[lbo-talk] Team Monroe, LA Division, Weighs in on Whedon's Fan Faith

Dwayne Monroe dwayne.monroe at gmail.com
Wed Dec 19 05:53:06 PST 2007


First of all, everyone should read (or re-read) Jerry Monaco's awesome overview of the WGA strike which is available at:

<http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/pipermail/lbo-talk/Week-of-Mon-20071210/023514.html>

And second, here are emails I received from two of my friends - LA-based writers - thinking aloud about Whedon's optimism re: fans -

JD writes:

That's nice, but I think there are also fans who are saying "OK, there's nothing new on TV so I think I'll read this book I've been putting off, or watch this DVD I haven't watched yet, or play this videogame I haven't finished yet." There's a lot more competing for eyes these days. [Many people] enjoy and watch a lot of television, but while they'll miss some shows the overall feeling I'm getting right now is one of relief. Relief that there's nothing you "have" to watch so you can kick back and play Halo 3 and catch up on some movies you've been meaning to watch.

That said, I don't think there's going to be any kind of mass viewer exodus from TV but some shows are going to get hurt. Look what happened to Lost's ratings when they took that extended hiatus in the middle of the season. It dropped out of the public eye and when it came back, not everyone was there waiting. I don't think everyone's going to be there waiting after this strike, too. I'm kind of surprised Whedon didn't learn the lesson of the Browncoat Battle for Serenity. Judging by the internet hubbub, you would have thought the Browncoats were going to be rallying and organizing thousands of people to go see Serenity in the theaters. Then the movie was released and instead of a packed backlot filled with cowboys firing sixshooters in the air, we got tumbleweeds blowing past as a couple dejected cowboys sat drinking themselves into a stupor in the saloon, one of the few buildings on the set that wasn't just a facade. The Internet battle cry never materialized into anything. It too was just a facade.

C-ster writes:

The public support thing is a frustrating issue.

It's true that Joss barely ever runs into anyone who doesn't want to earn his favor. They're either friends or sycophants or family. And if some buster does recognize him on the street, do you think he's really going to say something negative? It's not like he's a familiar face. Only a true fanboy would be able to differentiate him from a million other doughy, redheaded white boys.

But you certainly hope people can see how this really is an issue of monstrous communication companies trying to break the wills of mostly ordinary people, struggling just to pay their bills and pursue something they love.

I think it's hard for most working folks to relate with the whole residual issue. When construction workers build a stadium, they don't expect a penny for every ticket sold. But then again, how many construction workers have to go to hundreds of meetings and spend thousands of man-hours... without the promise of ever making a penny? How many have ever spent a year working on an idea for a house, only to open up Hollywood Housing Reporter and find out a more famous construction worker just sold that exact same house days earlier -- making all their work completely obsolete? Residuals are the nugget of gold that makes all the creative panhandling possible.

If I could have people think one thing, it would be, "Why are these faceless corporations willing to pay more for ad campaigns than it would cost to accept these terms for the next five years? Is this any different than my own company creating higher quarterly revenues by cutting my health-care and downsizing?"

Of course, smart money is on, "I've already seen this episode of Bionic Woman. Fucking writer faggots!"

We'll see. Gotta remain hopeful.

.d.



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