<
https://www.garbageday.email/p/too-toxic-for-the-fandom-hype-cycle-ee92ae3780f0720d>
"The ongoing collapse of both journalism as an industry and social media as an
institution means we’re in a very weird time for the hundreds of things about
culture that couldn’t exist without them. Surprise music releases, relatable
brand posting — all of these are still going on, but they’re having to deal
with worse contradictions and bigger problems as the circumstances around them
change.
You can see a great example of this if you still keep track of the press cycles
for movies and TV shows based on popular nerd culture IPs. I use that term
knowing how old and awkward it sounds, because it’s been a long time since the
ThinkGeek and Funko eras, when seeing a real famous actor playing a cartoon
character from a weird, niche fandom was exciting and rare. Now studios are
having to get experimental to retain interest, with ideas like the
Avengers:
Doomsday chair video — if you made a meme with those chairs, BTW, congrats on
your unpaid Disney marketing gig.
I don’t like getting this cynical, but it’s hard to avoid considering the
current IP adaptation hype cycle for the upcoming HBO
Harry Potter show.
Casting announcements are coming more or less weekly now, which is standard
operating procedure so the topic stays trending. And it’s absolutely working,
considering how many other interviews and stories we’re getting about the show
and the franchise in general. Here’s what two actors say about playing the same
wizard! Here’s a guy from the movies in the Broadway show! Here’s JK Rowling
using her piles of money to create a fund to oppress trans people! Wait, hang
on a second…"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
