I'm less and less willing to let TPTB off the hook with "they didn't know any better" or "... but they did very well for their time period", because damn it, at some point, that has to stop being good enough ...
I definitely agree with this - as I said, I don't want to let TPTB off the hook; I don't think fandom as a whole ought to be turning a blind eye to such concerns. I think it's important to raise them and discuss them.
At the same time - is fanning on a show "letting them off the hook"? Or can one enjoy parts of a show while criticizing others? Is squeeing about certain elements while ignoring other things you don't like tacitly condoning those elements you're ignoring? Maybe it is...I don't know. I didn't like that Ronon & Teyla weren't in "Vegas" but I liked the John & Rodney interaction of the episode. If I squee about the latter, am I condoning the former? I'd hope I wasn't - I want both, really. But maybe I am. (And this gets trickier when you've got such bad writing, when sometimes I'd rather they wouldn't write Ronon at all if they're going to write him as insultingly dumb or barbaric - do we praise them for remembering Ronon exists or criticize for not doing it better?)
For that matter - easy as it is to overlook, John/Rodney in itself is subversive and socially critical; in fandom slash is largely accepted, but in the wider context homophobia is still alive and kicking, and while a lot of slashers are just doing it for the porn, quite a few slash fans are very aware of that social responsibility (and many are part of that minority, getting even less representation on genre TV...)
But the more that I've been dealing with my own social privilege issues, the less I've really had in common with mainstream SGA fandom and its concerns ... and it shows, I guess, in what I'm comfortable writing and reading, 'till it's gotten to the point where I just can't see much to like in the show anymore.
This I completely respect, and there's not much I can say to it. It might be as simply as you've outgrown SGA, and if your tastes have changed, then there's definitely shows out there that handle these things better, if not perfectly. I've been having a similar thing myself, in a different area - I've recently become a lot more sensitive to female characters, and what I want to see in female characters and their relationships, and it's informing what shows I latch on to more than it used to (e.g. when I just watched Merlin, though I enjoyed the wildly obvious Arthur/Merlin stuff, I find myself getting into the Morgana/Gwen subtext just as much or more.) It's not the most important element for me in a show (not yet, anyway) but it's a different perspective for me, so I can understand how a change in your own perspective has made SGA (show or fandom) so unsatisfying.
part 2. to the part 1. ARGH!
I definitely agree with this - as I said, I don't want to let TPTB off the hook; I don't think fandom as a whole ought to be turning a blind eye to such concerns. I think it's important to raise them and discuss them.
At the same time - is fanning on a show "letting them off the hook"? Or can one enjoy parts of a show while criticizing others? Is squeeing about certain elements while ignoring other things you don't like tacitly condoning those elements you're ignoring? Maybe it is...I don't know. I didn't like that Ronon & Teyla weren't in "Vegas" but I liked the John & Rodney interaction of the episode. If I squee about the latter, am I condoning the former? I'd hope I wasn't - I want both, really. But maybe I am. (And this gets trickier when you've got such bad writing, when sometimes I'd rather they wouldn't write Ronon at all if they're going to write him as insultingly dumb or barbaric - do we praise them for remembering Ronon exists or criticize for not doing it better?)
For that matter - easy as it is to overlook, John/Rodney in itself is subversive and socially critical; in fandom slash is largely accepted, but in the wider context homophobia is still alive and kicking, and while a lot of slashers are just doing it for the porn, quite a few slash fans are very aware of that social responsibility (and many are part of that minority, getting even less representation on genre TV...)
But the more that I've been dealing with my own social privilege issues, the less I've really had in common with mainstream SGA fandom and its concerns ... and it shows, I guess, in what I'm comfortable writing and reading, 'till it's gotten to the point where I just can't see much to like in the show anymore.
This I completely respect, and there's not much I can say to it. It might be as simply as you've outgrown SGA, and if your tastes have changed, then there's definitely shows out there that handle these things better, if not perfectly. I've been having a similar thing myself, in a different area - I've recently become a lot more sensitive to female characters, and what I want to see in female characters and their relationships, and it's informing what shows I latch on to more than it used to (e.g. when I just watched Merlin, though I enjoyed the wildly obvious Arthur/Merlin stuff, I find myself getting into the Morgana/Gwen subtext just as much or more.) It's not the most important element for me in a show (not yet, anyway) but it's a different perspective for me, so I can understand how a change in your own perspective has made SGA (show or fandom) so unsatisfying.