Fan Entitlement Is Getting Excessive

When’s the sequel coming out? This question has probably been around for as long as entertainment has been made. However, only recently has it gone from something a person thinks in their head to something you throw in a famous persons DMs. I think we all appreciate the fact that we are more connected to celebrities, athletes, and artists than ever before but it has enabled a minority of fans to develop a sense of entitlement. This sense of entitlement has probably always existed but social media now allows “fans” to lash out at entertainers when their standards aren’t met. This is not inherently problematic but it becomes so when some fans have zero sympathy for those who create our favourite forms of entertainment.

Nine Inch Nails is one of my all-time favorite bands. I won’t pretend to be a fan from way back, I started listening to them in 2015. At that point, I bought all my music on CDs but lacked the budget to buy eight albums and an EP or two. I relied on YouTube playlists for a while to get my fix. Like most bands, I like some of their work better than others but I was not expecting how heartless some “fans” were towards later Nine Inch Nails work. I found a comment about how Trent Reznor should have stayed on drugs because his music is trash now. This sort of thing makes me sick, wanting someone to risk their life so you can get more music you like is disgusting. Where is the gratitude? Instead of being thankful to someone for creating The Downward Spiral, they were wishing he was dying making Downward Spiral 2. I don’t understand how people could be wired like that. Any form of art that improves our lives is worth so much more than what we pay for it. When music has a profound impact on our lives we will probably never get the chance to thank the artist responsible, yet some people act as though more of the same is something they are owed. Don’t pretend certain music means a lot to you if you don’t care about the people who make it.

Similar to the issue with musicians, some fans expect too much of our favorite athletes. I’m sure this applies to many sports but I’ll be discussing this in terms of NFL players. It is easy to view multimillion-dollar contracts to play sports as a great deal. However, the physical and mental health of players has been a concern for years and is becoming more and more prevalent. These players put themselves at risk of acute injury every time they play and long-term conditions such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy over time. While there is some debate on if an NFL player has a lower life expectancy than other men, there should be no debate that our entertainment puts them at risk. Despite this, many fans don’t appreciate what players go through. The best example of this is Colin Kaepernick. Kneeling during the national anthem to draw attention to police brutality of African Americans is a heroic cause. However, some fans just want athletes to shut up and play football. This mentality objectifies NFL players, expecting them to risk their lives as entertainment but when they want support to stand up for disadvantaged communities too many “fans” turn their backs on them.

This example of music and football is easy for me to defend because I care about both of them. However, that does not mean I’m against criticism of entertainment as a whole. I just feel that criticism should be within reason. For example, the response to Kelly Marie Tran’s portrayal of Rose in Star Wars: The Last Jedi has been inexcusable. The fact that some people think that liking three movies from more than 30 years ago entitles them to lash out every time a new film in the series does not meet their standards is crazy. Additionally, the thought process that fan disappointment justifies using racist remarks to an actress is ridiculous. We live in a world where media can be consumed nearly anywhere you can connect to Wi-Fi. If the latest installment in the series isn’t for you, find something that is. Real fans celebrate the art they love without hateful negativity.

These are just a few anecdotes of entitled fandoms I have come across. When considered together, the disregard for performers' well-being seems evident. Even in a time where entertainment is abundant, more and more fans want their expectations met with zero regards for the producers' well being.