and Buddhism. People can also criticize how Lucas presented their beliefs as some Buddhists think he didn't do a good job. Libsoftiktok is a vile transphobe, an Orthodox Jew and her beliefs are said to be fairly common in her community. Many people of color identify with the clones and dislike how even the nicer Jedi treated them. When Obi Wan told Anakin, "It's okay to have romantic feelings, but you must let them pass," that hits different for queer people who have been told similar things from "polite" homophobes. Some queer people do choose celibacy like Side B christians which is fine as long as they don't treat it as a moral failure to want a relationship. There are many neurodivergent people who don't like the Jedi beliefs as they hit close to home. Lucas may have not intended to come off as ableist but the Jedi did with their beliefs about negative emotions. To some people, platitudes like "just let go" aren't helpful and treating it as bad for not living up to those principles is gross.

I deleted the post, but a while back I made a post asking a popular pro jedi blogger their views on adoption since they claimed Anakin not viewing the Jedi as his "found family" was a moral failure. I found their response to be tone deaf and insulting. I responded in a decent way of course, but felt a bit judged and unhappy for wanting to know my birth mother. Adoptees are another set of people this fandom is insensitive and gross to. The Kenobi series I find insulting for that reason too, having Leia be a foil for Anakin and Obi Wan romanticize his recruitment as a child.

Jedi fans are also shitty to those with religious trauma and who faced abuse. Accusing anyone who criticizes the Jedi of projecting their issues with Christianity while simultaneously talking like conservatives as shown above. Tumblr in general has a weird habit of treating religion as if it’s either conservative evangelicalism, liberal reform Judaism and some vague pagan or eastern spirituality with little nuance. Some Jedi stans really come from a place of privilege. Claiming "they can just leave" is insulting to real religious abuse survivors who were raised with harmful beliefs like creationism or homophobia. I'm no antitheist but treating non christian religion as inherently progressive dismisses a lot of people's experiences.

Let's be real, the writing in this franchise was always a bit sloppy. Lucas's issue was wanting to simultaneously create both a black-and-white morality tale for kids based on the fairy tales and serials he grew up and a deep socio-political commentary about the Vietnam and Iraq wars which required some morally grey themes. Thus, along with his terrible dialogue that made the characters seem unlikable, is why the fandom is so divided over whether he intended people to agree with the prequel Jedi.

To wrap this up, I found the pro jedi fandom to be a terrible experience. It was a mix of faux progressivism mixed with fear of judgement for disagreeing. I ended up editing a post I made, and eventually deleted, comparing Yoda with Garnet from SU because I included a tiny bit of criticism and didn't want to get backlash. As long as it’s not gross or bigoted criticism of your favorite characters isn't the end of the world. People don't have to like George Lucas or his beliefs and put them on a pedestal. I feel like the fandom's worship of George comes in response to OT purists who claimed he "raped their childhoods" but there's fair criticism to be made. Just like how not everyone who criticizes Disney SW or any Disney media in general is an "anti woke" grifter. To the pro jedi fans reading this, here's a suggestion. Just block and ignore people, write an essay if you feel it's important, but don't act like an entitled bully if a blog or even a SW writer disagrees with the Jedi, interprets the story differently or criticizes your favorite characters.

[wetsocksinbed]

if I had a nickel for every time I was a part of a fandom that turned out to be incredibly toxic towards anyone who doesn’t agree with their interpretation of things, and actively attacks and harasses both fans and actors of said fandom to the point where a good chunk of the fandom tries to actively cancel multiple actors simply because the actors disagree with the the way the fandom is behaving, and that fandom also has a weird obsession with one of the other main actors to the point where they turn him into this important figure and cannot separate the character from the actor so they start to think that whatever the actor headcanons is actually canon, I’d have 2 nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird it’s happened twice

[dg-outlaw]

Me seeing random headlines about 'The Acolyte' Episode 3 and how "STAR WARS is RUINED!" , "Episode 3 Just Changed Star Wars Forever", "Is This The End of Star Wars?", etc. and I'm like, woah, something is about to go down in Episode 3.

What's going to happen?

Is Deadpool going to show up? Maybe Doctor Who? Are midi-chlorians really just tiny space worms that infect people's brains and Jedi are just patients in a mental hospital fighting each other with pool noodles? Are we getting de-aged, talking baby Palpatine? What? WHAT?!

*watches Episode 3*

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Anti Tagging is a Broken System

So there was this anti Zutara post that I saw a while ago that was tagged as both 'anti zutara' and 'zutara'. As you can imagine, zutara bloggers were mad and the OP claimed they tagged the post as 'zutara' as payback for zutara fans bashing kataang in the 'kataang' tag.

There was also a jedi critical post that was considered to be insulting to someone's religion or culture or some other nonsense. The person asked (**demanded**), the post be tagged as 'anti jedi' because seeing it in the 'jedi order' tag was causing real-world harm.

It confirmed my belief that the tagging system is severely broken and lacking.

These are two issues at play that I notice:

Villain vs Hero Double Standard

What's interesting is that this issue is mainly relevant for protagonists. If I want to bash Ozai, Palpatine or Joker on Tumblr, I don't have to tag my posts as anti. Maybe their fans would prefer it but we all know that these men are villains and the lowest scum in media. It's not bashing - it's the cold hard truth.

So why is it that my calling Ozai a bad father is not Ozai bashing, but me calling Aang a bad father is Aang bashing?? Why the double standards?? Sure, the hero will likely be more sympathetic because we are meant to root for them. But at the end of the day, just like Ozai, Aang played favourites and this left scars on his kids even in their fifties. If you are an Aang fan you can try to justify it, but his actions still hurt his kids no matter how you spin it.

