This TikTok user wants to normalize liking things you don’t know a ton about: ‘Enjoyment shouldn’t come with homework!’
One TikToker has shared their opinion about fandoms and the notion of gatekeeping who exactly is allowed to join one.
Fin (@fin.doodlez) took to the digital platform to reveal their thoughts on liking things “you don’t know s*** about.” The intention here, according to Fin, is to basically let people like whatever they want — to whatever degree they want to like it.
“Can we normalize liking things you don’t know s*** about?” they ask.
“It’s about enjoying the thing, it’s not about knowing anything.”
Fin uses the Star Wars franchise as an example.
“Like, if I found someone who had somehow never heard of Star Wars, like, didn’t know anything,” they say, “and I sat them down and I showed them any of the movies, and they were like, ‘Oh, that was really cool…Like, I think I’m a Star Wars fan now.’ That’s a Star Wars fan. That is a person who enjoys Star Wars because it’s about enjoying the thing, it’s not about knowing anything.”
“Do I know any of the songs that are outside of that specific CD? No, but I don’t need any of that to know that s*** slaps.”
Fin brings up the fact that they’re a fan of the band Foo Fighters, having only listened to one album.
“I am a Foo Fighters fan. I love the Foo Fighters, why is that? Because my dad bought me a greatest hits CD at a garage sale he went to, because he thought I would like it. And he was right,” they say. “It got me through my summer job. Do I know who’s in the band? Do I know any of the songs that are outside of that specific CD? No, but I don’t need any of that to know that s*** slaps.”
“I don’t know. Stuff is cool,” Fin adds.
In a follow-up video, Fin addresses some of the backlash they received in using the word “fan.”
“Also, I’m pretty sure the reason that a lot of people associate just the word ‘fan’ with liking something is the fault of, like, the super fans,” they say. “Very universal experience to be like, ‘I like this thing,’ and then somebody quizzes you on it, and when you don’t know the answers to the quiz, the person says you’re being a ‘fake fan.'”
Fin also challenges the idea that claiming to be a fan of something when you don’t know much about it is harmful to the fandom.
“And then there were people saying that calling yourself a fan when you don’t really know a whole lot about that is, like, harmful to the fandom. And that’s just simply not true,” they assert. “The thing that hurts fandoms is when new people aren’t coming in and enjoying your thing…So it’s just the same people talking about the same things over and over again with no new content coming in.”
Fin argues that while there are some people who choose not to further educate themselves about certain things, which is OK, there are others who want to but “don’t have the energy to consume new content all the time.”
“My point still stands. So long as you’re not being a d*** to people, if you call yourself a fan it doesn’t hurt anything. Like, you aren’t taking anything away from anybody else,” Fin adds.
“I love Foo Fighters. They’re one of my favorite bands. I can only name one member.”
Fin’s argument, while controversial to some, is receiving praise from other TikTokers that share this anti-gatekeeping perspective.
“It’s hilarious how people feel superior to someone else literally just because they sat down and consumed more of a certain media,” someone replied.
“Enjoyment shouldn’t come with homework!” another wrote.
“I love Foo Fighters,” one user commented. “They’re one of my favorite bands. I can only name one member.”
Fin makes valid points pertaining to the potentially harmful effects of gatekeeping fandoms. These niche, dedicated groups, however, continue to hold a great amount of power in validating whether or not someone is allowed to join.
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