His point is pretty specific to the movie Fanboys, as these people who camp out for weeks in front of theaters exist much more in certain types of movies and TV shows than they do in real life. If Fanboys had been the least bit funny he might have been nicer to it, but it does present a world of fandom almost wholly separated from actual movie content. Those dudes have made Star Wars a part of their personality to the extent that their conversations consist of strings of references to Star Wars. In the case of the movie at least, that familiarity doesn't equal affection for a movie, it's just a different form of elitism to exclude certain acquaintances and the women in their lives, like Kristen Bell, who is revealed to be just as big a fan of the movies without exhibiting all the stupid fanboy behavior. Star Wars is presented as the nostalgic language of a small click, not something to love.

quote:
You think this guy has ever been to comic-con and actually talked to people?

The people at comic-con at the time the movie was set (1999) would have cared about comics, not massive blockbusters. The big guests that year were Neil Gaiman, Art Spiegelman, and Mike Mignola. In 2006, the year Fanboys was released, TV/movie studios were dipping their toes into comic-con. Samuel Jackson was there promoting Snakes on a Plane. The cast of Heroes was there. Comic-con fans were not camping out for movies then, and very few are camping out for movies now.

Ebert loved movies of all kinds, and he spent half a century trying to make others love them. I can see how his dismissal of a fictional set of fans might sound elitist, but I think it makes sense that fans of movies who are actually only fans of one movie or one franchise would seriously irk him.

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Posted by SECSolomonGrundy

Slaughter Swamp

Member since Jun 2012

15956 posts

Posted on 7/12/21 at 9:42 am to Jay Are

quote:
but I think it makes sense that fans of movies who are actually only fans of one movie or one franchise would seriously irk him

Who are these people that only like one franchise? I dont know anybody who is all about one franchise and pays no mind to other forms of the media.

His review reads like he talked to one autistic megafan and he assumes every fan of comic movies lives the same life. It's an extremely broad and insulting generalization. We know that the people that go to comic con might be doctors, lawyers, teachers, and business people. And yeah some others might live in their mother's basement. But to judge somebody based on the movies they like is about as shallow as you can get.

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Posted by kingbob

Sorrento, LA

Member since Nov 2010

67216 posts

Posted on 7/12/21 at 4:47 pm to Jay Are

quote:
His point is pretty specific to the movie Fanboys, as these people who camp out for weeks in front of theaters exist much more in certain types of movies and TV shows than they do in real life. If Fanboys had been the least bit funny he might have been nicer to it, but it does present a world of fandom almost wholly separated from actual movie content. Those dudes have made Star Wars a part of their personality to the extent that their conversations consist of strings of references to Star Wars. In the case of the movie at least, that familiarity doesn't equal affection for a movie, it's just a different form of elitism to exclude certain acquaintances and the women in their lives, like Kristen Bell, who is revealed to be just as big a fan of the movies without exhibiting all the stupid fanboy behavior. Star Wars is presented as the nostalgic language of a small click, not something to love.

You have a really really bad take on Fanboys. I just want to make that known. It’s like you completely misunderstood the point of the movie. Also, it’s a really funny movie, and while I sorta agree that fandom fosters cliquish snobbery and gatekeeping, they weren’t gatekeeping Kristen because they didn’t think she was a fan. To have that take shows that you clearly weren’t paying attention. They excluded her because she was a voice of reason. They were running away from adulthood to indulge in one last gasp of childhood camradery with their dying friend. If she hadn’t been trying to talk them out of it, they would likely have wanted her to come.

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