#idk maybe it just frustrates me bc i like to engage in media analysis? so all of the stupid shit makes me go -_-

[whimsyrefrain]

enstars is one of those things i genuinely cannot think about the canon for too long or otherwise i get annoyed with all of the plot points or random lore reveals made. truly amazing that this is the highest grossing joseimuke when it has some of the most haphazard writing i've ever seen in anything

[angelsdean]

My way of dealing w the "autonomy" flavor deancrits is to take a deep breath and remind myself that they are probably still living w (possibly v controlling) parents & projecting their own issues. It's the most plausible reason i think why someone would blow this whole autonomy debate so out of proportion, if they struggle w things like that and so they blindly sympathize w Sam's subjective view w/out thinking much abt it. Not to overanalyze, i'm just trying to find logical reasons, it calms me.

yea i totally get that. i think a lot of times projection is an issue when people seem to be completely ignoring and misinterpreting aspects of the text. like of course we'll all bring some of our own feelings and biases and experiences when we engage with any media, but it's something i'm always aware of and actively working against letting those things color my interpretations. i think it also has to do w/ my background in literally getting a degree in literary analysis so like, i'm bringing all that to the table too. but it's funny tho to me bc *i* am also living w/ a pretty controlling parent bc of circumstances. and STILL *i* can see the nuance and not project my own feelings onto sam. maybe it's bc i'm just so deancoded in other aspects that i just don't relate to sam all that much despite feeling sometimes frustrated at my own situation. but still. it's not like i can't empathize with sam, and also see how his situation is different and not project things onto him and not cast dean into the role of "controlling parent." idk i just think people need to learn better media literacy and media analysis skills and also like, take themselves out of the equation and be more objective when it comes to character analysis.

but anyways, yea i'm sure you're right and many people who relate to sam's autonomy issues (and keep pressing that argument from a deancrit perspective) probably are coming to the argument with their own experiences coloring their perceptions of the text.

[hexitca]

About posting [insert fandom] critical content in the actual tag

Listen...

I'm not saying no one should post stuff about being critical of a fandom/media/etc bc some critiques are interesting or worth discussing! If it's actually thoughtful and has a purpose other than you complaining for the sake of complaining.

What I do have a problem with is the number of posts that literally:

"I hate this certain thing because [insert something that they hate that isn't an ACTUAL criticism it's just something they personally hate with little actual claims behind it other than just not liking it]."

[More under readmore bc I started to rant lol]

and then post it in the tag. I'm happy that they tag it [fandom] critical so I can block it but it just...WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS AN ACTUAL CRITICAL TAKE? It's just something you dislike about the media. It's okay to not like it but that's not a critical take. And you can post it (I ain't the fandom police) but like don't fucking call it critical when you just want to say something you don't like it. Maybe there is a better word for it (not exactly a hate post but it's not critical).

It does fit the description for critical in this image but I would associate actual criticism with number 2. I feel like if you just mix general judgments about a media and the actual analysis of why you are critical about a media, it muddies the water.

For example, and why I'm posting about it, I got back into Lore Olympus. I see a few posts with the tag lore olympus critical (think back to Steven Universe critical posts back in the day). I go, "ah ok...I'm sure these are more engaging than those steven universe posts haha"

and it's just someone complaining about not liking a particular aspect. Idk if it was meant as a joke post or not. Hell, I EVEN AGREE WITH THE POST! but I wouldn't call that being "critical" of the media I consume. I call that having a preference or an opinion.

A critical take would be maybe talking about how LO transforms many of the myths in the series and maybe not liking a few but having an actual point to the critical take. I remember everyone throwing up over the actual myth of Hades and Persephone and yea that's valid but at the end of the day LO is modernizing the myth. If you don't like that then don't consume the content. However, it's not wrong to have thoughtful criticism about it! I actually love the discussion about that bc it opens up on the topic of taking a pre-existing story/myth/etc and making it a totally different story. It's cool!

I don't know if there is a better way to tag those types of posts but I'm frustrated because I don't want to blacklist anything that has actual genuine criticism about a media I enjoy. Posts that are actual thoughtful criticism that will make me think rather than just make me annoyed. Even if I might agree with the preferences/opinions, I just feel like that shouldn't be labeled as actual criticism.

if you want, let me know what you think about this (in inbox pls so I can actually track and see it), I'm really curious! Especially if you were/are part of fandoms that you see this (ie: Steven Universe had a lot of these back in the day and now I see for Lore Olympus). I want to see if this is more than a pet peeve for me.