#Smarter Media.

[pwrn51]

Broken News:Chris Stirewalt’s Guide to Smarter Media

  This week, Dan steps away from current events and sports to explore Broken News, the latest book by Chris Stirewalt, a journalist with NewsNation. In this insightful read, Stirewalt examines how televised news has leaned into outrage and partisan bias as profit-driven strategies. He also offers practical advice for savvy news consumption and proposes ways the industry can reform itself. Dan…

[susandsnell]

”vampires OBJECTIVELY always symbolize -“ man i think it depends

[seventeendeer]

this isn't at all meant to be condescending or finger-waggy because 100% we all have blind spots like this, but I'm really, really hoping that the people who never found Gaiman's approach to his own fandom concerning in any way will take this all as a learning moment.

he was an older, hyper-famous author engaging directly and frequently with an online audience of largely vulnerable young marginalized people. he presented himself as cultured and worldly, and made himself approachable as someone to go to for advice, encouragement and "wisdom." his manner of speech was extremely pathos-heavy and clearly intended to be comforting and encouraging in exactly the way his target demographic needed it to be to swallow every word. the way he spoke about stories and creativity was designed to make young creative hopefuls feel special and important, while sweeping real analytical techniques under the rug - in hindsight, likely so no one would think too critically about the disturbing amount of patriarchal abuse played for cheap shock value and voyerism in his own body of works.

Gaiman saw a target demographic that was desperate for an older creative role model to tell them they were worth something, and he exploited that pain to twist a narrative around himself where he was king and any critique leveled at him or his works were the enemy.

to be clear, he could have been innocent. he could totally have been just an out-of-touch old man saying nice things to people because he wanted to be kind and he thought he was a lot smarter than he really was. red flags are warning signs, not a surefire way to tell if someone is actually "secretly shitty."

but if you used to look up to him, PLEASE take this moment to revisit the ideas you absorbed from him. did you take his words to heart because they seemed to have objective merit? or did you take them to heart because it felt good to believe what he said? do you still hold these values? does knowing he was intentionally manipulating his online audience make you less certain? do you need more information from a different source before deciding one way or another?

again, I'm just really, really hoping people on here will take a moment to reevaluate the ideas and opinions he's injected into tumblr fandom culture, because his reach is immense and he has absolutely been manipulating popular perception of relevant topics to gain further influence and control the narrative around both his own and Pratchett's legacy. please, please take this moment to notice what he's been doing - and next time someone tries to pull the same shit, hopefully we'll be able to apply what we've learned from experience.

[kiwinatorwaffles]

when i vent about how shipping culture and romance in media has led to aspec discrimination and a corrosion of friendship in real life some people respond to it with "well you're aspec and dislike to ship however i'm allo and it's a part of me to like shipping" they literally miss my point. i don't dislike ships. i have a few ships myself. it's completely valid to enjoy these aspects as a personal preference. i dislike shipping CULTURE and the insistence that everything must be romantic/sexual.

amanormativity is the reason why friendships in real life are treated as inherently lesser than a romantic relationship. it's why people get made fun of for being virgins when everyone should just mind their damn business. and it reflects hard in the fandom preference for everything ship-related and pushing aside anything else. also saying it's inherently allo to ship sounds really fucking amanormative to me but what can i say

[starscream-is-my-wife]

In the nature doc AU, I'm imagining there's gotta be at least ONE guy who is the Steve Irwin of that universe (I.E "These giant robots could step on me OR run me over, I'm gonna poke one") at least in the early stages, how would the bots each react to that?

I’ve never watched Steve Irwin before but I have seen a couple of TikTok guys doing something similar!

[srslylini]

can I giggle about the fact that some fans seem to think I don't get what they were trying to do with Caitvi?

Like the more I read the more it's "they just don't get it, they don't get the subtleties, the touches" and what not.

I do. I heard Caitlyns "I know" as clear as all of you did. I know what the writers tried to do with it. I saw Caitlyn touch the spot she hit Vi at as much as all of you did. I saw the exact same thing as all of the rest.

and that's why it sucked. Not because it wasn't there but because it was there. It was there in the weirdest and dumbest ways possible. The writers thought themselves clever when they weren't. Some fans find themselves clever for eating that up.

Just because it's there doesn't mean it's good.

