That’s one way to get attention when your show is in a distant third place.
You have to give it to Star Wars, Lucasfilm and Disney. They have come up with a novel concept of branding their own fans in the absolute worst terms. How that can possibly be successful may not even matter anymore. As we detailed yesterday, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s online search data shows that interest in the show has already flat-lined. That’s not an exaggeration. So whatever we’re chatting about this morning, just remember it’s in regards to a property that is far, far behind Stranger Things and Top Gun Maverick in terms of success. It may feel strange to consider Star Wars in that way, but that’s the situation they find themselves in.
So what did they do that is utterly unfair to the fans they have left?
There are more than 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy, don’t choose to be a racist.
— Star Wars (@starwars) May 31, 2022
Others may want to engage and respond to this stuff; I do not. All I have to say is, “guess who isn’t doing this?”
Stranger Things isn’t doing this.
Top Gun Maverick isn’t doing this.
Do you know who watches Stranger Things and Top Gun Maverick? The same people who watch Obi-Wan Kenobi except there are far more people watching the non-Star Wars content. And those same people who are watching all three of these things are only getting slimed by one of them.
Dear, Star Wars: If you want to go with this strategy, have at it. But I’m not getting up in arms or delivering a logical / rhetorical blow to you when you can’t even muster half of the audience of Stranger Things anymore. And that show is a masterpiece so far (I’m three episodes in now) whereas Obi-Wan Kenobi is… okay? So if you want to irritate me or cause me to have passion surrounding whatever social issue you’re bludgeoning your fans with next, you’re going to have to deliver ratings first.
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I’m absolutely disgusted by their behavior… I’m beyond done with Disney Star Wars. I’m over it. Star Wars is dead. It died in 2012 and I’ve come to terms with that, now. There’s plenty of good memories and stories that I can continue to enjoy from 1977-2011. Rest in peace, old friend.
Before their attack, I did try to watch Obi-Wan episode 1 on Saturday. I fell asleep. I haven’t gone back to finish it. I did pick up Stranger Things Season 4, though… and I’ve already watched 3 captivating episodes (like you), and I’m working on a 4th. That team has delivered on almost every episode for four seasons. THAT is how you tell a great story. There have been a couple of annoying things, that I’ve grown to accept, because the story is just THAT great.
Can’t wait to watch the rest of the episodes.
Let’s take a property that was wildly successful largely because it was the perfect vehicle for escapism and infuse it with the most vile and exhausting crap from the real world and then denigrate people for not liking it.
Good work, Disney.
Even Star Trek is managing to foster an enormous amount of good will for Strange New Worlds without gaslighting their fan base.
So much for those rumors that Kennedy and her idealogues were on the way out. Seems like Re-Imagine Tomorrow crowd is fully in charge still. Disney is lost at this point. There’s hope for Warner Bros, Netflix and Paramount however.
I unfortunately find it disingenuous that you did not mention this was in response to Moses Ingram’s Instagram. She posted a story about the racist comments she’s been receiving. Therefore, I see nothing wrong with what Star Wars Twitter posted. If you’re not racist, it’s not a big deal, and there is no reason to be insulted or defensive about the Star Wars Twitter tweets. They are not trying to shut down genuine criticism; they’re asking people not to harass the actress (that is the only factor that they are trying to shut down).
There is nuance with this…to me, the business discussion is too early because Nielsen results are a month away (Google Trends is part of having all the information, and you may be correct about the ratings results), yet if you are going to present the Star Wars Twitter tweets, you need to mention the entirety of the situation.
I’m not racist and yet I find it insulting…as well as disingenuous, childish, opportunistic, and inflammatory. It isn’t much different in my view than the your garden variety swatztika-in-the-bathroom race hoax.
Btw, some fairly astute people predicted weeks ago that this would happen. The industry, as it were, sort of figured out recently that you really can’t go wrong when you cast a woman or a minority in a major role. Because if the product turns out to be good, yay diversity, and if the product sucks, boo bigotry. It’s a legitimate strategy now.
Of course, if you bother looking into it, the purported bigotry is always a dozen or so accounts with little to no followers. “How actress X deals with racism and online hate” is one of the most prolific species of entertainment writing there is these days, and it’s all thanks to pretending a few 4-chan basement dwellers represent some kind of overwhelming public force (I wouldn’t be surprised if the PR teams are behind a lot of these racist accounts). It’s all BS and everyone knows it, but clicks are clicks and you do what you’ve got to do to keep that title “trending.”
This was telegraphed before release when they warned her about it going to be happening. It is and was a marketing ploy. The thing is it probably hurts the franchise more than helps it. If it exists at all the way you beat it is to ignore it and win the game. Eventually they love you. Just ask Jackie Robinson.
So Star Wars is resisting racism? Yet they persist.
They are so funny. There’s a trade war going on. That’s the whole reason for Star Wars. Anakin was once a slave. Let’s have a jolly old time.
I’m not buying that interest is really that low for Kenobi due to Google Trends comparisons. And if you’re going to bring in social media marketing drama, I agree with another commenter here: include the Instagram post and the comments therein. Even if it’s only a few allegedly racist comments, and even if it’s a pattern we’ve seen before–one that looks fake or staged–don’t leave it out. Don’t play into their hands by looking and acting racist. Instead of treating Moses Ingram as an enemy or a tool, treat her like the fandom treated Kelly Marie Tran: she was a victim of a poor movie. They stuck up for her and criticized how Rian Johnson put her in a potato sack and gave her a bad character to play. Use those standards to judge Moses Ingram and Obi-Wan.
The difference between now and then is that Obi-Wan is actually really good, and Reva so far isn’t a bad character. The show feels like a cinematic sequel to the Prequels, and although Reva sticks out among the Inquisitors, it may not be for a shallow or nefarious reason. People aren’t giving this show a fair chance because they’re being manipulated by the culture war. So far, all the actors and crew working on it are becoming casualties. It’s time to stop step back a moment.
“Yes, Anakin, but use your senses: something is out of place!”
Maybe the people at Lucasfilm shouldn’t be fanning the flames of the culture war if they want the fans to be on their side.
If Disney had faith in the product, Disney wouldn’t highlight the trolls. No actress wants to be seen as attacked as this harms the actress’s career. It may boost ratings, but the future potential moves towards Amber Heard.
Disney keeps pushing bad stories. The writing is childish. The concepts are retreads. The entertainment is missing.
Obi-wan is another show missing a story worth watching. The fans won’t rewatch the show either.
The point of these shows is to rewatch. Loki, Wanda, and the Mandalorian have rewatch ability. The rest of Disney+ is just political lecture disguised at entertainment.