![]() In theory, the idea of toxic fandom is paradoxical. ![]() I understand the need to have a zero-tolerance policy,” says O’Connell, author of Release the Snyder Cut: The Crazy True Story Behind the Fight That Saved Zack Snyder’s Justice League. “If you ignore them, you are silently condoning what they do. Instead, it was Sarnoff’s comments about Snyder’s Justice League universe not continuing on after the Snyder Cut that received the most disappointment. O’Connell, who studies Snyder fandom closely, notes that Sarnoff’s comments about toxic fandom received little pushback from the community. While so-called toxic fans take up an oversized place in the media’s and the public’s imaginations, CinemaBlend journalist Sean O’Connell suspects it’s a relatively small contingent of fandom. “It’s necessary to have that tone set in order to make it manageable to ignore those trolls and to put defamatory and hostile attitudes at the margins,” says André Carrington, author of Speculative Blackness: The Future of Race in Science Fiction and associate professor of English at the University of California, Riverside. Still, many industry observers are more interested in marking the current moment, rather than criticizing studios for actions not taken in the past. “But if you’re speaking out, you have to speak out for everyone.” The rep acknowledges it’s a tough situation for any studio, particularly given how vitriolic the internet can be. One rep of a lower-profile Disney actor, who has faced racist social media harassment, notes they in recent months asked the studio to intercede publicly, to no avail. At the time, the studio did not publicly intervene on either’s behalf. Boyega and fellow Star Wars sequel trilogy star Tran have been open about facing racist harassment, with Tran largely leaving social media in 2018. Lucasfilm said upon her firing that the “social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”įor years, Lucasfilm did not address attacks against its talent, at least publicly. Weeks after backing Arielle, the studio parted ways with The Mandalorian actor Gina Carano, who had shared a series of controversial social posts over several months, including one that likened the plight of conservatives in America in 2021 to that of Jews before the Holocaust. “A lot of people had been on their own, managing the backlash of long and deep-seated racist stereotypes alone, and so having industry understand that it makes a difference when they come forward and support you, it’s a huge turning point,” says Bailey, assistant professor at Northeastern University and author of the forthcoming book Misogynoir Transformed: Black Women’s Digital Resistance. We support The hashtag #IStandWithKrystina sprung up to support Arielle.įor Moya Bailey, a scholar who has studied harassment of Black women online, Lucasfilm’s statement felt noteworthy. 22, “Our Star Wars community is one of hope and inclusivity. Rather than remain silent, Lucasfilm swiftly backed Arielle, stating on Twitter on Jan. ![]() She received numerous threats via social media. Ahead of the show’s debut, previous tweets from Arielle denouncing systemic racism - essentially, calling upon white people to own their role in it - were resurfaced. In January, cosplayer and host Krystina Arielle faced racist attacks and threats after the studio named her host of The High Republic Show, a bimonthly show on and YouTube giving an inside look at a galaxy far, far away. Disney’s Lucasfilm has been at the forefront of this conversation. In years past, Sony watched trolls attack its 2016, female-led Ghostbusters reboot, Marvel Studios saw Captain Marvel‘s Rotten Tomatoes scores sandbagged, and Lucasfilm was silent as Star Wars stars John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran endured racist abuse.īut Hollywood majors are now learning that they can’t always remain silent about what happens on social media. Those comments represented a break from the norm of studios publicly ignoring unsavory elements within fan bases even as they seek to find new ways to monetize those audiences.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |