Tag Archives: fandom

Blog

The Rise of Skywalker: A Lesson in People Pleasing

The poster for the film.

Happy New Decade, True Believers!

Between grad school, my podcast, and writing, it’s been a challenge to blog consistently. I’m still endeavoring to amend that. Regardless, I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about a certain little movie called Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? This won’t be a review, though.

I was one of the fifty percent of Star Wars fans who liked The Last Jedi. I wrote a blog refuting some of the often outrageous criticisms the film received. Little did I know that the movie would shatter the fandom.

Again.

Except this time it was like an atomic bomb.

The people who hated The Last Jedi hated it with the burning passion of a Sith. Anyone who dared like it or defend it was declared a “filthy casual.” I’ve written on the cult-like nature of the “hardcore fans,” so I won’t rehash it here, but suffice it to say, it seems Disney and J.J. Abrams listened to those angry fans, and because the studio likes money, those complaints influenced some creative decisions. As a result, Rise of Skywalker’s score on the (infamous) Rotten Tomatoes is the opposite of The Last Jedi: critics are lukewarm while users are praising it.

Did I hate it? No, I didn’t. I was thrilled seeing it the first time despite some concerns it would retcon The Last Jedi, but after seeing it a second time, the luster has faded. It has its problems, for sure, and while I don’t think it undoes The Last Jedi, I can see what Abrams and Disney did to placate the Star Wars mob.

(WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!)

Emperor Mastermind: Palpatine did it. Yep. He was behind the First Order. He created Snoke in a vat and used him as a puppet ruler, I guess. Most likely he used the same technology to keep himself alive by cloning bodies. Maybe. It’s more implied than explained. As has been common with this trilogy, this is similar to the original Expanded Universe (now Legends), wherein the Emperor transferred his soul into cloned bodies using the Force. The problem is, while I knew going in that Palpatine would be back, he appears within five minutes instead of building toward the reveal. Giving that time to develop would’ve helped to make his involvement more natural. As it stands, he seems to come out of nowhere despite the opening crawl telling the audience his voice was heard a year before. It could be argued his inclusion was an appeal to nostalgia.

Rey (Skywalker): I said before that I liked that Rey’s parents were nobodies. Rise doesn’t walk that back, per se, but it clumsily qualifies it. They chose to be nobodies. Rey’s father was Palpatine’s son (which raises a slew of questions about what woman would be crazy enough to have his child), and they hid Rey to protect her from the Emperor. While it isn’t one of the theories many fans espoused—like that she was Luke’s daughter, Han and Leia’s daughter, or Obi-Wan Kenobi’s granddaughter—it could still be argued that it plays into the old attitude that one must have a special lineage to be special. Admittedly, the same could be said of Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker, who were a slave and a farmboy, respectively, and learned later of their special heritage. This trope is also used in other fantasy stories. That being said, it almost seems like a concession to fans who didn’t want to accept the fact that their theories about her parentage were wrong, and that the Force chose her and empowered her. It sounds a bit elitist, honestly, for them to think only certain families can use the Force. If anything, this may have been done in response to the criticisms that Rey is a Mary Sue (which I will admit is a bit difficult to refute). However, it does work as a character arc for Rey because she is trying to form her own identity throughout the Sequel Trilogy, so I’ll give Abrams and company credit for that.

Rose Tico: This character was sidelined in this story. Maybe the filmmakers weren’t sure what to do with her (although I heard one YouTuber suggest that she should’ve become an ambassador for the Resistance), but on the surface it seems like they gave her the Jar-Jar Binks treatment by keeping her out of most of the movie. Many in the fandom branded her the face of The Last Jedi, calling the character a “diversity hire,” and harassed actress Kelly Marie Tran so much, she deleted all her social media. (This isn’t the first time this has happened: the fandom gave 10-year-old Jake Lloyd, who played Anakin, and Ahmed Best, who played Jar-Jar, the same treatment after The Phantom Menace). I’ve no way of knowing for sure, but again, it sure looks that way.

