“I liked it before it was cool”

You’d be surprised how many people have that “I liked it before it was cool” mindset. They won’t say it in those exact words, of course, but the idea is definitely there. It’s a fear that all these new fans are going to ruin the sacred thing we’re in love with, as ridiculous as that is. I even think, at least a little, we all do it. And that’s something that needs to stop!

Hamilton – the Broadway cult

We’ve probably all heard of this new Broadway obsession, right? I talked about my love just a little while ago. Before this, I’d never seen anything Broadway related. I vaguely wanted to, but I was far from a fan! I’m still stuck on listening to the soundtrack, but once my obsession starts shrinking a little, I’m definitely going to move on to some other musicals. Great, right? There’s a new Broadway fan that exists!

You’d be surprised how angry this makes people, though. I haven’t had any backlash personally, but I’ve seen some around. I do things like call it “the soundtrack” and apparently that’s a problem. I get sad when my favourites leave the show, but I just need to accept that that happens! It’s as if my lack of knowledge has tainted the greatness that is Broadway. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely get that it’s frustrating that I say things the wrong way. Can’t you teach me, though, instead of hating us “new people” for it?

Twenty One Pilots – the music cult

Music people are just as bad. It’s not 21 Pilots, YOU IDIOT! If you only know Heathens and Stressed Out, don’t you dare call yourself a real fan. In fact, are you even a fan at all? Fans know all the songs on every album, and I bet you can’t do that. 

You think I’m kidding, but you should read the comments to the Heathens video. People had all these theories about how the song was telling fans to stop criticising the new people (news flash; it was just about Suicide Squad). This is another thing I only got into when it was popular, and I’m so glad I discovered it! I actually, coincidentally, got into it just before it got really popular, thanks to my American sister. I remember standing in a pub with her and hearing the song come on the radio, and she screamed SO LOUDLY. She couldn’t believe her favourite band was on the radio in New Zealand! That’s how you’re meant to react to your favourites becoming popular, in my opinion

Harry Potter – the book cult?

I didn’t want this post to feel like an attack on other fandoms, so I thought I better choose the thing I’m obsessed with above all else. I got a Hogwarts letter when I was eleven from my mum, so it’s a series I’ve grown up with. I wrote fanfiction for this, I was so trashy. I thought and thought, though, and I couldn’t think of a time I’ve been mad at people for being a fan of Harry Potter, or any other book series for that matter. I love encouraging people to read, and recommending my favourite books to them. I can’t fangirl on my own, I need people to obsess with me! That’s why internet friends are so great, because we bond over being in love with different characters/books/tv shows, etc. 

Actually, I think Harry Potter fans have the opposite problem. It’s a “you don’t read?!?” reaction when we find those sorts of people. We criticise anyone who hasn’t at least seen the films, or hasn’t given the books a go. Harry Potter is flawless, right? Isn’t everyone in love with them? It’s something I’m trying really hard to stop doing, because I think making people feel like idiots for not reading something is just as bad as making fun of people who get Broadway terms or music lyrics wrong! Please join my cult, but I won’t hate you if you don’t. 

So, the moral of the story?

Let people love what they love! You don’t have to be a fan since birth, or rapping the fastest lyrics (or the ones in French). If you like a thing, then go you! Please DM me so I can fangirl over it with you, because I like that thing too. Yeah, you liked it before it was cool, and that makes you really lucky that you’ve had this thing in your life for longer. It doesn’t make you better than me, though!