I keep seeing tweets (not just today) by fans telling other fans to stop being „greedy“ and asking the Outlander cast for selfies or other forms of fan engagement. Their argument is that the fans get the beautifully produced show in return for their supprt and that should be enough.
That, people, is a naive miscalculation.
Fans devote a large chunk of their down time, their creative energy and often their money as well to supprt their show of choice, all. year. long. Every day. Of course, the fandom life isn‘t a duty, and it‘s – ideally – a pleasurable pastime, a creative outlet for many, a place to make friends and exchange thoughts on a common interest. But what many people don‘t realize is that it’s not just a hobby – a tv show and its survival is literally based on fandom, especially in times of sm. Fans offer the best PR, totally for free. Day by day. If you google Outlander, you will find fan sites run by people whose enthusiasm is contagious and will attract new fans.
In the year 2018, it‘s therefore common practice for most popular tv shows to do a lot for their fans – to thank them, but also to keep them engaged, because given the tough competition between the increasing number of very strong shows, they simply can‘t do without a solid fanbase. For example, look at This Is Us, Victoria, The Handmaid‘s Tale. All shows that are heavily represented on sm, regularly engage with fans, offer BTS tidbits, selfies of the cast, from table reads, wrap parties etc etc.
Now look at Outlander. It has a vivid fandom full of amazingly talented and devoted people, and yet there‘s hardly any fan engagement. The official sm accounts are basically dead (and only come to life a few times a year), fan art gets mostly ignored, apart from one week a year, the set and the costumes are the Scottish Area 51. Fans aren‘t let in on the production process during the 10 months of filming, and they aren‘t entertained during the rest of the year either. There‘s a reason why the unusually long hiatus of over a year (14 months this time, people) is called Droughtlander. It really is a time of drought.
And yet fans keep being fans. Keep supporting the show that otherwise falls off the radar during that time. Some are even so devoted that they immediately spotted the spelling mistake in Sam‘s name on the official Spy poster and got them to fix it within half an hour. Fans keep creating art and fanfic, they keep the #outlander alive, they are staying.
To say that the airing of the episodes and the work the cast and crew put into producing them is a just reward for all that passion and time devotion, is wrong and, quite frankly, stupid. It‘s their job to do so, with or without us. They aren‘t doing it because they‘re so generous and want to give us a present. They are doing it because it‘s their freaking job that they get paid for, with or without us.
Everything the fans do they do in their down time, and for free. Many are doing it for themselves, but in effect, they‘re also doing it for the show and the cast.
It‘s not „greedy“ or „unfair“ to ask for a little selfie in return, once a year. #bestfansever doesn’t cut it – you appreciate your fans and think they’re the best fans ever? Prove it. Reward them by taking 5 seconds to snap a pic and post it. Fans deserve it, and unlike fans of other shows, Outlander fans don‘t get it.
Tori