- This topic has 21 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 11 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
After watching the show since episode one I have come to the realization that I am an anti-shipper. I am the lonesome buoy helplessly floating amongst different ships yelling “fire in the hole.” It pains me to see a poster get basically shipwrecked when their one hope fails to take anchor.
While watching OUAT
Something has happened to me.
I have been taken away to a far away land,
Watching princesses and even Peter Pan.While being whisked away
I join others to chat today.
Instead of instant chatter
There is a shipping matter.You see, the problem at hand
Is the passion about the plan.
Which couple you believe should wed,
Is actually hurting my head.I watch OUAT
To escape reality.
While mine isn’t bad
Watching shippers fight makes me sad.If you are in a shipping war
I beg you to stop from my core.
Lets make amends
And be Once friends again.As you can see from my lengthy post, I am probably the only anti-shipper on the board or even out there. I love the show and all the characters and twists keep me coming back. I hope I am not alone and there are others like me.
[adrotate group="5"]Although I am a shipper I in fact get annoyed with people who think that this show is solely about who ends up wiht who. I enjoyed the plots of season one, some in season two and all of season three. I hope that this show continues to be plot and character driven instead of relationship driven.
Magic always comes with a price, so I pay with visa.
Our policy around these parts is “ship and let ship, even if that ship is no ship.” I harp on this a lot: if you don’t ship that’s great! if you ship, that’s great too! Respect that everyone has a different perspective and different way of looking at this show. Some people are totally passionate about their ships (look at the dedicated SF and CS threads!) And some people could honestly care less.
Shipping is a big part of INTERNET FAN CULTURE. And not just ONCE’s but Doctor Who, Sherlock, Supernatural, Game of Thrones, ect, (all the really big fandoms out there). It’s just part of how social media, people, fandoms and the like interact. People develop different viewpoints on characters and their chemistry with other characters and they start to like the idea of them. Fan fics get written, headcanons get formed, evidenced is complied and pretty soon you’ve got yourself a ship.
The problem with shipping comes when the story becomes all about that. When the writers or creators try to appease fandom instead of their storyline. It’s a natural tendency as they want their fans to be happy, but if you were to find an average viewer, someone who just watches the show passively (as in they don’t bother to go on Twitter or Tumblr or fan sites, they aren’t interested in spoilers or theories, they simple WATCH) then chances are they are more like KP: they don’t know what shipping is and probably don’t care. It’s when you step into fandom that the lid gets blown off the top. It’s an important part of fandom, but certainly not *the* most important part.
So feel free to not ship. Most of us are fans of the show FIRST and a ship SECOND. Rumbelle may be my OTP and I could gush for hours about why I love them but at the end of the day, I’m more concerned with myth building and storytelling.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"Most of us are fans of the show FIRST and a ship SECOND. Rumbelle may be my OTP and I could gush for hours about why I love them but at the end of the day, I’m more concerned with myth building and storytelling.
Yep.
I may ship SF like WHOA, but it’s not just a superficial thing. I ship it because I love each of those characters individually, I find their emotional journeys compelling, and those emotional journeys are intertwined, so I think how they relate to each other is a fascinating part of the story that I’d love to see explored further, so I’m all about the ship as it pertains to the development and progression of each of those characters as individuals.
When I started to crackship Hookriel, it was because I got to thinking about the possibilities for storylines for each character as an individual, and decided those stories could potentially end up being complimentary and it’d be interesting to watch them paired up in a relationship.
I think it’s unfortunate when someone makes a show all about one ship (or even one character) to the point where their continued enjoyment of the show hinges on that one thing, because that means that they’re missing out on so much more wonderful story that’s going on as well. But we do all have our fave characters, and part of appreciating those characters is wanting to see them get their happy ending, and who they’re in relationships (romantic and non-romantic) with is an integral part of that.
If I ever get fired up over the great triangle ship debate, it’s just because I feel an emotional connection to the characters, which translates into me having a passionate view on what would make each of them (including Hook) ultimately happy. It’s not just simply that I wanna see X make out with Y instead of with Z, it’s that I’m invested in how each character’s own story plays out, and that inevitably leads to me shipping a particular pairing.
You’re not alone, kpercyman. And your post isn’t lengthy.
