(Originally posted on
Brand loyalty isn’t a mindset found solely in fandom, but it does seem very strong there. What do I mean when I say “brand loyalty”? Essentially it’s fans of some particular franchise–Star Wars, for instance–who will defend anything Star Wars no matter the quality.
What causes this phenomenon? I suspect at least part of it is the family/tribal underpinnings of our brains. We perceive criticism of something we love as an attack by an “out group”. Let us not forget that fans tend to be created as children and have their opinions fixed strongly. Moreover, nerdy kids see their franchises as something beloved that allows escapism from Real Life. My obsession with Star Wars as a child was definitely there to escape reality. When something like that affects you so strongly, you react strongly to “attacks” against it.
Maturity, however, shook me out of my brand loyalty. I could look at Star Wars (or Star Trek, or Doctor Who) with a more critical eye. I could see the storytelling flaws and poor choices whereas my younger eyes looked with pure adoration. Wisdom made me realize how much the cast and innovative special effects carried the original SW trilogy. The godawful prequels made me realize how much the editors and producers kept Lucas from making the original trilogy a train wreck.
George Lucas has feet of clay. I can say that now with no twinge of guilt.
What is a Brand?
Something that escapes the strong brand loyalists out there is that a “brand” can be ephemeral. For instance, if I read an Avengers comic written, drawn, colored and edited by completely different people than previous Avengers comics, what am I reading? It has (presumably) the same characters–but characters are fiction. Thor and Iron Man aren’t real. If their creators aren’t involved at all, are they the same characters?
Sometimes the creators or actors are so intrinsically connected with something, no one else can write or portray them. For instance, will anyone else write Harry Potter besides J. K. Rowling and be “real” Harry Potter? Could anyone except Michael J. Fox be Marty McFly? If I may fly afield a bit, could anyone except Freddy Mercury be the vocal lead for Queen?
And so forth.
So when someone monolithically defends Star Wars just because it’s Star Wars–what does that even mean? If the writers, directors, actors, etc. are all different, what is it you’re defending?
Brand Loyalty Blindness
I know from experience that brand loyalty will make you overlook a lot of warts. You’ll justify poor plots and writing in your mind. Just gloss over bad acting or lousy special effects. Even as an adult, you’ll coat your childhood memories in a warm, buttery glow.
A good example is the original Star Trek series. There are episodes that still hold up, even today. But I would say at least a third are a complete waste of time. Some are laughably bad. As a child I just knew that I liked some episodes better than others. As an adult I simply roll my eyes at such drivel as “The Way to Eden”.
The warts are very visible. My tastes grew up with me. This is not a bad thing.
A certain percentage of fandom grow up, but their tastes don’t. They are unwilling to see the warts. It’s like pointing out the flaws will somehow diminish the strengths.
Brand Loyalty Stasis Versus Chaos
There’s a kind of Catch-22 dilemma with franchises. If fans demand they never change, they become boring and predictable as stasis takes hold. Conversely, should they change too much, then the fans become dissatisfied. Moreover if they become too different, are they even the same franchise?
(Perhaps this is a cultural thing. The Japanese don’t seem to have a huge problem with wildly different takes on many franchises. They appear to approach each one as its own entity.)
My basic credo about franchises is: “What have you done for me lately?”
I take each movie/book/episode on its own merits. If it’s good, then it’s good. If it’s bad, then it’s bad. I will even dissect scenes, characters and actors. I loathe all three of the SW prequels, but enjoy Ewan McGregor immensely. He owned the role of Obi-Wan.
If only he had been in better movies.
I actually don’t mind very different interpretations of many franchises, with the single caveat of: be good. Different and crappy doesn’t help (I’m looking at you, Last of the Jedi).
Is Brand Loyalty Good?
I suppose the primary question is whether or not brand loyalty helps or harms. It has saved several worthy series from cancellation. It has resurrected worthy series that were cancelled (but not Firefly, goddamn it!)
On the other hand, it has also kept series going long past their expiration dates (*cough* Supernatural*cough*). It brought us the SW prequels and Transformers movies.
I think it’s best to look at it like casting votes. Every time you plunk down your money for a ticket or comic book, you’re casting a vote. You’re saying: “I want more of this”.
If what you’re casting your vote for is garbage…you’ll get more of it.
Vote carefully.
