Online-connected fandom eliminated the possibility of disappointment in releases

Evidence

This attitude marked a dramatic shift from traditional ideas of criticism and fandom. Fans no longer accepted the possibility of creative missteps. Critic Mark Fisher saw previous notions of fandom as full of ups and downs: “the expectations and the disappointments are part of the masochistic reel/real of being a popfan.” By contrast, twenty-first-century fans, connected to millions of others online, refused to admit the possibility of failure. Under ultrapoptimism, every release was a masterpiece. The critics who refused to offer blanket praise burst these palliative bubbles. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 530

Categorization

• XREF: The contrast with Fisher’s older ‘masochistic’ fandom echoes Marx’s broader collapse-of-subculture thesis from earlier chapters.