Poll: Does ignorance of source material annoy you?

[uchytjes]

snip

Yes, those exist. It would be idiotic of me to deny the existence of them. But the thing is, that isn't what happens every time. What happens is that fans of the older parts of a franchise believe that, just because something got adapted/remade into a movie that it should follow the source material and be an extension of the source material. When it turns out that that isn't the case, they get mad and choose to disregard any good points about the movie. They get so hung up on nostalgia/respect for the source material that they can't enjoy the new stuff.

 

[MPerce]

Yes. Watch battlefield earth (2000) movie. I dare you. The reason why its one of the worst movies arent because its a bad movie. its because it got EVERYTHING (up to names of characters) wrong from the book.

As someone who knows nothing about the original book, I gotta disagree with you here. I have no idea what the movie did or didn't get right about the book, and I still think it's an absolute shit movie for a whole host of other reasons.

I see what you're saying, but a colossal turd like Battlefield Earth isn't as good of an example as, say, I Am Legend. That was a decent movie adaption that fucked itself over because test audiences wanted the ending to have Will Smith exploding something.

 

[Relish in Chaos]

This is pretty much the reason I can't stand to watch the original Fullmetal Alchemist manga anymore,

I assume you mean the anime...

Yes, thank you for correcting me. I'll go back and change that now.

because they changed so many things and took to the plot to such a stupid path that it felt more like a soap opera that was trying too hard to make fans cry...which wasn't true to the spirit of the original Fullmetal Alchemist manga.

They had only changed a few things, but the main reason the original anime is different is because the manga was being written from 2001 to 2010, and the anime was made in 2003-2004. That's at least 6 years of material that didn't exist when the original anime was being made. And, during that time, Arakawa (FMA's writer) gave the anime team insights into the world in general, but didn't actively take part in the writing the anime's plot.

So, it's not so much a case of ignorance, but a divergent path that's why the original anime and the manga/Brotherhood are so different.

Yeah, I know why Bones decided to take a different path from the manga...but I still don't like it. They should've done what Madhouse did with Death Note and waited until the manga was finished to develop the anime. Sure, Death Notes a shorter series, and I know it's all about business, but that's one of the things that I dislike about anime: a seeming inability to be patient with the source material and, with more worse anime, god-awful filler to make sure they don't overrun the manga. I mean, they wound up doing an anime adaptation more closely based on the manga anyway.

 

[Lucane]

I think if they can create their own interpretations or expand on things a little more, I don't mind too much. But if it reaches the level of M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender, we've got a problem.

I can agree, also I have an issue when it seems they just change things around to come up with their own ideas and ignoring source material as in what happened with Transformers.

 

[TehCookie]

If it's a random person it only annoys me if they reject the original's existence and their favorite is the only universe/media with it. If they're ignorant tell them about the source material, if they enjoyed the redo/spinoff/whatever you want to call it they may enjoy the original as well. Or at least it makes a nice conversation without you seeming like an elitist nerd who is mad at casuals for desecrating their favorite work.

If it's a director it annoys the shit out of me. It's their job to know about it and adapt it to something else, not to steal the names and make up something different.

 

[Use_Imagination_here]

Only when they are dead wrong.

You know, if someone experiences a movie / game or w/e and doesn't know any better, i can live with that. You could always tell him about the source material if he wants.

Now the one time i did get quite annoyed and was dieing of laughter at the same time, was when some 16y/o boy tried to tell me that some bullshit rapper {one of those top 40chart kind) created, and was the first to use, this

Spoiler

Now that pissed me right off. Specially since dumb cunts (pardon my language, but you didn't meet this people, they really were) believed him.

Are you fucking serious?

Man that is hilarious. Are you sure he was 16? I do at least think MOST 16 year olds aren't that ignorant.

And other fuckers believed him? Man why are you annoyed, I would have just laughed in their face for like 5 mins.

 

[Use_Imagination_here]

Not any more then it annoys me in general when people are wrong/ignorant, so not a lot.

Only thing that I really care about was this particular bit in star wars involving the order of firing regarding certain energy-based lethal handheld equipment, similar in size and shape to pistols.

