Since we first talked about Agency in week two, I have thought about it in relation to a lot of the things I do now. Especially when making our final projects, about how we can evoke agency for our own audience.
As Jesse Hassenger states in his article, Ghostbusters, Frozen, and the strange entitlement of fan culture, ‘the idea that hashtags, even progressive and non-sexist ones, might determine plot points of movies is a little chilling’. Audiences, particular for fans of cult classics feel a sense of entitlement when it comes to that film/book/TV show, As Hassenger put it, fans can ‘feel particularly possessive of that film.’
As we discussed in week two, ‘there is a fine line between giving into ridiculous fan demands and listening to you audience, especially regarding representation.’
The question is, do you give the audience what they want? But then you’ll be criticised because you’re not being true to the story. But then it could be even more popular because your fans are satisfied. But you can never satisfy everybody so you should try to listen to your audience. Where do you find the balance?
I find myself guilty of criticising authors, when a narrative doesn’t pan out how I wanted. But there is nothing better than the gratifying feeling when you get what you wanted. However this feeling gives fans a false sense of entitlement, which has created modern fan culture.
In an assignment last year I looked at adaptation of books into films, I spoke to Stephen Gaunson who works in Cinema Studies and Creative Writing, and he said that filmmakers often make errors when they try to take exactly what is in the book and put it on camera. They do this to try and please the fan base, but it actually often leaves fans unsatisfied, because there’s always something missing, an aspect from the narrative that you can’t get across on screen. He said that good adaptations should try and bring something new to the story that isn’t in the first medium, something that sets it apart.
As Hassenger says, ‘fans don’t need to get what they want, and much of the time, they probably shouldn’t.’