#bad media literacy

[lokiinmediasideblog]

Imagine tagging Neil Gaiman, whom you constantly complain about because he doesn't depict Loki the way you wish, to confirm some half-assed theory (by that salty Tumblr user I know suibaited me at least once on anon).

I know you're referring to this frame:

Sandman spoilers!!!

It's implied/stated Dream wanted to die, so he MIGHT HAVE orchestrated his own death (and that's what Loki realized, that Dream allowed Loki to escape his punishment because he knew it'd lead to his death). Only to reincarnate in Daniel.

First, Sigyn wouldn't know shit. People don't need reasons or justifications to take abuse. There's no "greater reason." They just do. Maybe she doesn't like the idea of someone suffering like that. People can care about people that fucking hate them.

The way y'all talk about abuse is fucking harmful. With the constant praising of perfect victim narratives, hating women for not being doormats ("Sylvie is abusive"), acting like being loyal to an abusive husband is a sign of sainthood, using cherrypicked comic panels where Marvel!Loki says he loves Marvel!Sigyn to prove that there was actually no abuse, ignoring a lot of other stuff. Acting like there's a greater reason or justification for the abuse.

I feel like having Sigyn calling out Daniel!Dream would be incredibly out of place. And this sounds like beating a dead horse with OP's insistence on holding Marvel's Ikol accountable for what their previous reincarnation did (Geez, leave Ikol alone).

Also, if I had venom constantly dripped for millennia in my eyes I would also be evil and cuss out whoever was near to me for failing to get it all cus that's fucking torture. That's your answer to why Loki's so fucking evil.

Also, OP lacks basic media literacy and has a tendency to fail to cite sources and just make shit up on various occassions (SiGyN iS aSsOcIaTeD wItH fOxEs. Nope. YOU just made that up.).

[kingoftheu]

Soooooo much fandom discourse is centered around the fandom not the media itself. But opinions tend to be foisted upon the media itself. A bad shipwar can damage a show's reputation, even if the show has not encouraged it. Memes or adaptations or initial reactions can create warped versions of the characters. Except these warped versions then impact how the actual character is perceived. Bad media literacy can lead to people claiming a work supports the actions of someone vile, even if the work opposes it. Certain fan theories or art designs can gain a life of their own, only for fans to be let down by the actual result, even though no promises were made. Fan favorite characters can create feelings of anger that something 'wasn't addressed' even if it was superfluous. An popular show can create resentment and toxic behavior surrounding itself, even if the show itself is great. Creators get dragged into the fray, and because they are actually creating and not spending time learning the intricacies of the fandom they inevitably offend someone.

In conclusion Fandom Toxicity is going to be present no matter how perfect the work of fiction is. Because it is nearly always the fans causing problems and projecting it, not the art itself.

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars. But in ourselves."

[time-to-write-and-suffer]

I love how on Tumblr, "media literacy" has become "Um, just because someone writes about this doesn't mean they're endorsing this. I hate all these media puritans ruining everything."

I'm sad to inform you that knowing when and whether an author is endorsing something, implying something, saying something, is also part of media literacy. Knowing when they are doing this and when they're not is part of media literacy. Assuming that no author has ever endorsed a bad thing is how you fall for proper gander. It's not media literacy to always assume that nobody ever has agreed with the morally reprehensible ideas in their work.

Sometimes, authors are endorsing something, and you need to be aware when that happens, and you also need to be aware when you're doing it as an author. All media isn't horny dubcon fanfic where you and the author know it's problematic IRL but you get off to it in the privacy of your brain. Sometimes very smart people can convince you of something that'll hurt others in the real world. Sometimes very dumb people will romanticize something without realizing they're doing it and you'll be caught up in it without realizing that you are.

Being aware of this is also media literacy. Being aware of the narrative tools used to affect your thinking is media literacy. Deciding on your own whether you agree with an author or not is media literacy. Enjoying characters doing bad things and allowing authors to create flawed or cruel characters for the sake of a story is perfectly fine, but it is not the same as being media literate. Being smug about how you never think an author has bad intentions tells me you're edgy, not that you're media literate. You can't use one rule to apply to all media. That's not how media literacy works. Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Aheem heem. Anyway.

