Fandom Toxicity and Social Media Burnout

You're tuned in to Steve Megatron on Altered

Geek. Hello and welcome to Altered Geek. I'm

your host, Steve Megatron Phillips, and joining

me in this endeavor into all things geek is...

Wonderful! Not broken Matt Hardy or, well, I

guess... handicapped Mike Dodd, because I only

got one leg, but hey, it's Mike Dodd, the Birdman

from thisweekengeek .net. And that's right, I'm

joining Steve for this Altered Geek and probably

the next one, depending on how the recording

session goes. Yes, yes. And so - I'm making faces

now at my cat. So yeah, you were kind of bringing

up before we - we recorded or started to record

about fandoms and social media. Yeah, Steve had

mentioned on The Last Altered Geek talking about

falling out of fandoms and that's something that

I kind of wouldn't mind touching upon because

we look at the fandoms and we interact with a

lot of them be them on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit,

wherever you can find social media and you'll

find people either for your fandom or against

your fandom and Sometimes they're really welcoming

or they're really toxic. And I kind of want to

share my experiences with that because one fandom

that I've recently gotten into, excuse me, over

the course of the last year or so is the Power

Rangers fandom. And I want to send shout outs

to two specific people who've really made this

fandom really welcoming. And I've never met these

people before in my life face to face. There's

my buddy Cleva, who's been a fan of Twig for

years. And there's another guy I met who sold

me some Power Rangers stuff for my wedding anniversary.

My wife got it for me, and his name's Will. And

both of these people are members of a Facebook

group, Power Rangers Buyers and Sellers, and

another guy's a member of the Canadian Power

Rangers. And these are guys who said, hey man,

how's it going? I wanna help you out. Let's talk.

And in addition to dealing with them in a buy

and sell capacity, they're just really friendly

people. And I got to thinking about that. There

haven't been that many fandoms that I've got

into that have been super welcoming. Like they're

super elitist fandoms. And one, and I hate to

draw attention to it because there's been some

really good fandom. really good fan interactions

there. But a lot of the ones I see right now

are enforcing really negative. That's the Star

Wars fandom. I wouldn't say even just Star Wars.

I think it's been going through a cycle because

I think we had we had Transformers earlier in

2017 and we had Star Trek because of Discovery,

how polarizingly different everything was. Even

myself, I was a little toxic on it when I revamped

and brought back Future Imperfect. And then I

started taking more of a analytical approach

to it, trying to give it its pros and cons per

episode as I was reviewing it. And then to try

and give it kind of equal footing on both sides,

but while letting my opinion known of certain

inadequacies with the show. And then moving from

that, you get Star Wars. And right now, the new

thing, I mean, Star Wars is kind of still there.

there's stuff floating out even with, you know,

Mark Hamill of saying, you know, Disney is gonna

burn itself out because it's pumping out movies

every six months. We're getting like the new

reboot cartoon. So it's just, it's another cycle

system. Well, it's weird because it seems to

be like a niche specifically in the Star Wars

fandom that I've got a problem with, so to speak.

And I'm not painting. all people with this brush

before I proceed any further, it's the collecting

side of it. Now, there's always been vintage

and modern collectors, but it's, I don't know,

it just seems elitist. Unless you collect X,

you suck. Or if you don't like vintage, you suck.

Or if you don't like the super articulated, you

suck, so to speak like that. And I've seen some

people I respect. just get dragged into these

really dirty arguments, and both sides have their

points. And it's just really unfortunate to see

these fandoms just kind of nitpick at each other.

And like I said, you could say this about any

fandom, but Star Wars recently, I said after

how... I would say how divisive The Last Jedi

was, whether you loved it or hated it, people

just got right into each other and it got ugly.

