As a lifelong film enthusiast and someone who has witnessed the evolution of fandoms over the decades, I can confidently say that the phenomenon of “toxic fandom” is not just troubling, but downright bizarre. It’s like watching a group of fans transform from passionate supporters into internet trolls, overnight.
On August 28th, Amandla Stenberg, who leads the “Star Wars” series “The Acolyte,” shared an eight-and-a-half-minute video via her Instagram Stories. This video discussed Lucasfilm’s surprising choice not to renew the show for a second season, which came only a month after the Season 1 finale was streamed on Disney+.
Stenberg wasn’t taken aback by the recent development,” she stated. Since the announcement of the series in 2020, she explained, a wave of intense conservative prejudice, vitriol, and hateful speech has been directed towards them. (Unfortunately, Stenberg was not reachable for this article.)
Essentially, “The Acolyte” has fallen victim to what’s known as “toxic fan behavior,” which occurs when constructive criticism turns into persistent, negatively biased attacks directed at a project, its cast, or creative team. In an industry where studios heavily rely on loyal fanbases to boost profits, these toxic fan campaigns have become a growing concern for almost every studio. The problem appears to be escalating.
A long-time marketing executive at a significant studio expresses this: “It’s part of the job, but it’s become remarkably noisy recently.” He continues, “Fans are relentless; they just want to attack. They believe that nothing can surpass the original or that you’ve tampered with a cherished series, and they’re determined to criticize you for it.
occasionally, certain fan communities exhibit a reactive behavior. For instance, episodes in “House of the Dragon” showcasing two female characters sharing a kiss, as well as an episode in “The Last of Us” centering around a gay couple, were met with a wave of negative reviews on platforms like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb – a practice commonly referred to as ‘review bombing’. This phenomenon gained prominence following the release of 2017’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” Additionally, an extensive YouTube community has emerged dedicated to labeling productions such as “The Marvels” and “The Boys” as ‘woke trash’ (and other strong terms).
Often, controversy arises even before a project is launched, as seen with the case of “Bridgerton,” where a Black actress (Masali Baduza) was cast as the love interest for Francesca (Hannah Dodd), causing a heated discussion on Reddit. Similar instances include the backlash towards actors of color playing elves and dwarves in “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” and death threats against Leslie Jones during the promotion of 2016’s “Ghostbusters” on social media.
It’s quite intriguing that even though these harmful fan communities are relatively small, they seem to exert an outsized influence on things, which could be seen as a surprising paradox.
John Van Citters, Vice President of Star Trek brand development who’s been part of the franchise since the 1990s, notes that most fans are casual. A relatively small number of people have an intense emotional attachment to their favorite franchises, and even fewer express strong opinions about them with hostility. This extreme minority represents a very small percentage of an already small group of dedicated fans. He suggests that while the intensity of fanaticism may not have changed much since 1995, the ability for passionate voices to be heard has grown significantly due to increased communication platforms.
For some, combating that bullhorn amounts to acting as if they can’t hear it. “Particularly when it’s a negative, toxic conversation, we don’t even engage,” says a TV marketing executive. “Like with toxic people, you try to not give it too much oxygen.” One principal concern is that reacting to these kinds of attacks risks alienating fans who are unhappy with creative choices about a franchise but haven’t tipped over into abusive behavior. So a studio may attempt to amplify friendlier voices instead. “We’ll reply to comments that are positive and elevate those things,” says the TV exec.
Despite their harmful nature, fan groups have grown to such an extent that they’ve become commonplace in many circles and hold enough influence to deter talent, executives, and publicists from openly discussing the issue for fear of provoking further controversy. In fact, some studios chose not to comment on this topic, even anonymously, as one representative expressed, “It’s a no-win situation.
Everyone who interacted with ‘EbMaster’ concurred that it’s wiser to steer clear of stirring up fan bases from the get-go. Beyond regular focus group evaluations, production studios plan to gather a select group of devoted fans, known as super fans, to scrutinize potential promotional content for upcoming franchise ventures.
The studio executive remarks, “They’re quite outspoken.” Translated, this means they aren’t shy about expressing their opinions. They warn, “If you go ahead with that, the fans will likely react unfavorably.” These groups have such influence that they’ve even persuaded studios to modify their projects. In other words, if the project is still in its early stages and not yet completed, changes can be made based on their suggestions.
Studio insiders often subject their talents to a rigorous social media training program, sometimes even taking complete control of an actor’s social media accounts when a character deliberately conflicts with a franchise’s established norm. In extreme situations, such as those involving threats of violence, security companies may remove talent information from the internet to shield them from potential doxxing incidents.
In certain extremely offensive situations, a swift response has become essential. For instance, when “Obi-Wan Kenobi” actress Moses Ingram spoke out against the barrage of racist comments she received regarding her role — “There’s nothing anyone can do about this. There’s nothing anyone can do to halt this hatred,” she expressed — Lucasfilm took action by posting a statement on their Star Wars social media platforms, which stated in part, “In the vast Star Wars universe, there are over 20 million intelligent species; being racist is not one of them.” Additionally, the Star Wars accounts shared a video featuring “Obi-Wan” actor Ewan McGregor expressing his disgust at the bullying and stating that “if you’re sending her hateful messages, you’re not a true Star Wars fan in my eyes.
Following a series of unfortunate incidents, members of “The Rings of Power” cast spoke out against racial discrimination, threats, harassment, and abusive behavior directed at their fellow actors of color. In solidarity, actors from “Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy shared pictures wearing clothing adorned with diverse Middle-earth creature ears, accompanied by a message that read “you are all welcome here,” written in Elvish script. These actions seem to have made a difference. During an interview in August with Amazon MGM Studios TV head Vernon Sanders about “The Rings of Power,” he mentioned that the show had not faced the same level of racist backlash prior to Season 2 as it did during its initial debut in 2022. He explained that people have had a chance to engage with the show, and rather than engaging in hateful discussions, they’ve primarily focused on sharing their favorite aspects, which helps steer clear of the divisive conversations initiated by some individuals who may have approached the show with preconceived biases.
Another approach to dealing with toxic fans online is simply staying away from the internet entirely. As Elizabeth Olsen, a regular in Marvel productions like “WandaVision,” puts it, “By not being online, I’m shielded from it.” She explains that while there are many wonderful experiences of making children happy online, she chooses to ignore the negative aspects.
Marc Malkin contributed to this story.
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2024-10-03 20:19