(SPOILERS END)

These were a few things that came to mind. I may think of others later. It doesn’t ruin the film for me, but honestly, my favorite of this trilogy is still The Last Jedi for its boldness. (You can stone me later). Admittedly, Abrams was in an unenviable position with the end of the previous movie. Maybe he was trying to do the best he could. Much like George Lucas, they made it up as they went. There are famous writers who’ve made careers out of that (like Stephen King), but it does come with its own perils.

Unfortunately, the reactions to this is yet another sign that no one hates Star Wars like Star Wars fans. Any new media in the franchise is automatically divisive.

(Unless it’s The Mandalorian, for whatever reason. I guess Baby Yoda fixes everything).

I get it: it’s Star Wars. It’s a big deal to many people. Some even say it’s modern mythology, and by messing with it, it’s doing harm to the culture psyche. But perhaps we’ve elevated this franchise a bit too high. It really is to the point of being a religion. Given that ancient mythologies were originally religious tales, that’s not surprising. Perhaps this is a sign that people need to find their meaning in something that isn’t controlled by the whims of a corporate entertainment empire. Just sayin’.

What did you think of The Rise of Skywalker? Did it continue the ruination of Star Wars, or is it a case study in people pleasing? Why or why not?

Blog

Why ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’ is Underperforming

(Pardon me, True Believers, as I get back into the habit of blogging).

As I discussed a few weeks ago, the American kaiju fandom had a meltdown when the Rotten Tomatoes score was revealed for Godzilla: King of the Monsters. It slowly dropped to 40% over the film’s opening weekend. Meanwhile, the audience score remained high (it sits at 83% currently). Unfortunately, despite pushback from outspoken fans, the film has been underperforming at the box office, only making $49 million its opening weekend. There’s been a lot of talk as to why, but I don’t think it’s just one thing but many working in tandem, and unlike he did in Godzilla: Final Wars, Big G couldn’t defeat all of these opponents.

  1. Highly Competitive Movie Season

As much as I love Avengers: Endgame, it sucked the air out of the proverbial room. Every major studio tried to give the Disney/Marvel juggernaut at least a two-week breadth. Heck, if I remember correctly, KOTM’s release was pushed back a week or two to give the superhero epic as much space as possible. Unfortunately, KOTM still opened amidst stiff competition from other big franchises: Detective Pikachu, John Wick 3: Parabellum, Aladdin, and Dark Phoenix (making this the second time an American Godzilla film opened the week before an X-Men film). Given that Endgame dominated filmgoers’ time and money, they were less likely to go see something else that soon.

2. Ads Revealed Too Much

KOTM had an ad campaign almost as aggressive as a certain other American G-film. So aggressive, in fact, that Legendary/Warner Bros. gave too much away. It revealed things that should’ve been surprises, both in terms of plot and the kaiju fights. By contrast, the ad campaign for Godzilla in 2014 erred on the side of minimalism (much like the film itself). Warner Bros. could’ve learned something from that or the advertising for Endgame, which kept secrets from the audience. As it stands, some people probably felt like they’d seen the whole movie just from the trailers.

3. Niche Audience

Like it or not, kaiju films aren’t “mainstream.” The superhero genre managed to broaden its appeal, but kaiju have yet to do that. I don’t know why since there’s a lot of overlap with the two, but even in Japan, where the genre came into being, the same is true. Ultraman is more popular than Godzilla. Regardless, the kaiju fans turned out in droves to see KOTM, but their numbers don’t compare to the likes of Marvel fans.

4. Audience Doesn’t Know What It Wants

On a related note, the kaiju fanbase, at least in the States, can’t seem to agree on what a kaiju movie should be. From what I can tell, every Godzilla film from both sides of the Pacific has divided them since 2004. There were complaints that there was too much human story and not enough monsters in Godzilla (2014) and Shin Godzilla, but now the complaint with KOTM is there’s too much monster action. The same was said about Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). Yet if you ask a fan to name one of his favorite entries in the series, he’ll likely pick a Japanese film that had little monster screen time like Monster Zero. This division not only makes the films and the fans look bad, it confuses filmmakers and undermines box office. It’s possible those disappointed with Godzilla (2014) for those reasons stayed home even though the problem was rectified.

