iStart a FanWar...For Real!

iStart A FanWar...For Real

Annie Ray

You know the episode of iCarly called iStart a FanWar? Carly, Sam, and Freddie travel to Webicon where they've been invited to host an iCarly panel. When a fan questions the status of Carly and Freddie’s relationship an all-out war breaks out, pitting Creddiers (people who ship Carly and Freddie) against Seddiers (people who ship Sam and Freddie.) Eventually the iCarly trio tries to explain that the show isn't about relationships but rather random humor.

If you've ever ventured into the realm of iCarly fanfiction—or any other iCarly fan-sites for that matter—you know that this episode wasn't fictitious but rather a hilarious (and considerably tamed down) version of the way real iCarly fans behave. Below I've listed a few examples of the comments from both a creddie shippers and seddie shippers that I found on various forums and sites;

"People who ship seddie are weird and need mental help.”  

“…seddie fans are stupid and creddie rocks!"

"Seddie for the win! People who ship creddie are delusional."

“Creddie people drive me nuts!”

I've found that both sides usually fail to provide any backbone to their argument and instead choose to hide behind irrelevant insults. It ends up being nasty and a lot of the time leaves the rest of us standing in the middle saying, "Can't we all just get along?"

I mean, don't get me wrong. I have a favorite shipping and I feel very passionately about it, but it’s only a show and there’s no reason to take it so personally or to attack other fans. We can all agree to disagree on favorite characters and episodes, so why do we so easily go fist-to-fist over favorite shipping? I suppose, in a way, you could compare your favorite shipping to your favorite sports team. You root for it, cry for it, yell at your TV over it and when it comes down to it, we each have a different reason for supporting our ‘team.’

But what exactly is the deciding factor in the team we cheer on? Person preference in characters, who you think is funniest or prettiest? What actor you like the best? Or does it come down purely to that gut feeling. You know what I mean; those butterflies you got when Carly and Freddie slow danced in iSpeed Date or that involuntary squeal you let out when Freddie cut Sam off mid-sentence with a kiss in iLost My Mind. Shipping is a lot like love, for no tangible reason you just fall for two characters and want nothing more (sometimes literally) for them to be together. 

You get so invested in their relationship that you begin to forget the point of the show. Just as our three favorite webhost reminded us in the end of iStar a FanWar, iCarly isn’t about the relationships or who ends up with who. It’s about friendship, because if you think about it, hasn’t iCarly taught you how to be a better friend? Carly, Sam, and Freddie don’t always agree but at the end of the day, it works out for them.

Look at Carly and Sam, they’re completely opposite and an unlikely pair, but they have a friendship worthy of complete envy.  And how about the fact that no matter how many times Nevel tries to sabotage the iCarly crew, they are willing to forgive and help him in iPity the Nevel. They even give crazy Norah a second chance in iStill Psycho. Sure, these things end up backfiring and not working out for the trio, but that’s not the point. They tried. They’ve taught us how to be good friends, how to be compassionate and forgiving, and that you never give up on people. So let’s take these skills and implement them into our lives instead of hiding behind our computer screens shooting out offenses.

The bottom line is that when it comes down to it, we’re all the same. We have all fallen in love with a TV show; the characters, the plots, the running gags and yes, even the shippings. It’s not that we all have to agree—or even that we have to be friends—but this ripping each other apart over differing opinions is a bit ridiculous. Obviously we aren’t going to all hold hands by the fire and sing each other praises, as I’ve stated before we tend to be very passionate about what couple we ship, but senseless fighting is just annoying and makes everyone look bad. Just remember, when it comes down to it, saying mean things about each other doesn’t make your ship any better or any more likely to be canon.