Day 39. 99 pages, 44,958 words.

So there was an interesting thread on Twitter the other day, basically calling out Red Letter Media with some pretty specific and pretty damning criticisms.

A lot of it seemed to be about their gender and colour and attitude, which … seems shitty so I’m not going to worry about it.

However, I didn’t much care for their treatment of Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. And I consider myself pretty neutral on the movie, I still don’t know whether I liked it or not. So I don’t think I’m biased.

But does this really just boil down to one too many criticisms of movies that other people liked? They do that a lot. But never really unfairly, I thought. The Red Letter Media reviews, at least, seem fair even if the attendant jokes and background are increasingly boring.

Plinkett is a bit of a different story. I have been posting about him, and Star Wars, since at least 2011, and back then his “reviews” were bizarre and fun and even though I didn’t particularly agree with them, I enjoyed watching and talking about them.

His take-down of Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, though, was rambling and somehow unpleasant. The overlays and sidelines weren’t as cleverly done, and his criticisms were sweeping and crappy. And he basically called for a boycott of future movies at the end.

In one video, my opinion of Red Letter Media shifted dramatically and they seem to have revealed themselves as one of the main spearheads of the toxic fanboy community who are tearing down these movies and driving the stars off social media. Even while poking fun at that whole idea.

I approve of their apparent willingness to stand up and continue in the face of this sort of thing, but I can’t help but wonder how long it will continue. I agree with a lot of their criticisms of movies and their praise of movies, but also disagree with them on a lot of things too.

And if they’re driven to change, or even stop, as a result of this backlash, is this social media mob mentality at work, the rabid SJW left destroying innocent content creators? Or is there actually something there? Should these guys adjust their thinking and have a look at the sort of negativity they’re putting out into the world, and inciting their fans to enact?

I dunno. I’m going to Linnanmäki.