God I just saw this post where someone was asking “are sci-fi readers more intelligent than the average reader?” and I just got really pissed off.
That line of thinking is disgusting, to say the least. Sure, everyone has their preferred groups of reading material, everyone knows what they like, but to suggest someone is more or less intelligent for being part of your own personal group, without a hint of irony, is just plain wrong. Personal preference doesn’t equal intelligence, and intelligence doesn’t predict what someone will like.
Please, don’t act more intelligent than another person based solely on the media you like. You’re not better because you like Black Mirror over the Simpsons, or because you read science fiction instead of romance. It’s not a good look, on anyone, to be an elitist prick.
I think it’s because some fans take the thing they’re a fan of and make it so much a part of their identity that they feel they’ve got to defend it against everything else and will feel personally offended by anyone criticizing that thing. Not just genres, but some fans of individual authors/comics/TV shows within that genre will insist that theirs is bestest best thing ever to grace the world and anyone who says different is spoiling for a fight. In truth there’s room for it all and getting worked up about people not liking the same things as you is kind of silly.
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