Connect with us

Entertainment

J.J. Abrams’ Comments About The Last Jedi Stir Controversy

Published

3 years ago

on

  • In a recent New York Times piece, J.J. Abrams, who directed 2015’s The Force Awakens and the upcoming episode The Rise of Skywalker, made critical comments about Rian Johnson’s Star Wars film The Last Jedi.
  • Actors from the film also gave remarks to the Times implying that they favored Abrams’ direction over Johnson’s.
  • This stirred a massive controversy online between a fandom already heavily divided on the latest trilogy, with some thinking that Abrams should not speak negatively about the film or Johnson.
  • Others thought fans should not attack Abrams for being critical.

Controversial Comments Made in New York Times Article

Stars Wars fans sensed a disturbance in the force after director J.J. Abrams criticized the franchise’s eighth episode, The Last Jedi.

The Last Jedi, which came after Abrams’ The Force Awakens and precedes his upcoming The Rise of Skywalker, divided many fans. While The Force Awakens, which was largely well-received, was criticized for staying too close to Star Wars tradition, The Last Jedi was criticized for the opposite reason. Written and directed by Rian Johnson, the movie broke a lot of elements of the Star Wars mold. Because of this, some fans hail it as one of– if not the best– film in the franchise. Others felt about The Last Jedi the way Anakin Skywalker felt about sand in Episode II and were not pleased.

This stark disagreement is made apparent on Rotten Tomatoes, where critics give the film a 91% and the audience gives it a far less favorable 43%. This is the lowest audience score for a Star Wars film, including the prequels and Solo: A Star Wars Story. Some have accused fans of review bombing the film to tank the score.

While speaking with The New York Times in a Wednesday article, Abrams addressed the divide and criticism the film received. As writer Dave Itzcoff points out, Johnson’s film had an unconventional approach to the universe. 

“Each time [The Last Jedi] addressed one of several cliffhangers left dangling from ‘The Force Awakens’ — what would happen when Rey returned Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber to him? who were her parents? who was the nefarious Supreme Leader Snoke? — Johnson’s movie seemed to say: the answers to these questions aren’t as important as you think,” he wrote. 

While Abrams did say he liked that The Last Jedi was “full of surprises and subversion and all sorts of bold choices,” he also noted his issues with the movie. 

“On the other hand, it’s a bit of a meta approach to the story,” he said. “I don’t think that people go to ‘Star Wars’ to be told, ‘This doesn’t matter.’”

Abrams was not the only one from the franchise to make these kinds of remarks to the Times. Daisy Ridley, who plays the trilogy’s heroine, Rey, said she cried when she learned that Abrams would be returning to finish up the saga. 

John Boyega, who plays ex-stormtrooper Finn, also said that he was looking forward to seeing where Abrams’ storyline was going. In another profile, he said that he found The Last Jedi to be “iffy” and that he disagreed with some of the choices made in it.

Fans React Online

Because Star Wars fans are already split on almost every aspect of the franchise, perhaps with the exception of Baby Yoda’s cuteness, these remarks started a massive conversation online. Many of the thoughts shared stemmed back to peoples’ feelings on The Last Jedi, and the direction this trilogy is moving in as a whole. 

Some thought it was disrespectful for the cast to malign Johnson and his film in the press.

While others took to complement Johnson’s work, noting that Abrams is the one who handed him the saga in the first place.

Others found an element of hypocrisy in The Last Jedi fans so eagerly criticizing Abrams when they stood on the defense of Johnson for so long. 

Some thought it reflected the general problems in regards to the newest trilogy.

Vanity Fair writer Joanna Robinson, who has experience covering global pop culture phenomenons herself, said that that the press has to walk a very thin line when covering things like Star Wars. In this case, that line ended up steering in a wild direction. 

Yahoo Entertainment writer Kevin Polowy worked to settle some tensions by sharing positive comments Abrams has made to him about Johnson and The Last Jedi. 

“I don’t think [Rise of Skywalker] would’ve been nearly what it is without the choices that Rian made, so I’m nothing but grateful,” he said. 

Boyega’s Comments About Social Media

This was not the only Star Wars-related controversy fans were discussing. Variety published an interview with Boyega on Wednesday that caused backlash as well. In the interview, Boyega, a frequent user of sites like Twitter and Instagram, discussed his relationship with social media. The reporter notes that his co-star, Kelly Marie Train, who plays Rose Tico, quit social media after being repeatedly harassed online. He was asked how he handles the positive and negative sides of the Internet. 

