I don’t think that I can fully support any artist who fails to acknowledge that some of their work is mediocre (because such a person won’t be able to identify possibilities for growth). Art is not independent geniuses channeling transcendent greatness from the platonic realm. It’s a conversation between excited nerds about things they enjoy (including the problems with the things they enjoy). Imitation may be “the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness”, but that makes it more laudable rather than less so.
An important & underappreciated facet of fandom is the ability & willingness to enjoy flawed works for, rather than in spite of, their flaws — not in a shadenfreude sense but in a hot-and-cold media sense. A flawed work is open in a number of ways:
- Flawed works are approachable — they invite fixes & elaborations (it’s easier to write fanfiction if you think you can approach or exceed the quality of the original material).
- They demonstrate that stuff can be enjoyable without perfectly-developed craft — which is inspirational, since it shows budding creatives that the things they make while honing their skills are not worthless. This also lets you connect to the creator on a human level. You can follow their development from excited-but-amateurish to excited-but-expert. You can learn the same lessons they did by looking at how they changed the way they handled things over time. (This isn’t just about bringing creators down to earth. It’s about inspiring…