The difference between a Stan and a fan: The Three traits to watch.

I missed a crap ton of super hero movies while I was in Japan. Green Lantern, Thor, X-men, etc. I am a big comic book reader, so I had to play catch up. I am a bit critical when it comes to...well...everything, but for the sake of the topic, I am way critical of comic book movies. Rest assured, I don't complain about movies and comic story lines being different. You're safe here. But I digress. One thing I am careful of, or try to be, is who I chose to tell my criticism to. Know why? Because they might be a STAN!

"Stan" is not a term I coined. It came from a popular Eminem song called "Stan." The song is a story about a fan who loves Eminem so much that he wants to be with him. When he can't, he kills his wife for not understanding his love for Eminem and drives them both into a river where they drown to death.

The term was mostly popularized in Hip-hop forums when a someone was a fan of someone to the degree of romanticizing the rapper.  What usually happens on these boards is someone will post that Jay-z's verse on Song A was really good. That's a fan. A Stan will say, "Damn kid, that's the dopest verse I have ever heard in my life...and F*** lil  Wayne." That is definitely a Stan.  This is not limited to hip-hop but also to video games, comics, politicians and movies.

So folks. X-men was an awesome movie. It was. I loved it. But, I still make fun of it because there are some things in that movie that are just unintentionally flat out hilarious. bad lines, acting etc. Like the one scene when the camera zooms in on Darwin (y'know, that black X-men) when Shaw asks if they would rather be enslaved by humans. C'mon, that's funny folks. But if you mention that to an X-man Stan, he or she will probably defend the scene as if you are taking quality away from the movie.

With that said, I thought it would be a fun/interesting to make a list of the characteristics of a Stan.

Stan trait #1: "You just don't understand it."

I made this...hope it catches on

No matter what your opinion is, your friend believes the reason you don't enjoy Quentin Tarantino movies is because you simply don't understand the artistic quality of it. Also, you missed the important themes Tarantino was bringing to the foreground. I love Tarantino. I do. But I have heard so many arguments between a Tarantino-Stan and someone else who just did not like Inglorious Basterds. I often times find myself fighting the inner Tarantino Stan. But if someone doesn't like his movies, they might just not like his movies. Does not knowing EVERYTHING about some obscure element Tarantino throws your way mean you have no taste in film? No. It just means you just weren't feeling it. However, if you diss any of his movies then come prancing out of the latest sequel to Transformers, talking about its deepness or clever, elaborate plot, I may question your judgement....

Stan Trait #2: Getting Emotional

Really, are you gonna cry?

Getting emotional over nothing is super easy to do because we are all human. But there are times were we become a little more human than other times. When that happens, we should just take a step back and chill. Stans occasionally make something more personal than it needs to be. After you have stated that you not only hated Coldplay's 2000 hit "yellow," but have a hard time differentiating their music from sounds two cats in heat make in the alley outside your window, a Stan could tell you that you have offended them because their music inspired the Stan to quit heroine in his/her adulthood. I mean, that's great. It really is, but don't expect the world to appreciate what you love or to stop having fun on your behalf. And now that you have just revealed to the world that Coldplay is your Kryptonite, you can expect a surprise visit from Lex Luthor. Oh and Don't cry. Then you just lose. If you feel like you are getting emotional or are going to get emotional, remember, Piccolo died man... He died for you not to be a big ol' baby. There are more serious things to cry about.

BTW I like Coldplay by the way. I am just picking things at random.

Stan Trait #3: The Pretender

Oh you know the ones. It's hard for them. Their identity has been revealed as a Stan and now, no matter what they say, it will be biased. So, they overcompensate. Kinda similar to the way the one homosexual hating football player that is secretly homosexual does. When he sees his chance to prove that he is definitely not gay, he takes initiative by slapping a girl's ass, or punching a homosexual. Prime example: Obama Stan. You can't admit it. You have too much to lose. For some reason you cannot disagree with a single thing he has done. Last week someone called you on it. So you began pretending. "Nah, Obama gets on my nerves. I can't stand that policy that I don't like....(yes I think there buying it)." We aren't. We see you. This Stan is a tricky one, because usually he really is not a Stan. In fact, he is probably just the football player the people think is gay, but actually isn't, but is still stupid enough to throw himself under the bus to prove his heterosexual point. 

Tip: only use Stan loosely. Use phrases like "you are being a Stan right now" or "thats a bit Stanish, ya think?" Because calling someone a Stan might make lead to more trouble down the road. Such as making a valid point about something and it being completely disregarded because he or she has been marked as a Stan of something. And that is just more trouble.

Villainy. Stan Villainy.