digital culture
Twitter vs. Tumblr: subculture wars
Modern fan culture has been around since Victorian audiences clamoured for the resurrection of Sherlock Holmes, but the
lives, vastly intensified and publicised the relationship between fan and creator. We middle-aged millennials grew up right on the digital frontier: early adopters of social media and smartphones; emoji pioneers and meme historians. We remember life just before and just after they became more public than they ever have in human history. It’s on this backdrop that sites like Tumblr flourished in the 00s and remained one of the few surviving subculture incubators… until the wild west of Twitter took off.
internet, like so many facets of our
The former blogging platform became synonymous with the most rabid elements of fandom: shipping, shitposting, and sometimes ill-measured discourse. As such, it was perceived as a healthily horny sanctuary for content creators to explore their fictional fantasies within a like-minded community. This was especially important for queer fans, who insert their own representation – sexual or otherwise – into the mainstream media they’re still often absent from. Then, the Yahoo acquisition came along circa 2013 and prudishly purged all that with new posting standards. With nowhere else to go, disgruntled users took to the comparatively lawless land of Twitter to post NSFW content – using locked accounts and age ratings to try and safeguard younger viewers.
For some, this is why Elon Musk’s proposed takeover of the site is yet another canary in the coalmine for fan culture. Twitter is far from perfect, but it’s not yet become as toxic as Reddit, as commercial as Instagram or as politically nuclear as Facebook. Musk claims he’ll protect freedom of expression, and is a notorious shitposter himself, so perhaps these fears are unfounded. But should the billionaire’s personal whims change the culture of the platform, fandom may need another lifeboat.
HANNAH COLLINS
STREAMING You may have missed
Coming up
SPY X FAMILY Dir. Kazuhiro Furuhashi
25 x 20 min episodes
Every now and then, an anime is able to break through into the mainstream. We’ve seen it with Attack On Titan, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! and most recently, Ranking Of Kings. Spy X Family (the ‘X’ is silent) has the potential to be that this year. Effortlessly blending farcical, domestic sit-com with fantastical espionage ac- tion, the premise revolves around a slick 007 type going undercover with a fake family: they don’t know he’s really a spy, while he doesn’t know his ‘wife’ is really an assassin and their ‘daughter’ a clueless telepath. Packed with wit and charm, it’s also hugely accessible for most ages.
Streaming now on Crunchyroll.
THE BOYS, S3 Dir. TBA
8 x 55-68 min episodes
Though the comic series is a product of the Bush era, Amazon’s adaptation of The Boys feels like it’s come at just the right time: as superheroes continue to dominate global box offices, audi- ences are primed to take an interest in the flipside of the Marvel sheen, which Eric Kripke’s pitch- black satire does in head-splattering spades. Sea- son 2 introduced immortal sleeper Nazi Storm- front, reunited Billy Butcher with his wife and, in the process, finally had him clash with her son’s toxic father, Homelander. Season 3 adds more morally murky supes, including Supernatural’s Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy *squeals!* and the infamous ‘Herogasm’ moment.
Fri 3 June on Amazon Prime.
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY, S3 Dir. Steve Blackman, Michelle Lovretta, Jesse
10 x 40-60 min episodes
Another successful streamer adaptation of a sub- versive superhero tale, this one originally penned by My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way, The Umbrella Academy is also back for a third sea- son. After failing to prevent the prophesised apocalypse at the end of Season 1, the super- powered Hargreeves siblings were separated and flung back to the 60s in the second to try again. Their troubles get them embroiled in the JFK assassination and a return to an altered present. Expect more pulpy, punchy, sci-fi shenanigans when we return, along with interlopers the Spar- row Academy.
Wed 22 June on Netflix. Also recommended
ABBOTT ELEMENTARY Rave-reviewed school sitcom from across the pond. Wed 1 June,
Disney+.
MS. MARVEL Marvel’s first Muslim teen superhero
swoops onto the small screen. Wed 8 June, Disney+.
STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS Discovery spinoff with Captain Kirk’s fan-fave precursor, Pike. Wed 22 June,
Paramount+ UK. 38
THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH Revival of iconic sci-fi novel and David Bowie-starring film. Wed 22 June,
Paramount + UK.
WESTWORLD, S4 Love, Death + Robots before Love, Death + Robots.
Mon 27 June, Sky Atlantic.
ATLANTA, S3 Rapper/actor/Lando Calrissian Donald Glover’s acclaimed comedy series. Wed 29 June,
Disney+.
McKeown, Robert Askins, Aeryn Michelle Wil- liams, Elizabeth Padden, Lauren Otero
CMD
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