I Don't Know Who Author Eric Nuzum Thinks He Is...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

...but obviously he's no friend of ours!  

Tabz
Currently reading "The Dead Travel Fast" by @ericnuzum, a really fun read until he makes fun of Buffy fans.
21 Jul

ericnuzum
@Tabz Did I make fun of Buffy fans? I don't remember that. Made fun of lots of folks, but I really grew to love Buffy.
42 minutes ago

Tabz
@ericnuzum A bit when you basically said they'd have to move on or wind up like the Dark Shadows fans. Using your book for my MFA thesis
39 minutes ago

ericnuzum
@Tabz That is a WARNING, pls take heed. Don't end up like them ( I'm pretty sure you won't) And good luck on yr thesis.
36 minutes ago

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I just looked up his book on Amazon and discovered this in one of the reviews:

"He goes to a Dark Shadows convention, and seems fairly horrified that people would spend their free time going to such an event, I suppose their time would have been better spent staying home and watching him on VH1, making witty observations about Gary Coleman. He does force himself to watch every episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, which he grudgingly admits isn't all that bad. He discovers that several of his co-workers are fans of the show, and this is where he makes an especially insulting observation, he muses that Buffy fans are more normal than Dark Shadows fans, and that unlike the weirdos at the convention, the Buffy fans aren't fanatic about a silly TV show. Of course, there are Buffy conventions, and for all he knows, some of his co-workers might have been to one, and really, most of the people at the Dark Shadows convention probably lead normal lives when their not getting together to socialize with others that they happen to share an interest with."

Well, pardon us for living, enjoying life, enjoying DS, and sharing that enjoyment with other fans!  

Hmmm - perhaps our very own David-Elijah Nahmod should do an expose on this guy for one of the horror magazines he writes for. 

[David]

 

Most of the people I've met at cons, DS or otherwise, who meet this queen's descriptions, are the first ones to express
his kinds of opinions.

I've met many accomplished people thru DS, people who were inspired by the show to become accomplished performers, writers, costume designers, etc.
I know of happy, long term couples, both gay and straight, who met thru DS fandom.

I've seen lovely things like Sharon Smyth's Facebook page, where Sharon & fans chat about serious political & spiritual topics, or the unforgettable three week tour of Egypt that Diana Millay led in 1988--I was lucky enough to be on that magical voyage.

When I lived in NYC, I ran into Marie Wallace in Central Park several times. I lived near Nancy Barrett and KL Scott's NY apartment and ran into them as well. They always greeted my by first name and we always stopped to chat.

I've also made four close, lifelong friends thru DS fandom. One of those friends was an actor named Louis Edmonds (miss you, Big Lou!)

So, Mr. Nuzum, you can kiss my hot blooded Middle Eastern  butt!!
Sending an op-ed pitch to Scary Monsters & Famous Monsters Mags today!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

alonelikmacauly alonelikmacauly
Did panel for dark shadows tv show instead of sony. Have to respect such hardcore fans. Even the old lady in see thru shirt next to me #sdcc
2 minutes ago

Obviously Eric Nuzum doesn't respect them.

[Brandon Collins]

This is completely ridiculous. I think it's rather ironic that he hated on fans of Buffy (count me in that group!) and then as he watched the show he realized that it was actually good. While I do think that a fan may be considered "crazy" by others if they devote every second of their life to something, who's to say that it is crazy at all? After all, what is normal? There are so many differences in the world that the idea of normality, to me, is a joke, because all it contains is generalizations made from a certain group of people.

In fact, if you just looked at Dark Shadows fans, how we live and devote our lives or time to DS would be considered normal.

[LdyAnne]

My 2 cents.... I live a normal life work for a private college in a professional capacity; have an advanced degree a family and friends. In fact most of my closest friends are those I met through DS Fandom. Are there some strange nuts at the fests, yes but for the most part there are a lot of folks just like me, normal folks who have been touched by something by this TV show.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

One will find strange nuts in every walk of life. That's something that Mr. Nuzum apparently doesn't grasp. And just because there are strange nuts, that doesn't mean they're reflective of the entire group. Another thing Mr. Nuzum apparently doesn't grasp.

What I find interesting is that supposedly he thought that Buffy fans were lunatics until he found out he actually knew people who liked Buffy and apparently those people weren't lunatics. But instead of realizing he was generalizing completely across the board among all fandoms, he simply reevaluated Buffy fans but still chose to believe everyone in other fandoms were still lunatics. Shortsighted enough?