Falling to the Dark Side of Fandom: The Levelheaded thought process of a hardcore Star Wars fan.

In the world of Star Wars fandom there are different types of fans. Ones who enjoy and love Star Wars for what it is. Then we have ones who are so passionate they show their love through things like Cosplay and other artistic endeavors. Then we have the trolls. The ones who always complain about every little thing done to the one thing they love. Doesn’t matter how awesome it is, it’s all wrong to them. I’ve always felt I was one of the good ones and that I was above falling to the Dark Side of Fandom. Come to find out even the good ones can have a moment of weakness.

So what exactly turns someone from being a calm fan into a troll? Let’s start with fear as the beginning of it all. I was afraid the house of mouse was messing with something I thought was ready to go. All the rumors swirling about the set of Rogue One, that the execs hated the first cut, that 40% of the film needed to be re-shot, that they needed to match the tone of A New Hope. Come to find out I was wrong. The re-shoots were planned and all the rumors were just that, rumors. We are going Yoda here…Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.

Another contributing factor to this was my high expectations for Rogue One. After the release of The Force Awakens I have been on cloud nine. The movie itself is amazing and had me feeling that Disney could do no wrong. But then the rumors hit, and all of a sudden that fear attacked my expectations for the movie. I kept saying don’t take away my dark, gritty, war movie. Don’t you dare change it. It was infuriating to think that the movie could be, for lack of a better term, Disney-fied.

Lastly I feel like my passion for Star Wars was the final contributor to continuing down the path to the Dark Side. I have loved Star Wars since I was a kid. For me it is a huge part of my childhood. The Force Awakens reignited and took that passion to a new level. Made me feel like a kid again. So much so that even seeing the Rogue One trailer, I was grinning like a little kid while watching it.

In summation there is nothing wrong with being a passionate fan. There is nothing wrong with being any kind of fan really. But Fear, passion and your own high expectations can lead you down the wrong path in any Fandom. Luckily for me I caught myself before it got worse, like Luke did after he defeated Vader. But for some, they are too far gone and have traveled down that road to the Dark Side of Fandom. Always keep your head about you…don’t be a troll.

This article was written by Randy Guiles.