Reluctantly Accepting The Media Moment We're In
I absolutely hate that the nigh-monopolistic deal that gave a smug nepo baby using his daddy's money, his daddy's friends money, the money of a foreign government that hates the United States and sees those in power as useful idiots, and help and permission from the leaders of the federal government that hates most of the people who live in this country to do this got through in the first place, literally stalking his way to get what he wants.
I'm sick of being right about what would ultimately happen with that impossible Hail Mary play. Again, I'm a realist. People call it defeatism or pessimism. I call it being a nearly 50-year-old Black man in America who has seen evil men rise to power thanks to the evil men in power who put them there in the first place. And I know none of them give a damn about me and anyone who looks like me.
This is your first time witnessing these acts because it affects something you love, and it shows.
Seriously, you thought the state governments were going to save you? You legitimately thought they weren't going to succumb to greed and the whims of rich folks and crumble to their demands?
That's adorable.
I'm sick of the fanboys who wanted this deal to happen because they think it's 2005 and going to get a whole bunch of media crossovers. They think they're going to get a Cartoon Network/Nickelodeon mega-event despite the fact that WB couldn't even pull off Multiversus across multiple platforms. They think they might see Star Trek and Babylon 5 crossing over into the same universe even though Star Trek had a Big Bang Theory had a crossover that extended into toyline without either company being owned by one umbrella corporation. Similarly, they think they'll see Batman meeting the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, even though they did that three times, including in animation. Without a fricking merger to make it happen.
Don't expect crossovers. You're not a fricking child. I mean, damn the thousands of jobs lost and going to be lost in the foreseeable future, these kids want their favorite toys from other toyboxes to just play happily together.
Children.
I'm equally sick of the naivete from people who think that this deal is going to "eventually" break apart in six months, five years, or when the Ellisons die, get bored with pretending to be media overlords and appeasing a wannabe despot, or go broke, whichever comes first. Hell, there are still people who think that Netflix is going to swoop in like a vulture and snack on the scrap if it dies, which is a gross image to picture in your head and wishful (and wistful) thinking.
Netflix is literally gone from the conversation now. They moved on and spending the billions they got from stepping away from the deal the first time.
Also, let's be real. Netflix kind of sucks too.
I'm sick of the doomer mentality that has taken a stranglehold with fans who just decided to give up on the things they loved because they don't like the new owners. Seriously, this one guy pretty much made some proud proclamation that he's giving up on everything he loves because of this deal. "Guys, as much as it hurts to say this, from this day foward [sic]. I am no longer a Paramount, Warner Bros, DC, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network fan. So I'm moving on with supporting only Disney, Sony, NBCUniversal, indie animation and all other studios and IP."
You know, for some dude who said that I "gave up" when I said the long-shot lawsuit was a long shot, he sure gave up the things he loved to prove a point rather easily.
Also, he's going to support only Disney, Sony, NBC Universal, and others?
I'm all about supporting indie creators. In this seemingly decreasing media climate, we ALL should support indie creators more than the five media companies that now exist.
That dude said he's supporting Disney.
You mean the same Disney that killed Blue Sky Animation and completely made 20th Century Fox an in-name-only studio, bought Hulu and Fubo creating a bigger streaming empire, has openly erased LGBT voices, historically discriminated against Black people, famously anti-labor, firing thousands of creatives and pushing generative A.i. over artists, supported anti-trans and anti-DEI legislation, canceled several Asian-and-Black-leading projects, not to mention fostering a hostile work environment for Black, women, and LGBT creators? THAT Disney?
Okay.
He's also supporting Sony, a company that has monopolized the anime industry, eliminating physical media from the consumer market, removing and not refunding digital purchases, and famously sold off KPop Demon Hunters because they, an Asian-owned company, felt that the American audience would not accept a film that has female Asian heroines as the lead characters? THAT Sony?
Okay.
He's also supporting NBC Universal, a company that continues to market and make money using a property (ironically now owned outright by Skydance) created by a notorious transphobe who has used her money to negatively impact trans people through harmful and destructive polities, purposefully sabotaged the marketing of an animated film with a pair of Filipina lead characters, and had no hesitation canceling every series on NBC that starred Black, Brown, and Asian people in leading roles the last three seasons? THAT NBC Universal?
Okay.
Oh, and Amazon is Amazon. Their records of labor abuse, monopolization of the media, and capitulation to the current administration (they even produced and distributed a fawning "documentary" about the First Lady) is open knowledge, but if you're supporting that but not the stuff you liked that is owned by Skydance, that's says a lot about you and what you're willing to accept.
Look, I get not supporting these spoiled fascists and their smug faces that you just want to smack with a wet mackerel. I get dropping brands because you don't want to give these bastards your money anymore.
But don't act like the Ellisons are the lone evil imperialists out there. EVERY media company has been complicit to the whims of the current media and political climate.
Yes, even your favorite one.
And as I said in another article, let's not pretend Warner Bros Discovery was an oasis of tolerance, goodwill, and acceptance.
There's that word again, acceptance.
Now, I've come full circle back to accepting what's happening
This is a moment, my friends. What happens next is on them, not us. I'm not optimistic about what's to come, but I hope for the best for everybody still there. I wish them all the success and that the hearts that still beats within both Paramount and Warner Bros don't darken and get corrupted by the new ownership. I'm not abandoning the shows, movies, franchises, and characters I love because of the fifth ownership change of my favorite studio in my lifetime.
Everything changes, nothing lasts.
Today, I mourn what was once a great entertainment company that is now just another piece of a monopoly.
Greed wins. Evil wins. Life continues.
And we all move on forever.
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