Well, I think it's because of what they did with

the film. I think it's because, and I think the

best way of describing this film, and I think

like Booth Ninja Powers brought this up, but

is where Luke gets handed the lightsaber and

then just chucks it over his shoulder. And that's

pretty much what the whole movie did was take

everything you knew about Star Wars and chuck

it over its shoulder. Yeah, it definitely. Honestly,

the last Jedi felt more like the plot to one

of the Star Wars video games or like someone's

tabletop role playing game. It wasn't traditional

Star Wars. That's for sure. And I'm one of the

biggest Star Wars fans you'll ever meet. I've

read so much of the expanded universe. It's enough

to make you sick. I have almost every Star Wars

West End games. book ever published? I enjoyed

parts of the film. I enjoyed when Luke was in

it. I didn't particularly enjoy certain aspects

of what they did to Luke or things that they

omitted from the film, such as the Han grieving

scene or the fact that they killed him off. But

and there were plot lines in the film that were

just kind of pointless overall, like the whole

going to the Rich Bar scene. Yeah, there was

some. weirdness in The Last Jedi, you could definitely

say that. And they were peddling a love story

with Finn, and they were peddling, you know,

some kind of a weird thing between Rey and Kylo,

and then, I don't know, there was a lot of things

in it that just were kind of off -putting, and

I think it's because it's the first original

story we've gotten. in Star Wars while kind of

neglecting a lot of other things and not really

looking to connect it too much. Because when

we got The Force Awakens, it was a rehash of

A New Hope. And this one definitely was, it had

the element where the Empire kicks our ass. You

could definitely say that, but we'll see what

happens whenever the next movie comes out, which

it doesn't even have a name yet. But yeah, I

mean. That one particular subset of fans just

kind of... It made Star Wars feel icky for me,

and I wasn't particularly happy with it. And

you could look to other fandoms that seemed really

welcoming at the time, and it almost always seems

to center around movies. I'm gonna go back to

my Power Rangers example for a second. That's

a fandom that seems fairly welcoming. Except

when the new movie came out. If you liked it,

you got shit on. I thought it was cool. It honestly

got me invested in the property again. I was

like, man, this is cool. There's ups and downs

to that. There's the, and I always go back to

Transformers for this, there's aspects where

a new rebooted attempt revitalized the franchise.

Then there's elements, you know, such as like

Beast Wars. You look at the original Transformers,

it had died off years before. And then they come

up with Beast Wars and it was a totally different

aesthetic, totally different concept, different

everything. And then they connected it and then

they started kind of going back to the old school

formula because it had been brought back. And

then it started to taper off and then they made

the film. And then from then on, it's been a

conversation between the films and the animated

series where the films have largely been terrible.

but they're just stupid action movies which are

polarizing on their own. And then you look at

things like Ghostbusters. I was just about to

bring that up. And it was to revitalize the franchise

and it tanked. And then you look at, you know,

the superhero movies, you know, one side of the

spectrum you have hits and on the other side

you have things that just had a dumpster fire.

Yeah, I mean to talk about Ghostbusters, honestly,

the new movie once again got me reinvested in

the franchise. I still have all my Ghostbusters

figures. I have the new proton pack. I even have

the Funko pop, the new Ecto -1 with Holtzman

in it. And that was a bitch to find by the way.

See, I think that that movie would have done

better had they actually had the original cast

involved. more than just a cameo and had them

as an actual passing of the torch, much like

Extreme Ghostbusters. Yeah, if it hadn't been

a reboot, if it had been maybe alternate universe

and you somehow connected the original characters.

Or even 20, 30 years later from the original

universe. Yeah, this had to be a shared universe,

why not? And then have them, you know, passing

the baton and, you know, Egon, they could have

just had, you know, had just... died in the line

of battle. And so the other guys had kind of

hung up the stuff for a while and then came back

and then decided to train this new group and

then essentially have one last ultimate battle

with them. And then they go on and retire and

then you have the new crew take over. Yeah, you

see something like that would very much have

worked, but because of the way the script was

written and I guess... It had a whole host of

problems. Even the director, Paul Feig, had said

there were problems. It didn't turn out the way

that we wanted to. And it sucks. But we're supposed

to get a new animated Ghostbusters. There's the

new animated Ghostbusters TV show, which I think

comes out this year. I think so. I think so.

Yeah, so that's something to look forward to.

And in the Power Rangers movie, I get they were

trying to do their own thing. They were trying

to go completely 100 % on their own original

to Saban without any footage from the from China

and I didn't like the Zords, I didn't like Goldar.

I didn't really care for a lot of it overall,

a lot of the changes that they made, mostly aesthetics.

