Obnoxious Star Wars Fandom “Gatekeeper” Is Told Off By The Co-Writer Of Star Wars Books
In today’s world, there is a myriad of movies, video games, and other media, each of which has a fandom—a community of like-minded people that foster passion and love for the medium.
Now, each community has its own character and personality. It’s an identity assumed by the community and can vary from inclusive and even evangelical to exclusive and (sad to say) repulsive. This identity can even be reinforced by a community if some of its members begin to deviate from what it strives to be.
This is exactly what happened recently on Twitter when a Star Wars fan came up with a definition for what a person has to have actually done to be a Star Wars fan.
Ed Powell tweeted out a specific list of things that make someone a Star Wars fan
Image credits: DrEdPowell
Ed Powell, an astrophysicist and an avid fan of Star Wars, tweeted his definition of what it means to be a true Star Wars fan. He explains that having seen the movies doesn’t actually make one a fan. What actually does is things like reading the novelizations, books, and comics, watching the animated shows, and participating in discussion groups.
This is an example of a phenomenon that the internet has come to call “gatekeeping”. It describes a fan base (or a part of it) that is exclusive and picky about who can “join the club” or even enjoy the medium. Needless to say, the Star Wars community was having none of that.
Phil “Satyros” Brucato, writer, journalist, and editor who also worked on Star Wars: Creatures of the Galaxy, stepped in on Twitter together with a number of other Internauts.
People weren’t too happy about the “gatekeeping”, with Phil Brucato saying it best
Image credits: SatyrosBrucato
Image credits: SatyrosBrucato
Brucato tweeted “Well, I’ve not only read books in the EU, I co-wrote some of them. And I think your definition of “a Star Wars fan” is [bull pies].” He continued in another tweet: The definition of ‘a Star Wars fan’ is: Someone who loves Star Wars. You don’t get to decide what that love looks like for someone else.“
A sizable number—over 15,000 right now— of people agreed with him and supported his words, leading to the tweets quickly gaining traction and going viral. This is an example of a community addressing the toxic behavior of its members.
One can play the devil’s advocate and say that Powell has a more puristic (in the positive sense) take on what it means to be a real fan of the franchise, and it’s all right to have that opinion. However, it all boiled down to how exclusive it ended up sounding to the rest of the Internet.
Of course, some people made their own lists poking fun and writing the proper definition of “Star Wars fan”
Image credits: chaselyons
Image credits: Lee923
Image credits: OldThinkerTube
Image credits: LifeLossIsntDmg
Image credits: Charalanahzard
Image credits: ashleylynch
Image credits: TheSchlockJock
Image credits: franklinleonard
Image credits: abandonedameric
Image credits: AnneTibbets
… and here are some other one-off additions
Image credits: lbjb247
Image credits: atlemar
Image credits: UrsulaV
Image credits: TimTiro
Image credits: NAJohnson
Image credits: DJSnM
Image credits: UweBollocks
Image credits: favomancer
Image credits: JohnJTerrible
Image credits: FreshCutFry
You are a true Star Wars fan if you watched the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special and actually liked it.
Honestly the gatekeeping on the Star Wars universe just gets worse and worse. I'm sorry, but I liked TLJ and Rise of Skywalker. I'm still as much of a fan as you.
I'm a long time fan of Star Wars and thought the last two trilogy movies were as badly written as the average soap opera and a hot mess, but won't claim you don't have the right to like them. There were some nice battles and set pieces at least,.
Load More Replies...
You can't be a real Star Wars fan unless you saw the original at the theater in 1977 AND later bought the vinyl LP with bits of movie audio on it AND listened to that and the soundtrack every day of your junior high life. I qualify, here. Honestly, I am sick to death of people deciding who is and who isn't a fan, what is and what isn't "acceptable" in the movies, which of the movies in the franchise are okay to like and which ones aren't, etc. etc., etc. Know what? WE'RE ALL DIFFERENT. And it's okay for some people to like some bits of the Star Wars universe that you don't. It's okay for someone to not devote their entire life to this movie franchise and still consider themselves fans. Honestly. Star Wars "fans" have ruined Star Wars far worse than Disney ever will.
I make jokes about being a "real fan" when it comes to fandoms, but this is stupid. I do it for comedy and satire. This damn fool does it because he lacks brain cells.
A real Start Wars fan thinks Kirk is better than Picard and thinks R2D2 is the best droid: p029yw7y.jpg 
Another formulaic "Person does/tweets/posts something controversial, gets shut down/shamed/schooled by heroic person" on boredpanda. Way to stay creative, guys.
If you don’t like it, nobody is asking you to stay.
Load More Replies...
There are many different levels of fandom, you have with Star Wars the Casual Fans (like the movies, play some games, maybe read the occasional book and comic), the Film Obsessed Fans (Films and TV only), the Invested Fans (who do invest in the games and other materials but not overly so), the Hard Core Fans (Every piece of SW media is full invested and discussed, and the Pre-Disney Hard Core Fans (doesnt like the Disney SW stuff, with maybe the exception of Fallen Order game and the Mandelorian, and is a purist and defends the Old EU and will not partake in the new Disney merch, books, etc). Many types of fans, each different and unqiue and one of the great things about fandom is we all get along on our mutual interests
I named my son Luke, because we were expecting a girl and in the pain of labour and c-section, all I could think about was Luke Skywalker (i saw the whole saga that was released by then - 2018 - in the days before i gave birth). I am a fan, but i don't know everything about SW Universe. But i do enjoy it and I do educate Luke on the origin of his name. (I am from Romania, so Luke is a fairly uncommon name here)
I have done all but read the new cannon books. I do not consider the new cannon to be cannon the EU books are much better and I like those.