[how2forgive]

its so funny when ppl announce a "social media break" just do it. tell people privately if its really a concern. but most ppl who take breaks i dont notice at all. until theyre back and theyre like omggg im back already that didnt last very long🤣🤣 like im sorry but everything is so overstimulating n content saturated nobodys gonna notice if yr gone for a week.. just be silent about your silence ..im so against social media can u tell 😭 its such a fake sense of connection. talk to ppl directly.. have conversationsssss. tumblr doesnt count as always if u are on here u are a genius and loved by me. 🙏❤️

[lezbianz]

simultaneously really funny and really upsetting when someone makes a bold claim about how others lack “critical thinking,” “media literacy,” or whatever the hot new self-congratulatory term of the month is while demonstrating that they, too, lack these skills

[ladybugsimblr]

Squaaaaaaaad!! My fave twins Lyric & Legend are preteens. Let the shenanigans (and random photoshoots because I'm already obsessed) begin. Happy Birthday!! 🎉

[nekrosmos]

I think it's really cool that you share your art even when you're not quite feeling it or leave stuff up when you regret posting. It's a nice reminder that not everything has to be perfect and people will still enjoy stuff when the artist has doubts. idk I find it encouraging in a way But also sending vibes that your next piece won't be one of those and you'll get to be happy with it

That is a very sweet thing to say, thank you! Like I don't know, your ask made me think about the reasons why I do post the drawings I'm not super happy about etc. I think it comes down to a few things:

1: I'm stubborn and if I've spent time on a drawing, I want to publish it so that I feel like I didn't waste my time drawing it.

2: I always think about my favorite artists and how sometimes they post things they're unsure of, and how those pieces end up being some of my favorite. Just because I'm not personally happy with it doesn't mean other people won't love it. Like you said, not everything has to be perfect !

3: This part is the part I'm working on the most, but sometimes I just feel like I need to keep posting constantly, even if I'm not super happy with what I'm making. As much as I would like to say that I draw for myself only and for no other reasons, truth be told, sometimes I like getting feedback on my art, I love seeing big numbers next to my art, and I attach my worth to my art a lot (in a "if I keep making art, people will like me, right?" kind of way), which isn't a good thing to do. I'm getting better at not caring about the numbers though, even if it's tough. Balancing creativity and social medias isn't always easy.

Sorry for the ramblings, I just think it's good for us creative minds to be honest with ourselves and everyone else sometimes ! Especially since most of us struggle with this kind of thoughts, and social medias can be extremely alienating in the way that we only see the best version of everyone. It makes it easy to forget that we all face the same struggles.

Either way, I appreciate your good vibes and I'm happy to say that my next piece is going very well! Thank you for being lovely ❤️🫶

[ambrosykim]

i find it an interesting detail that this is where the thumbnail comes from, specifically the frame where he says "demonized" (from the titular song)

now i've only watched npmd once so idk if there's any like. subtext as to if max was a typical bully in how if he bullied others due to his own background or insecurities or if he was just genuinely just a terrible person, but it seems interesting that starkid chose this specific frame to go on the thumbnail (i get it he does look frightening and cool at once and it conveys the vibe of the musical)

i mean it's obvious that he's a completely deranged person (i think especially after coming back from the dead) but yeah, what i thought was interesting, was that by starkid choosing this specific frame, they're also immediately demonizing him to anyone that stumbles upon the musical, even before starting it so!!!

[incorrect-slaytheprincess]

being in the slay the princess fandom has taught me why people feel the need to gatekeep pieces of media previously considered to be "niche." not that it's good, but i understand now. i can handle people mischaracterizing all these other characters but if anyone out here did so to any of the slay the princess characters, i might just have to pace around my room and scream for a solid hour or two.

[thematicparallel]

ok i think that the main reason i can't leave this website is because i don't have as diverse a source for media elsewhere. every single media i've seen on ig on youtube etc. are recycled plots & tropes & there seem to be less people who actually enjoy what they're watching or reading & are instead more invested in displaying what kind of person they are based on their tastes anyway we know this we're too smart not to know this i'm just saying it's great to still see uncommon titles be so beloved here

[scurvyboy]

The way you treated the hater on your pearl and fidd "the cucks" work (which was absolutely splendid btw) made me especially confident in how I treated a recent comment I got on a story I made a few years ago (it's on an app called fortelling but I'm thinking of putting it on ao3 possibly)

The comment on it read something like "I don't appreciate the violence in this story" which is wild because I put a tw for violence at the beginning of the story, so I told the commenter that.

Then they said they didn't appreciate the way I made the characters in the story gay and lowkey suggested that I put a tw for that as well.

Of course I was like hell no. Politely of course. Like you wouldn't put a tw for a straight character, why should I do that for a silly lil gay guy?

Anyway I love your yummy scrumptious art and your utterly silly idgaf energy. Keep being great.

I feel like I sound like one of those "good job, sport" dads, so I'm gonna wrap it up.

i really do hate the state of internet discourse culture these days. if someone says something stupid to me then i'm going to make fun of them, and if they can't take it then they shouldn't have commented in the first place. i say the next time that happens just troll the person and make them look like a bigger idiot than they already are.

[3416]

Mitch Marner Media Availability | 10.9.24

[jellazticious]

Oh god please no more movies where a stubborn child forces themselves to be in a dangerous situation after the adult that cares about them says no