 

[Longstreet]

Only when they are dead wrong.

You know, if someone experiences a movie / game or w/e and doesn't know any better, i can live with that. You could always tell him about the source material if he wants.

Now the one time i did get quite annoyed and was dieing of laughter at the same time, was when some 16y/o boy tried to tell me that some bullshit rapper {one of those top 40chart kind) created, and was the first to use, this

Spoiler

Now that pissed me right off. Specially since dumb cunts (pardon my language, but you didn't meet this people, they really were) believed him.

Are you fucking serious?

Man that is hilarious. Are you sure he was 16? I do at least think MOST 16 year olds aren't that ignorant.

And other fuckers believed him? Man why are you annoyed, I would have just laughed in their face for like 5 mins.

Like i said, i was annoyed and laughing my ass off at the same time.
Pretty sure he was 16, give or take a year.

Best part was, some girls were flashing up the horns because they thought it was some rap sign (Now that i think of it, i think he said Jay-Z started it) and you know, only cool people listen to rap.

But man that whole group he was with was dumb as fuck. At one point some kid, bout 8 years old, asked me what time it was. I answered (In Dutch, and for the Dutch here, i said: pak m beet) "About 3PM" I got the comment that "about" was too difficult of a word to use to an 8 year old.

Keep in mind i said it in dutch and they are also dutch.

Edit; so thats why it showed me this topic was 143 pages long, a bug.

 

[madwarper]

Yeah, I know why Bones decided to take a different path from the manga...but I still don't like it. They should've done what Madhouse did with Death Note and waited until the manga was finished to develop the anime. Sure, Death Notes a shorter series, and I know it's all about business, but that's one of the things that I dislike about anime: a seeming inability to be patient with the source material and, with more worse anime, god-awful filler to make sure they don't overrun the manga. I mean, they wound up doing an anime adaptation more closely based on the manga anyway.

I don't know.

As I see, when an anime is being made mid-manga, and the anime catches up to the current place in the story as the manga, then there are generally 3 possible directions the anime can go.

a) Make filler episodes (Bleach, Naruto)
b) Go off on its own direction (Fullmetal Alchemist, Elfin Lied)
c) Go on hiatus (InuYasha)

Each has their faults. Filler episodes generally result in a considerable drop in quality. Going off in its own direction will generally create a dichotomy of fans. And, going on hiatus runs the risk of people's interest in the property waning.

 

[gamernerdtg2]

You're saying that you feel left out when an underground character or group becomes popular - that's normal. It's never cool feel left out especially when you're the reason why a franchise or undertaking became popular in the first place.

But what happens when you have a situation like Star Wars, where the actual creator ruins everything? That's a pretty weird situation I suppose.

Transformers were ok, but I'm not sure about Mike Bay doing the Ninja Turtles.

Xmen was great until they killed Cyclops - he was one of my favorites. You have to understand that modern pop culture has ruined characters like Superman and Cyclops. People hate the "goodie-goodie" characters. That being said, I can't STAND modern pop culture, and it's annoying what they've done to characters like Superman and Cyclops. People today don't believe in characters without flaws. So superman is a baby-dady. Friggin lame.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

Walking dead seems to follow the comic books almost to the letter

I'd really like to know which comics you're reading/which TV show you're watching considering for one they're vastly different and for two, Robert Kirkman admitted to trying to make them different.

I must admit that I did wrote that particular sentence wrong, because TWD tv show did in fact change it up by adding new characters to the roster (Daryl as an example), but the storyline still follows through.

With that said, I wast just venting at the time I wrote the post because of the Mandarin twist scene came to mind again and some of what I wrote might have been left out. So apologiez for that.

 

[Strazdas]

Yes. Watch battlefield earth (2000) movie. I dare you. The reason why its one of the worst movies arent because its a bad movie. its because it got EVERYTHING (up to names of characters) wrong from the book.

As someone who knows nothing about the original book, I gotta disagree with you here. I have no idea what the movie did or didn't get right about the book, and I still think it's an absolute shit movie for a whole host of other reasons.

I see what you're saying, but a colossal turd like Battlefield Earth isn't as good of an example as, say, I Am Legend. That was a decent movie adaption that fucked itself over because test audiences wanted the ending to have Will Smith exploding something.

