The Supernatural Fandom and You!
By: Me!
Let me start out by saying that I very much dislike Supernatural. I kind of hate it. Why? Because it's boring television! "Oh, look, it's two bad asses, one is a smart whiney b word and the other one is super cool and sexy and stoic with a heart of pure gold beams, and they fight monsters all across the country with their old American cars!" It's terrible! It's trash! The show constantly goes back and forth from one brother sacrificing himself to save the other over and over again and, in the meantime, they fight a new threat every week/season. The show is wash, rinse, repeat at its core. Which would be fine, if the fans of the show didn't treat it like the best thing ever. I wouldn't be surprised if the show went on for another 10+ years. And the fans will all say "That's a good thing! This show will never end!" To which I quote Vision from Avengers: Age of Ultron "A thing isn't beautiful because it lasts." I wish the people who loved the show would understand that a good thing ends early and leaves you wanting more, not rolling at the dice until it loses your trust (Dexter!) But this blog isn't supposed to be me bashing on Supernatural. (It's supposed to be one thirdish of that.) It's supposed to be the influence that Supernatural has on it's fan.
After a full paragraph of how much I hated Supernatural and have much disdain for it's fandom, let me now talk about how everyone in my family absolutely loves this show. I swear! I thought I taught my brother better, but when I came home from college the first time for Thanksgiving Break, I found my brother in the thick of season 10, and I knew all hope was lost. "It's not THAT bad." He would say. I would just shake my head in utter shame. My parents used to watch it pretty regularly when it came out, up until around season 4 or 5. (We didn't have cable after that.) And my grand parents do nothing but watch reruns of the show almost every day. The biggest fan, and arguably the one that got everyone else started, was my Aunt Jessica. She loves this show. It's the biggest thing to her since Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I actually LIKE that show). She would have Supernatural posters and shirtless pics of Sam and Dean as the wallpaper of any device she had (soon to be replaced with a shirtless Jon Snow after I got her into GoT.) She loved it. I can't blame her for letting her Supernatural flag fly. The show hit it's hightest peak of fandom around 2013. While I was excited for the finale of Breaking Bad, everyone else was trading seasons 1-5000 with each other at school.
She would often tell me, "It's just so cool! I liked it in the beginning and now everyone else is seeing what I love about it!" I can't take away the joy of that feeling (me being the hardcore Marvel fan(who got made fun of lots of times in school for it(Spider-Man isn't REAL, Justice!) only for my favorite characters to be what dominates the box office every year for 8 straight years and counting.) The Supernatural Fandom is often poked at in the show. Making them feel that much closer to the thing they love. In the show, the Supernatual brand exists as a series of books that are then turned into a tv show to which the actors of the show are the very same actors of the actual show in real life. (Meta enough for you?) They even hold Supernatural conventions in show and in real life where people dress up as their favorite Supernatural characters. (Most notably, you guessed it, Sam and Dean.)
I was looking on Amazon for "Supernatural Merchandise" for a V-Day gift, and noticed the large amounts of odd merch. There was a hot wheelz toy of the classic American car used int he show. There was a pillow case of both the brothers in the show, laying in a bed with each other, with nothing but white towels covering up the naughty bits, tanned abs, and heterosexual-ism to spare. (#Wincest (I don't support #Destiel))
To me, the Supernatural Fandom is a weird, dark, and scary place. It is a place I will likely never venture in my years, and feel more fulfilled for it. If it is your cup of tea, more power to you, but, jeez, there are many better things! #TheLeftovers
You're an asshole
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