“Being in this position, you just understand the masses, how the masses think, you know. Through social media, we get to engage, we get to have fun,” he said in response. “But at the same time, for those who are not mentally strong, you are weak to believe in every single thing that you read. That’s, you know, it is what it is.“

Many fans saw this as a dig to Tran, thinking he was specifically calling her weak.

Boyega went to Twitter to clear his comments up, saying they had nothing to do with Tran and were “badly worded.”

He also referenced his previous comments about online harassment that he made back when Tran left social media. “Harassing the actors/ actresses will do nothing,” he said at the time.

See what others are saying: (NBC News) (The Nerdist) (Esquire)

Related Topics:

Entertainment

Twitch Faces Backlash After Booking Megan Thee Stallion At TwitchCon Amid Creator Pay Cuts

Published

3 days ago

on

September 29, 2022

By

The cut in revenue share has ignited severe backlash on Twitch, where users argue pay for creators should be increased, not slashed. 

Revenue Share Shake Up

Twitch users are criticizing the company for hiring artist Megan Thee Stallion to perform at TwitchCon just one week after announcing cutbacks to top creator pay.

Last week, the video and streaming platform said that starting in June of next year, some creators will receive less revenue from their subscriptions. While the standard split for subscription revenue is 50/50, some major streamers previously received a more favorable 70/30 share in premium agreement terms. 

Many creators have long argued that everyone should get that 70/30 share, but Twitch took a step in the opposite direction. In the future, streamers with premium terms will only get the 70/30 slice for their first $100,000 from subscription revenue. After that, they will get bumped down to the regular 50/50 cut. 

The company argued the move was necessary as the premium terms previously lacked transparency and consistency, insisting it tried to modify the policy in a way that impacted the least amount of creators. According to Twitch’s statement, 90% of streamers on standard agreements will not even be impacted by the change.

Still, this move outraged Twitch users who were furious the company was not investing more in the creators that bring so many viewers to its platform. Those frustrations were exacerbated on Wednesday when the company announced Megan Thee Stallion would make an appearance at TwitchCon, a weekend-long event set to take place in San Diego in early October. 

Backlash Continues to Mount

While no details of Megan Thee Stallion’s agreement to perform have been disclosed, one can assume she charges a pretty penny to book at an event of this nature. Critics argued that if Twitch is willing to spend money on her, it should be willing to spend it on its own streamers. 

“So Twitch can’t afford to pay their creators 70/30, can’t fix their media player that crashes after each ad, can’t enforce their policies so people aren’t doing inappropriate things on stream, but they can afford paying celebrities to promote their streaming site?” one person wrote. 

“It’s weird that a company that just announced a bunch of budget cuts due to infrastructure costs goes out and grabs an A-list musician instead of promoting their own musicians that run on their platform,” another person claimed.

“Instead of giving your creators a cut they deserve when they do so much work, this is what you do…?” one user asked. “Maybe give your creators a better deal instead of wasting their hard earned money on things we don’t even want.”

Twitch has not responded to the outrage, but Megan Thee Stallion was not the only music act the Amazon-owned service booked for the event. Kim Petras and Meet Me at the Altar will also take the stage at TwitchCon. 

The backlash comes as concerns have been mounting against Twitch for a plethora of reasons including creator pay, gambling streams, and more. 

In recent months, some of the platform’s biggest names have left Twitch in favor of rival services like YouTube Gaming. 

See what others are saying: (Dexerto) (The Verge) (Metro)

Continue Reading

Entertainment

“Dahmer” Series Breaks Netflix Records Amid Backlash For Exploiting Victims’ Stories

Published

4 days ago

on

September 28, 2022

By

Family members of some of the murderer’s victims say the program is “retraumatizing.”

“Dahmer” Lands Successful Week on Netflix

While criticisms mount against “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” the true crime series broke Netflix’s record as the most-watched first week for a series debut.

According to data provided by the streaming giant, the Evan Peters-led show was watched for over 196 million hours between its release on Sept. 21 and Sept. 25.

“Dahmer” is the newest of several pieces of fiction and media based on the famous serial killer. Created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, the series quickly generated a lot of attention online, primarily from those concerned the show is exploiting a gruesome true story. 

Critics have echoed those fears, giving the show a mixed 50% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The “Critic’s Consensus” blurb on the site states that while the show is “seemingly self-aware of the peril in glorifying Jeffrey Dahmer” the story still “tilts this horror story into the realm of queasy exploitation.”

