#internet dynamics

Step One: See on Twitter: “***BREAKING NEWS*** Lashana Lynch, from Captain Marvel fame, has been tapped to be the next #007. She will be the first black person, male, female or gender non-conforming to be selected for this role. “

Step Two: Google “lashana lynch james bond” to confirm information, find corroborating stories.

Step Three: Am done, finished, send congratulatory--NO WAIT.

Wait.

w a i t

Where are the film news sites? Where are your Deadlines, your Slashfilms, your Birth.Movies.Deaths?

... Step Three: Click “More for lashana lynch james bond.” Find more corroborating stories--

--or have I.

Step Four: Dive deeper, search for original story. 

Find on ScreenRant, the first respectable film news site to crop up, this article dated July 10th: “Bond 25 Theory: Lashana Lynch Is Playing The NEW 007 Replacement”

Realize that wait, surely a theory would not be reported as absolute fact. 

Continue diving deeper, continue searching for original source. Go back to one of the fact-presenting articles and find:

... no

... NO.

Step Five: Yes.

Click on DAILY GODDAMN MAIL source: “The black woman who will be the next 007: New James Bond film will feature British actress Lashana Lynch taking over the famous codename (but that doesn't stop legendary agent trying to seduce her)”

Realize.

C Thi Nguyen in “Escape the Echo Chamber” for aeon

Read this, share this, know this. 

I don't remember Winter Soldier getting nominated. It was way better.

The Affirmative Action award goes to...

🙄

This is such a fucking joke. And that's coming from a diehard Marvel fan. But we all know why this film is getting the attention. I just flat out call bullshit. On top of that. It was a good movie. But not even in the top 5 best of any category from Marvel.

I love marvel movies but this a weak movie. Overrated movie. It's stupid that this is the big marvel movie that gets this much attention. I know the real reason why it is..but it would be politically incorrect to say so

Ragnorak and infinity war were far better films. It was decent, but no better than antman or spiderman

White elites falling all over themselves to look not racist.

VERY overrated movie. It was decent enough, but award winning? I don't think so.

And Infinity War gets...nothing? What a load of complete bullshit! It’s far more deserving and was one of the best movies of the year, and not just Marvel-wise!

I like the movie. But man is it getting undeserved attention. I couldn't even get through a second viewing

I don't think so if Logan or Wonder Woman didn't get one either black panther should get nothing

Good movie, but this is an OJ is innocent vote

Overrated movie...but it has black folks so I guess that's all it takes for a nomination.

This movie was OK.. Just OK.

The virtue signalling is getting out of control.

We all know why. No need to say it 😂 they all walked out before the end credits we know who was there for marvel

C'mon, really? This is all part of an agenda

But it was tedious, derivative, predictable drivel dressed up for SJWs. It should win Best Picture, in that case.

It was good but not all that. Agenda driven for sure.

Well yeah, it had to win because............ never mind.

cc: @iokheaira

Honestly, if the discourse were that simple-minded, I would be totally fine and unconcerned. It’s one thing to have one’s opinion of a film tossed aside because you’re (apparently) just doing it for the social justice cred. Social justice, at least, is a good cause. If someone’s really going to say anyone who likes Black Panther is only biased because they believe in social justice, then at least they’re mostly demonstrating a profound ignorance of film theory and what it even means for a film to be significant. A major reason why I think Black Panther deserves a Best Picture nomination is indeed social justice related. It is deserving because it locked into the zeitgeist, and reflects something important about black culture right now. See also Sorry to Bother You. See also Spider Verse, and BlackkKlansman, and Blindspotting.

What concerns me increasingly about the way online fan discourse runs is the same thing that concerns me about online discourse in general. About political discourse, about everything. Right now, it’s not about creating an excuse for why it is someone else might care for X film; it’s about creating a reason why anyone who cares for X film is OBJECTIVELY wrong. It’s about denying the very possibility that someone might think differently than you about a subject for a justifiable reason, and tearing down any system in place that allows for someone to think differently than you--because if facts disagree with you, then facts can be wrong. 

One of the comments in the selection I provided (and you’ll see this reflected a lot) is that Black Panther simply isn’t as deserving of a nomination as Logan or Wonder Woman or Infinity War. And to be clear, you can definitely feel that way, and be genuine in that feeling. There’s nothing wrong with that. I do not personally agree, and Metacritic scores Black Panther higher than all those films by a pretty reasonable percentage, but whatever. (Facts, after all, can apparently be wrong; so can I.) There’s a specificity about the Black Panther criticism though that, to me, does not seem to come from collective good faith concern that the Best Picture name is being somehow devalued. Hell, this is a year that also sees Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book being nominated for Best Picture. I don’t see nearly as much hand-wringing over those from these same fans. It’s still just Black Panther, again the highest marked film of those three, and again the most well liked in a category that has always made room for big zeitgeist hits.