Happened before, that shipping and inevitably arising shipping wars took over fandoms. I never minded it much before, simply looked for a corner, where there was still place to talk about more interesting things like character development beyond hot happy couples’ phantasies, and to talk about the story and plots, cultural references, injokes or even go into dangerous waters of looking into representation of society, ethics. At worst turned to enjoying the show mostly on my own, discussing it maybe with a few likeminded people in closed chats. Outed myself as non-romantic ages ago, but haven’t thought of myself as anti-shipper up until now.
Now OUaT is basically about happiness found in romance and marriage and family, hot happy couples and their kids. Although writers never give the happy end before the end, storytelling always means drama, so they put the characters through hell, making the lives of particular the romance shipping fans misery. OUaT is like the mothership of romance and shipping. It is what fairy tales have been reduced to before with some support by film industry and namely Disney, and what OUaT isn’t changing.
Right, it’s not just OUaT. It’s shipping craziness all over. For example Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D has just started and is struggling to find its standing, but people are already talking who they’re shipping. Or people are already shipping Ichaboad Crane and Abbie Mills on Sleepy Hollow (at least they do have chemistry, plenty, but to me it’s just a great partnership). Or look at my fave airing show Lost Girl, which has a different message (yes, it is about relationships but not fairy tale romance, and though not outspoken open for the idea of polyamory; and Lost Girl made it a point to place pretty much in the middle of the show a declared non-romantic, non-sexual, pure friendship BFF relationship), but the shipping war happening has already epic dimensions. The only thing going on in fandoms worse than that is the character and actor/actress bashing, not bound to but often connected to shipping. What a coincidence that the character one hates so often is played by the allegedly worst actor or actress on the show. No bias, of course, never ever. And no surprise there when that very character is a threat for the OTP one has choosen. That is when one remembers that fan is said to be a short for fanatic.
Don’t remember much shipping on Star Trek though, just the famous slash pairing Kirk/Spock (talking the pre-rebirth Star Trek, don’t get me started about Spock and Uhura 😉 ), but sure remember the epic wars about Mulder and Scully and Xena and Gabrielle (if anyone is interested in the latter shipping war, the Great Divide, online magazine Whoosh! offers some material). Interesting that many of the shipping wars at least in the past were more about, should they or shouldn’t they, than with who. But that might be my perception.
Shipping is part of fandom – always was, not just in our modern internet fandom times. If you have a chance to get a hand on some old printed fanzines, take a look. And it is the heart of fanfiction. Shipping is not even limited to fictional characters, but fiction offers way more possibilities than other fandoms have. That doesn’t make it any less annoying though, it just says, it has been around for a while.
If you get an overdose of something, it can happen that you develop a (longer) lasting intolerance or even an allergy. That is happening to me at the moment when it comes to shipping. And mostly have the OUaT fandom to thank for that. Have been through years and shipping wars in other fandoms, but finally reached the point, where it is enough. I am tired of being the one who has to look for places without shipping talks or very, very little of it, tired of making compromises, tired of letting shipping romance craziness ruining just another fandom for me while smiling understandingly and all tolerant.
Could be, shipping is nowadays just a lot more visible thanks to the vast possibilities of sharing and oversharing the web offers (but before it became Tumblr and Twitter and whatever, there was Livejournal, still somewhat is, and long before that there was the usenet and its discussion groups). But I think that doesn’t explain it all. Think we’re in a period where people want to romanticize again, overwhelmed, disappointed and scared by life challenges, a gloomy looking presence and future. Fifty Shades is perhaps one of the worst written novels and even fanfictions I’ve ever tried to read (and I am so not alone in that perception) but it’s big romance and big hit. Geee, Twilight series already was one of the worst written romance teenager wet dream novel series of the past decades, and the movies where only visual a little better. (No, I don’t mind to drop a brick here)
So feel free to not ship.
What should that mean? Sorry, but of course I feel free to not ship, would be very sad if there would be any kind of dictates to ship if one wants to be part of a fandom. But how can I in practice “not ship”, if everywhere around shipping is happening? Ignore it, not talk about it at all, alright. But is my only choice to leave, if the shipping has become so loud, that one simply can’t turn a blind eye to it anymore? To watch the show on my own, avoid every place and forum because there hardly ever is no talk about ships, isolate and lose the fun of discussion with others?
