As anyone who follows the Axanar situation knows, there is a lot of hate from a very small minority of fans who seem to have nothing better to do than spread lies and hate about Axanar. But also, a few Axanar fans have taken to expressing their displeasure with the new Star Trek movies in a way that is not positive or necessary. I implore all Axanar fans not be guilty of the kind of mindless hate that we sometimes see directed against Axanar. I have heard some of you sent messages to Aaron Harvey when he posted a positive review of Star Trek Beyond on trekmovie.com, expressing your displeasure. That was unnecessary.
Here are some thoughts:
1) There is room in the world for ALL types of Star Trek. If the new Star Trek is not your cup of tea, fine, move along and enjoy something else. (Watch Prelude again…it will make you smile).
2) Geek hate is just as ugly as any type of hate. You wasting time hating on something does not enhance your life. It diminishes it.
3) Aaron Harvey is one of our amazing art directors and doesn’t deserve getting emails if you don’t like his review. Wasting your time in that way is not only disappointing, but not a productive use of your time.
You notice how haters are never accomplished individuals? How they spend all day hating on Axanar or going on some other geek rant and not actually accomplishing anything? Yeah, you hating on the new Star Trek will not make your life better. Find something you love and put your energies there.
Love you all. And I want you all to be positive, productive fans who engage your passions to creating something great. Maybe it is a fan club or a blog, or a video, or organizing meet-ups with friends. But be a positive force in fandom, not a hater.
Thus endeth today’s sermon. Faith manages.
Alec
Guess I got to agree with you here.My anger is so much against Cbs and co for what they are doing but then I have to remind myself not to let it flow else ware.I want to boycott the film but yet the actors and the hundreds of workers behind the film aren’t responsible for all this and don’t deserve the boycotting.There are better ways to hold our own against Cbs.We will have our day Axanar.I’m sure of it.
Let’s not forget that the actors and crew have already been paid! So, a boycott hits CBS/Paramount right in the pocketbook.
Prelude was the best intro/Trailer I have ever seen for any movie Period. I haven’t been as jazzed by and promo since my brother showed me the first ads for a new Star Trek movie (Star Trek:The Motion Picture) in Omni magazine. Haters gunna hate, but this lover is loving all the new Trek media, and especially fond of Axanar.
Excellent post Alec. I am with you in what you are expressing. It is an individual choice whether or not to support Beyond or the series, and while I will not support it at this point, there is no reason for anyone to be hammering someone who has made an objective review. One other reason I am not going to see Beyond, unless there is a lot more positive feedback, ids the current style of fast action fliting about all over the screen. The fast image model of generating “excitement” does not work for me, it just tends to smear the whole movie into a blur. I have found the majestic movements of starships is much more appealing than the super fast blurs and things going boom bang. The battle sequences of Prelude were perfectly choreographed and still gave the impression of speed and power.
I’m amused by the angst. There are all kinds of emotionally immature nerds who love Star Trek. Isn’t that the point? Isn’t that part of it? They get upset about all kinds of things and I think they have every right to do that. If Axanar want to get into the business of producing content; they have to get ready for it because it’s going to come whether they like it or not. I used to be SUCH a nerdy, geeky fan and I was very upset about Star Trek Insurrection. Star Trek Generations really pissed me off too. I wrote angry letters and got involved. Then I (kind of) grew up, got a career, had some kids and got on with life. Isn’t the “hate” a side-effect of the types of people that dive into the lore? Is it not plainly unavoidable? I just saw this amazingly malevolent ginger geek on YouTube and laughed myself silly.
He reminded me SO MUCH of myself at that age.
I agree that there is a whole subculture that learn some basic civil skills from watching how Trek deals with conflict. They then transfer those skill, sometimes less than successfully, to real life. The hate is a way of expressing the frustration of having something one really is involved in, cut short, or denied, and then adding into it, the seemingly immune response one gets when one’s opinion is voiced. This is not unique to just Star Trek, you see it throughout our society, a seemingly impossible ability to listen to one another respectfully, and have a constructive, spirited debate. The hate messages I have seen for Axanar are amazing in their virulence and defamation. That is one reason so many Trek fans want to claim ownership of the Trek Universe, and not be tied to legalistic mumbo jumbo. The angst spreads and continues. One would hope that all parties would have a Star Trek Summit and bring in all the major players and negotiate a set of rules and policies that would support and enhance everyone’s stake in it.
Speak On Oh Brother !!!!! Bye the way I for one would love just some News or Other Info on a more constant basses? I do not have FACEBOOK and thought I Love you guys, I will not get it just for you! ;( So my whole news stream comes through This site! THANX for all You DO!!!
Godspeed Alec! Keep the faith!
I am 64 years old, retired from the United States Air Force and fully believe in “life, liberty and the pursu it of happiness” along with the freedom of speech, until that freedom is used to abuse, threaten and demoralize others. It’s simple, fans love Axanar, fans do not like CBS/Paramount because they are being told what they can and cannot do. I read that CBS wants to protect Star Trek…protect it from what? Why issue guidelines when CBS can just say no Star Trek unless it is from us? I have noticed on youtube that most of the haters just want attention and they try to impress us with how many obscene words they know. Axanar is the perfect example of the pusuit of happiness. Best of luck in January.
You just have to really bite the tongue when you see actions like CBS is doing with Netflix. If they are “protecting Trek” the Netflix deal seems odd. If it is to launch All Access, then why would you want to distribute to a third party the day after you release. I was pretty sure when Al Gore invented the Internet, he was egalitarian enough to ensure it was worldwide. This makes the Axanar issue even more perplexing, in that it appears that the issue is purely one of “quality” vs “content”. It tends to create a lot of bad emotions when you see someone saying to you “you get what we will give you” and no more. Of course, Alec is correct in how we approach the issue will define how fan films of this caliber are treated and defined in the future.
I think it is good to achieve a balance. Constructive criticism can ultimately lead to good things, after all, a lot of the time you don’t know what doesn’t work until someone points it out and I think doing that can help improve future efforts. That being said, constructive criticism should also include what does work, it is very easy to fall into the trap of pointing out all the flaws without having any positive to fall back on.
When I’m doing constructive criticism, I generally try to say something like; “Okay, X is working really well for this reason and I’m really enjoying Y as well, but, I feel Z could be tweaked in this way to be more effective.”.
Mindless hate and vitriol will get us nowhere in the long run, and while I do enjoy exaggerating the faults of something for comedic purposes, ultimately those exaggerations must be grounded in something constructive. The same could also be applied to mindless praise as well, while nowhere near as abhorrent as just spewing rage everywhere (I don’t think anyone has been hurt or deeply offended by saying their product is) good, you are still not pointing out why you like it so much.
When I take on the role of a creator, I don’t want you to tell me if something I made is good or bad, I want you to tell me WHY it is good or bad, so that I can either continue to do what is working and build upon that or make the necessary corrections to improve what was flawed about the product.
To promote an alternative to an existing idea is a path that enlightens all possibilities.
To attack a personality for their idea leads to a narrow direction into darkness.
Maintain and keep moving forward Alec Peters,,,,,
Well said