The history of gesture pictures is full of iconic lines . Some folks , frankly , do n’t give a damn . Others remark on how biography , uh , finds a way . Then , there ’s this gem from Steven Spielberg ’s Ready Player One , which will go down as the great grouping of words ever uttered on the big screen : “ A fanboy knows a hater . ”
This cinematic masterpiece was uttered during a tense moment between Parzival / Wade Watts ( Tye Sheridan ) and IOI main executive director Nolan Sorrento ( Ben Mendelsohn ) . As Sorrento tries to tempt Parzival with promises of wealth , lavishness , and mad appurtenance , yo , Parzival nobly refuse his clandestine offer — not by call out IOI ’s human right violations or other refutable behavior , but because Sorrento is add together a hater … and fanboys fuck that .
You ’d think this seam would be a holdover from Ernest Cline ’s original novel . You would be wrong . As much as Ready Player One is about simultaneously tote the nostalgia pole of cis livid men everywhere , the word “ fanboy ” is n’t mentioned once . So , how did this incandescent configuration that was funnily overleap from its source cloth discover its way into one of the most pivotal here and now of the film ? And , just how many layers can we peel back from these words , each one more enigmatic than the last ? allow ’s take a feeling :
A:
Suggests the singular form — alone , apart , and solo ( just like Han , eh ? ) . Calling back to the very groundwork of the English terminology — it ’s literally the first alphabetic character in the alphabet — this lone condition is the prototype of steadfast uncompromisingness . In that moment , Wade is signifying to Sorrento that he act alone , on his own assurance , and will not bend to outside pressure .
Fanboy:
The first do it use of the terminus “ fanboy ” was back in 1919 — the same year that the League of Nations was take shape accompany the final stage of World War I. By paying testimonial to an organization that symbolise peace and unity after days of state of war and hardship , Wade Watts is designate Sorrento that — upon his own authorisation — his loyalties consist with his allies in the OASIS .
Knows:
Wade Watts may have been an atheist , at least in the playscript , but he still get out upon religious influence to make his vitrine . Much like how the Tree of Knowledge lay at the sum of the Garden of Eden in the Book of Genesis , place this participating verb at the center of his statement testify how of import cognition is to Wade … since he ’s spent his entire life studying James Halliday ’s life , as well as soda culture in general . take down : This employment has the double welfare of confront Sorrento as both God and the snake . Sorrento is the all - knowing figure trying to suppress Wade ’s maturation , but he ’s also trying to give him the headstone to something that will subvert his innocence .
Wade ’s first use of the singular “ A ” was in cite to himself , but here we get a clever upending . Wade giving Sorrento the same appellative that he originally bestow upon himself actually subverts Sorrento ’s authority . late down , Wade cognise that Sorrento is not as much in dominance as he claims .
Hater:
And here , we get our epical finale . Hate is one of the strongest emotions a human being can have , and yet it ’s not one of the core ones . Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler - Ross once saidthere are two emotions : love and care . hatred is a way to externalise fear , placing it out an external object to distract from your own impuissance . Wade is proving to Sorrento just how rickety and powerless he is — not only within his own organisation but also within himself . As the 21st - century scholar Taylor Swift once put it : “ Haters gon na hate . ”
take down : The line is followed by “ … when he find one , ” which I believe is a quotation to the All - Seeing Eye and a rejection of consumer culture . But that ’s open to interpreting .
Some may claim everything I just said is word noise — that this channel is nothing more than a speechless - ass catchphrase screenwriters Zak Penn and Cline write to assay and sound cool . A line that also insulate a huge dower of their own audience , one that rejects an idolatry of white male homogeny in nerd culture , which the writers ’ current and previous works have supported . To them I say hogwash ( heartbeat ) . Hogwash !
I ’m sure this is just one of many treatises on Wade Watt ’s fabled words — I’m especially curious to see some Marxist literary analytic thinking of this passageway , which may plug into Wade ’s sweet takedown of Nolan Sorrento to the socialist - list nature of the OASIS versus the capitalistic structure of the IOI . In the meantime , may we all endeavour to put as much persuasion and foresight into the works we create . And may fanboys always know their hater .
Ernest ClineReady Player OneSteven Spielberg
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