Poll: Does ignorance of source material annoy you?

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

I don't really care either way. Just because someone enjoys the movies doesn't mean they enjoy the source material. Source doesn't always translate well to film. Being an asshat to someone that has only seen the movie version and has no knowledge of the game is extremely childish. Its one thing to attempt to educate someone on the source, its another to jump down someone's throat for not knowing what you do.
I know a lot about the Marvel universe, Star Wars (both movies and EU material), DC comics, and a lot of games and related shit. But I don't expect people to know what I do.
I am glad for some of my favorite fiction media being translated to film format and welcome the difference of events and storylines but mainly I like the fact that the stuff I enjoy so much is being brought to audiences who will probably never experience the source material.
Different Strokes for different folks people.
Also diplomacy and tolerance goes a long way in building character and trust. I think the gaming community and by extension the geek community needs to learn patience, tolerance and diplomacy towards those folk who are on the outside.
Your knowledge of trivial factoids about a game universe doesn't make you superior.

 

[IndomitableSam]

Not really. It can sometimes, but not usually.

I mean, I love Marvel. Have I read any comics? No. Why? For one, my family couldn't afford comics for me/us as kids. Two? I'm a girl, and even though my parents were always supportive of our love of all things "boy" (this was the 80's), a lot of the rest of the world wasn't. I couldn't go into comic shops without the expected crap happening. My aunt bought them for my cousin all the time, but whenever we asked if we could read them... we always got a non-answer. Partly because my cousin was selfish, I expect, and thought girls would ruin them. He thought the same about Lego. But, again, 80's. We never did push that hard, but, still. But I'd still say I'm a Marvel fan. Canon for me is the 90's X-Men cartoon. Does that make me wrong?

As for other things... take Lord of the Rings since we watched all three again this past weekend. I never finished reading them. I got halfway through Two Towers and gave up. I hate the books. Cannot stand the writing. If Tolkein had an editor back then, the person should have been fired. You could cut that shit down to 1/3rd of the size and it'd still be full of superfluous exposition that just annoys me. Does that make me less of a fan? Does it mean I have less right to speak my opinions about things?

Am I a truer fan than someone else because I've read A Song of Ice and Fire more than once? Is someone who loves the show and doesn't read the books because they want to be surprised any less a fan? No. They're a fan, just as much as I am. Reader or not.

 

[Gizmo1990]

Sometimes yes. Mostly whenever I find myself talking about my love of John Constantine. I am a big Hellblazer fan and when asked who my favorite comic character is I say John Constantine.

So of cause people think I am talking about that abomination of a movie they made, where he was American instead of English, was motivated by greed and a desier to go to heven and not hell instead of being a bitter adrenalin junkie who hates heven just as much as Hell and had as much cunning and magic as a house plant.

Really gets on my nerves. Hopfully del Toro can sort that problem out.

 

[Alssadar]

As having both read and watched the Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones), I have seen the changes they had to do to adapt it to film. As one who remembers plenty of the series, I could pick up many nuances and changes they put in the show to suit the modern television audience.

Spoiler: **Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones Spoilers**

Sure, Robb's wife is not some girl from the Riverlands, but now she is an actual character and gives Robb some additional character development.
The red-haired whore's involvement served well as a minor character, until her end.
Theon was not explicitly tortured in the third book, but it'll probably help audiences remember him when he becomes Reek.
The expansion of Old Lady Tyrell shows her greater range of influence, and her verbal duel with Tywin was fantastically executed.
The exclusion of Catelyn's father and the majority of Riverrun help simplify things, and I can understand that.
I don't know what they're doing with Gendry, but I hope it pans out into something interesting.

There are plenty more differences, but I'm fine with them. My only critical issue is that Arya is a good archer in the show, yet she couldn't shoot a bow for crap in the book.
If it makes the show good, I'm okay with it. I accept the show of its own merit, as the visual limitations of film can prove difficult in comparison to the perspectives allowed through writing.

The same goes for the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit trilogies. They can deviate, as long as they stick to the same plot line, and I'm fine with their production.

 

[Dale Ware]

I would say yes to the initial question.

Now i'm a star trek fan, and while i enjoy both of the 'new' movies, i realise that they both render everything set after Enterpise irrelevant (there is a quick scene in Into Darkness where there is a model of the NX-01 Enterprise on a desk, amongst other 'monumental' spacecraft), while refering or 'shouting out' to them at the same time. I still enjoy these movies, and i know my younger brother, for example, would enjoy them as movies without the decades of backstory.

Enterprise on the other hand did a thing that annoyed me. As the newest show (which at present it still is) but being set chronologically first, they tried to retcon in threats such as the Borg or the Ferengi as new, which then spoils them being new for the 'old' shows. Of course logically, they also invented new threats, and viewers such as myself may wonder what happened to the Xindi, Suliban, or other major threats they faced, but they could potentially explain these away? Its better than making a new foe old (or is that an old foe new?) for the sake of one or a few episodes.

For Game of Thrones, The books are better, BUT i understand them being streamlined for TV. I also listen to the RT podcast, where Burnie doesn't know characters names, with the last two books at least, i had to read the first few paragraphs of some chapters to know who we were talking about as the characters can have multiple aliases & refering to one of them as a lead in, especially if its one not often used, is brutal on understanding...

 

[FalloutJack]

Poke

Well, in light of your post, ignorance is only one side of the issue. You don't come off as a know-it-all prick. You just like things. I have seen some know-it-all pricks, and by god some even have the nasally-irritating voice. I'll paint you a lovely scenario.

It's an anime convention, late at night, and a couple of my friends are known for their hijinx and shenaniggans in Anime Fight Club, the humorous discussion panel of who - from various games, comics, anime, etc. - would win in a fight, using all of their resources, no help from outsiders. Most cases, this is gloriously funny, and making the guys almost die laughing usually constitutes a win.

However, the latest one had a guy in there that was this sort of loud-mouth twit. (BTW: He's an Escapist, so I HOPE YOU SEE THIS!) Nasally voice, calling out when other people want to talk, never shutting up, irritating the panelists, making no sense, and he was right behind me too. When I had had enough, I cited arguments against whoever he was rooting for on grounds of his inability to be quiet, and the guys LIKED IT. And then, when I really got mad, I threatened to beat him in front of everyone...which somebody shook my hand for.

There is a kind of geek-out that just is not appropriate even for a roomful of them. Moderation in all things. And speaking of mods, I hope you guys don't take personally that I described an Escapist off-forum in such a manner, but the guy had it coming and you will be happy to know that I don't look at all members in quite that light.

 

[gamernerdtg2]

I think people who come in after the fact usually go back to the source material. That's the good thing about movies and such. I really enjoy Arrow as a TV show, and I don't know the comic books. I'm going to go back to them eventually, but I'm not really a DC comic person to be honest. I like many of their hero's but I can't say much about their back stories.

 

[VoidWanderer]

It depends on the situation. I loved Spider-Man having organic webshooters in the Sam Raimi trilogy, but I HATED how they did the webs in the 'new' trilogy. I mean when the main bad guy can fuck Spider-Man over by NOT selling the web fluid... SOMETHING HAS SERIOUSLY GONE WRONG HERE!