The Dark Side of Fandoms

I have spent a very large part of my 19 years in this world fangirling over many different things. People who know me well have learnt to deal with my obsession with all things fandom – from highly expensive original merchandise to DIY fandom toilet paper rolls; I've lived the fandom life to the fullest. But now that I am slowly turning into an irate, bitter adult, I have finally started noticing the many faults in our fandoms. 

Let me start off with the most popular fandom in Bangladesh these days, Game of Thrones. This critically-acclaimed masterpiece of a show probably deserved better fans than people who upload statuses such as "Watching G0T ~ game of thronez, woo denaris iz so smokin' hot – with 49 others" every time a new episode comes out. But the one thing all GoT fans have in common, regardless of their spelling capabilities is their complete and utter inability to talk about anything other than this show when a new season is released. I know this is a tendency in all fandoms but GoT fans have taken this to a pathological level, for I have tried very hard to converse with them about several pressing issues during "that time of the year," only to be shut out completely because of my inability to love this show more than I love my own life.

Now, I should warn you that I won't say very pleasant things about the anime fandom so read at your own discretion. This disclaimer was necessary because anime fans are easier to offend than your average SJW commenting on crude humour pages in Facebook. I once used the term "Japanese cartoon" in an article; one of my friends was so offended that she hasn't talked to me since. These guys also seem to be hell bent on taking over the already abysmal comic-con scene of this country, and that is why I have stopped attending these overly hyped melas. 

The only other people as obsessive as anime fans are probably Whovians. Doctor Who fans are known for their absolute dedication to the art of cult worshipping – they spend a lot of time making and buying merchandise, and they will stop at nothing to preach the greatness of Doctor Who to other mortals. Seriously, their sole reason for being is to convert each and every person around them into a Whovian. These guys are so deeply obsessed that this one kid even chose a Whovian pseudonym for herself which she uses to write in a national daily. As if entertaining the stupidest, craziest fan theories wasn't enough, much like the other great fandom originating in Britain.

This is the one thing that's wrong with Potterheads, they're too much in love with fan theories. These days I feel like they have transcended above the normal dimension of fandoms since J. K. Rowling herself seems to have joined in on this madness. Some Tumblr posts are beautiful takes on the Marauders' lives, then there are those that claim Dumbledore to be a time-travelling Ron Weasley, and then there are those people who share 87930024 of these text posts every day tagging half the people on their friend lists.  

As much as I, the oxymoronic writer with a fandom related pseudonym may hate on certain aspects of this fandom life that so many of us have adopted, I can never claim to hate it altogether. This world would not have any magic left in it if it wasn't for us nerds. We're the ones that provide the much needed madness in your life, after all.