What Does 'Anti' Even Mean??

There are too many ways to be anti character, anti ship etc which makes things murky.

Let's use Kataang as an example. Are you anti Kataang because you objectively looked at the ATLA show and you think how it is presented makes it a bad ship? Are you anti KA because you genuinely like the ship but you think it was not developed properly or did not go the way you thought best? Are you anti KA because you are just emotionally repulsed for whatever reason even though canon may give you reasons to support it? Are you anti KA just because it may be popular to be so in your circle?

That's the problem. Theoretically, the first two scenarios could be classified under the general 'kataang' tag. Because people who hold those opinions are not just bashing it for no reason but have objective truths that they have observed about the ship. Saying that Aang kissed Katara without her consent is an objective truth. Why should that be labelled as 'anti kataang'? It's the truth about the ship.

How would I address this?

The general tag should not be treated as a safe space. If you want a safe space, stick to a 'pro' or 'anti' tag. The general tag should be treated like a neutral zone where everything is laid on the table for debate and discourse. So if I browse the Jedi Order tag, I should see metas about cool Jedi powers and master-padawan relationships but also metas about the separation of families and the social harm it causes kids.

People need to stop being babies and grow up. If someone posts a critical meta about the Jedi order, it does not mean they are attacking whatever religion you have or calling for genocide in real life. Do you know how much witchcraft, paganism, atheism and other kinds of Christian bashing posts I see in the Christianity tag?? If you don't like something, just scroll past it like a big kid. Don't send death or rape threats to someone if you disagree with them.

I think if someone does not have substantial or accurate reasons for hating something, they should stick to the anti tag and avoid the general tag.

What do others think?? Tagging is hard because it's up to the discretion of the poster but I hope my arguments here made sense.

@caripr94

@tragicfantasy-girl

@sokkastyles

@the-badger-mole

[cinemaocd]

Happy 25th Anniversary to the Phantom Menace, most anticipated/most maligned of the nine star wars films. I was in line at the theater in costume with my friends. I saw the movie three times that day and 6 more times (I KNOW) over the first run.

[peachesofteal]

Those damn gifs have me watching this entire show now 🙄

[carloroxxes]

I love star wars, but not involving myself into star wars fandom actually improved my mental health

[randomwritingguy]

The Star Wars fandom NEEDS to change

Based on the title alone, some of you are already going to believe that I am targeting every single member of the fanbase. I am not. I am merely talking about a significant group of the fandom, not the majority. The title was meant to grab your attention and since you’re reading this then I have succeeded. So, please stick around and try to see my point.

Lucasfilm has made a lot of mistakes when it comes to their management of Star Wars and I would be lying to myself and you if I tried to claim otherwise. My biggest problem with them, for example, is how they did the Sequel Trilogy and the Canon continuity’s depiction of Luke Skywalker. I am not a fan of it. So, I am not defending Lucasfilm with a sword and shield. I am merely making this from observation over the years.

While Lucasfilm’s management of Star Wars is the main problem, it cannot and should not be denied that a significant portion of the fanbase is majorly damaging Star Wars. The unreasonable, illogical, and irrational hatred that stems from this group is poisoning the brand and hurting everything it comes into contact with. Some might think I am exaggerating but I am really not. How The Acolyte was received is proof enough. And before anyone says, yes the show had writing problems too but you are deluding yourself if you think none of the hate it has gotten was unreasonable. The premiere was review-bombed before it even came out! Surely you can see how stupid that is?

Now, I know someone is going to write underneath “We are allowed to dislike stuff.” and you are absolutely right. Again, I stress this because I know someone is going to twist my words to suit their argument but I am not talking about all of the fandom. Criticism is completely okay. I am talking about the toxic portion that unreasonably hates for no good reason but to hate. I know others are going to say that I shouldn’t care about randos online. This isn’t it. This goes beyond randos spewing shit online. This is a very significant number of people hurting Star Wars products because they wanted it to fail. Again, not the majority of the fans. I am not talking about most fans. I’m sorry for repeating this over and over again but I just know someone is going to say I’m attacking all the fans which is not the case. Some people in this community wanted products like The Acolyte to fail and, if the rumours are true, they succeeded with this example. This cannot keep happening. The Acolyte had its flaws and I’ve had my share of criticisms and have seen valid ones too. But other “criticisms” of the show I’ve seen online are just absolutely dumb. Like, fire in space? Seriously? An age change? Come on.

There is a reason why the Star Wars fanbase is viewed as one of the most toxic communities ever. It’s time that we try and make this community a healthy place to be in. I’m just one man but together I am sure we can change how the internet sees our fanbase. I love Star Wars and what the fans can do is amazing. But I would be lying if I said I don’t hate this community at times or, rather, the specific group of fans who ruin it for everyone else.

Anger and hatred leads to the dark side. It’s time that we finally embrace the light.

[untilthestarsareallalight]

I'm so sick and tired of the Star Wars toxic fandom. It's seriously time we stopped, y'all. I don't care what type of Star Wars fan you consider yourself: originals, prequels, sequels etc. I don't care if you like the The Last Jedi, the EU or the new Ahsoka show, you're still a Star Wars fan. Star Wars is for everyone. Sure, sit here and blame Disney for all the problems, but regardless of what Disney makes has nothing to do with how we treat other people. Stop bullying other fans for liking stuff. Stop bullying the actors and producers in charge of these projects, because they don't always have a say in how something is going to be received by the audience. There's difference between saying you didn't really like something, and name-calling someone. People have been complaining about Star Wars and bullying others for years, and it's time we finally stopped. This is seriously getting out of hand.

[samasmith23]

The current sad state of Star Wars fandom in a nutshell…

[sjbattleangel]