[macdenlover]

i really can not stand the “fandom is so fun we’re all just projecting and making shit up” thing. because no i actually deeply admire the canon of my favorite media and all the intention and care and craft put into it. we are not the same.

[johnwickistheworstmovie]

no you guys don’t get it; it’s so bad on tiktok. everyone on there is so insistent that foxface purposefully killed herself with the berries solely based off the two second clip in the movie (which wasn’t even identifying edible plants it was literally just matching).

like…… the whole point with foxface from the beginning was not to overestimate your competitors. when she talks about cato and foxface in the same passage she explicitly states that it’s just as dangerous to overestimate who you’re facing. in that she was thinking about how she might be overestimating cato’s intelligence, but then foxface goes and does the same with peeta. katniss constantly talked about how smart she was. she had made it to the final four solely off of taking from others just to keep herself alive. she had been doing it the entire games, but she trusted that peeta knew the berries he was grabbing. she probably didn’t even check to see what they looked like, because let’s be real. district five’s industry was ELECTRICITY. do you really think someone from the power district knows anything about edible plants? she saw the berries with the cheese and took some to fuel herself. because she assumed katniss and peeta were literally about to eat them. why on earth would she kill herself when she was three people away from winning? and if she knew they were poisonous and assumed katniss and peeta were about to eat them, she would’ve been final two. she could’ve waited for them to eat the berries, take katniss’s bow and arrows, and she would’ve had at least a fighting chance against cato. not to mention all the other districts HATE THE CAREERS. if she knew they were poisonous, decided to kill herself, and assumed katniss and peeta were going to eat them, that would’ve left cato as victor. there was no one else. she did not know they were poisonous. she overestimated peeta’s intelligence. it’s saying being stupid is dangerous for everyone.

[courtrecord]

honestly i hate how that “maybe the curtains are just blue” post has become shorthand for anti-intellectualism and shit bc as someone who has an utter passion for media analysis now, I WAS THAT PERSON IN HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH CLASS.

english class never taught me how to analyze stories, it taught me how to remember what things the teacher said were “symbolism” and how to take quizzes where we had to match a quote to the character who said it. i didn’t give a shit about any of it, bc literally why should i. it was bullshit.

there’s this idea online that people are forgetting or rejecting what they learned in english class when they’re bad at media analysis, and maybe that’s a little bit true, but i think the much bigger problem is they never learned it in the first place. cinemasins & “maybe the curtains are just blue” aren’t convincing people to abandon an intellectualism they already had, they’re filling a void.

when all you learn in high school is to write on the test “blue = depression”, why is it surprising that so many people don’t give a shit about the curtains.

[annabelle--cane]

say it with me everybody: personal health is completely immaterial to morality, including mental health. leading a mentally unhealthy lifestyle (or what you perceive as a mentally unhealthy lifestyle) does not a bad person make. no one has to socialize, exercise, have healthy coping mechanisms, or lead (what you perceive as) a fulfilling life with fulfilling hobbies in the same way that no one has to go to the doctor to get a broken bone reset. both of those types of management of personal health are likely to be beneficial to the individual, but they are in no way moral requirements or debts owed to society. they do not actually say anything about a person's principles, personality, or actions towards others. additionally, people know themselves and their own situations better than you do. maybe a person judges that the physical and financial toll of going to the doctor outweigh the benefit of getting their bone reset, maybe a person just does not have the capacity to develop healthy coping mechanisms at this point in their life, and yes, maybe a person feels like they are totally fulfilled by "media based" hobbies alone and would feel no difference in their life if they picked up a loom. just like. let people be sick without accusing them of being representative of the lazy, degenerated state of modern society.

[lilith-91]

Reducing a complex character like Aang and his storyline to just "he's nice" is so painful

Atla fandom are just not able to comprehend his arc because it’s not as spoon-fed to the audience as zuko’s, and that’s sad.

[novelist-becca]

Once again, I hate hate hate it when certain people that saw TOH judge Luz based ONLY on how in episode 1 she brought fireworks to school and let loose live snakes and spiders.

And just boil her down to that.

