Hello (again).
It's been quite a while since I've updated this blog. To be perfectly honest, I've actually thought of (and might still be considering) getting rid of this thing altogether since the entire point of having it around was for the sake of finishing a final school project.
Yet, there's another reason that there's been virtually no update. Lately, it's been hard to come up with something to say that's worth writing about.
Until recently, when I thought back to a comment that I saw on a video shown through YouTube. While I didn't see the entirety of the conversation, I noticed something that caught my eye. Towards the end of whatever the supposed conversation was , one person admitted that he was merely a casual fan of comics dealing with superheroes in the Marvel and DC universes (which coincidentally was what the video was parodying, by the way).
The response to the person who made the admission that he had little knowledge of either universe when it came to the conversation they had went something along the lines of "That's why you know nothing about either of the Marvel or DC universes. Why don't you actually read the comics so that you can glean some knowledge from them. Until you've done that, kindly shut your trap, and even if you THINK you know what you're talking about, consult with someone more well-versed in the lore than you are so that you won't make yourself look like the a-- that you just did."
At first, I really did not think too much of it. After all, it's just some random person on YT making comments like they usually would (which is to say it can be one of three types: gibberish that makes little to no sense or has no real point, angry hate-filled ranting with lots of cursing and unnecessary name calling, and the occasional intelligent comment here and there).
Yet, there was something about this comment that just rubbed me the wrong way. Rarely do I ever feel the urge to say something about the kind of comments that people make over the Internet as it's usually something I just write off.
However, I just had to something to say about it. Why? It is because I never thought that when it came to the world of fiction, I had no idea that we suddenly had to have a Bachelor's or Master's degree in order to be able to talk about something involving fictional characters. Now, I get that there are some things that do require massive amounts of studying like psychology, psychiatry and countless other studies and it's almost always a good idea to have some working knowledge a certain series that you enjoy.
Yet, I can't help but wonder: How did it get to this point?
Since when did it become an absolute must that someone not only know who these characters are, you also had to make sure you knew EVERY. SINGLE. THING. about a character along with its entire universe and all the alternative continuities that follow it?
Whatever happened to easing someone into the world of comics, fantasy, novels, video games, etc. and then let that person decide whether or not if they'd like continue onwards and explore other things like anime, manga, and such like that?
Why do some people feel the need to make statements like what I just mentioned above? Does that really make a person so much better as a fan/enthusiast?
When did this matter all of a sudden?
What happened to simply just enjoying comic books?
What happened to sharing that love with that other person?
Where did all of that go?
Who knew being (or wanting to be a fan, at least) would suddenly become the equivalent of trying to pass a test by the Bar Association?
More importantly, what happened to merely just having fun?
Having said that, I know most people aren't always like that. But, just the fact that there are people such as this in existence (along with all the other unsavory elements of fandom) really makes me wonder if it's worth calling myself of fan of anything.
Of course, this is just one of many things that have been swimming around in my brain for some time now.
Perhaps, I'm thinking about all of this too much.
Or maybe I'm not thinking enough about a lot of things.
Who knows?
As for whether this blog may have an update again, only time will tell.
