@WTFE said in Fanbase entitlement:
I would be interested in hearing any credible argument in favour of fan entitlement. I cannot think of any, but this doesn't mean they don't exist.
Depends on what we refer to when we talk about entitlement, but I will give an example I think at least edges into the topic:
Spoiler Alert in case you haven't watch Wynonna Earp and plan to.
On Wynonna Earp, Wynonna's sister, Waverly, goes from dating a total dickswab to falling in love with a girl. The object of her affections, Officer Haught, (yes, pronounced hot), is a lesbian--they use the specific word, and she doesn't contest it!--is totally down with this and they develop a relationship over the course of several episodes.
And then Officer Haught is shot. BANG BANG. Urk.
Waverly runs to her. OH NO, said every Earper (that's the fans!) ever, not another dead lesbian in television god dammit!
And so, we get this scene.
Now, this scene was huge, because it essentially established Wynonna Earp as a show where those tropes that so many people who watch these types of shows hate are broken, molded, and used in unexpected and interesting ways, and where characters--and more importantly, types of characters--are respected and treated with some amount of social conscience regarding what representation means for the fans.
You're asking yourself where the entitlement comes in. Hold on. I'm getting to it.
This scene (and a few others, but mostly this one, led to a ridiculously effective and long-lasting movement on social media, because Syfy and NBCUniversal had not renewed the show yet. #RenewWynonnaEarp, by the way. For over a month, easy, my phone exploded with Twitter beeping as the fandom flooded NBCUniversal and Syfy with #RenewWynonnaEarp, citing this specific scene, as well as other aspects of the show that are progressive and fly against the common, usual eye-rolly script-writing we're all used to, especially regarding the treatment of women, LGBTQ, and people of color, as the reason why they love the show and it should be renewed, yadda-yadda-yadda.
During their ComicCon panel, the show announced that Wynonna Earp is indeed getting a second season (and we all rejoiced, yaaaaaay)! That's GREAT!
You're still waiting for the entitlement. That's okay. Hang on.
The producers and writers cited the fandom's unwavering dilligence when it came to getting this show renewed as the reason it got renewed. Without the flooding of social media, etc., there were no guarantees. Not because it's a bad show, but just because--well--Syfy, NBCUniversal, and television executives in general, y'know? It would hardly have been the first good show to die because executives didn't get it.
In any case--the show is renewed thanks in large part to the fans.
The fans deserve for the show to continue on with this sort of treatment of its characters. I don't know if I would say they're entitled to it, but I think at this point, if next season we get a fridging, or we bury some gays for the dramz, then that's definitely a betrayal of the fandom who uplifted, defended, and got the show renewed based on those aspects they loved.
In this case, I think the fans are "entitled" (and I only use the word because that's the word we're talking about, really) to the characters getting a certain type of treatment in season 2 (and onwards).
I don't know if this example is the sort of thing you were looking for. But it's nice to get it out there because it was such a pleasant surprise.
And if you haven't watched the show and you think you might like a progressive show centering around a pair of sisters that kick demon ass with a magical gun--well, give it a shot. First few episodes are a little iffy, but it gets so much better.