a lot of fandom seems to gloss over the fact that cas is like, funny? like has a dry sense of humor. often it gets pigeonholed into naivete or cluelessness, which in the earlier seasons is sometimes genuine, but take, for example:
“But come on, dried dung can only be stacked so high.”
“I’m not ashamed to say that my big brother knocked me into next week.”
“It’s a shortened version of my name.”
“I’m an angel, you ass.”
“I missed television.”
“The bird represents God. And coyote is man, endlessly chasing the divine, yet never able to catch him. It’s…it’s hilarious.”
“[What the hell?] Guess again.”
“Uh, you could try….insouciant, maybe.”
“You should’ve seen Luke.”
“[Do I look like I’m joking?] …you never look like you’re joking.”
“Just so you understand….why I can’t help.”
“[How was Jerusalem?] Arid.”
“[What was riding in a car like?] Uh…slow.”
“[I’m dead?] Condolences.”
“Don’t ask stupid questions.”
“[How’d you get here??] I took a bus.”
“[‘Hello? Hello??’] Uh…that is still the term.”
“It seems this is going to require talking to people.”
“Less dumb, less ass.”
“I got this. I don’t got this.”
“[to a cat] Hey, I’m not through with you.”
cas’ humor is weird and offbeat and esoteric because….he is? cas is weird and offbeat and esoteric. luv it.
“I’m NOT quitting YouTube, I don’t hate YouTube, I love doing YouTube! And that’s the reason because… if you do it often enough and force yourself through it, that’s when you’ll end up resenting it. That’s when you’ll burn yourself out. And I don’t want to burn myself out.”
Yall be saying Mary is like Dean but she was ready to adopt
Jack and give her life for him about 0.0026 seconds after meeting him and she
never once held him accountable for the fact Lucifer was his father and
acknowledged him as Kelly’s son and idk that sounds a lot like Sam to me!!!
There’s something that I fundamentally don’t understand about Article 13.
It doesn’t simply protect copyrighted content, it will also absolutely impact the bottom line of these big businesses too. This is how I see it.
Here’s my current fandom:
How did I get into Kingsman? Was it because I saw a trailer for it on TV and thought, “Hey, I should see that.”
Nope. It was via online fandom content almost two years after Kingsman: The Secret Service was released. I never would’ve given it the time of day if not for gifsets and fanfic that I saw and read before I’d even seen the movie. But I saw those things first, so the movie then caught my interest, and I watched it. Legally. I ended up purchasing movie tickets for the sequel, I bought the movies on Blu-ray, I bought some official Kingsman merchandise (don’t judge me), and I even spent a little money on one of the official Kingsman mobile games (like 20 dolla, and I’m not proud of it).
I spend a significant part of my online time interacting in the orbit of the Kingsman fandom. I look forward to the third movie (the actual third movie, not this weird prequel thing…ugh). I will actively spend money on the movie and probably some official merchandise when it’s released too. I also have an interest in the actors from the movie and legally seek out their other work (even Robin Hood, haaaa). Meaning I intend to SPEND MONEY on things related to Kingsman because fandom content keeps my interest going long beyond its official release. Fandom content is often what will catch my interest in the first place.
My fandom before Kingsman?
When I got into Marvel/Captain America, how do you think that happened?
Did I see trailers before other movies? TV commercials? Was it because of people I knew in real life who enjoyed it? Nope. I rarely see any promotional material for things because I don’t normally take in content in the traditional way (the same as most other Millennials and Gen Z, I’d wager). I knew of them, obviously, because they’re insanely popular. But I didn’t give a shit.
I didn’t give a lick about Marvel and it wasn’t until I saw some fan commentary and gifsets on Tumblr/in fan spaces of Captain America: The Winter Soldier that I was like, “Oooh, this sounds interesting. I need to watch this.”
And I watched it. Legally. And I bought it. Legally. And I went out and legally watched everything else Marvel. I bought legal/licensed Marvel merchandise. I bought Marvel comics, ffs. Do you think I cared about comics before that? At this point, I’ve probably spent a good few hundred dollars on Marvel related content. Probably closer to $1000 than $100. And that’s mild compared to some people!
Do you think I would’ve done any of that if I hadn’t first seen fan created content that technically uses copyrighted material?
I sure the fuck would not. I would’ve gone on not caring about it at all.
My point is, Article 13 is so fucking short-sighted. Fandom and creative content made by people not associated with these businesses often makes or breaks that content. How many people do you think got into Marvel the same way I did? How many millions of dollars have people spent on Marvel related merchandise because fandom content fostered their interest way beyond “See it in the movie theatre, then go home and forget about it?”
Here’s another example for the other end of the spectrum:
Avatar. The James Cameron movie. It made $2.7 billion at the box office worldwide. That’s nice. But does anyone really give a shit about it? I’ve never seen it. Don’t have any desire to see it or the supposed upcoming sequels. The only online content I see about it? Mocks it. There is no fandom.
To compare fandoms on Ao3:
No one gives a shit. No one is looking for Avatar. Maybe the sequels will do well, I’m not a psychic. I have no idea. But my point is, there is no longevity there. No one is looking for official Avatar merchandise. No one is creating works about it that keeps interest going years after it was released. And continued interest means continued profit.
Are people buying Avatar clothing? Books? Mugs, tchotchkes, spending thousands of dollars to meet the cast and creators at conventions? Special editions of the movies? Collector’s items?
Google “Avatar pop” and what do you think comes up? Pop! figures for the Avatar movie? Nope. There aren’t any. Are there Pop! figures for Avatar: The Last Airbender, which has a healthy online fandom presence? Yep.
So Avatar did really, really well at the box office. Exceptionally well. And then?
Supernatural is an excellent example as well. A small show on a struggling network. Isn’t it on season 247 at this point? What do you think helped it last as long as it has? All that sweet network promo? The A-List status of its stars (hahahaha)?
HAAAAA! NO! It’s the fucking fan content! All the fanvids, fanfic, artwork, gifsets, commentary, discussions, meta, and beyond. All those creations get seen by hundreds, thousands of people who may have never heard of it before. But it’s that kind of content that sparks an interest. If you’re in that fandom, think of the coolest piece of art (or the best fanfic), that’s what inspires people to seek something out. That’s what cultivates an interest for years, including purchasing god knows what for god knows how much money. Terribly photoshopped ~official~ promo pictures and a couple commercials ain’t gonna do it.
Does the below image make me go “LOL WHAT? wats happening? wats going on? wat is this????”
Ya. Dark, morbid, funny. Sounds interesting…
Does the below official image make me go, “Oooh, gotta watch whatever that is!”
It sure the fuck does not. Sorry Jensen Ackles, you’re good looking and all, but nah. Can’t say I have any interest in whatever that is. WHY ARE YOU IN A CAGE? WHAT IS THAT CHAIN FOR? help me i’m scared
ANYWAY. Which content style above is going to inspire and cultivate enough of a longterm interest that people are willing to buy board games, clothing, jewelry, DVD sets, magazines, go to conventions, buy god knows what else, and spread the word about the show? For over a decade? It ain’t the second picture, I can tell you that much.
Fan content creates new fans and cultivates longterm interest which earns big businesses more money.
That is one of many reasons why Article 13 is shit. For fan content creators and for big business. It’s not a threat to the big business bottom line, it’s free promotion.
artherra 