#make him trend

so I left a comment yesterday on one of the TVL instagram's posts that was pretty scathing (though not angry or abusive—just pointing out what I consider to be the main flaws of the season and how they're enough to put me off watching future seasons) and aside from the usual childish, petulant insults I've also received quite a few shocked!!! replies in disagreement, stating that it's their favorite season of television they've ever watched. that it was a masterpiece from start to finish. comparing it favorably to shows like breaking bad, severance and pluribus (wtf)

I noticed that many of these replies were left by people with professional headshots as their pfps so I took a look at their profiles and saw they all worked in theater. kind of odd, as I've never received a whole flood of replies from people in the theater before. I then scrolled through some of their pics and at least 4 of those people are real life friends of Hannah or Rolin acting as if they're just regular fans. another is married to somebody who worked on the show. I haven't checked all of them but some appear to know each other as well

so have the creatives literally asked their friends and family to back them up against the negative comments flooding every TVL post? comments left by disgruntled viewers/former fans? I'm sure it happens often but I've never seen this before lmao

maybe it's just a coincidence but it feels very strange to me, like coordinated damage control

I've been trying to think about how to answer this, and I keep coming back to the same place. If someone I loved wrote something bad and put it out there, and then it was being criticized, I would probably clap back at the critics out of loyalty to my loved one. On a personal level, I think it's admirable that friends come to their defense, whether they were asked to or not. It's a dork move to pretend like they are just fans if they're actually close. It's also a professional risk if they aren't close friends, but just industry peers who are fans of each other's work. It's also possible that some are sucking up as a form of networking, since these writers are rising stars. I guess I don't see it as nefarious, but it sure is FASCINATING.

I think we can assume that Rolin, Hannah, et al. never anticipated the backlash against the racism in the show, because they didn't know they had biases that bleed through the writing. I really don't think they are being racist/antisemitic/Islamophobic on purpose. I DO think they ARE being obtuse by denying that they have a problem and need some Black writers or editors or at least sensitivity readers. They also clearly had a vision for a 2-part series, then lied about it being something that could function as a 1-parter. Furthermore, they probably have only vague notions for a 4th season, since they've admitted to purposefully painting themselves into a corner.

In my most generous moments, I think of what it would feel like to put my art out into the public, thinking it's the hottest shit around, and then have 1000s of people tell me it stinks. Ouch. Even if the criticism is well deserved, that has got to sting. That's why I think we should try to lead with facts (portraying Black characters' bodies as the only sites of overt physical violence is racist) vs subjective opinions (I wanted more Wolfkiller scenes) if we provide direct feedback. Some of my complaints (like the lack of mastiff puppies) are not useful, so I share those on tumblr, since the writers apparently only read reddit. I try to be a bit more succinct and factual on IG, although I don't know if I'm hiding my frustration well.