Victims’ Families Speak Out

The family of Errol Lindsey, one of Dahmer’s victims, has also spoken out against the series. In a viral tweet, Lindsey’s cousin Eric Perry said his family is “pissed about the show.”

“It’s retraumatizing over and over again, and for what?” he wrote. “How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?”

In much of the promotion for the series, Netflix claimed it would be told from the perspective of the victims. Perry slammed that narrative, noting that his family was never even contacted by the streamer about the project.

“So when they say they’re doing this ‘with respect to the victims’ or ‘honoring the dignity of the families’, no one contacts them,” he wrote. “My cousins wake up every few months at this point with a bunch of calls and messages and they know there’s another Dahmer show. It’s cruel.”

Lindsey’s sister, Rita Isbell, echoed that claim in an essay she wrote for Insider, noting that Netflix did not notify her of the show, or ask her any questions about her brother. 

She said that watching the show “felt like reliving it all over again.”

“It brought back all the emotions I was feeling back then,” she wrote. 

“It’s sad that they’re just making money off of this tragedy. That’s just greed,” she continued. 

Obsession With Dahmer

Controversy has also grown from some of the responses to the series, as many viewers have posted fan edits of the show that romanticize Dahmer. Some pair clips of Peters’ Dahmer with his victims to love songs or pop ballads, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of those who do not understand why someone would make content glorifying the killer. 

Others have responded to the show by calling Dahmer “hot” or posting thirst tweets about his mug shot. This has resulted in a backlash of its own. 

“Jeffrey Dahmer molested and murdered people, mostly black men and boys,” one person wrote. “So to see people making edits and thirst traps of him is a little off putting.”

“if I see anyone tweeting thirst tweets about Jeffrey Dahmer I’m immediately unfollowing,” another person said. “That’s so fuckin nasty.”

Concerns that this kind of media results in more people admiring Dahmer are also mounting in Milwaukee, where many of his crimes took place. According to TMZ, the city is considering creating something to honor the victims, but officials fear a physical memorial would turn into a “mecca” for Dahmer’s fans. 

See what others are saying: (Insider) (IndieWire) (Vox)

Continue Reading

Entertainment

YouTube Removes Age Restriction From Nicki Minaj Video After Singer Calls Company a “Bogus Platform”

Published

5 days ago

on

September 27, 2022

By

Even though her video can now be viewed by all YouTuber users, Minaj made it clear she was upset that the age-gate tanked its view count in the first 24 hours.

Nicki Minaj Vs. YouTube

Nicki Minaj called out YouTube on Monday after the platform age-restricted her new music video for “Likkle Miss Remix” featuring Skeng. 

By age-restricting a video, YouTube blocks users who are under 18 or not logged into a Google account from viewing the content. 

Minaj’s video features close-up shots of people in skimpy outfits twerking, but several videos on YouTube with similar imagery have not been gated. Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” video is available for everyone, as is Minaj’s own “Anaconda” video. 

In a since-deleted Instagram post, Minaj accused YouTube of being inconsistent and playing favorites. 

“They restricted my fucking video but have things a million fucking times worse on their BOGUS FKNG PLATFORM,” she wrote in a post that included a screenshot of YouTube’s age-restriction notice. “This is what they do to keep you from winning while doing ads for another ppl and posting fake fkng stats. Because the same ppl who run YouTube are in bed with a certain record label and mngmnt company.”

Minaj further alleged that YouTube’s actions were done to prevent her from getting a significant number of views in the video’s first 24 hours, which is often the most crucial timeframe for a video’s success. She continued to assert that the Google-owned company has a bias toward certain music labels.

YouTube Walks Back Restriction

“How long have yall been playing the numbers game to lie & pretend ppl r doing ‘good’ when they r not?!?!!” Minaj continued in another post. “How much ad space did these duds purchase to be promoted on my channel in the last 5 years?!??!!!!”

Later on Monday, YouTube removed the restriction from Minaj’s video, per Variety. The company said the content in it did not violate its rules and guidelines. 

While Minaj ended up deleting her Instagram posts calling YouTube out, she made it clear she was still frustrated by the debacle. 

“FUCK THEM DUDS,” she tweeted. “THEY CANT GIVE US BACK OUR FIRST 24 HOURS CAN THEY?!?!!!”

As of Monday afternoon, her video had been viewed over one million times.

See what others are saying: (Variety) (The Independent) (Billboard)

Continue Reading