How the TV networks see backlash.
Lets start this off with Javi Grillo-Marxuachâs career (and because Iâm a fan of his work, even if he did pen Lexaâs demise under JRothâs orders). He wrote for: SeaQuest 2032 -> The Pretender -> Charmed -> The Chronicle -> Jake 2.0 -> Lost -> Medium -> The Middleman -> Charlieâs Angel -> Helix (God I miss this show) -> (tada!) Tl00.
That is just one writer. Except for Jason (this is his first show runner gig), TlOO isnât the cast/crew/writerâs first production, and with each fandom there are always a group of people voicing their dislike with a show. Go look at other fandoms and you will see it. Go look at OUR fandom and you will see it. Remember when Clexa was cannon and all the Be//arkes wanted to boycott the show? Some went to the extent of wanting the show cancelled and voiced their opinion to cast and crew? Yeah, that totally happened. And the majority of us in the business will go crazy if we focused on all the hate. You just CANâT. There is too much of it ALL THE TIME. Iâm not kidding you. ALL. THE. TIME. All the shows Iâve worked on have received hate. We are used to it (kind of).
When you hear âleakedâ information that the industry is saying âThis will pass, we just have to ride it outâ. Theyâre telling the truth. History has shown that given enough time, any controversy will dwindle. This is how they see us. Just a small bump in the road and we will pass eventually. I probably would have felt the same if I wasnât already aware of the trope, and Iâve definitely felt this way regarding the backlash of shows Iâve worked on. People will eventually get tired of fighting, or they keep fighting yet continue to WATCH the show, which doesnât help with the cause, AND BECAUSE THEY KEEP WATCHING THE SHOW, THEY SEE NO IMPROVEMENTS and give up.
The industry is watching to see if youâre STILL WATCHING. This is important to them. It means when this all dies off, the numbers are still solid for their marketing team to sell the show.
Donât get me wrong, theyâre taking note of all this, and there are those in the industry (myself included) that are more determined than ever to make sure this trope doesnât repeat itself. But the goal for the business is the continuity of the business, and that means making sure the advertisers (they arenât sponsors) are aware that this movement will die off eventually.
PS. The marketing team and PR are not a**holes. Theyâre doing their job. Even if you agree with the movement you still have to do your job.
So what does this mean for the lgbt deserves better?
Once backlash is in full swing, industry people tend to stay away until it dies down. Because of this, trying to communicate with anyone in general becomes moot. So the best way to reach the creators and the network is with numbers. That means ratings, viewerships and advertisers. This is the loudest and greatest tool we have against them.
AND THE SIMPLEST AND MOST IMPORTANT THING WE CAN DO: We need to stop watching the show. Live, on the web, and any illegal sites (because theyâre watching it all). This such a simple act, but it will send A CLEAR MESSAGE. It really is THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL WE CAN USE. This alone will have the networks (plural, not just one) paying attention even more.
STOP WATCHING THE SHOW. PERIOD.
If there is one thing you want to do for the movement and nothing else, that is it.
WE HAVE TO CONTINUE BEING LOUD AND WORK ON BUILDING THIS MOVEMENTâS SIZE AND MOMENTUM. We need to hold out as long as possible and as loud as possible.
DO NOT FEED THE FIRE. If actors (looking at you Iwashington), tweets an ignorant comment. LET HIM. Do not respond. Do take a screenshot as a receipt. The best tweets Iâve seen are when we let the ignorance speak for themselves.
We understand this movement is bigger than the regular gripes people have about shows. This is a very damaging trope, and the longer we can keep the noise, the more the industry will notice. AND THEY ARE WATCHING. Both The lOO and Orphan Black teams have publicly stated at how âsurprisedâ they were with the backlash. They knew there was going to be one, but the âintensityâ was something they werenât expecting. Thatâs because they were unaware of the frequency of the trope. EVEN I WAS SURPRISED at how many lesbian deaths there was THIS MONTH. The awareness is spreading, and there is nothing but good that will happen from that, so what every single one of you is doing is MAKING A DIFFERENCE. You really truly are⌠so lets continue doing so!
Consistency. Thatâs what I suggest we focus on. We need to be reaching over 200k per trend!
This means letting go of our differences and banding together. This means reminding everyone in our crew why this movement is so important to us. It means letting go of the insignificant battles of putting people down for still watching the show, putting people down for having a different ship, putting people down⌠period. Lets build each other up. Lets recognize that there is A REAL LIFE PERSON behind every twitter handle, and they are hurting like you. Lets realize that we all essentially want the same thing, and fighting over who is right will not help. Lets find the middle ground.
If we donât figure out a way to work together than this movement will definitely dwindle, and a lot sooner than it should. And they win.
In my opinion, no longer watching the show and uniting everyone should be top priority. Trends should still be happening weekly, but we should gather the forces (and other fandoms) to hit the biggest trend numbers during T100 season finale! This isnât a confirmation, but Iâve read that TlOO team is promising advertisers the controversy will die off by season finale. What if itâs the biggest trend itâs ever been (Can I make a prediction of 500,000 tweets?) and with the lowest viewership of the series ever? Yes, the episode where they bring Lexa back will have THE LOWEST VIEWERSHIP EVER. I know if I was the CW, that would be a clear indication that the industry REALLY has to do something about not perpetuation the dead lesbian trope. Also, that they fucked up big time.
The thought of this tickles me.
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