Samuel Brace on the campaign to sabotage the Rotten Tomatoes score of Marvel’s Black Panther…
In the grand scheme of nefarious machinations, the topic of disgruntled movie fans (‘fan’ being a word I’m hesitant here to use) dishing out bad review scores to films which have yet to be seen, falls rather lower on the hierarchy of sins. However, this type of dishonourable behaviour grinds my gears none the less.
The topic to which I am referring, for those that haven’t yet had the pleasure of hearing, is that a group of ne’er-do-wells who have banded together in a moment of great courage, have decided to make it their life’s mission to purposefully sabotage the Rotten Tomatoes scores of various Disney connected films; most recently, the upcoming Marvel effort known as Black Panther.
These charming individuals – surely all tremendously valuable members of society – have a gripe you see, a gripe that can’t be contained to their delightful little corner of the internet. Their aversion to Disney must be spread far and wide, they must attempt to promote an apocryphal narrative around a film’s public perception, undoubtedly to fill a rather empty hole in, I am sure, otherwise gloriously fulfilled lives.
The motive they attach to their crusade against the likes of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (a film they claim to have already succeeded in providing a poor Rotten Tomatoes audience score) and Black Panther, is that Disney has insidiously betrayed audiences and engaged in “corporate manipulations which created falsified bad press for the DCEU.” It seems to me, and it seems rather clear, that this merry band of noble warriors are not in fact playing with a healthy collection of marbles.
No matter one’s hatred of a particular film, studio, or whatever other entity it might be, it truly beggars belief that the solution one comes to is that an organised hit job on something so many others find great joy in, is somehow warranted. If this effete gathering of vermin who seem to believe their actions of internet based thuggery are in fact those of noble deeds, had actually seen the film they profess to despise, and then individually gave their honest and critical review of the film, that would of course hardly be a matter of discussion. However, a premature action that purposefully has the intent of dissuading unsuspecting potential audiences to stay away from said picture, is a truly ugly, sinister, and utterly repulsive act to put it lightly.
To be so warped in ones mental processes (perhaps I am giving them too much credit to suggest any neurons are firing at all) that you would happily band together with other ghoulish individuals to stymie a film’s reception in the eyes of fans, is truly a sad sight, and one that is utterly insensible. However, voting with one’s feet and in turn your wallet is another kettle of fish entirely.
There is little harm, in fact no harm at all, in boycotting a movie, franchise or whatever else because your animadversions have gone so long unheard, and then convincing others to your cause with thoughtful arguments. This is all well and good. I happen to vote with my wallet frequently and in fact should do so more often. If you want a franchise or organisation to change, withholding your cash is perhaps the best way to encourage it. However, what is wholly unacceptable are the acts planned and seemingly already enacted by the aforementioned gang of miscreants. If I’ve not already made it clear, let me attempt to do so again: hurting a film’s reputation in the eyes of audiences, without any intention of seeing said movie, is pathetic, sad, and desperately insipid, no matter how noble you believe your cause to be.
For DC fans among our readership, who are seemingly the driving force behind this gaggle of imbeciles (though, I doubt their authenticity and they are surely condemned by decent folk among the fandom), let me see if I can interest you in the following. If I, as someone who is wholly averse to the direction of the DCEU, but simultaneously holds great affection for Batman as a character, banded together with others who shared my sentiments to maliciously sabotage future entries in the franchise by providing horrible review scores to Rotten Tomatoes, without knowledge of said films, so that less people would in turn view these movies and in hope that Warner Bros. would go back to making Batman films I want to see, what, my friends, would you think of me? Not very much, I imagine. And you would be right to do so.
With all the above being said, it seems to me that these heroic resistance fighters, warring so bravely against the tyranny of Disney, are capable of little impact, their great efforts mostly without consequence. However, the very idea behind it, the very thinking that goes into such an endeavour, should be met with the utmost contempt. And if you happen to be one of these very individuals, I suggest you take a good long hard look in the mirror. Get a grip, find a hobby, read a book, put your energy into something productive. Surely you can conjure some miniscule respect for your time, at least more so than what you have so far demonstrated.
Samuel Brace
