Here's my life's dirty little secret: with as much as I've written about fandom, thought about fandom, and participated in fandom, I would NEVER presume to understand fandom.
Take, for example, fandom's open resentment for 2004's AVP: Alien Vs. Predator. While some might argue otherwise, it's a film that was generally disregarded by fandom at large. Alien fans? There wasn't enough alien in it. Predator fans? Well, there wasn't enough Predator. Despite the fact that -- by the title alone -- these two entities were meant to share screen time, there just wasn't enough of either apparently for fandom to wrap their hands around it in any small measure. It was almost as if folks went to the theater expecting to see some kinda/sorta high art motion picture -- one with no real dialogue or sense of story -- just to watch two of the galaxy's deadliest of the species fighting it out for 90-120 minutes, may the best man ... erm ... woman ... erm ... thing ... may the best thing win.
Now, forgive me for pointing out, that was never going to be the case. Despite what we might think of Hollywood and those who traffic in it, there always had to be a story and a wider cast. A feature that merely put up the hunter and its prey for 90+ minutes likely wouldn't have interested the general public. How do I know that? Well, even the best Rocky film only features about ... what? 20 minutes of fighting? Maybe 25 minutes? There has to be some story with which these physical showdowns mesh around. So if the prime argument was that, "I didn't like the story to AVP," then why was there so much hate dished on the actors? They didn't write it.
I vaguely recall a debate on a SciFi message board (ask your parents, kiddies) that essentially boiled down around Sanaa Lathan's character Alexa Woods. From what I remember, the person's position was that no one who saw AVP would want to grow up and be Alexa Woods ... whereas, by comparison, anyone who watched Aliens (1986) wanted to leave that theater and be Ellen Ripley. So -- from this foundation -- I'm to glean that the only way fans would embrace a hero on a hero's journey is that, in fact, they can see themselves in the shoes of said hero.
Again, this is why I can't understand fandom. See, my counterpoint is this: in no effing way do I want to ever find myself in a throwdown with either the Xenomorph or the Predator because I know I'd lose. I guess I'm just old. Stay off my lawn while you're at it, chumps.
Sigh.
Written (in part) and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, the film first opened theatrically on this day back in 2004 in the countries of Puerto Rico and Thailand. It starred Sanaa Lathan, Lance Henriksen, Raoul Bova, Ewen Bremner, and Colin Salmon. According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's the plot summary:
"During an archaeological expedition on Bouvetøya Island in Antarctica, a team of archaeologists and other scientists find themselves caught up in a battle between the two legends. Soon, the team realize that only one species can win."
Take, for example, fandom's open resentment for 2004's AVP: Alien Vs. Predator. While some might argue otherwise, it's a film that was generally disregarded by fandom at large. Alien fans? There wasn't enough alien in it. Predator fans? Well, there wasn't enough Predator. Despite the fact that -- by the title alone -- these two entities were meant to share screen time, there just wasn't enough of either apparently for fandom to wrap their hands around it in any small measure. It was almost as if folks went to the theater expecting to see some kinda/sorta high art motion picture -- one with no real dialogue or sense of story -- just to watch two of the galaxy's deadliest of the species fighting it out for 90-120 minutes, may the best man ... erm ... woman ... erm ... thing ... may the best thing win.
Now, forgive me for pointing out, that was never going to be the case. Despite what we might think of Hollywood and those who traffic in it, there always had to be a story and a wider cast. A feature that merely put up the hunter and its prey for 90+ minutes likely wouldn't have interested the general public. How do I know that? Well, even the best Rocky film only features about ... what? 20 minutes of fighting? Maybe 25 minutes? There has to be some story with which these physical showdowns mesh around. So if the prime argument was that, "I didn't like the story to AVP," then why was there so much hate dished on the actors? They didn't write it.
I vaguely recall a debate on a SciFi message board (ask your parents, kiddies) that essentially boiled down around Sanaa Lathan's character Alexa Woods. From what I remember, the person's position was that no one who saw AVP would want to grow up and be Alexa Woods ... whereas, by comparison, anyone who watched Aliens (1986) wanted to leave that theater and be Ellen Ripley. So -- from this foundation -- I'm to glean that the only way fans would embrace a hero on a hero's journey is that, in fact, they can see themselves in the shoes of said hero.
Again, this is why I can't understand fandom. See, my counterpoint is this: in no effing way do I want to ever find myself in a throwdown with either the Xenomorph or the Predator because I know I'd lose. I guess I'm just old. Stay off my lawn while you're at it, chumps.
Sigh.
Written (in part) and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, the film first opened theatrically on this day back in 2004 in the countries of Puerto Rico and Thailand. It starred Sanaa Lathan, Lance Henriksen, Raoul Bova, Ewen Bremner, and Colin Salmon. According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's the plot summary:
"During an archaeological expedition on Bouvetøya Island in Antarctica, a team of archaeologists and other scientists find themselves caught up in a battle between the two legends. Soon, the team realize that only one species can win."
Folks, I offer those above arguments not because I necessarily love this film. I like this film. Plenty. I think it's a great popcorn-style addition to the wider Alien and Predator universes, and I don't apologize for having fun with it. I would say that -- Lathan aside, whom I just love in the flick -- it sadly offers up the most disposable cast of an action film, but I think we all knew there was going to be a body count when we bought our tickets, didn't we? Yeah, a few more visual glorious deaths might've improved the taste in some folks mouths, but -- in the long run -- I think this one was always destined to have its detractors. Or its debunkers. Yeah, maybe even its haters. At the end of the day, it is what it is ... but I certainly never blame the actors.
As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
RSS Feed