"Relationships do form, and fans gain familiarity with the players, using them for their own make-believe. They are supporting characters to provide insight, almost a proxy."
This is what interest me, mostly because fans detach themselves from the /real people/ involved, or the realities of what's unfolding in front of them. I've kind of stared into the abyss of US politics and noted that it's all about fandom tactics: being able to rub your opponents' faces in the dirt at your superior position, or your victories. It feels horrifying, because it's what people typically see from dystopian sci-fi fiction: a demoralized populace realizing that they can't affect anything, so they might as well make it entertainment.
I think you're right on the money with needing to highlight that these strategies are moneymaking methods instead of being benign or innocent. That indictment needs to be drilled into peoples' heads more, because I think they perceive it as having... sanctity? that it doesn't have.
"Relationships do form, and fans gain familiarity with the players, using them for their own make-believe. They are supporting characters to provide insight, almost a proxy."
This is what interest me, mostly because fans detach themselves from the /real people/ involved, or the realities of what's unfolding in front of them. I've kind of stared into the abyss of US politics and noted that it's all about fandom tactics: being able to rub your opponents' faces in the dirt at your superior position, or your victories. It feels horrifying, because it's what people typically see from dystopian sci-fi fiction: a demoralized populace realizing that they can't affect anything, so they might as well make it entertainment.
I think you're right on the money with needing to highlight that these strategies are moneymaking methods instead of being benign or innocent. That indictment needs to be drilled into peoples' heads more, because I think they perceive it as having... sanctity? that it doesn't have.