[kingoftheu]

You cannot just read authorial intent into places where it isn't there.

The Author Is Dead but that does not make you a Ouija Board.

[cattons]

watching the tiktokification of saltburn in real time. i need to wipe this film off the face of the earth it’s for me and my mutuals only

[bronzeagepizzeria]

people will watch the impossible planet/the satan pit and still be shocked when the show ends with the doctor and rose settling down together

[chuckyray]

the walten files fans try not to demonize people with addictions, understand these characters are meant to be complex, and learn to grasp the concept of nuance + remorse + grief and fear causing people to make poor choices challenge: impossible

[fantasygerard2000]

What are Wish takes you heard that just makes you wanna

[portsinastorm]

It is wild to me that actual adults on the clock app are arguing with people and posting videos about how The Sign was not a great episode because it didn't 'do what it usually does' which is 'to help kids cope with change'. Bluey is not a change management cartoon. It's a slice of life cartoon, but because it is a cartoon for kids, it will be optimistic and hopeful. (And it will want them to have agency and a voice, even in a situation where they don't normally have one.)

Also, in doing so, they don't even realize they're just parroting Bandit's school of thought at the start of the episode that more money meant a 'better' life. It was not what Chilli wanted, neither was it what the girls wanted.

People are so hung up on the moving part (probably because they relate to it) and the change that comes with moving that they completely miss the bigger lesson it was trying to teach people.

The Sign was clearly trying to teach that:

a) What's good for one family isn't necessarily good for another. For the Heelers, their village was in their city, their life was in that city, and even if Bandit's job paid better, they couldn't bring that to their new place. But for Winton and his dad, moving was 1000% the best move because it signaled that they were moving forward and embracing a different configuration of their family.

b) Big decisions require 100% commitment. And a decision that affects the family requires the family input. If you take Stickbird as a prequel for Ghostbasket and The Sign, then Bandit must have been torn about uprooting his family for his job.

One person speaking for the family (in this case, Radley and Bandit) and making decisions did not help the family in either one of those cases. It's only when Bandit hears how everyone else feels that he realizes that he was just looking at the money and not the bigger picture.

c) A decision doesn't set your life in stone, you can always change your mind. Adults think that every decision they make sets their life in stone, but we can always change the path.

d) More money does not mean a better life. The Heelers' village was in their city--their family, their friends, the kids' schools. That the Heelers choose community over short-term gain is a huge statement for a kid's show to make. Maybe things will be hard because they chose to stay. But Bluey, Bingo, and Chilli will remember that Bandit chose them and what made their whole family happy, not just what made him happy.

e) There's magic in the middle. When Chilli and the kids go on their quest, they don't know what will happen and the very literal butterfly effect shows things unfolding for the better. But even in the uncertainty and chaos, Bluey, Bingo, Muffin, and Socks get to have good experiences. They try new things! They discover something new! Bluey marks a milestone!

[derrickwildsun]

Compiling a list of bad takes that demonstrate the person saying them didn't understand the story.

"Son Goku is a bad dad."

"Belle from Disney's Beauty and the Beast had Stockholm Syndrome."

"Tears of the Kingdom's ending invalidates Zelda's sacrifice, and she should have stayed a dragon (or come back with dragony bits). Also, Zelda is a bitch for yelling at Link one time and then 'stealing' his house."

"Alice in Wonderland is about drugs."

"Shinji Ikari is a wuss."

"Asuka Langley Soryu is an irredeemable bitch."

"Steven Universe should have murdered the Diamonds."

"Rose Quartz was an irredeemable monster."

"Batman is a rich guy who beats up poor people."

"Superman is a boring, overpowered Gary Stu."

"Katara is a bitch."

"Skyler White is a bitch."

"Christine should have ended up with the Phantom at the end of The Phantom of the Opera."

"Snake, not Raiden, should have been the protagonist of Metal Gear Solid 2."

"Gohan was wasted potential."

"Krillin is a loser."

"Tidus from Final Fantasy X is a wuss, and Auron should have been the main character."

"Catra should have died as punishment for her transgressions."

Feel free to add any other bad media illiteracy takes in the replies/reblogs.