In my book I called it a cinematic universe. People are established as villains and heroes. They become characters in a serialized alternate reality immediately recognizable to fans. There is now deep lore underlying all of the characters & plot points. There are "heroes" exposing "villains". - ThreadSky

noupside.bsky.social • 13 days ago

In my book I called it a cinematic universe.

People are established as villains and heroes. They become characters in a serialized alternate reality immediately recognizable to fans. There is now deep lore underlying all of the characters & plot points. There are "heroes" exposing "villains".

Reposted from Kat Tenbarge

I spent some time reading Elon’s tweets this morning (one of my least favorite activities) and it’s hard to overstate how much he and his allies have constructed an alternate reality for their audience to believe in. In their world, Elon is a superhero fighting government fraud, like fanfiction

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urbanhealthprof.bsky.social•13 days ago

Heroes, villains and victims. Stories based on these are powerful. I think we're seeing the impact of performative victimhood: grievance response.

cellmorphosero.bsky.social•12 days ago

The whole MAGA thing is on the sophistication level of a Marvel movie. A movie where lots of trucks blow up, not one the girly ones about ideas and feelings. That's why it works (attention grabbing, simple narratives) - and why it doesn't work (society is complicated).

cellmorphosero.bsky.social•12 days ago

No shade on MCU or any other fantasy movies. Stories are a critical part of human experience. They are way we explore and explain the world and ourselves. They're fun and full of feelings! In retrospect, MAGA is not nearly as sophisticated as the MCU franchise.

cosmicnexus.bsky.social•13 days ago

Yah, much like the fictional Marvel cinematic universe (MCU), except their fiction is having real world consequences!

atcloopsy.bsky.social•13 days ago

His and his son's clothing at his white house press conference was chilling. He wasn't flouting a dress code. Go back, have a look.
A dark maga hat with German font, long black trench (indoors) boots. Very military. Son, gold chain sash across his chest also under his long coat. It's cosplay 😩

lrosenthal.bsky.social•13 days ago

MIPS. Media induced psychosis syndrome. 1993. The real mind virus. Elon has it bad

homegrownhopes.bsky.social•13 days ago

Look at the way they venerate the villain in Lord of the rings as part of their subculture. They all love Sauron.

thedenature.bsky.social•13 days ago

📌

lizjackson.bsky.social•13 days ago

oh wow! just bought!

juli-aciu.bsky.social•13 days ago

If you are in a position of power and think you’re a hero for inflicting harm for your own definition of a greater good, while also pursuing personal glory, you’re probably a nazgûl.

michaeljameshawk.bsky.social•13 days ago

All very Jungian.

chiffonelle29.bsky.social•13 days ago

It’s horrifying and terrifying

ellenenders.bsky.social•13 days ago

Or could it be a video game? I am around some dedicated gamers

anbock.bsky.social•12 days ago

We're all just NPC's in his first player world.

kevincastror.bsky.social•13 days ago

Wasn't there an article in Trump's first term that claimed he or one of his advisors had told staffers to think of the administration as a TV show where Trump has to be seen vanquishing enemies each day?

matthematics.com•13 days ago

It was easier for the media to see through when it was a mysterious guy named “Q” directly crowdsourcing the plot himself on a sketchy website.

Much harder, I guess, when that guy is the richest man in the world and the website is “all of social media”.

pinksim.bsky.social•13 days ago

This is why we love things like WWII. There are clear good guys and bad guys. Zero moral ambiguity in the popular version of that history

noupside.bsky.social•13 days ago

Here's a shorter essay I wrote ab being turned into a character. This happened through sustained repetition over a period of over a year. The people who do this - like Shellenberger - are rewarded. Their fandoms grow. They earn $. Their fans suggest new "plots".

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/06/cia-renee-censorship-conspiracy-twitter/678688/

cellmorphosero.bsky.social•12 days ago

Goodness, I'm sorry that happened to you. I got involved in a sprawling ARG a few years ago, and the similarities when QAnon became a thing were notable. Same logic, same co-creation, same addictiveness.
Makes me think that people need more enrichment & intellectual stimulation in their enclosures.

cellmorphosero.bsky.social•12 days ago

I can understand the desire to rally behind a Hero or a Champion (or a king). It's seductive; it's the security of being a child with a strong parent. But I'm more of a "pick the least worst option and keep pestering them to stay on track" person in reality. There are no heroes, just people.

cellmorphosero.bsky.social•12 days ago

So I guess what I come back around to is, How do we craft constructive, grown-up, collective action ARG "fantasies" that entice people away from the dark authoritarian ones?
It can't just be, Eat your broccoli, kids. It has to bring joy and fulfilment here on earth, not in the afterlife.

cellmorphosero.bsky.social•12 days ago

The latter perspective is one of a grown-up among grown-ups (who may be more competent than me, but aren't The Answer To All My Problems). Being a grown up kinda sucks. You feel alone, you have to do hard things. How can we make that more enticing than the Big Daddy fantasy fascism promises?

mattycornfed.bsky.social•12 days ago

📌

noupside.bsky.social•13 days ago

Connecting the dots...

https://bsky.app/profile/charta77.bsky.social/post/3liafoofk5c2f

kanlaw.bsky.social•13 days ago

End-stage capitalism leads you to an unmooring of ethics & anything-goes mentality. As-long-as-it’s-legal later turns into as-long-as-nobody-finds-out.
First it’s about marketing & branding, (they’re “content creators”).
No one knows where the line is dividing show from reality, truth from bullshit

oledanielson.bsky.social•13 days ago

A follow-the-money investigation will connect most of the "dots".

kolczyn.ski•13 days ago

It's like the same full-story-and-facts ignoring + thought-stopping cliche effect that lets people believe ChatGPT can't be wrong

majorpaincake.bsky.social•12 days ago

In the construct of a fable, the villain is usually a monster, the hero is a slayer. Fables always follow the same structure and outcome -- the villain is punished.
Except the Grimm Brothers who didn't follow the script and here we are, living it.

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