History Main / MisAimedFandom

* InternalConsistency: If a setting has explicit rules or cultural norms that fan interpretations ignore, most commonly in [[SlidingScale/MohsScaleOfSciFiHardness Soft Sci-Fi]] and HighFantasy.

Only... it [[GoneHorriblyWrong doesn't quite work like that]]. Instead of seeing a loathsome, hateful figure, the audience sees a [[TheWoobie Woobie]] who only is the way he is because of his [[WellDoneSonGuy daddy issues]], and feel sorry for him instead of hating him... or even [[DracoInLeatherPants find him cute]]. (Or they may not even realize he's not meant to be liked.) They take the author's painstaking [[PoesLaw satire at face value]]. The CrapsackWorld the writer has created is somewhere they think is pretty awesome. They have, in the writer's view, missed the point: ignoring the subtext that the writer had thought was obvious in favor of the ''text'' — and they really like the text. The majority of the time, the readers realize what the writer intended, but simply disagree. After all, just because the writer loathes certain traits doesn't mean the reader will do so.

Sometimes Misaimed Fandom is a matter of ValuesDissonance or CultureClash: where a writer doesn't recognise (or actively disagrees with) social changes, they may perceive Misaimed Fandom about their work as villains and heroes switch places in the popular mind, or the failure to recognize that people of different cultures, political points of view, or backgrounds will see the story and characters in a different way than the writer intended.

* EvilIsSexy

* DeathOfTheAuthor: Where a fan is fully aware of the author's intentions, but choose to ignore them in favor of their own.

* DeathOfTheAuthor

There are writers with a vision who have created a character who represents everything they loathe, and have placed him in [[CrapsackWorld a setting that satirizes everything they hate about modern society]]. Bring on the MoralGuardians and {{Media Watchdog}}s; they're prepared for controversy!

Only... it [[GoneHorriblyWrong doesn't quite work like that]]. Instead of seeing a loathsome, hateful figure, the audience sees a [[TheWoobie Woobie]] who only is the way he is because of his [[WellDoneSonGuy daddy issues]], and feel sorry for him instead of hating him... or even [[DracoInLeatherPants find him cute]]. They take the author's painstaking [[PoesLaw satire at face value]]. The CrapsackWorld the writer has created is somewhere they think is pretty awesome. They have, in the writer's view, missed the point: ignoring the subtext that the writer had thought was obvious in favor of the ''text'' — and they really like the text. The majority of time the readers realize what the writer intended, but simply disagree. After all, just because the writer loathes certain traits doesn't mean the reader will do so.

There are many paths leading to a Misaimed Fandom, but many of them originate from the 'DeathOfTheAuthor' theory; the idea that the audience can interpret a work however they like, regardless of what the author says. No matter how many times WordOfGod states their case, there's always going to be a large portion of the readers who will have their own very different perspective. And [[ConfirmationBias they're always going to be able]] to [[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory find something in the text]] to help [[EpilepticTrees their case]], fully aware that it's probably not what the author intended.

Of course, while fans are entitled to their own interpretation, that does not mean they are always right. And while the writer's original intention might not be the only valid interpretation, but it probably shouldn't be dismissed out of hand, either; they're the ones actually putting their thoughts down and getting them published, after all. But this doesn't mean that fans have to worship at the writer's feet. Works have to stand by themselves, and there is a limit to what authorial intent can change. Ultimately: when words and images clearly depict A, no WordOfGod can make it B.

Often, however, the fans know full well that their interpretation of the text isn't that of the author, and may acknowledge what the author was trying to do, but [[{{Applicability}} choose their own interpretation anyway]]. They may be aware that the author is satirizing them and their views, but they're good sports and can [[InsultBackfire appreciate]] a well-done jab in the ribs, especially if it's [[AffectionateParody not without affection]] or they think it's funny. Thus, an unlikely fandom is not necessarily Misaimed.

There are many paths leading to a Misaimed Fandom, but many of them originate from the 'DeathOfTheAuthor' theory; the idea that the audience can interpret a work however they like, regardless of what the author says. No matter how many times WordOfGod states their case, there's always going to be a large portion of the readers who will have their own very different perspective. And [[ConfirmationBias they're always going to be able]] to [[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory find something in the text]] to help [[EpilepticTrees their case]], whether the author intended it to be there or not.

Of course, while fans are entitled to their own interpretation, that does not mean they are always right. The writer's original intention might not be the only valid interpretation, but it probably shouldn't be dismissed out of hand, either; they're the ones actually putting their thoughts down and getting them published, after all. But this doesn't mean that fans have to worship at the writer's feet. Works have to stand by themselves, and there is a limit to what authorial intent can change. Ultimately: when words and images clearly depict A, no WordOfGod can make it B.

* MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales

* DorkAge

And sometimes the Misaimed Fandom simply comes from the fact that the author's not that good a writer. If a message is poorly communicated to begin with, then of course there will be problems when interpreting it. Some authors go for subtlety when they really should have been a bit more obvious, or try to set up a StrawmanPolitical only to make the strawman's arguments [[StrawmanHasAPoint more logical and valid than their hero's]]. In these cases, the fandom is misaimed because the author's botched the sights on the rifle. This is especially common in parody, where an author may simply not be literate enough in the culture or media they're mocking and just produce [[IndecisiveParody a mediocre example of what they're trying to parody]] when they think they're exaggerating it to the point of ridiculousness.

* RonTheDeathEater: A character isn't evil, but is treated as such by fans. This trope can overlap with TheScrappy.

Academics call this "Aberrant Decoding", the result of which being that the work and its creator have acquired a [[TitleDrop Misaimed Fandom]]. It's around this point that the writer learns exactly how different he is from his fans... and, often, [[ArtistDisillusionment actively begins to hate them]].

The work and its creator have acquired a [[TitleDrop Misaimed Fandom]]. It's around this point that the writer learns exactly how different he is from his fans... and, often, [[ArtistDisillusionment actively begins to hate them]].

Often, however, the fans know full well that their interpretation of the text isn't that of the author, and may acknowledge what the author was trying to do, but [[{{Applicability}} choose their own interpretation anyway]]. They may be aware that the author is satirizing them and their views, but they're good sports and can [[InsultBackfire appreciate]] a well-done jab in the ribs, especially if it's [[AffectionateParody not without affection]] or they think it's ActuallyPrettyFunny. Thus, an unlikely fandom is not necessarily Misaimed.

Do not confuse this with an AlternativeCharacterInterpretation. A Misaimed Fandom fails to understand the author's intention for a character, no matter how {{Anvilicious}} it may have been; an AlternativeCharacterInterpretation understands the intended or default interpretation, but deliberately subverts it. Another related trope is RootingForTheEmpire, when you root for the villain without [[DracoInLeatherPants misinterpreting them as an intended good guy]].