Phrases like this genuinely concern me. And if you think about it, "that sort of fan" hasn't been anywhere near as pandered to as, say, the G1 nostalgics, or the lazy sci-fi fans who want spaceships and time travel. Gay space robots all the way.
Yeah, but "that sort of fan" is arguably more poisonous.
Back in the 90s, there was a television show called "Friends" (about a group of idiot 20 somethings). One of the jokes about the fans of that show (and it was *really* popular*) was that "Friends" the show was for the people who did not have many actual friends.
This is arguably a similar dynamic. "That sort of fan" is not the fan that should be getting encouraged with content that panders and rewards them.
As for why I value kids' fiction above adult fiction, it's because I believe stories generally *mean* more to kids, and as such the way they connect with their fiction as an audience is singularly profound, and more worthy of discourse.
I stand by my previous comments about children's literature destroying any enthusiasm for reading. There were children's books that I could not stand as a kid. And, my appreciation for that writing style has not increased over time. The simplistic writing style and content make it hard to find much to chew over.
Point is, kids' fiction is important, TF is primarily for kids, and kids need to see emotionally close space robots too.
By this logic, kids also need lessons in politics and civics. (One might argue that these lessons are even more important.)
I am not talking about history classes, (though history is vital). I am talking about the fact that kids (to say nothing of adults) need to have an understanding of how power structures work. This includes multiple branches of goverment, but it also includes basic concepts like the application of power and such. (And, in cases like that, fictional examples could work with kids as they would be less likely to cause political controversy as a real life situation would.)
Similarly, there are questions of bio ethics or other topics.
Of course, this is getting in to intellectual development more than emotional development. But, while you work in kid's literature. I work in adult ed. I see plenty of people who are very articulate about their feelings.....and not much else. They might be able to regurgitate facts, but they do not understand much in the way of basic principles and they certainly cannot dispute if something is a principle or not.
In other words, if you are going to say that "gay space robots" is meeting a vital need, I could argue that there are even more vital needs not being met.
EDIT: And this issue actually leads back to the point JT was trying to address with this thread: Why is it series like Transformers can't portray a genuine, emotional, interpersonal relationship between two characters without people like Dom accusing it of 'pandering' and acting like it has no place in the fiction?
Because, in this case, I honestly think that pandering was the motive. (Hey, if somebody wants to track down Roberts and ask him, be my guest.) And, even if it was not, the fact that it arguably rewards "those fans" arguably should have given Roberts pause.
Dom
