Charlize Week 3: Let Them Have a Taste!
Anyone who knows me well knows that I’ve dedicated a good chunk of my life to the hit web novel Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (ORV)—I’ve read its 551 chapters over and over and over again, and will always find time to envelop myself with the story and characters I cherish. When the live action came out, the whole community was flabbergasted by its poor quality. Imagine someone replacing the walls of your lovely Victorian house with solid concrete, then inviting the whole neighborhood to take a house tour. It’s not even the same house—or yours anymore, for that matter! With all the celebrity castings, many of the viewers will be idol fans instead of people who genuinely admire ORV for the story. What would happen to the community I cherish when it’s filled with slop, the reputation of my beloved series ruined by those who know nothing about the nuances that make it so special??? These fake fans, these shallow consumers—they just won’t understand!
It’s immature, it’s childish, and I know that it’s not true (to a certain extent…). Sometimes I wish more people would read it because I believe it's a genuinely life changing piece of media, but at the same time, it feels like some fans wouldn't care to understand the heartfelt message behind it, much less read the entire thing. It’s not the fans' fault that the director messed up the live action so badly that it’s basically a completely different piece of media, but the consequences from two different fandoms merging are terrifying. But I’m also scared for a different reason.
Because ORV is such a core part of who I am, it satiates a desire to prove I have good taste from finding good content on my own accord after searching through dumpster after dumpster of cliché stories. There’s that sense of self-accomplishment, a desire to feel just a bit special, followed by a sense of possessiveness of the media that has shaped who I am today after developing an inseparable connection to it over the years. To protect this perceived value of a lovely story from being tarnished, I feel the need to gatekeep.
Ah yes. Gatekeeping. A natural instinct for many fans in communities who want to shield from strangers what is dearest to them; protectiveness stemming from a false sense of superiority. The original online sin.
However, my favorite conversations ever were bonding with my friends over the very web novel that I wanted to keep all to myself. The concept of shared experiences “amplifying emotions” and making the overall experience more enjoyable stands true for me; my friends are able to understand and reciprocate my feelings towards ORV with their own insights. If you open a pack of M&Ms in class, you ought to share the good stuff with your classmates. So perhaps the solution isn’t to gatekeep greatness, but rather to find people who fell in love with the same story I did. And maybe to stay off social media.
Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Korean web novel cover.
Hi Charlize! Firstly, 551 chapters is a daunting number... especially to read multiple times! Secondly, I share your frustration with media (largely movies) that doesn't live up to source material. I can't stand when movies are made to squeeze more money out of a recognizable franchise rather than to tell a powerful story. It's also interesting to hear how the connection you've built with this art has caused you to feel like you should keep it to yourself—whenever I find something I enjoy, I feel the need to let everybody else know; I think sharing joy with others is the best kind of joy to have. If others enjoy it too, it would also "prove" that I have good choice in media... although that has its own issues when people insist on claiming their title as the one who introduced you to something.
ReplyDeleteI can totally relate to the feeling of having a beloved piece of media butchered by live-action remakes. I think it’s safe to say that books are typically always better than the movies. I haven’t watched the ORV movie or read the novel, but I am caught up on the Webtoon. I continually hear people reference how phenomenal the novel is, and I’ll probably give it a read after the Webtoon ends. From what I hear, the movie was doomed from the start: nobody even liked the trailer! You make a good point in your blog, though. I, too, believe it’s important to disregard people who don’t understand the original source material, especially when those people compare apples to oranges and start talking about how the remake is better than the original. But no matter what, the remake exists now and is out there (nebulous) so there’s nothing to do but accept it (and maybe find solace in true fans who recognize the value of the original).
ReplyDeleteHi Charlize! Although I can’t necessarily relate to reading 551 chapters (!), multiple times (!!), of a piece of media I enjoy (the closest I’ve come to that is binging all 28 episodes of the first season of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End across 3 nights), I can unfortunately relate to the gatekeeping aspect of it. Until maybe April of this year, my music taste was not very refined; it was a mix of 19th century classical music, soundtracks of a select few video games, and various 2014 EDM hits. When I actually started developing my music taste, I found myself getting unnecessarily protective of the cool new “underground” artists I listened to, until I introduced one to my friend who ended up genuinely enjoying them. That singular moment gave me so much more enjoyment out of the music I listen to, not to mention finding other people out in the wild who also enjoy such artists. This goes for so many other experiences across our lives, too–experiencing it with peers who enjoy it on the same level and in the same capacity leads to a greater enjoyment for everyone involved.
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