{"id":20510,"date":"2024-01-16T16:53:39","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T00:53:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/?p=20510"},"modified":"2024-01-16T16:54:08","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T00:54:08","slug":"cringe-is-dead-enjoy-what-you-want","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/cringe-is-dead-enjoy-what-you-want\/","title":{"rendered":"Cringe is dead, enjoy what you want"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Written by: Claire Phillips | Entertainment Editor<\/span><\/p>\n

For the past few years, young people have been straying away from trends and exploring their personal style. There is now a place for anyone and everyone to express their identity and interests \u2014 the internet. Whether it comes down to curating a unique wardrobe or enjoying a show that dubs you a \u201cgeek\u201d or even \u201cGleek\u201d, it is essential to constantly spark your inner joy and ignore the haters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fandom culture has existed for centuries. Fans of the Shakespeare play \u201cKing Lear\u201d rewrote the ending simply because they enjoy the tragic conclusion. Similarly, fans of \u201cSherlock Holmes\u201d are credited for some of the first ever fanfictions and publicly mourning the death of Holmes. These fans have never been spared from criticism, however, today, Beatles fans will ask teenage girls to \u201cname three songs,\u201d when the original Beatles fan base was mainly composed of teenage girls.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fans have found ways to connect both online and offline. Conventions have served as a meeting place for people with similar interests. The greatest fans will even \u201ccosplay\u201d as their favorite characters with intricate outfits and props. Cosplay became popular on social media apps, but unfortunately, not every cosplayer was well-received. They\u2019re creatively doing something they enjoy, so what\u2019s the harm?<\/span><\/p>\n

Actually, there can be harm in being a superfan. Fans of the hit TV show \u201cGlee\u201d popularized the show and started calling themselves \u201cGleeks.\u201d It was all good and fine until the Gleeks began harassing the actors. The leads of the show already had stressful lives: long days of learning songs and choreography led to exhaustion for both the cast and crew.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The same goes for other popular television series, such as \u201cStranger Things\u201d and \u201cHeartstopper.\u201d Otherwise, cringe is dead \u2014 feel free to be a Gleek, as long as respect is at the forefront of your intentions.<\/span><\/p>\n

The difference between the Shakespearean era and today is the glorious invention of social media. If conventions aren\u2019t accessible, there is another option: talking to people online. The days of posting flyers on theater doors are over, now just a five to ten second video can reach thousands. However, if you\u2019re one of the brave few who share their true self online, the result could be subjection to the hateful words of close-minded people.<\/span><\/p>\n

The truth is, those people are never going to go away. Whether they appear at school, work or online, the haters are everywhere. If their words are taken to heart and people change because of it, then they\u2019re just being proven right, and the negativity will continue to spread. The most effective course of action is to ignore the hate, respect differences and support each other.<\/span><\/p>\n

The point I\u2019m trying to make is that it’s draining to constantly be a hater. Reach out to the people around you, and you might find something in common. The universe will align to bring people close to you who will love you for all of your quirks. If you like to make weird noises, seek someone who will do the same.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re a theater kid, a cosplayer or a bookworm \u2014 there is a place for you. People like you have existed for centuries. Wear unique clothes, find time for niche passions and seek out those who are similar. In ten years, the haters won\u2019t matter, unless you let them crawl into your head and build a home there. What\u2019s important is the people who will let you shine.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Contact the author at howlententertainment@wou.edu<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1094,"featured_media":20511,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1791],"tags":[1840,1842,1839,1786,1838,1841,54,1583,1587],"class_list":["post-20510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion-special","tag-cosplay","tag-fandom","tag-fangirls","tag-history","tag-internet","tag-media","tag-music","tag-television","tag-trends"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1094"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}