Be a Guide, Not a Gatekeeper
Chance Morgan
There’s nothing quite like introducing someone to something you love. There’s the vulnerability of opening up a part of yourself, the anticipation of wondering how they’ll respond, and many times it’s another excuse to revisit a favorite.
I’ve been on the receiving end of that interaction many, many times in my life. I owe many of my favorites and more than a few good friendships to that act of sharing. In many ways, I owe the person I am to what other people have introduced me to.
My brother played American Idiot on the stereo when he drove us to school, and that led to a love of pop-punk that persists to this day. That album remains my all-time favorite. He also taught me about superheroes, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park, and Top Gun, all of which I still love.
My mom took me to musicals when I was younger, which inspired my own love of writing theatre. Her love of rom-coms and the Food Network offered me safe ways to explore my emotions in a time of my life when there weren’t many outlets for me. Because of how that affected me, I highly recommend that every teenager learn how to cook.
The examples go on and on and on throughout my life, and I’m sure that’s true for everyone. I’ve had friends get me into everything from heavy metal and horror movies to rap and Kevin Smith films. I love all of those things and more because someone, at some point in time, said to me:
“You should check this out. I think you’d like it.”
It has literally never been easier to explore new content, and the sheer volume of things to check out has never been higher. On the one hand, this has led to something of a fandom golden age, where everyone has ways to access their favorites. On the other hand, it has also made gatekeeping a very real problem.
Gatekeeping is truly one of my pet peeves, and it goes beyond elitists making snide comments. A refusal to accept more people into a given space based on arbitrary conditions can lead to real problems if left unchecked. If their views and behaviors go unchecked long enough, exclusion can escalate into bullying, harassment, and other openly destructive behaviors.
One of the more infamous examples in recent memory is how toxic Star Wars ‘fans’ harassed and attacked the cast members and creative teams of the recent Star Wars films. It got to the point where several of the cast left social media entirely, and many people would agree that the fan community has been badly, and perhaps permanently, disrupted by the conflict.
Passion for something you love is valid and understandable. However, the instant that anyone attempts to use that passion to attack others or to claim agency over a given work, it ceases to be a good thing.
Having deep knowledge of something you love is valid and understandable. Using that knowledge to keep people out based on ridiculous criteria (“Oh, you like Specific Musician? Name five of their albums”) is childish and pointless.
I fail to see how having fewer fans in a community could possibly be the preferable option. I would much rather cry and cheer in a packed screening of the latest Marvel blockbuster than pretend to enjoy some pretentious arthouse film that an equally pretentious acquaintance insists is “real cinema”. By the way, anyone who says things like “Real fans of X don’t like Y” or “X doesn’t count as real Y” are missing the point.
It isn’t about what counts and what doesn’t.
It isn’t about who counts and who doesn’t.
It isn’t about restricting things for a specific audience that meets specific, arbitrary criteria.
It’s about people connecting with things they like, and that’s all it needs to be.
Imagine taking the energy that goes into harassment and bullying and all those awful behaviors and using it to invite people in instead.
Imagine spending that time appreciating something you love instead of railing against something you don’t.
Most of all, imagine making someone feel how you felt when you discovered a certain work for the first time. Remember how you felt, and how you still feel about it.
Why not help someone else feel that way?
Kevin Smith once said “it costs nothing to encourage an artist, and the potential benefits are staggering”. I believe that’s also true of audiences. It costs nothing to share what you love with someone else. It costs nothing to let other people enjoy what they enjoy.
I’ve spent a good portion of my life developing a pretty broad spectrum of taste in everything from music to movies to books, and I take every opportunity to introduce people to new things. I invite everyone to do the same.
There’s room for everyone. Come on in.