[ad_1]
The comments represented a break from the norm of studios publicly ignoring unsavory elements within fanbases even as they sought to find new ways to monetize those audiences. In years past, Sony has seen trolls attacking its ghost hunters reboot, Marvel Studios saw Captain marvelRotten Tomatoes scores sandbags, and Lucasfilm has remained silent Star wars Stars John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran have suffered racist abuse.
But Hollywood majors are now learning they can’t always stay silent about what’s going on on social media. Disney’s Lucasfilm has been at the forefront of this conversation. In January, cosplayer and host Krystina Arielle faced racist attacks and threats after the studio appointed her host to The spectacle of the High Republic, a bimonthly show on StarWars.com and YouTube giving a glimpse of a galaxy far, far away. Ahead of the show’s debut, Arielle’s previous tweets denouncing systemic racism – essentially calling on whites to take their part in it – resurfaced. She has received numerous threats via social media. Rather than remain silent, Lucasfilm was quick to stand behind Arielle, saying on Twitter on January 22: “Our Star Wars community is a community of hope and inclusiveness. We support @KrystinaArielle.” The hashtag #IStandWithKrystina popped up to support Arielle.
For Moya Bailey, an academic who has studied harassment of black women online, Lucasfilm’s statement deserves to be highlighted.
“Many people had been alone, dealing with the backlash of long and deeply rooted racist stereotypes on their own. [the entertainment] the industry understands that it makes a difference when they come forward and support you, it’s a watershed moment, ”says Bailey, assistant professor at Northeastern University and author of the next book Misogynoir transformed: digital resistance of black women.
A few weeks after supporting Arielle, the studio split from The Mandalorian actor Gina Carano, who had shared a series of controversial social posts for several months, including one that compared the plight of conservatives in America in 2021 to that of Jews before the Holocaust. Lucasfilm said upon his dismissal that “social media posts denigrating people on the basis of their cultural and religious identities are heinous and unacceptable.”
For years, Lucasfilm hasn’t addressed the attacks on his talent, at least publicly. Boyega and comrade Star wars Tran, the star of the back-to-back trilogy, has been open about the racist harassment, with Tran largely quitting social media in 2018. At the time, the studio did not intervene publicly for either. other.
A representative of a low-profile Disney actor, who has been the victim of racist harassment on social media, notes that in recent months they have asked the studio to intercede publicly, to no avail. The rep acknowledges that this is a difficult situation for any studio, especially given the vitriol of the Internet.
“There’s not much you can do,” said the rep. “But if you speak, you have to speak for everyone.”
Still, many industry watchers are more interested in marking the current moment than in criticizing studios for actions that haven’t been taken in the past.
“It is necessary to have this tone given so that it is manageable to ignore these trolls and to put aside the defamatory and hostile attitudes”, says André Carrington, author of Speculative darkness: the future of the race in science fiction and associate professor of English at the University of California at Riverside.
As the so-called toxic fans occupy an oversized place in the imaginations of the media and the public, CinemaBlend Journalist Sean O’Connell suspects this is a relatively small contingent of fans. O’Connell, who studies Snyder’s fandom closely, notes that Sarnoff’s comments about the toxic fandom have received little response from the community. Instead, it was Sarnoff’s comments about Snyder Justice League The universe does not continue after the Snyder Cut which received the most disappointment.
“If you ignore them, you silently forgive what they do. I understand the need for a zero tolerance policy,” says O’Connell, author of Unleash the Snyder Cup: The Crazy True Story Behind Zack Snyder’s Justice League Fight.
In theory, the idea of toxic fandom is paradoxical. Fandoms are meant to be places where people find community, a place of inclusion. In practice, this has often been a different story. On the same day that Lucasfilm shared his statement of support for Arielle, John Rogers, the screenwriter behind Halle Berry’s Catwoman, resurfaced a blog post he wrote in 2004, which he noted is still in effect today.
In the post, he brazenly coined the term fandamentalist, noting that the behaviors of some fans mirrored those of fundamentalist religions, such as male dominance and rejection of the modern in favor of a “return to a nostalgic view of a golden age that never really existed. ”After explaining how each of these rules applies to fandom, Rogers defined the Fandamentalists this way:“ fans who strongly believe the alone A valid interpretation of any source of entertainment is dogmatic adherence to their preferred version of that source. Any change in the smallest detail is inherently unacceptable (see also “heresy”) and has aroused frenzied contempt. “
Carrington studied fandom in the 1950s, a time when zines and other correspondence communities developed around sci-fi properties. These communities were presumed to be white spaces. He notes that one of the differences between then and today is that people from all walks of life are visible on social media and at conventions participating in fan cultures. “It’s really important that black members of a predominantly white fan community can respond to people’s beliefs or attitudes towards them,” Carrington says.
In 2012, Jamie Broadnax was researching his own community, noting that in fan sites at the time, there were few people of color represented. She Googled the term “Black Girl Nerds” and was served up pictures of white women wearing black rimmed glasses. “That’s what Google thought black girl nerds were,” Broadnax says. Today, his site Nerds black girl is one of many online communities that reflects the full breadth of fandom. Despite the toxicity in some corners of social media, overall she sees things moving in the right direction. “I see it like, ‘This is going to be the future. It is the configuration of the land. You have to face it no matter what. Let’s celebrate it, ”Broadnax says when she sees the toxicity. “Let’s not be vitriolic with the way things are going, because this is the future.”
For years Hollywood has spoken of inclusion in front and behind the camera, with that conversation being renewed at last summer’s racial justice rallies. But part of that consideration needs to be not only in hiring, but also in working to support your employees, activists say. On March 11, consultancy firm McKinsey & Co. released a report concluding that Hollywood was giving up $ 10 billion a year by failing to address its inequity issues in black inclusion. The report highlighted the “black tax,” the time and energy used to deal with situations that non-black colleagues do not face. This is why it is essential to publicly support someone, as Lucasfilm did with Arielle. But the behind-the-scenes changes that can help people thrive in a position are perhaps even more significant.
“It’s not just about hiring black people or people of color, it’s also about letting people know that their employer is supporting them in the event of a breakdown,” says Kristen Marston, director of culture and business. entertainment for Color of Change. “They hire people and then they don’t support them. It can be really damaging to health and careers.”
As for the future, Carrington notes he’s more excited than ever for what lies ahead. Star wars, due to Lucasfilm’s progress in creating a more inclusive environment in front of and behind the camera.
Says Carrington: “I’m a much bigger fan of the newer ones Star wars stuff than the original trilogy or the prequels. This is partly because there are more and there are so many more entry points, but also, I can see so many more people who have interests like mine – actors from horizons. different, cosplayers who have been so creative over the years – performing on big stages like Krystina Arielle does. “
[ad_2]
Source link