I havent read the original book for I Am Legend, though i saw all 3 of the movies (there is I am Omega,but its asylum production, so that doesnt count). so i could not give this example.
Sure BE is a crap movie, but its nowhere near the bottom 100. there are plenty far worse movies out there, many of them pretty much unlisted.
If you ever come across a movie titled "Warning: Pedophile release" DON't watch it. trust me, you dont want to. (and there are no rape scenes or the like, its not what im talking about)

BE however is a good example of how people saw the movie, as it is apeprently widely seen unlike, say, The Omegam Man or The Last Man On Earth (I am Legend predecesors) and seem to hate the book for it, without even reading. Personally i think it is one of the best books out there, the movie on the other hand.....

 

[Another]

Eh, it depends. If they are up in your face about it, and stating that they are absolutely 100% infallible, then yeah that's annoying.

If they just say some things without prior knowledge that's fine. I don't expect all the people who like the iron man films to be familiar with the comics, or Lord of the Rings movie fans to have read the books.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

I don't care really. I wouldn't like it and would probably "go off" a series/world/franchise if it was too jarring, but I wouldn't begrudge them. Not everyone is as into the same things to the same extent as me, or us in general. I try to enjoy something for what it is and within the context it exists in. Canon, not canon, continuation, reboot, don't mind.

I prefer continuity of course, there's nothing like more of characters and a world I like. But I'd prefer more noobs playing, reading or watching my favourite things than have requisite knowledge of backstory a barrier to entry, or creativity. But go in a direction I don't like, I simply won't play, read or watch your shit.

 

[Galletea]

Not so much when it comes to films, since taking an idea and running with it in a different way is the basis of hundreds of different comic book worlds. What annoys me more is people telling me about stuff that didn't happen in the film or should have or whatever.

Actually what really annoys me is when they decide to make a film of something, then sort of stick to the source material, but add stuff, or omit interesting things for no reason. For example, I'm happy to watch X-Men first class. It doesn't pretend to be anything other than a new take on the origins of a bunch of superheroes. When they take stuff like the hobbit, and then add lots of rubbish to stretch it out, for no reason other than to print money, that annoys me.

 

[9thRequiem]

For example Super Heroes are the best example of this. All the complete cretins will go and watch one X-men film and then laugh at me when I say I like Cyclops. They tell me "Cyclops is shit because he died when Phoenix kissed him". Yeah No that never happened, maybe it did in the film you just saw but that's just a money grubbing rip off of the comics. It just annoys me when I'm told that I'm wrong about these characters I've known for years, by people who saw a comic book movie a couple of months ago.

If you think that's bad, imagine the frustration when someone thinks they know Deadpool based on the Wolverine Xmen film. Not even slightly similar.

Yes, I find source material fidelity important. I'm not against adaptation changes completely, as long as any change is made for a very good reason. Some things don't translate between mediums, and that's fine. But most adaptation changes are just clumsy and awful.

 

[verdant monkai]

If you think that's bad, imagine the frustration when someone thinks they know Deadpool based on the Wolverine Xmen film. Not even slightly similar.

Yes, I find source material fidelity important. I'm not against adaptation changes completely, as long as any change is made for a very good reason. Some things don't translate between mediums, and that's fine. But most adaptation changes are just clumsy and awful.

I know I know....

Deadpool being in my top 3 marvel characters, I'm quite familiar with the "merc with a mouth" emphasis on the fucking mouth part. I couldn't finish Wolverine origins purely because of how shit the interpretation of Deadpool was. Yeah that is pretty much the definitive example of how disregard of the source material pisses all over the fans.

again yes I am very much aware of how much of an angry nerd I am.

 

[Pink Gregory]

If I went around declaring myself to be 'true' and everyone else to be 'not a real fan', I'd have 3 black eyes all of the time.

Just seems obnoxious to me. Then again I've never really been part of a fandom; personally I regard such things as resources for good stories, rather than sacred texts never to be altered.

 

[Narfo]

Only when the ignoramus insists that they are right and don't listen even when proof is slapping them in the face.
F***ing idiot.