This exclusive preview of my new entertainment industry exposé sheds light on what befell the sense of fun and wonder that once defined beloved franchises.
You
probably have a favorite movie franchise, TV show, or comic book
series that hooked you as a kid. It’s a good bet that many of your
fondest childhood memories are associated with that franchise.
probably have a favorite movie franchise, TV show, or comic book
series that hooked you as a kid. It’s a good bet that many of your
fondest childhood memories are associated with that franchise.
Think
back to that cozy Thanksgiving Day at Grandma’s. After dinner I bet
you vegged out to the annual TV broadcast of Star Wars.
back to that cozy Thanksgiving Day at Grandma’s. After dinner I bet
you vegged out to the annual TV broadcast of Star Wars.
Who
could forget the after-school ritual of going over to your buddy’s
house, loading up on sugary snacks, and watching ThunderCats?
could forget the after-school ritual of going over to your buddy’s
house, loading up on sugary snacks, and watching ThunderCats?
Remember
how you met your best friend from high school while searching that
hole-in-the-wall comic book shop for back issues of X-Men?
how you met your best friend from high school while searching that
hole-in-the-wall comic book shop for back issues of X-Men?
Like
most folks of the generations raised by Saturday morning cartoons and
Nintendo, there came a day when you put aside childish pastimes for
adult responsibilities. But in the last few years, something strange
has happened. The flickering video images and brightly colored pieces
of plastic have regained a foothold in your life. Before you knew it,
diversions from your youth had reasserted their former prominence.
most folks of the generations raised by Saturday morning cartoons and
Nintendo, there came a day when you put aside childish pastimes for
adult responsibilities. But in the last few years, something strange
has happened. The flickering video images and brightly colored pieces
of plastic have regained a foothold in your life. Before you knew it,
diversions from your youth had reasserted their former prominence.
But
let’s be honest. If you stop to think about it, these aren’t your
cherished childhood entertainments—not exactly. Compared to the
fun, uplifting IPs of yesteryear, the new versions run the gamut from
pale imitations to brazen impostors. The magic is missing, but you
can’t put your finger on what happened to it. Is something wrong
with the product itself, or is it just you getting older?
let’s be honest. If you stop to think about it, these aren’t your
cherished childhood entertainments—not exactly. Compared to the
fun, uplifting IPs of yesteryear, the new versions run the gamut from
pale imitations to brazen impostors. The magic is missing, but you
can’t put your finger on what happened to it. Is something wrong
with the product itself, or is it just you getting older?
It’s
not just you.
not just you.
The
landmark franchises that came out of the 60s, 70s, and 80s found
broad and lasting appeal because their creators mainly wanted to
entertain. Let’s forgo the notion that these industry moguls were
pure altruists pursuing art for art’s sake. They were businessmen.
But they were still craftsmen of clear artistic vision who knew their
audiences and knew they had to satisfy those audiences to succeed.
landmark franchises that came out of the 60s, 70s, and 80s found
broad and lasting appeal because their creators mainly wanted to
entertain. Let’s forgo the notion that these industry moguls were
pure altruists pursuing art for art’s sake. They were businessmen.
But they were still craftsmen of clear artistic vision who knew their
audiences and knew they had to satisfy those audiences to succeed.
It
seems easy enough to chart the downward trajectory from there. The
great IPs passed from aging legends to lesser talents in whose clumsy
hands they withered. Ask most people who recognize the decline, and
they’ll place the blame on insular fandoms inheriting the keys to
the kingdom and remaking it in their image. The beloved brands, they
say, are gone—replaced with fan fiction scrawled by pretenders who
don’t understand what made the old stories great.
seems easy enough to chart the downward trajectory from there. The
great IPs passed from aging legends to lesser talents in whose clumsy
hands they withered. Ask most people who recognize the decline, and
they’ll place the blame on insular fandoms inheriting the keys to
the kingdom and remaking it in their image. The beloved brands, they
say, are gone—replaced with fan fiction scrawled by pretenders who
don’t understand what made the old stories great.
There’s
certainly some truth to that assessment. Current year comic book
issues and TV scripts read like wish fulfillment fiction once
relegated to the sunless corners of the web.
certainly some truth to that assessment. Current year comic book
issues and TV scripts read like wish fulfillment fiction once
relegated to the sunless corners of the web.
But
the phenomenon of major studios giving custody of their brands to
people who don’t understand them also needs explaining. These are
billion or even trillion-dollar companies. They likewise got where
they are by pleasing customers. Everyone makes mistakes, but the
insistence of IP holders across multiple industries to alienate their
customers hints at other motives.
the phenomenon of major studios giving custody of their brands to
people who don’t understand them also needs explaining. These are
billion or even trillion-dollar companies. They likewise got where
they are by pleasing customers. Everyone makes mistakes, but the
insistence of IP holders across multiple industries to alienate their
customers hints at other motives.