It would be easier, if the shipping would be confined to mostly shipping threads, shipper sides, but it is creeping into everything. No matter what a discussion started about, it can be taken over. Forum moderation is sometimes a tedious task, done it myself. If I had the time at the moment, would probably set up an anti-shipper forum, a place for people tired of shippers and shipping discussions, a place to focus talk on all the other interesting things shows offer and tell. No talk at all about shipping, strictly moderated (yep, censorship, I know). Okay, there would be a subforum to vent, whine and joke about shippings in fandoms, need that too.
We sometimes are blind to the amount we are actually talking about something, self-evaluation is something we all often fail in. So we know and say we are interested in other things, but in the dynamic of a group end up talking about the same things again and again without noticing it at times.
No offense, but criticism to shippers in general intended, whoever the shoe fits, wears it. I know, when people get passionate it is not easy to look up and beyond the own passion. And I agree mostly, that it should be let live and each their own – but that doesn’t always, can’t always work. Each to their own is an utopian ideal, in practice we have to make compromises. Now for a show like OUaT it is nearly impossible to not talk about relationships, they are part of nearly every plot, but there is a difference to talk about the plot and to talk ship. And not all is about romance. Wrote about that in another place.
I appreciate that we try on this forum to keep shipping in the topics dedicated to it, but occasionally passion is overwhelming here too. Happens. It is not about this forum though (just to be clear). It’s a general observation. Fandoms have a huge shipping problem and excessive, fanatic shippers can kill the fun for everybody else. It’s tough work to not let that happen and not free of conflict.
¯\_(?????? ?)_/¯
The problem is more than ships, I fear.
We all see the characters in different lights.
So even when we are just trying to make an opinion clear
those opinion exchanges can seem like fights
I started off being more about the speculation and analysis
the discussion of character, and moral wrong and right
and I still care more about this
and the story that these producers might choose to write
The problem is, shipping is invasive
and while some agree to disagree
that way of thinking is so pervasive
it is hard to avoid completely
I’d love the show to get back to the feel of Season One
where good verus evil was the theme
a curse, magic and happy endings one by one
but the writers have a different dream
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” -- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
What should that mean? Sorry, but of course I feel free to not ship, would be very sad if there would be any kind of dictates to ship if one wants to be part of a fandom. But how can I in practice “not ship”, if everywhere around shipping is happening? Ignore it, not talk about it at all, alright. But is my only choice to leave, if the shipping has become so loud, that one simply can’t turn a blind eye to it anymore? To watch the show on my own, avoid every place and forum because there hardly ever is no talk about ships, isolate and lose the fun of discussion with others?
It means what it means. It means don’t feel as though you are obligated to ship just to be part of this fandom or this forum. Yes, the shipping is loud in this fandom. It happens. That’s what I said. It’s not just our fandom but most fandoms. You do not have to leave, you can feel free to participate in anything and everything this forum has to offer but feel free to not have strong opinions about those ships that people are passionate about. It means shippers won’t try and convert you and you shouldn’t try and convert them to no ship. It means you have a right to feel anyway you want about this show, its plots and its ships. If you don’t give one iota about shipping then that is absolutely fine, but recognize that a lot of people in the fandom do. And if you choose to give one iota about shipping then recognize that there are a lot of people fed up with it. My concern isn’t with what happens outside of these forums. My concern is here. We are passionate but respectful. Of course in practice my ideal of “ship and let ship even if that no ship is no ship” isn’t perfect. We’re flawed human beings and if we were perfect there would be no need for Matt and myself. But we have come to a lot of compromises that allow for a mostly peaceful place where shippers can have safe havens to fangirl/guy out. Are there are a lot of shipping threads here? Yes but that’s just a part of fandom as you and I have both said. Non shippers can feel free to read them, participate in them, and they can also ignore them. So long as both shippers and non shippers agree that both POV’s are valid because people enjoy whatever they want about this show, then we don’t have a problem.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"I didn’t want this to start a debate, but just wanted to voice my concerns over how I perceive some of the convos on here. Some people are so wrapped into their ships that they aren’t able to enjoy the show for the twists everyone has loved. I have seen on chat some people take offense on their ships and it does make me feel bad that people have to justify themselves. A chatter told me to post this just to see the response I would get. I did and now regret it in a way. I think the only reason I am an anti-shipper is the fact that people fight and feelings get hurt. Or they threaten not to watch the show if their ship sinks.
Also, I thought my poem was cute 🙂
The topic ‘The Anti-Shipper’ is closed to new replies.