5. Long Gap between Films

While some moviegoers complain of superhero fatigue, one of the secrets to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s success is it usually releases two or three films a year. This maintains narrative momentum and brand recognition. Even individual series within the MCU often only have a two-year gap between entries. It’s been five years since Legendary’s Godzilla reboot. Yes, Kong: Skull Island came out in 2017, but it wasn’t marketed as part of the MonsterVerse. This stymied both recognition and momentum.

6. Critics’ Reviews…

While I previously wrote that review aggregate sites like Rotten Tomatoes have been given too much power, the fact remains that a film’s RT score can affect box office turnout. For better or worse, filmgoers will pay attention to the scores. It doesn’t always affect it, but it more often than not does.

7. …and the Fan Backlash

That being said, the fans attacking critics as hacks because of their negative reviews hasn’t boded well. While I can’t say for sure, many of their attempts to fight against the tide of bad reviews by saying, “It’s a Godzilla film! It’s supposed to be stupid!” isn’t making anyone interested in seeing KOTM. If anything, they should try talking about what they liked about the movie or try to explain how the critics are wrong. You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Sadly, the internet is flooded with vinegar.

Because of all this, Warner Bros. considered delaying the release of Godzilla vs. Kong so they could “make an A+ movie.” There were several reasons why this might’ve happened, but that’s a topic for another blog (that I may or may not write).

In the end, Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a good film that faced an uphill battle, and the hill just kept getting steeper.

What do you think? Are there other reasons KOTM underperformed? What are they?

Blog

Godzilla vs. Rotten Tomatoes: A Balanced Response

After nearly a year of escalating hype, Godzilla: King of the Monsters dropped in theatres this weekend. It was one of my most anticipated films of 2019. As a fan of nearly two decades, the co-creator of Kaijuvision Radio, and a raging nerd, I went into it excited but cautious. I remembered another American-made Godzilla movie from 20 years ago or so that had just as much, if not more, hype, and it failed to deliver.

I walked out of my local IMAX theatre with a huge smile on my face. Most fans did.

Critics didn’t.

All this week the Godzilla fan community (in America, anyway) has been in a tizzy. As the critics score on Rotten Tomatoes dropped (it sits at 40% currently) and the audience score remained high (it hovers around 90%), the fans got defensive. They became the latest fandom to declare critics “hacks” who didn’t know what they were talking about, who just didn’t understand the genre or Godzilla. While many fans—including myself—said King of the Monsters wasn’t what critics claimed it was, others stamped their feet, crossed their arms, and said, “I like because it’s bad like all the other Godzilla films!”

Even Godzilla is shocked by his some of his fans’ behavior.

To be honest, I’m not all that surprised. These fans have spent years defending their enjoyment of giant monsters—or perhaps even hid it—when many people relegated such fare to schlock. That’d put a huge chip on anybody’s shoulders. While other “nerdy” genres like superheroes have gone mainstream, the kaiju genre is still trying to gain wide acceptance. I don’t know if it ever will. Regardless, I think much of this pushback from Godzilla fans stems from their defensiveness. Like many nerds, they’ve made their fandom a huge part of their lives, and when they think it’s being attacked, they see it as an attack upon themselves.

This isn’t to say that the fans don’t have valid points. Rotten Tomatoes has grown from a website that helped moviegoers make an informed decision about what films to see to a cultural force that studios think they must placate. “Tomatometer” scores can make or break a film now. At least, that’s what many movie executives fear. An aggregate of bad reviews could destroy the millions of dollars they invested in a film. That’s why they brag whenever one of their movies has a high RT rating. The problem is people aren’t engaging with the reviews; they’re just looking at the score and not reading what was said. They don’t realize that RT’s system a critic only has to answer a yes or no question—“Is it ‘fresh’?”—before posting a review on the site. A rating of three out of five will count as “fresh,” so even a “B-” or “C+” review will count. In other words, the 90% fresh rating could all be average reviews. As one fan pointed out, it has ruined film criticism by reducing it to mere numbers. But these are numbers given tremendous weight and power by lazy often readers who succumb to some form of groupthink, either in agreement or disagreement. This, in turn, has led to some borderline conspiracy theories about studios bribing critics for good or bad reviews as well as theories that studios are censoring bad reviews from users. I’m not saying any of this is true, but it is certainly possible.

The “fresh” and “rotten” logos for both critics (top) and audience (bottom) scores on Rotten Tomatoes.

