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between_time_and_42So, I started the year obsessed with a video game about an outlaw of the Old West grappling with his sense of morality and being manipulated by a father figure, and I'm ending the year obsessed with a show about a former Marine turned hitman grappling with his sense of morality and being manipulated by a father figure. I tell you, there's just something about that plot and character dynamic, man. I don't know what it is but I constantly find myself attracted to it. Arthur Morgan is probably a better person than Barry Berkman, though. I'm actually starting to feel nostalgic about Red Dead, or at least I'm feeling compelled to watch the whole thing again since this is the time of year when I first started watching it. But I'm simultaneously feeling compelled to rewatch all of Barry (even though I watched season 1 twice before I had to return the DVDs to the library, I still can't get enough), and I have to remind myself that I can't jump the gun and get an HBO subscription several months before the shows I want to follow on HBO actually start airing. Otherwise I'd just be paying for nothing. I'm hyped for Barry season 3, and also cautiously interested in Westworld season 3. The second season was so labyrinthine and ultimately uninteresting that I ended up not caring about it very much, but Aaron Paul (aka Jesse from Breaking Bad) is featured this season and I love him, so... I also want to watch His Dark Materials (haven't heard much about it but anything would be better than the original movie adaptation) and comedian Pete Holmes' show Crashing- he has a podcast I've occasionally listened to and liked, plus he was decent on Live from Here, but mostly I just want to see the cameo from Joey Ryan of the Milk Carton Kids. Oh, and I heard The Righteous Gemstones was great, so I sort of want to give that a shot. Funny how every show I'm interested in seeing comes from one channel. Well, there are a few Netflix shows I want to watch but I'm far less interested.
I haven't been this into TV shows in a while. (Let us not forget, I'm also eagerly anticipating season 5 of Better Call Saul!) I think it evens out since I haven't seen hardly any good movies this year- none that make me sit up and take notice, anyway. Tomorrow, I've decided I'm going to go see The Rise of Skywalker in the theater, just because I want to be included in conversations about it and by the time it's out on Netflix, people might not be talking about it anymore. But honestly, I have low expectations, and I've already been spoilered on a few things that seriously irritate me. Whatever. Man, this series started out with so much promise. It's weird looking back on how I became a casual Star Wars fan. I watched the original trilogy as a kid and liked it, but I wasn't super into it or anything. I then watched the first prequel film and hated it, so I never saw any of the others. But when The Force Awakens came out, I fell in love with the characters, then re-evaluated the original trilogy and decided I loved those characters too, and that's when I'd say I became a fan. The Force Awakens is actually my favorite Star Wars movie after Empire Strikes Back and the first one, Star Wars (I'm sorry but I refuse to call it A New Hope, I think my parents thought that was a stupid title so I picked up that opinion from them as a kid, lol). I've seen the second prequel film since and while I didn't think it was as bad as everyone says it is, it certainly wasn't as enjoyable to me as the originals and TFA. It's been interesting to see other opinions, though. A coworker who just watched all of Star Wars in one go, having never seen any of them before, likes the third prequel film the best and hates the sequels. And of course there are the purists who love the original trilogy over all and refuse to watch anything else.
