Are we becoming jaded or simply more discerning as Transformer fans?

As someone who tries to examine their own behaviour from time to time, I noticed a while back that I was doing a lot of whinging about the current state of Transformers. I was complaining to my wife about how I couldn’t find any of the figures I wanted in the stores, complaining online about possible problems with the upcoming movie and making derisive comments in toy reviews about either figures I have that were not perfect in some respect, or figures that I had decided to bypass altogether.

Then I thought about how I was being and tried to put things in perspective. I went and looked at the masses of toy crates I have full of my nearly 1400 strong collection, the boxes of comics, the bookshelf full of TF novels and art books, the DVD rack full of both individual DVD’s and Box Sets, the shelf above my computer covered in TF busts and I thought ‘What the hell am I whinging about – look how damn good I have it!’

I then went online on several websites and had a look at what others were saying. It turned out that perhaps the majority of TF fans on these sites were saying similar things to me about the movies, cartoons, comics, toylines etc. And it made me think ‘Are we becoming jaded and ungrateful as a fanbase? Or are we simply more discerning consumers of products and patrons of the franchise?’

As a teacher I have the opportunity to talk to many 5 to 18 year olds, and they all know that Mad Mr Hopkins is a Transformers nut. So I get a chance to talk to lots of different age groups about my passion. Pretty much everyone under 18 I chat to LOVES the three live action movies and really enjoy the new cartoons that have come out. I have nieces who are in their 20’s and married and their husbands, who are somewhat bemused by their new mad uncles hobby, remember more about the likes of Armada than Beast Wars, and had a passing interest in the movies but couldn’t tell you anything about them. This got me thinking, 'Is our attitude to the current state of Transformers affected by our age – are the G1 fans jaded while the Prime fans jubilant?

So to test the theory, I created a poll on Ozformers in regards to users age. I thought this would give me a good indication of the average ages of people that were passionate enough about the brand to actually join a forum and discuss Transformers.

60% of the responders indicated they were in their 30’s, the numbers slightly higher in the 35-40 year old range. Therefore we can make the assumption that these people were there right at the beginning of the 30 year saga of the Transformers. They have seen Transformers in all their iterations throughout the years. Over 30% of the total responders indicated that they were in their 20’s – therefore have been there for the vast majority of the TF saga, and have had ample time to be exposed to that which came before (G1 episodes rerun as G2 cartoons in the 90’s, Beast Wars in the 90’s etc).

Working on the assumption that the people who took the time to vote in the poll are also the people who enjoy leaving comments in threads, we can deduce that a lot of the comments left are from seasoned TF fans. Therefore, are these fans when they leave negative comments about the movies, toys etc jaded? Certainly a lot of the toys that cop a lot of flak are a million miles ahead of where the G1 toys were. Or are these people simply discerning? That having seen it all they know what constitutes a good plot, a quality toy and so on. So does age and experience colour our perceptions of where the brand is headed? The evidence would seem to suggest so.


Let’s have a look at three of the main facets of Transformers that seem to cause contention.

TOYS
Of course as the technology progresses perhaps one should expect a higher level of quality and sophistication in their figures. But in regards to intricacy, Transformers certainly seem to go up and down in regards to what the main line is offering. G1 & G2 were fairly simplistic (fun, but simplistic). RID – well Sideburn from 2001 STILL gives me headaches! Armada Megatron and the Seekers – fairly simple. Mirage from Energon – damn hard and annoying! A lot of people argue that the current Generations toys have gotten the mix fairly right – you need to employ your brain but don’t have to spend half an hour to change your toys mode. Even with the movie toys there is a marked difference from movie to movie – Leader Sentinel Prime took a great deal of time to change, but now the announcement with the AoE toys is that they are going back to a more simplistic transformation scheme in order to make them more accessible to everyone. Is this a step forward or back in toy technology? Are the fans happy or bitter about this change? Opinions vary.


Movies
We’ve been fortunate enough to have 3 live-action Transformer movies come out so far. We’ve gotten to see:

*Optimus Prime as a big truck with trailer voiced by Peter Cullen dash into battle!
*Starscream as an F22 act the toady to Megatron and take command as soon as Megatron dies.
*Soundwave voiced by Frank Welker unleash Ravage and Laserbeak
*The Constructicons form Devestator and destroy a pyramid!
*Jetfire change his allegiance from Decepticon to Autobot.
*The Wreckers go into battle
*Cybertron transported to Earth via a massive space bridge by the Decepticons so they can use the human race as slaves just like season one of G1!

But what do we talk actually about?
*Skids and Mudflap – awful racist characters
*Colour schemes all wrong
*Names used randomly
*Little plot
*Even less characterization
*Bumbleebee not being able to talk
*Irritating humans

The upcoming movie
(I believe what I am about to mention is already widely known but if it’s still considered a spoiler please feel free section-mods to white it out).
We have Grimlock appearing on the big screen! Whoever would have thought 10 years ago that this would ever happen for us?!?! A. LIVE. ACTION. GRIMLOCK. IN. A MOVIE! We should all be on our knee’s thanking Primus that such a thing is going to happen!

But the comments that have been bandied around the boards are often:
*Optimus is going to ride Grimlock? Lame!
*Why is he so huge and with horns? He’s supposed to be a T-Rex, not a giant fricken dragon!
*His robot mode silhouette makes him look like he’s wearing court-jester shoes!

Once again, discerning viewers or nit-pickers?


Hasbro
Many of us have become frustrated and not understand the reasons behind some of Hasbro’s decisions with our beloved brand, despite:

*Continued expansion of the brand. In the 80’s we had G1. In the 90's we had G2 & BW. Then from the 00's onwards we have had BM, RID, Armada, Energon, Cybertron, Animated, Prime, Rescue Bots, a bunch of video games, tons of comics and 3 live action flicks! All with associated toy lines!
*Dedication to the brand: Millions upon millions have been spent upon the promotion of Transformers to the point that in most of the western world Transformers is a name and brand that would be recognized in most households. It has risen from relative obscurity in the early 90’s to something that can be recognized across multiple generations and social classes.
*Toylines that pay homage to the origins of the Transformers. These include Kre-O, Titanium, Attactix, Universe, Classics, Generations, Mighty Muggs, Constructbots, Robot Heroes, HOC, Bot Shots etc. For those of us that love G1, some of us now have multiple versions of classic G1 characters, as well as seeing those characters be reinvented in new and interesting ways in other TF universes (everyone from Ratchet to Blitzwing).


So perhaps we should be grateful to Hasbro for all they have done and all they provide us with. But again, what do many of us discuss?

*Character names used willy-nilly
*Overstocking of particular waves of toys
*Overuse of particular characters (Bbee & Optimus) whilst other characters get nary a figure (we still wait to see with baited breath what the Generations Arcee will look like)
*A distinct lack of global releases of popular toylines (many Generations not reaching Australia)




So, consider the following questions:

What is your current opinion of the current state of Transformers in all its myriad forms?

What do you believe has influenced your current opinion of the Transformers brand? (age, experience etc)

Do you believe that either you yourself, or the fanbase taken as a whole, has become somewhat ungrateful and jaded, unable to appreciate just how great things have become for TF fans? Or do you believe that it is simply as the brand has evolved, the fanbase and its expectations have evolved, and after 30 years we should expect a higher level of product - be that toy or media - as a natural matter of course?



Discuss