Fans say critics are prejudiced against the kaiju genre and don’t appreciate it. There’s some truth to that as I’ve pointed out. Their scores and criticisms often seem inconsistent, to say the least. Godzilla (2014) was criticized for allegedly not having enough screen time for Godzilla or the monster fights while focusing on human characters. Now the common complaint from critics is there’s too much time given to the monsters (I disagree, but I digress). Who wouldn’t pull their hair out? It doesn’t seem possible to please them.

But do fans know what makes a great kaiju film? I’ve often heard fans say that they want a film that’s nothing but kaiju fights. This has led to an image of the fandom that is, well, less than flattering (one Twitter user said it made the fandom look like “knuckle draggers”). In some ways it seems hypocritical. They fight against non-fans labeling the films “trash” while advocating for movies that are empty spectacle. As one YouTuber put it, fans like the “social commentaries of the Japanese films, but when it comes to American films, they just want Godzilla to eat buildings and punch monsters.” I’ll be the first person to argue that there is substance—often profound substance—in these films. Even the so-called “silly ones.” That’s why it vexes me to hear such talk from fans. It’s especially annoying because they’re basically saying, “This movie is nonstop action with human characters I don’t care about, so I love it for the reasons critics hate it! Boo-yah!” It’s kinda childish, honestly.

Ultimately, whether the reviews come from critics or fans, they are simply opinions, and as a crude old saying reminds us, everyone has opinions. It’s just that, for whatever reason—be it experience, education, position, or whatnot—we have elevated the opinions of critics. They are the dwellers in the ivory towers who know what true art is while fans are the unwashed, ignorant masses. (Insert “sarcasm sign” here). While fans have wanted to drop Oxygen Destroyers in critics’ laps this week, if their reviews had been positive, I have no doubt they would’ve celebrated and shared them as validation of themselves and their fandom. But do these critics invalidate the opinions of fans? No. They are allowed to like things other people don’t. They enjoyed it based on their own criteria. One man’s trash is another man’s masterpiece. Many people watch Godzilla vs. Gigan and see a silly low-budget kaiju film. I watch it and see a meta-commentary on pop culture and globalism. Opinions often change with time. When Citizen Kane was first released, it has rejected by critics as too unusual. Now it’s regaled as the greatest film ever made. The Empire Strikes Back, which is commonly considered the greatest Star Wars film, was dismissed by critics upon release. I say all of this to remind people that while there are objective criteria for what makes a good story, the evaluation of art is still largely subjective.

I’m gonna have a lot more to talk about on the King of the Monsters G-Fest panel than I thought.

What do you think? Is Rotten Tomatoes helping or hindering films, filmgoers, and/or film criticism? How so?

Blog

The Religiosity of Fandom

Image courtesy of IMDB.

I plan to see Solo: A Star Wars Story, if not this weekend, then next week.

It’s a safe bet to say that about fifty-percent of those reading this have now stopped and branded me a traitor. Because that’s how large contingents of the Star Wars fandom works now.

In case you didn’t know, there’s been a movement to boycott the new Star Wars spin-off film about a young Han Solo. It stems from various remarks on political and social issues from Kathleen Kennedy, the new president of Lucasfilm, and what was perceived as SJW elements in Star Wars: The Last Jedi (which I’ve written about before). Adding fuel to the fire was the revelation that Han’s friend Lando Calrissian is pansexual in this film (though as far I know the only indication of this is he flirts with a droid with female features. That could honestly just be Lando being Lando).

In a tremendous display of groupthink, a huge portion of the Star Wars fandom moved as a unit to avoid Solo, which they think will eventually derail the Disney era of the franchise. One fan even went so far as to say, “Money is the only language Disney understands.”

This blog isn’t about whether their objections are accurate or not. I’m reserving that for after I see the movie. However, I am going to take the Star Wars fandom to task, despite counting myself among them. You’ve been warned.