One
motive we can strike off the list up front is profit. When Marvel and
DC Comics accelerate their slide into irrelevance and each Disney
Star Wars movie disappoints worse than the last, we must conclude
that the entertainment industry is either run by idiots or people
whose main goal isn’t making money.
motive we can strike off the list up front is profit. When Marvel and
DC Comics accelerate their slide into irrelevance and each Disney
Star Wars movie disappoints worse than the last, we must conclude
that the entertainment industry is either run by idiots or people
whose main goal isn’t making money.
Why
does Hollywood keep churning out inferior—even insulting—imitations
of classics from bygone decades? Why does a rising undercurrent of
hostility run through so many new TV shows? Why are Big Two comic
books increasingly fixated on issues that most people outside the
Columbia faculty lounge find downright bizarre?
does Hollywood keep churning out inferior—even insulting—imitations
of classics from bygone decades? Why does a rising undercurrent of
hostility run through so many new TV shows? Why are Big Two comic
books increasingly fixated on issues that most people outside the
Columbia faculty lounge find downright bizarre?
Art
reflects its culture of origin. If you walked out of a theater
recently feeling like the movie you just saw was made by people from
an alien culture at odds with your own, it wasn’t your imagination.
reflects its culture of origin. If you walked out of a theater
recently feeling like the movie you just saw was made by people from
an alien culture at odds with your own, it wasn’t your imagination.
If
the last show you binged on Netflix left you confused and more than a
little disturbed, that whiff of brimstone wasn’t just in your head.
the last show you binged on Netflix left you confused and more than a
little disturbed, that whiff of brimstone wasn’t just in your head.
If
the last superhero comic you read came off like propaganda spread by
invading enemies to demoralize the target populace, you’re not
being paranoid.
the last superhero comic you read came off like propaganda spread by
invading enemies to demoralize the target populace, you’re not
being paranoid.
You’ve
heard of the Coastal Bubble effect. It’s a term that’s come to
describe the bifurcation of American society into two distinct and
incompatible cultures. The culture typified by Middle America retains
a semblance of the nation’s founding Christian morals and pioneer
outlook. But a mutant offshoot culture has emerged from the petri
dish of academia, old media, and the federal bureaucracy to dominate
these institutions’ coastal power centers.
heard of the Coastal Bubble effect. It’s a term that’s come to
describe the bifurcation of American society into two distinct and
incompatible cultures. The culture typified by Middle America retains
a semblance of the nation’s founding Christian morals and pioneer
outlook. But a mutant offshoot culture has emerged from the petri
dish of academia, old media, and the federal bureaucracy to dominate
these institutions’ coastal power centers.
This
ascendant urban, coastal culture is really an anti-culture because it
can create nothing new. It can only parasitically feed on traditional
American culture while warping it beyond recognition. The
anti-culture has dominated the beltway and the super ZIPs for so long
that entire generations of the managerial, entertainment, and media
classes have come of age knowing nothing else.
ascendant urban, coastal culture is really an anti-culture because it
can create nothing new. It can only parasitically feed on traditional
American culture while warping it beyond recognition. The
anti-culture has dominated the beltway and the super ZIPs for so long
that entire generations of the managerial, entertainment, and media
classes have come of age knowing nothing else.
Screenwriters
don’t insert feminist dogma into movies because they think it
serves the story, or even because they decide to get on a soapbox.
They take feminism for granted just like the architects of Notre Dame
Cathedral took Christianity for granted. The same goes for TV writers
who assume default atheism and comic book writers who push
intersectional theory.
don’t insert feminist dogma into movies because they think it
serves the story, or even because they decide to get on a soapbox.
They take feminism for granted just like the architects of Notre Dame
Cathedral took Christianity for granted. The same goes for TV writers
who assume default atheism and comic book writers who push
intersectional theory.
But
as art reflects culture, a culture reflects its members’ lived
religious tradition. The anti-culture is an outward expression of a
nihilistic anti-cult.
as art reflects culture, a culture reflects its members’ lived
religious tradition. The anti-culture is an outward expression of a
nihilistic anti-cult.
Most
of the people involved in producing your entertainment adhere to an
unofficial secular religion defined by the rejection of objective
truth, goodness, and beauty. They view the right to individual
self-expression as the only absolute, and any potential limit on
personal preferences, including truth itself, is reviled as an
arbitrary oppression to be destroyed.
of the people involved in producing your entertainment adhere to an
unofficial secular religion defined by the rejection of objective
truth, goodness, and beauty. They view the right to individual
self-expression as the only absolute, and any potential limit on
personal preferences, including truth itself, is reviled as an
arbitrary oppression to be destroyed.
Because
this nameless cult branched off from American culture founded on
Christianity, the concepts of truth, goodness, and beauty against
which it rebels are those that were originally transmitted by the
Church. The cult’s most rabid hatred is therefore reserved for
Christianity and Christians.
this nameless cult branched off from American culture founded on
Christianity, the concepts of truth, goodness, and beauty against
which it rebels are those that were originally transmitted by the
Church. The cult’s most rabid hatred is therefore reserved for
Christianity and Christians.