I'm mostly just thinking out loud here but really, I'm just writing this all out to say that IT'S OKAY to prefer different movies in a series. I don't know many people who liked The Last Jedi, but I'm sure they exist, and I won't hate on them for that. As easy targets as the prequels are, and as much as I can't fathom why someone would prefer them to the other films, I'm not going to make fun of anyone for liking them. If the sequels are what brought you into the fandom, great! It's always lovely to see a new generation enjoying something that's been around for a while. And if you think the original trilogy is overrated, that's fine, it doesn't have to be for you. It was made for an audience in the 70's and no one knew how long those films would endure. Basically, I'm just bothered by the amount of fans of this series in particular- and I'm sure it happens in other large fandoms too, that's why I don't interact with them lol- who seem to take personal preferences as a personal attack. Who CARES what you like, man. Enjoying a film is not hurting anyone. I would be concerned with some more recent fans who seem to misinterpret certain dynamics and character behavior (I'm talking about the overwhelming love for characters I believe are irredeemable, not naming names but WE ALL KNOW WHAT I MEAN OKAY), but 1. maybe the movies didn't do a good job pointing that out and it's a failure on their part, or 2. that's up to someone else to teach them right from wrong. Ugh I'm not sure what I'm trying to say here, words are difficult, but basically, don't tear my throat out just because I happen to be a relatively new fan whose interest in the movies was revitalized by the sequels, okay? There is nothing wrong with that and no one is superior for having a different taste in films. (Although I must say, even when TFA was released and even now, I'm still a very casual fan. I like spaceships and robots and weird planets and I like seeing them onscreen, plus I love a bunch of the Star Wars characters like Luke, Leia, Han, Rey, Finn, Poe, and of course my faves BB-8, R2-D2, C-3PO, and K2-SO (let's not forget him!) and am invested in their storylines. And, yeah, that's about it for me... if TROS sucks, that'll be disappointing, but it won't ruin my life or anything. It won't even ruin the franchise, really. If you don't like it, just ignore it and focus on the movies you DO like. They're never going anywhere. No one can take those films away.)
Now that that little Star Wars interlude is over, back to the fandom-of-the-year categorizing. Here are all the fandoms with which I involved myself this year:
-Red Dead Redemption, which I still very much adore. It helped get me into Westerns and the Western aesthetic in general, and now that the PC version is out, I'm trying to save up enough money to buy it so I can finally play it for real (although I think it would crash my computer)
-Grand Theft Auto- more focused on IV and The Ballad of Gay Tony DLC, but V was my first exposure to it, though I really only like V because there's an excellent ship in it- the story itself is superfluous. I probably wouldn't play these games, even though PC versions exist
-A brief dip into Good Omens, although really it's the same thing with GTA V- I only really enjoy it because there's a good ship in it and also a character I'm totally in love with (three guesses who THAT is)
-While Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul doesn't really count, as I've been a fan since high school, the newly-released BB movie, El Camino, brought back my love for the show, and I also watched the 4th season of BCS for the first time
-BARRY *trumpets blare* and by extension, I'm re-discovering Bill Hader's work after only vaguely remembering some of his SNL performances and characters.
Finally, Live from Here continues to be my most consistent fandom and my favorite thing in the world, although I haven't been as psyched for recent episodes since my mind is so consumed with another thing (Barry). When the season resumes airing in February, I'm sure I'll be revitalized, especially since I'll have an entire month to get over Barry lol (although I'm going to try to keep myself interested for as long as I can until season 3 comes out, just like what I did with Kingsman waiting on the sequel).
I haven't been this into TV shows in a while. (Let us not forget, I'm also eagerly anticipating season 5 of Better Call Saul!) I think it evens out since I haven't seen hardly any good movies this year- none that make me sit up and take notice, anyway. Tomorrow, I've decided I'm going to go see The Rise of Skywalker in the theater, just because I want to be included in conversations about it and by the time it's out on Netflix, people might not be talking about it anymore. But honestly, I have low expectations, and I've already been spoilered on a few things that seriously irritate me. Whatever. Man, this series started out with so much promise. It's weird looking back on how I became a casual Star Wars fan. I watched the original trilogy as a kid and liked it, but I wasn't super into it or anything. I then watched the first prequel film and hated it, so I never saw any of the others. But when The Force Awakens came out, I fell in love with the characters, then re-evaluated the original trilogy and decided I loved those characters too, and that's when I'd say I became a fan. The Force Awakens is actually my favorite Star Wars movie after Empire Strikes Back and the first one, Star Wars (I'm sorry but I refuse to call it A New Hope, I think my parents thought that was a stupid title so I picked up that opinion from them as a kid, lol). I've seen the second prequel film since and while I didn't think it was as bad as everyone says it is, it certainly wasn't as enjoyable to me as the originals and TFA. It's been interesting to see other opinions, though. A coworker who just watched all of Star Wars in one go, having never seen any of them before, likes the third prequel film the best and hates the sequels. And of course there are the purists who love the original trilogy over all and refuse to watch anything else.