Ever since the release of the “Special Editions” in 1997, the Star Wars fandom has become more and more fractured and difficult to please. Remember the whole “Han Shot First” meme? (I admit I was annoyed too, but I digress). They were irate that the three films they thought were already perfect were “meddled” with by George Lucas. Things were only aggravated when the Prequel Trilogy was released. The Phantom Menace was especially hated. George Lucas went from being a creative genius who could do no wrong to the most despised man in the geek community. (Personally, I think the truth is somewhere in the middle, as seen in this excellent video series). When Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012 and announced new movies, it was greeted with enthusiasm because fans had lost trust in Lucas. But over the last three years, especially with The Last Jedi, the sentiment has shifted to lamenting the loss of Lucas.

No other fandom, I would argue, is this fickle, demanding, and indecisive. When non-nerds/non-geeks think of the negative stereotypes associated with the nerd/geek community, I guarantee it’s based largely on the conduct of so-called “hardcore” Star Wars fans. It’s sad because it not only mars the reputation of other fans like myself, and it gives the whole nerd/geek subculture a bad name.

This is one way this fandom borders on being a religion. Think about it. Star Wars fans have sacred texts (i.e. the Original Trilogy), but they only accept certain versions of these texts (the uncut versions of the trilogy) as “canonical.” The Special Editions are rejected despite being made by the author of the sacred texts. The prequels are heresy to many (although younger fans accept them), and now the Disney era films are being labeled blasphemy. When Disney officially declared the Expanded Universe non-canonical, many fans reacted like Christian fundamentalists backlashing against atheists attacking the Bible. Never mind the fact that the canonicity, as far as I know, of these materials was never set in stone by Lucas. No, fans complained that the stories they had invested themselves in for decades had somehow been robbed of meaning. Just like now, there was a movement within the fandom to spoil The Force Awakens on the Internet to prevent people from seeing it so as to make the franchise fail and have the Expanded Universe reinstated. Guess what? It failed. To nobody’s surprise, I’m sure.

Anyone who has disagreed with these movements has been declared a “filthy casual” amongst many other horrible names. They’ve even been shunned from the fandom. In other words, excommunicated.

Is it any wonder, then, that there’s been a measurable number of people across the world who’ve listed “Jedi” as their religion in censuses? There’s even an actual religion called “Jediism,” complete with a creed, 16 teachings, and 21 maxims. Some might say they’ve taken their fandom too far.

I’m not opposed to being passionate about what you enjoy. I’m not against debating the merits of media within the franchises you love (my gosh, I co-host a podcast that does that!) Have I zealously argued against certain creative decisions and chosen to no longer follow certain series because of them? Yes, on at least two occasions. But when it gets to this point, where you’re filling the internet with click bait articles and videos full of often unsubstantiated and shallow hatred, you’ve crossed into the Dark Side of the Force.

Let’s go back to when being a Star Wars fan was fun. Before the dark times. Before the insanity.

Here’s a quick video that perfectly summarizes all of this:

What do you think? Are these fans right? Why or why not? Have fandoms gone too far? Why or why not?

Blog

Polarization: The Insidious Plague of ‘Us Against Them’

Brace yourselves. War is coming.

Not just any war—a flame war. Many are already being waged.

All joking aside, I’ve noticed that since the last presidential campaign season, during which people dug their heels into the ground for whatever candidate they supported, the tendency toward polarization has spilled over into other areas. In particular, seems to have become more prominent in the fandom/nerd/geek community. No longer is it a friendly rivalry where people can agree to disagree. No, now those who disagree must be smeared and the supposed “right opinion” presented with pretense.

Image courtesy of www.patheos.com.

While these “factions” have existed for years (Marvel or DC? Star Trek or Star Wars? Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat?), I’ve never seen such vitriol in the past. Divisions have even formed within fandoms, and thanks to the anonymity of the internet, a “civil war,” of sorts, has waged.

The situation that brought this to my mind is Capcom’s newest fighting game, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. Because the game wasn’t living up to everyone’s expectations leading up to its release, interest waned for the game. Then another company, Arc System Works, announced a similar game called DragonBall FighterZ. It was then the camps formed. Hardcore MvC fans held out for the former game while defectors, “casuals,” and DBZ fans formed around the other game. They created copious memes, both photos and videos, denouncing Capcom or MvCI and proclaimed Arc Systems and DragonBall FighterZ the greatest things ever. Personally, what passing interest I may have had in the DragonBall game was killed by their pretentiousness.

