I uh have a lot of thoughts on the way cultivated identity thru media consumption has been pretty bad for us, but I don’t have the words to properly express it

I think we see so much ugliness in fandom spaces these days because of the way we tie the media we console into our personal identities.
Star Wars, MHA, Zelda, GoT. WHATEVER. They’re no longer things we just consume and enjoy. They’re US. And that’s... not healthy.

People viewing media different than us is no longer a different opinion. It must mean their views on US are warped and different too!
When we base our identity on media, someone disparaging media we like suddenly becomes a personal attack.

It get especially icky when it comes to social justice critique of media. And before I continue, let me emphasize, I am 100% here for critiquing media from a social lens.
I think that’s important and this post isn’t for any “anti sjw” nonsense.

But I do think the coupling of social critique of media and tying ode story with media has had some nasty side effects, because it allows us - forces us - to draw a through line from problematic media to a person’s moral character.

Suddenly, you’re not just a person who enjoys a piece of media. You’re a BAD person or GOOD person depending on the media you enjoy. And how could this not be the conclusion drawn?

If media is a direct representation of your identity, AND media can be problematic or beneficial in terms of representation, ergo, your personal morality must be tied to the media you make and/or consume.

I don’t think I need t explain why that’s... super unhealthy for us.

I feel I should also point out that corporations LOVE this shit.
A person tying their core identity to a product is fucking good to them, cause it guarantees brand loyalty. The more protective you are, the more you fight for your brand, your media, your ‘side’+

the tigger a grip corporations have on you.

They love pitting fans against each other cause it just guarantees a more loyal, more zealous fan base.

I can’t and woke take credit for a lot of this theorizing.

Peter Coffin on YouTube makes a lot of videos on this subject and I believe even coined the term “cultivated identity”

I don’t agree with 100% of his takes but he makes a lot of good pours when it comes

to media/product consumption in relation to personal identity and corporate manipulation