The story wasn't terrible. It was more relatable

than the original one where they all looked like

they were 25. I would have preferred more action

a little less character development But it was

the beginning of a franchise which may never

happen Unfortunately, and and see I kind of think

that they kind of missed the boat on it too.

Like there's there's a point And I think this

is kind of where transformers because even that

got cancelled recently They stopped the they

put the brakes on transformers six seven and

eight after bumblebee. They're rebooting because

they want to do a shared universe with GI Joe,

Mask and... Micronauts or something? Micronauts,

Transformers eventually and connect it all together.

But the thing is, is I think people are tired

of things getting so dramatically changed when

they're revitalizing a franchise. Like there's

either do the thing that the television universe

is doing where they continue a TV show from 20,

30 years ago. With the original cast and and

kind of have this like more natural passing of

the torch with some of the old cast Involved

or or completely redo it but not I Wouldn't say

do the like JJ Abrams thing of like oh, that's

rehash Kirk and Spock again And then just redo

everything give it a shinier look no what I'm

saying is like There's this kind of fine line

that you almost have to walk like yes, they should

have their own ability to choose and to change

things But I think that there's like a difference

between changing things and having like polarizing

changes Yeah, I mean you have to there has to

be a delicate balance. I mean one Franchise that

I think did a delicate balance right of giving

it a fresh look yet staying true to what it was

and I don't think you're gonna see this coming

is My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic. Now that's

a fandom that, pardon me, a lot of people give

a lot of crap to, and some of it rightly so,

and I'm a brony myself. I've got a brony tattoo,

sue me. But that brought a set of fresh ideas

with Lauren Faust as the show runner for a number

of years. I don't know whether she still is.

I actually haven't watched Pony since season

four. and I think they're on season eight now,

so yay. But that's a show that got it right.

Managed to rehash and give us something new and

new and have it be original. Have characters

like Pinkie Pie be something completely different.

And get still the same fun. Okay, what do you

got? Voltron. Yes, Legendary Defender. very much

different from the original, yet still recognizable

as what it was. And I know we're getting a new

She -Ra this year. I'm looking forward to that.

Which will be the first time since the 80s. And

then, you know, we had Star Wars Rebels. Which

was a fantastic take. Did you watch the finale?

Not yet. I've watched the first three seasons.

I've been dying to talk to somebody about the

finale. Nobody's seen it yet though. It's epic

and it lends itself to more stories with some

certain beloved characters without giving anything

away. But it definitely lends to something that

could very well be picked up post Return of the

Jedi. Which hopefully they'll do it like a TV

movie or something which they could totally do

and have Hamill reprise mark Luke Skywalker in

that case Which would be pretty cool or to get

that guy who sounds like him from all the Star

Wars video games anyway Well, honestly, I would

love to have Hamill return. He didn't do it.

Well, he did the forces of destiny animated clip

with Where he played young Luke with Yoda on

his back and it had Frank Oz doing the voice

in that too, so. Oh, that's cool And it was supposed

to be during the time of Empire Strikes Back

when he's training on Dagobah One of the things

that I wanted to mention during this conversation

and this kind of was the crux of its We're talking

about falling out of fandoms and fandom how things

have changed with either revitalize a franchise

or to perhaps lose the interest in it I wanna

talk about social media for a few minutes. We

talked about this on our last Future Imperfect,

how sides are so divisive on Facebook and Twitter

right now. And with a certain scandal going on

with Cambridge Analytica leaking Facebook data

and whatnot, whatever. Facebook is becoming a

very toxic place. Twitter. It's been a toxic

place. Yeah, and Twitter's a toxic, always has

been a toxic place. Well, I wouldn't say always

has been. It just seems like when the Twitter

trolls come out, they come out in force. The

last six years it's been, since we did our bullying

episode on Geekcast Radio. Yeah. That's about,

around that point was where it started to really

ramp up. And I'm seeing people, I saw the hashtag

pop up on Twitter, delete Facebook. And I'm not

saying I'm gonna leave Facebook, because I use

it for a lot of planning, that's how I keep in

touch with my friends and family. It's just become

mentally draining. And I'd never thought it would

say, because I remember Facebook used to bring

me so much joy, because I would connect with

people I hadn't seen in a while, it was cool

seeing their lives. but I see these memes occasionally

pop up, how Facebook is humble bragging, presenting

your life as it really isn't, like saying, oh,

I'm doing so wonderful when really you're having

a really bad, depressing day or something really

bad has happened to you, or you're showing pictures

of your food, yet you're eating from the dollar

menu at McDonald's, so to speak, and you're presenting

this wonderful thing. And then on Twitter, endless.