I'm mostly just thinking out loud here but really, I'm just writing this all out to say that IT'S OKAY to prefer different movies in a series. I don't know many people who liked The Last Jedi, but I'm sure they exist, and I won't hate on them for that. As easy targets as the prequels are, and as much as I can't fathom why someone would prefer them to the other films, I'm not going to make fun of anyone for liking them. If the sequels are what brought you into the fandom, great! It's always lovely to see a new generation enjoying something that's been around for a while. And if you think the original trilogy is overrated, that's fine, it doesn't have to be for you. It was made for an audience in the 70's and no one knew how long those films would endure. Basically, I'm just bothered by the amount of fans of this series in particular- and I'm sure it happens in other large fandoms too, that's why I don't interact with them lol- who seem to take personal preferences as a personal attack. Who CARES what you like, man. Enjoying a film is not hurting anyone. I would be concerned with some more recent fans who seem to misinterpret certain dynamics and character behavior (I'm talking about the overwhelming love for characters I believe are irredeemable, not naming names but WE ALL KNOW WHAT I MEAN OKAY), but 1. maybe the movies didn't do a good job pointing that out and it's a failure on their part, or 2. that's up to someone else to teach them right from wrong. Ugh I'm not sure what I'm trying to say here, words are difficult, but basically, don't tear my throat out just because I happen to be a relatively new fan whose interest in the movies was revitalized by the sequels, okay? There is nothing wrong with that and no one is superior for having a different taste in films. (Although I must say, even when TFA was released and even now, I'm still a very casual fan. I like spaceships and robots and weird planets and I like seeing them onscreen, plus I love a bunch of the Star Wars characters like Luke, Leia, Han, Rey, Finn, Poe, and of course my faves BB-8, R2-D2, C-3PO, and K2-SO (let's not forget him!) and am invested in their storylines. And, yeah, that's about it for me... if TROS sucks, that'll be disappointing, but it won't ruin my life or anything. It won't even ruin the franchise, really. If you don't like it, just ignore it and focus on the movies you DO like. They're never going anywhere. No one can take those films away.)
Now that that little Star Wars interlude is over, back to the fandom-of-the-year categorizing. Here are all the fandoms with which I involved myself this year:
-Red Dead Redemption, which I still very much adore. It helped get me into Westerns and the Western aesthetic in general, and now that the PC version is out, I'm trying to save up enough money to buy it so I can finally play it for real (although I think it would crash my computer)
-Grand Theft Auto- more focused on IV and The Ballad of Gay Tony DLC, but V was my first exposure to it, though I really only like V because there's an excellent ship in it- the story itself is superfluous. I probably wouldn't play these games, even though PC versions exist
-A brief dip into Good Omens, although really it's the same thing with GTA V- I only really enjoy it because there's a good ship in it and also a character I'm totally in love with (three guesses who THAT is)
-While Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul doesn't really count, as I've been a fan since high school, the newly-released BB movie, El Camino, brought back my love for the show, and I also watched the 4th season of BCS for the first time
-BARRY *trumpets blare* and by extension, I'm re-discovering Bill Hader's work after only vaguely remembering some of his SNL performances and characters.
Finally, Live from Here continues to be my most consistent fandom and my favorite thing in the world, although I haven't been as psyched for recent episodes since my mind is so consumed with another thing (Barry). When the season resumes airing in February, I'm sure I'll be revitalized, especially since I'll have an entire month to get over Barry lol (although I'm going to try to keep myself interested for as long as I can until season 3 comes out, just like what I did with Kingsman waiting on the sequel).
