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'''GEEWUN''' is a snarky [[fandom|fan]] term for people who seem to have knee-jerk negative reactions to, and continuing difficulty in tolerating any of the post-[[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] (aka "G1") incarnations of the [[Transformers brand|Transformers property]] (keeping in mind that for some, "post-G1" means "anything after 1985"). | '''GEEWUN''' is a snarky [[fandom|fan]] term for people who seem to have knee-jerk negative reactions to, and continuing difficulty in tolerating any of the post-[[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] (aka "G1") incarnations of the [[Transformers brand|Transformers property]] (keeping in mind that for some, "post-G1" means "anything after 1985"). | ||
The earliest recorded use of the term "Geewun" (spelled as a normal word, not in all caps) originated with a [http://www.tfarchive.com TFArchive.com] user named Cliffjumper, who first used it in January of 2003.<ref>[http://www.tfarchive.com/community/showthread.php?t=13192 First known usage of the term on the TFArchive boards on January 2003]</ref> Since he has a tendency of coming up with mocking puns based on existing names and fandom terms, it's possible that he did indeed coin the term. The term didn't see widespread use until 2004, when it was apparently spread to other parts of the fandom (including [[alt.toys.transformers]]) by [[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]], himself a regular member of TF Archive. [[Mark Bristow]] (aka "Bodycount") presumably also helped popularize the term. | The earliest recorded use of the term "Geewun" (spelled as a normal word, not in all caps) originated with a [http://www.tfarchive.com TFArchive.com] user named Cliffjumper, who first used it in January of 2003.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20090414115018/http://www.tfarchive.com/community/showthread.php?t=13192 First known usage of the term on the TFArchive boards on January 2003]</ref> Since he has a tendency of coming up with mocking puns based on existing names and fandom terms, it's possible that he did indeed coin the term. The term didn't see widespread use until 2004, when it was apparently spread to other parts of the fandom (including [[alt.toys.transformers]]) by [[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]], himself a regular member of TF Archive. [[Mark Bristow]] (aka "Bodycount") presumably also helped popularize the term. | ||
While the phenomenon of placing Generation 1 above everything else is [[Trukk not munky|nothing new]], when the [[Transformers (2007)|2007 live-action movie]] was in production, the [[fandom]] experienced an ongoing influx of mindlessly angry "Generation X" members who seemed to regard ''[[Transformers brand|Transformers]]'' not as a still-evolving cultural institution and [[To sell toys|business property]], but as a sacred relic of their halcyon, Reagan-era childhoods. These bitter young people made their voices heard by preemptively denouncing the movie... not because it would [[Ruined FOREVER|ruin Transformers forever]], but because it would [[Kiss Players (franchise)|"rape their childhoods"]] by deviating from their rose-colored—and often [[Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers| incorrect]]—memories of the first two seasons of the original cartoon. The singularly unfortunate phrase "[so-and-so] RAPED MY CHILDHOOD!!!!!" quickly became one of the more memorable used by this group, and used in criticism by this group's detractors, in which it seems to have taken on a life of its own and overtaken the original usage... so it goes. | While the phenomenon of placing Generation 1 above everything else is [[Trukk not munky|nothing new]], when the [[Transformers (2007)|2007 live-action movie]] was in production, the [[fandom]] experienced an ongoing influx of mindlessly angry "Generation X" members who seemed to regard ''[[Transformers brand|Transformers]]'' not as a still-evolving cultural institution and [[To sell toys|business property]], but as a sacred relic of their halcyon, Reagan-era childhoods. These bitter young people made their voices heard by preemptively denouncing the movie... not because it would [[Ruined FOREVER|ruin Transformers forever]], but because it would [[Kiss Players (franchise)|"rape their childhoods"]] by deviating from their rose-colored—and often [[Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers| incorrect]]—memories of the first two seasons of the original cartoon. The singularly unfortunate phrase "[so-and-so] RAPED MY CHILDHOOD!!!!!" quickly became one of the more memorable used by this group, and used in criticism by this group's detractors, in which it seems to have taken on a life of its own and overtaken the original usage... so it goes. | ||
Revision as of 16:36, 24 September 2011
GEEWUN is a snarky fan term for people who seem to have knee-jerk negative reactions to, and continuing difficulty in tolerating any of the post-Generation 1 (aka "G1") incarnations of the Transformers property (keeping in mind that for some, "post-G1" means "anything after 1985").
The earliest recorded use of the term "Geewun" (spelled as a normal word, not in all caps) originated with a TFArchive.com user named Cliffjumper, who first used it in January of 2003.[1] Since he has a tendency of coming up with mocking puns based on existing names and fandom terms, it's possible that he did indeed coin the term. The term didn't see widespread use until 2004, when it was apparently spread to other parts of the fandom (including alt.toys.transformers) by Nevermore, himself a regular member of TF Archive. Mark Bristow (aka "Bodycount") presumably also helped popularize the term.
While the phenomenon of placing Generation 1 above everything else is nothing new, when the 2007 live-action movie was in production, the fandom experienced an ongoing influx of mindlessly angry "Generation X" members who seemed to regard Transformers not as a still-evolving cultural institution and business property, but as a sacred relic of their halcyon, Reagan-era childhoods. These bitter young people made their voices heard by preemptively denouncing the movie... not because it would ruin Transformers forever, but because it would "rape their childhoods" by deviating from their rose-colored—and often incorrect—memories of the first two seasons of the original cartoon. The singularly unfortunate phrase "[so-and-so] RAPED MY CHILDHOOD!!!!!" quickly became one of the more memorable used by this group, and used in criticism by this group's detractors, in which it seems to have taken on a life of its own and overtaken the original usage... so it goes.
For some reason, many GEEWUNNERS were particularly incensed by the fact that Optimus Prime (the truck guy, not the tape guy) had flames painted on him, a detail that Michael Bay claims to have received death threats over. It probably would have been okay if the flames were burning down some forests, though.
The term is not intended as a catch-all nickname for anybody who likes Generation 1, only those who refuse to accept anything other than it (or at least how they remember it, correctly or not). It is, alas, often used in this way by those who do not like Generation 1 and are seeking to insult those who do. Additionally, "Geewunners" themselves sometimes trot the term around as evidence of "persecution", in the process misconstruing the term to make it appear worse (i.e., claiming that people that use the term hate Generation 1 and everyone who likes it).
