"Fanboy" movies

Anonus

I've seen Pacific Rim, Jupiter Ascending, and Seventh Son all referred to as "fanboy" movies, despite none of the three being based on pre-existing properties.

"Fanboy" is the word showbiz types use instead of "nerd". But the way they use it is kind of stupid.

Obā-san

...i have legitimately never heard of those second two

Anonus

They're being released today

Anonus

Seventh Son was delayed from last January...

Calica

i've seen trailers for Seventh Son

Imipolex G

Tachyon

i know this is whiny and obviously not the point being made, but 'fanboy' seems needlessly gendered and has unnecessarily pejorative connotations and i feel like this suggests disdain

i would be happier if they said 'fan' for stuff that's only expected to appeal to an established audience of fans, or if they mean nerd they should just say that and have done and it wouldn't be any more insulting

Anonus

"fan" is more general than what they're aiming for

I imagine they feel "nerd" to be insulting, or conjure up an image less glamorous or modern than what they want.

Tachyon

'fanboy' = 'male nerd' but with added connotations of 'obnoxious, immature, unpleasable'

at least, that's how i perceive it

idk maybe i'm just too easily offended

Tachyon

at the very least they could have picked a more gender-inclusive term

Alduin

"fangirl" also has negative connotations

Tachyon

it does, and would not be an improvement

but 'fan' is more neutral i think

Tachyon

i mean i can see the need for a term for movies which are targeted at an established fandom and have no aspirations of reaching a wider audience

i just don't think there needs to be a word that encompasses both that and stuff like Pacific Rim, which is i guess lumped together with them for fantasy/SF content

i mean if they want to say 'this movie is for nerds' they might as well just say it, but i don't think it's a particularly worthwhile thing to be saying in the first place

Anonus

Hollywood only recently seemed to realize the value in targeting nerds specifically

Though there have been times in the past when they did (e.g. the "animation art" craze of the '90s - by the time that Time Warner bought Turner and took ownership of Hanna-Barbera, Bill and Joe spent most of their time signing cels in an office, which would be sold to collectors)

Tachyon

but nerds aren't really a single demographic, they're a lot of intersecting demographics

targeting the SF demographic is not the same as targeting the nostalgic collector demographic, even if Hollywood might perceive them as being related

Anonus

I just assume "nerd" means "anyone with an abnormally high interest in a given subject"

Tachyon

i think that's close to it, but not it

fantasy and SF goes in and out of fashion like anything else, and fans are by definition abnormally interested in particular things but most people are fans of something

Odradek

I've seen Pacific Rim, Jupiter Ascending, and Seventh Son all referred to as "fanboy" movies, despite none of the three being based on pre-existing properties.

"Fanboy" is the word showbiz types use instead of "nerd". But the way they use it is kind of stupid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spook's_Apprentice

Alduin

I actually read one of the books. It was OK.