at wars, back and forth, back and forth, the

hashtag wars. It gets ridiculous. And I kind

of, people have done social media breaks. I've

had people say, hey guys, I'm disconnecting for

like a week or two weeks, or I'll be, I'm gonna

delete my account, you wanna stay in touch, here's

how to do it. And I'll openly admit this here

on Altergeek, I'm afraid to do that. I am terrified

if I delete my Facebook or Twitter, I disappear

as a person. And that's a weird thing to say.

I don't think you disappear as a person. I think

it gives you the chance to reinvent yourself.

without that. But your dad is still out there.

Well, yeah, I mean, you can let people know you're

still out there. But I think that if you let

people know in a post, you know, hey, look, I'm

going to take a little, you know, siesta from

this. I need a mental drain because like I've

done that with Facebook. I find it. I find Facebook

a lot of the stuff like my my own mom posted

a news article about the Chinese space station.

Yeah, I was gonna hit Ohio or something. I was

gonna hit southern part of Michigan Okay, we're

you know, I'm in Michigan. So it's It's kind

of of interested but I mean there's really nothing

you can do about it if it's gonna hit it's gonna

hit like it but getting worried about something

that you have no control over is Is one of those

things that social media just ramps up to the

nth degree? Well, one of the things about social

media and I guess it can be a good tool and it

can be a destructive tool depending on how it's

wielded One of the things I've noticed especially

in the wake of recent violence Is obviously you

get certain Conversation started and these conversations

inevitably inevitably go one of two ways very

far left or very far, right and As we said on

Future Imperfect, neither side is wrong. Both

sides have good points, but the conversation

gets lost in the shouting match that inevitably

starts. And it's getting a little tiring, especially

when you see it from the same five people. And

I think that's where social media is kind of

getting to me, is there are these people I thought

they were one thing and now I'm seeing they're

another. but these are not the people that I

once knew. And I guess that's the thing with

social media, you choose how you present yourself.

And I like to think on social media, I've always

portrayed myself as a very open -minded person.

I'm always willing to listen. Am I kind of a

douchebag at sometimes? Yeah, but I'm always

a giant nerd. You can always count on that. Yeah,

and I think that I've kind of done the same thing.

Like when I first started social media, I was

just reaching out to people that had like similar

interests and then eventually I was one of those

toxic fools that were sitting there purposely

trying to start a Twitter fight for no reason

like it just it was something to do throughout

the day and I mean yeah I was using my opinion

but still it wasn't warranted and then now I'm

of the the mind that I just don't wanna deal

with it. I don't have time to be sitting there

worrying about something that's either, A, not

going to affect me personally or affect people

in the grand scheme of things. Like it's a fictional

thing. Or if it's the fact that everybody's shouting

in the same echo chamber. Yeah, it's, you know,

I've been involved in very few Twitter fights.

I've been the victim. I've been on that side

too. And that's... never a pleasant time, never

a fun time. But I don't know, it's fascinating

to see that I never thought I'd get burned out

on social media. I've always been such a proponent

for it. Because without social media, and I probably

haven't told this story too often, but I'll share

it with the listeners of Altered Geek. If it

wasn't for social media, I never would have found

out that my mom died. I never would have found

out my grandmother died. Because when my grandmother

died, we hadn't spoken in a couple of years.

And I'd gotten contacted by an insurance agent

saying, hey, are you the son? I'm her adoptive

son of my grandmother, Marie Dodd. And I'm thinking,

yes, why? I'm sorry to tell you this, but your

mom died. I'm like, what? You're full of shit.

So I had to call this woman on the phone. and

verify that I'm who I say I am, that my grandmother

had passed away. And I had to find out via Facebook.

And then my real mom this past January passed

away of pneumonia while she was in the hospital.