Saw it on opening day in my hometown theater. There were 3 people watching. We freaked from our different rows at the opening scene, where the star ship just. kept. going. 2 weeks later, the line was around the block.
Seeing Episode IV in a theater in 1977 does, which I bet based on his pic not even he did.
Hey! I saw it in 77 too! After waiting in line for 2 hours.....
Load More Replies...
Assumes facts not in evidence - mainly that any women would get close enough to him for him to have time to mansplain anything. :-D (BTW don't know why you are getting downvoted, but I upvoted you).
Load More Replies... I've seen every Star Wars movie and every Star Wars TV special. I've watched the every animated series. And I would say I'm an original Star Wars fan because I'm highly critical when I see directors cashing in on the original trilogy's success. I will also say you are not truly a SW fan unless you were also furious when Disney bought the rights to Star Wars because they will now commercialize it to death instead of affording it the respect it and Lucas deserves. Respect to the original cast of Star Wars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter William Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, James Earl Jones, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz, Sir Alec Guinness and of course, George Lucas. May the Force Be With You!!
Hear, hear. I am honestly confused by people who say they love Star Wars, but also like the sequel trilogy (TLJ especially), since it's so far removed from the themes of Lucas' saga. I will never forgive Disnay for throwing out Lucas' sequel script drafts, trampling over his legacy and producing sequels that essentially make the story in the preceding 6 films meaningless. Lucas made a huge mistake.
Load More Replies...
A real Star Wars fan knows Emperor Reagan was a bad guy, Kirk was better than Picard, an R23PO is the best droid: p029yw7y-1.jpg 
You are a true Star Wars fan if you watched the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special and actually liked it.
Honestly the gatekeeping on the Star Wars universe just gets worse and worse. I'm sorry, but I liked TLJ and Rise of Skywalker. I'm still as much of a fan as you.
I'm a long time fan of Star Wars and thought the last two trilogy movies were as badly written as the average soap opera and a hot mess, but won't claim you don't have the right to like them. There were some nice battles and set pieces at least,.
Load More Replies... You can't be a real Star Wars fan unless you saw the original at the theater in 1977 AND later bought the vinyl LP with bits of movie audio on it AND listened to that and the soundtrack every day of your junior high life. I qualify, here. Honestly, I am sick to death of people deciding who is and who isn't a fan, what is and what isn't "acceptable" in the movies, which of the movies in the franchise are okay to like and which ones aren't, etc. etc., etc. Know what? WE'RE ALL DIFFERENT. And it's okay for some people to like some bits of the Star Wars universe that you don't. It's okay for someone to not devote their entire life to this movie franchise and still consider themselves fans. Honestly. Star Wars "fans" have ruined Star Wars far worse than Disney ever will.
I make jokes about being a "real fan" when it comes to fandoms, but this is stupid. I do it for comedy and satire. This damn fool does it because he lacks brain cells.
A real Start Wars fan thinks Kirk is better than Picard and thinks R2D2 is the best droid: p029yw7y.jpg
Another formulaic "Person does/tweets/posts something controversial, gets shut down/shamed/schooled by heroic person" on boredpanda. Way to stay creative, guys.
If you don’t like it, nobody is asking you to stay.
Load More Replies... There are many different levels of fandom, you have with Star Wars the Casual Fans (like the movies, play some games, maybe read the occasional book and comic), the Film Obsessed Fans (Films and TV only), the Invested Fans (who do invest in the games and other materials but not overly so), the Hard Core Fans (Every piece of SW media is full invested and discussed, and the Pre-Disney Hard Core Fans (doesnt like the Disney SW stuff, with maybe the exception of Fallen Order game and the Mandelorian, and is a purist and defends the Old EU and will not partake in the new Disney merch, books, etc). Many types of fans, each different and unqiue and one of the great things about fandom is we all get along on our mutual interests
I named my son Luke, because we were expecting a girl and in the pain of labour and c-section, all I could think about was Luke Skywalker (i saw the whole saga that was released by then - 2018 - in the days before i gave birth). I am a fan, but i don't know everything about SW Universe. But i do enjoy it and I do educate Luke on the origin of his name. (I am from Romania, so Luke is a fairly uncommon name here)
I have done all but read the new cannon books. I do not consider the new cannon to be cannon the EU books are much better and I like those.
Saw it on opening day in my hometown theater. There were 3 people watching. We freaked from our different rows at the opening scene, where the star ship just. kept. going. 2 weeks later, the line was around the block.
Seeing Episode IV in a theater in 1977 does, which I bet based on his pic not even he did.
Hey! I saw it in 77 too! After waiting in line for 2 hours.....
Load More Replies... Assumes facts not in evidence - mainly that any women would get close enough to him for him to have time to mansplain anything. :-D (BTW don't know why you are getting downvoted, but I upvoted you).
Load More Replies... I've seen every Star Wars movie and every Star Wars TV special. I've watched the every animated series. And I would say I'm an original Star Wars fan because I'm highly critical when I see directors cashing in on the original trilogy's success. I will also say you are not truly a SW fan unless you were also furious when Disney bought the rights to Star Wars because they will now commercialize it to death instead of affording it the respect it and Lucas deserves. Respect to the original cast of Star Wars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter William Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, James Earl Jones, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz, Sir Alec Guinness and of course, George Lucas. May the Force Be With You!!
Hear, hear. I am honestly confused by people who say they love Star Wars, but also like the sequel trilogy (TLJ especially), since it's so far removed from the themes of Lucas' saga. I will never forgive Disnay for throwing out Lucas' sequel script drafts, trampling over his legacy and producing sequels that essentially make the story in the preceding 6 films meaningless. Lucas made a huge mistake.
Load More Replies... A real Star Wars fan knows Emperor Reagan was a bad guy, Kirk was better than Picard, an R23PO is the best droid: p029yw7y-1.jpg
68
37