Since
the cult seeks to destroy the foundations of the West—thereby
destroying everything built on those foundations, including
itself—many keen observers call it the Death Cult. That’s how
this book will refer to the primary belief system driving the
degradation of popular culture.
the cult seeks to destroy the foundations of the West—thereby
destroying everything built on those foundations, including
itself—many keen observers call it the Death Cult. That’s how
this book will refer to the primary belief system driving the
degradation of popular culture.
If
you are a normal American—or a citizen of a nation with origins in
Christendom—the Death Cult hates you and wants you destroyed.
First, though, it wants you demoralized and humiliated. Always
remember that the Cultists firmly believe you are standing between
them and an earthly paradise free of oppression and bigotry. Christ
is the Devil in their inverted worldview, and you are His demons.
Because you believe in truth.
you are a normal American—or a citizen of a nation with origins in
Christendom—the Death Cult hates you and wants you destroyed.
First, though, it wants you demoralized and humiliated. Always
remember that the Cultists firmly believe you are standing between
them and an earthly paradise free of oppression and bigotry. Christ
is the Devil in their inverted worldview, and you are His demons.
Because you believe in truth.
Think
I’m exaggerating? Let’s try a thought experiment. Take thirty
seconds. Name as many movies, TV shows, video games, and comics as
you can think of that mock God, Jesus Christ, or the Church.
I’m exaggerating? Let’s try a thought experiment. Take thirty
seconds. Name as many movies, TV shows, video games, and comics as
you can think of that mock God, Jesus Christ, or the Church.
I
bet you needed two hands to count all the entertainment products that
blaspheme Christianity.
bet you needed two hands to count all the entertainment products that
blaspheme Christianity.
Now
do Islam.
do Islam.
If
you could think of any, they probably weren’t from the last twenty
years.
you could think of any, they probably weren’t from the last twenty
years.
The
people who run the movie, TV, and publishing industries think of you
like colonial Puritans thought of witches. They hate you, they
control the franchises you loved as a kid, and they’ve weaponized
them against you and your children.
people who run the movie, TV, and publishing industries think of you
like colonial Puritans thought of witches. They hate you, they
control the franchises you loved as a kid, and they’ve weaponized
them against you and your children.
And
they’re charging you for the privilege.
they’re charging you for the privilege.
Don’t
pay to be insulted. Don’t give money to people who hate you.
pay to be insulted. Don’t give money to people who hate you.
That’s
easy to say, right? Contemporary life is a constant grind. Are we
supposed to stop consuming entertainment altogether? Even if we did,
would it break the Death Cult’s grip on Hollywood?
easy to say, right? Contemporary life is a constant grind. Are we
supposed to stop consuming entertainment altogether? Even if we did,
would it break the Death Cult’s grip on Hollywood?
The
answer to both of those questions is no.
answer to both of those questions is no.
The
information age enabled the Death Cult’s conquest of the culture,
but it also offers free and legal ways around their hegemony. And
failing to do the right thing for a lack of immediate, tangible
impact is how normal people lost control in the first place. If
reclaiming your dignity isn’t reason enough, there’s ample reason
not to fund your own disenfranchisement.
information age enabled the Death Cult’s conquest of the culture,
but it also offers free and legal ways around their hegemony. And
failing to do the right thing for a lack of immediate, tangible
impact is how normal people lost control in the first place. If
reclaiming your dignity isn’t reason enough, there’s ample reason
not to fund your own disenfranchisement.
It’s
possible to stop supporting the Death Cult without becoming a hermit.
Not only is it possible, it’s necessary. If you’d like to learn
how you can take back your dignity, stop funding your sworn enemies,
and have fun while you’re at it, read Don’t Give Money to People Who Hate You–coming soon!
possible to stop supporting the Death Cult without becoming a hermit.
Not only is it possible, it’s necessary. If you’d like to learn
how you can take back your dignity, stop funding your sworn enemies,
and have fun while you’re at it, read Don’t Give Money to People Who Hate You–coming soon!
In the meantime, support authors who appreciate you–without having to pay us! Get the Corona-chanthology for free now!
I am very excited to read this, and that sample gave me the taste I was looking for.
I'm delighted you enjoyed the appetizer. The main course is on the way!
We have been needing a book like this for a long time. Something that lays it all, something that I can buy and give to people who I want to educate.
You came to the right place. That's exactly why I wrote this book, and why there will be a print version.
It's looking good. We definitely need a book like this out there.
Agreed. And the virus has accelerated my indifference to mainstream cultural content.
The amount of kickstater/indigo goodness is so pleasing
xavier
Thanks for the encouragement!
You're welcome. So far the crowd funding I've engaged in has been very satisfactory and satisfying.
xavier
Excited to see this. I’ve wanted a book like this to hand off to others. Will definitely be purchasing it once it is available. And thank you for that sample/introduction for us to read.
For what is left of it, have a blessed Holy Week.
You as well!
Looking forward to the book. Will you be drawing distinctions between earlier revivals (Star Trek: TNG, the Star Wars resurgence of the 90s, the quality but ill-fated He-Man revival of 2002) and their parallels and differences to the present crop?
A pertinent question. You'll get a lot out of this book.