#my 5th paragraph is awfully negative. keeping it though

[agostron]

I Have Complicated Feelings on Warrior Cats and its Relation to Animal Xenofiction as a Whole

(A ramble-y rant-y essay presented by a Warrior Cats and xenofiction fan.)

I grew up with Warrior Cats. I began reading them when I was in the 3rd grade, around nine or ten. I was captivated by the animations I saw on YouTube. The series looked so, so interesting! In many ways, I'm glad I discovered Warriors. I'd go as far as saying that, without it, I would've never discovered my love for the xenofiction genre (or subgenre, or whatever else you may call it).

So why am I dissatisfied?

Let me bring up a comparison: dinosaurs are incredibly popular. They're modern day dragons and a pop culture mainstay. Now let me ask a question. How many big Hollywood dinosaur franchises are there? Only one - two if you're particular. Jurassic Park and its sequel, Jurassic World. No one else has gotten the same level of recognition.

How is this comparable? Like Jurassic Park, Warrior Cats has an absolute choke-hold on the genre it's in. Sure, I believe Watership Down and Bambi has greater cultural relevance, and Guardians of Ga'hoole has a movie by Zack Snyder. But it seems companies nonetheless have zero faith in xenofiction and will constantly reject original drafts, meanwhile Warriors will keep chugging along until a comet strikes the earth again. A monopoly on a genre is unhealthy for said genre. It means you have to put your sole faith in a single property. It eventually erodes patience and causes irritation whether they be creators or fans. I wouldn't be as concerned if there was plenty of competition for Warriors.

To start the second point, I don't have as much of an issue with the fandom side. There's a history behind Warrior Cats fans; namely that it was a case of luck and timing. Plus I don't think the fandom is uniquely terrible; the 1% fandom rule is at play. And like I mentioned in the very first sentence, I am a Warriors fan myself, and I wouldn't have learned about xenofiction had I not read it. I'm sure there's folks who can relate. However, there's a certain attitude some Warriors fans have toward xenofiction I dislike.

Xenofiction definitely has its hiccups, especially if it's older or famous. You are completely allowed to criticize them. Hell, you can refuse to read anything else in the genre because you don't want to, and I wouldn't bat an eye. What I cannot understand is acting as if Warriors is morally superior (or thinking you're morally superior for preferring Warriors) to other xenofiction. I guarantee the difference between Warrior Cats and typical xenofiction books is that you have nostalgia for Warriors, and that the series refuses to end. That's all. Don't make up "progressive" reasons as to why you won't pick up another book. Warrior Cats - as admitted by fans, mind you - has problems with racism, misogyny, ableism, etc. You could even claim that by sheer volume of content, Warrior Cats has the edge over almost every other animal xenofiction franchise in terms of bigotry, since there's a lot more to shuffle through. I don't believe anyone is a bad person for being a Warriors fan, but I expect to see the same courtesy extended to less popular xenofiction series.

Besides, let's be real. Is xenofiction unique for having common trope problems? I don't think so. Fantasy and science fiction - its sister genres - are notably stereotyped as having an abundance of misogyny and racism. It depends on the book. You can't generalize an entire genre as terrible, and that's the lesson I wish to emphasize. You won't receive perfection from skimming well-known novels like Wings of Fire, Guardians of Ga'hoole, Watership Down, Silverwing, and whatnot. You need to read xenofiction that is niche. You could find a diamond in the rough! You could get a new favorite series! The possibilities are endless.

This was significantly longer than intended. Oh well. At least I got it off my chest. I'm fully aware that it's not truly the fault of Warrior Cats. Cause and effect are volatile things. It's just I don't like potential fans getting turned away by perhaps well-meaning but uninformed people from an already dying category. I do have complicated feelings, don't I?