And we'd just been talking when I was in the

hospital for my leg amputation around Christmas

time, we had just been talking and I had been

talking to my aunt and she had told me that my

mom had passed away. once again, over Facebook

Messenger. And then we started talking on the

phone. So without Facebook, I would not know

about these major events in my life because my

aunt would not necessarily have known what my

email address is or even had my phone number

because we had just recently started talking.

So that powerful connection I guess that's why

I feel such a loyalty to Facebook because it

has been such a part of My life if it wasn't

for Facebook, maybe me and Blair my wife wouldn't

be together Because we talked on messenger. We

talked on Facebook all the time now see And that's

and that's one of the pluses of it I have kind

of a plus story on this side, too, and that's

I used to frequent a lot of the messenger programs.

I used to frequent forums and other websites

before Geekcast Radio. Then when Geekcast Radio

was started, prior to that, I had started Twitter.

I had a Facebook. I didn't do anything with it.

It was just kind of there. Even now, for a while,

I was posting on it. I haven't posted really

... anything of substance in the last five years

on it, at least. Occasionally, I'll post something.

I've not even posted... I'm more so a lurker,

and then I'll comment if I see something that's,

you know, worth my interest. But I just... The

thing with Geekcast Radio is it wouldn't be around

if we didn't have Twitter, because Twitter was

how... I learned of This Week in Geek. That was

how I met you. I met Blanchard through the same

way. And then I've met everybody else that's

been on Geekcast Radio or friends of Geekcast

Radio over the years through Twitter. And so

without that particular platform, none of this

would be here. I mean, yeah, I'm sure I would

have some of these things. Did I have the idea

for Movie Weekend Review before Geekcast Radio,

before even New Blanchard? Yes. Did I have All

Things Transformers before that? Yes. Would I

have any of these other shows? I have no idea.

But the funny thing is that I enjoy Twitter more.

I just have to put on more filters. And honestly,

if I start seeing a bunch of stuff I just don't

want to see anymore, I just start unfollowing

people because... then I'm filtering out myself

what I don't wanna see. I mean, I'm the way with

Facebook. I'm really glad Facebook introduced

the option to unfollow people for Twitter. My

timeline is filled with a lot of role play news,

a lot of geeky stuff, a couple of friends that

I follow. I have a lot of news sources. I have

a lot of friends in the adult industry, so I

get to see some pretty naked ladies every now

and again. And I get a lot of geeky trivia that

way, and a lot of gaming stuff, because that's

my main sphere is like gaming news. But I don't

know, it's just like, there are days I question,

is it still worth it? But for the interactions

I've had with fans, there's been some really

good beauty. And if it wasn't for Twitter, I

would not have been able to receive the help

that I've gotten in the past, especially with

all my medical emergencies that have popped up

in the last year. If it wasn't for social media,

I would not have been able to raise the money

by selling my stuff for my wheelchair, which,

by the way, was successful. So thank you to everybody

who bought my stuff. I now have a wheelchair.

And the bird man is mobile again, just waiting

on a cushion. Yeah, I mean social media can accomplish

wonderful things and and and that's something

else I want to talk about too Not just myself

being helped but you see people that do these

go fund me's for hey I'm having kidney dialysis

or my son or daughters in the hospital You see

these people raise tens of thousands of dollars

And it's amazing or even natural disaster people

that oh, yeah, we're you know, I mean You when

people come together? In a form of unity and

this episode is actually funny enough almost

a continuation of future perfect, which Come

out at separate times it's It's it's wonderful

when you see people join together in unity for

a common cause And you can put aside the BS of

everything that just doesn't matter To do the

right thing and then at the same time the destructive

part of social medias, it creates not only discord

between people picking a side or a faction, as

it were, if you're relating to a fictional term,

because there's always two sides at least, you

also have the constant media barrage or visual

barrage where your brain never actually gets

the time to sit and unwind. And so therefore,

you're creating unneeded processes in your brain

that cause other issues with behavioral issues

or mental issues that can be managed just simply

by unplugging, which I've had to do from time

to time because of just it's too much. Yeah.

I mean, there are times there'll be certain hashtags

I'll follow. And there's a hashtag I've been

following recently. And I'm going to have to

just unplug and just, you know what? I'm not

going to check that hashtag anymore. I'm going

to walk away because it's not doing me any good.