I follow several YouTubers, like Maximilian Dood, who make videos on fighting games, and they soon found themselves enveloped in the firestorm. Max in particular has said he’s been accused of being both a shill and a hater. In other words, both sides dislike him. He’s actually taken what I think is an honest and realistic approach to things. When MvCI was released, he criticized some aspects but praised it for others. I’m sure that drove some people on both sides crazy.

What gets to me is how quickly people rally around what’s honestly unimportant things. These are games. They’re entertainment. It’s not life or death. And yet the human desire to fit in and belong to a group compels them to form factions and fight for their cause, no matter how trivial.

This needs to stop.

Not just in fandom circles. Everywhere. For everything.

I heard many stories about families dividing over politics last year. Groups and movements have sprung up over the years that claim they want to bring equality, but all they do is create hate for “the other side.” What they don’t realize is movements based on hate can’t last. All they do is create a self-perpetuating crazy cycle. But all it takes is one person to break it.

Be that person, True Believers.

Have you witnessed polarization over things besides politics? Where? Why? What have you done to break the crazy cycle?

Blog

The Contempt for ‘Star Wars’

(Insert mandatory apology for not blogging in six weeks).

Moving on…

Most people like Star Wars, right? Even if they’re not hardcore nerds/fans, they’ve still probably seen the movies and enjoyed them. They’re considered classics (especially the original trilogy).

Yet, as I saw in a recent video from Red Letter Media, there is an outspoken contingent of people—fans included—who not hate these films, and they seem to be growing. This isn’t just prequel hate, either. Criticisms are being lobbed at every Star Wars film, including the originals.

I’m not saying they’re “perfect” movies by any stretch, nor do I think they’re immune to criticism. Yet much of this disdain seems to have sprang up recently, although I think it goes back nearly 20 years to the release of The Phantom Menace.

This theory isn’t original to me (I can thank Doug Walker for it). Regardless, I think the original trilogy was loved by a generation that saw it in their childhoods, and since it captured their imaginations, they elevated it in their minds, believing the films to be perfection or the closest thing to it. They glossed over whatever imperfections it had (hence why many fans objected to the “special editions” of the films). When Episode I was set to open, the hype machine went crazy. I remember that time. People were buying tickets to bad movies just to see the trailer (this was before trailers were on the internet). Phantom Menace had a great trailer, so I don’t blame anyone for buying the hype. But when they saw the movie…to say they were deflated would be an understatement. The film forced them to reevaluate the original films because, honestly, it had some of the same flaws as the original. It made them question if George Lucas was the creative genius they thought he was. Since many of these fans had built their lives around this franchise, it was as though their “religion,” if you will, had been debunked.

For a time, though, this contempt was channeled at only the prequels (unfairly, I would say). It was as though Episodes I-III were fans’ personal whipping boys. Then the hate spread to the “special editions” of the original films, what with controversial changes like Greedo shooting first. When The Force Awakens opened, it was criticized by some as too derivative of the first film (even by Lucas himself). Now things have come full circle and there are those looking at the original films and criticizing their flaws. George Lucas has gone from being incapable of wrong to doing nothing right, even with his original masterpieces.

To which I say…

Calm the heck down!

Admittedly, Mr. Lucas—like most sci-fi franchise creators, it seems—is a better visionary and worldbuilder than writer. He had much help when he made the original trilogy, but the prequels were unfiltered Lucas. That’s the only explanation I can offer for that.

Regardless, as I’ve said, I don’t think these movies deserve the ire they’re getting (even the prequels). No one’s childhoods were ruined. If you somehow think that, I feel sorry for you. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and the right to discuss the merits of the Star Wars films, but there’s no need to turn something fun into a bunch of whining. Just because it’s something high-profile and iconic like Star Wars doesn’t mean you have to lose your minds over it. Yes, I’ve been known to get irate when something happens in a story I don’t like, but when the dust settles, I go on with my life. In the end, these are just stories, some well told, some not so much. Relish the good ones and criticize the bad ones (heck, be satirical about it, if you want), but don’t turn to the Dark Side to do the latter. It’s giving the geek community a bad image. We need some good PR.

In the meantime, I’m looking forward to Rogue One and discussing theories with friends about Rey’s parentage.