I think I know what you're talking about. Yeah.

I'm just just going to leave it at that because

I've been following it, too. I'm not going to

bring up names of anything because I don't want

to give it any kind of press. Yeah. But yeah,

I know exactly what you're talking about because

I wanted to dig into it. Jesus. Yes. But yeah,

so I mean it's it's kind of ups and downs but

I've I've actually that's why I use tweet deck

The web tweet deck because then I can hide hashtags

From my multiple accounts and I don't see them

go across my timeline which makes it nice because

I may have to start doing that It's I even clear

out when I see certain political posts of moronic

people there I'll just leave it at that So yeah,

so I think that's all I've got on this anyway

other yeah, I Mean, I guess I could bring up

the the comments we got in the last episode which

is the falling out of fandoms Brad says that

As far as fandoms he says the last Jedi did it

for me fandoms are destroying themselves We're

elitist fanboys think something should be done

their way or not at all I wonder if after hearing

about episode 8 and watching by other means Did

you enjoy it or because I didn't go see it the

normal way I Said he says did you enjoy it or

agree with the post you'd seen beforehand funny

enough with that film? I'd sought out spoilers

on reddit Same here, so I actually watched all

of the footage that was going to be divisive

later particularly pertaining to Luke. So I already

knew what was going to happen. So I was prepping

my mind for it so I wouldn't have this WTF moment

while watching it, which is what I did during

The Force Awakens with Han being killed. So I

knew what was going to happen before it happened,

and it helped me to cope with the movie and to

kind of put the pieces together beforehand and

not have as big of an issue with it. That doesn't

work for everyone. That's just my method Some

people like optimus solo find that a bit ridiculous.

He's like you're ruining it and I'm like now

not really I I'm the type that would read the

end of a book and then go back and read the whole

book Yeah, same here. I'm the exact same way

so But then I could put the pieces together better

So anyways, he says generally since I've left

all fan groups online since I was excited for

Marvel films up until Avengers since it's the

same formula I haven't seen one in theaters since

Ultron I can like the films I like and don't

need a hundred likes on social media that agree

with me, and I don't need to hear from a troll

because he disagrees. Yeah, when you get the

angry trolls who are just looking to start a

fight, that doesn't add anything to the conversation.

Although, Brad, if you're out there, I think

you should check out Thor Ragnarok and Ant -Man.

I think you'd have fun with those ones. Those

are definitely fun films. I love Thor Ragnarok.

We just did our G -Sera on awards and that one

won. I think in its category. Good pick, very

good pick. I think, but anyways, that's one of

my favorite Marvel films of all time was Ragnarok.

It was just, it was awesome. One thing, actually

a little bit of trivia for you. The first movie

I saw when I was in the hospital, they gave me

a day pass so I could leave the hospital for

the day. Was Star Wars the last Jedi it was the

first time I'd ever took a wheelchair taxi and

it was the first time I'd ever transferred out

in the real world on my own when you transfer

from a chair to a wheelchair that it's well called

a transfer and It's the first time I ever did

it by myself and I was actually rather proud

of myself My physiotherapist was incredibly impressed

with me. So Star Wars is always gonna hold a

special point in my heart because it was the

first movie I saw independently So there's that.

Any other feedback we got? Not on that particular

episode. All right then. So as always, we do

welcome your feedback. We do read each and every

piece of it. And we always want to interact with

you across our various social media channels.

What Steve, if they want to get a hold of us,

they can do that by... Well, they can go to the

website, either GeekCastRadio or AlterGeek. They

can also... Find it on Facebook at AlteredGeek

or Twitter at AlteredGeek. My Twitter is at scp21

and yours is sir. If you wanna find me online,

you can find me at Birdman Dodd. That's my personal

Twitter. Or if you wanna reach out to This Week

in Geek, it is just simply at This Week in Geek.

That is run primarily by my producer, Alex. And

once again, we do respond to each and every piece

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the time. out of your almost certainly busy days,

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thank you for your patronage and thank you for

being listeners. Yes, thank you, thank you, thank

you. So until next time, get Altered Geeky with

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