Recently, friend of the blog Jon Del Arroz mentioned that the common practice of trashing famous media franchises on Youtube and other places online does nothing to change the state of pop culture (archive here.) In fact, it makes things worse because we act as unpaid marketers for big media by doing this. Such conversations give the large brands more clout and reach — and thus more market share. The brands know this, too; they and their employees produce inflammatory content specifically to get complainers talking. The complainers then cooperate, thinking that they’re making a difference when they’re really just making Big Media richer.
Therefore there is only one solution: Cease this madness at once. I call it Brand Zero.
For all the complaints about the major brands, even critics see them as real and legitimate, as opposed to “amateur” brands. There is a sense that these big media brands are the only ones that matter, even when they drop the ball on purpose. We are conditioned to think of big brands as above us just because the owners have a big bank account and could afford nice graphic designers.
Thus, we must take radical action to break this conditioning. From this day forward, I will not mention any major media franchise on this blog, and I will erase such talk if I see it in the comments. Also, I will not like, share, or reply to any social media post that discusses a major media franchise.
This does not only apply to woke brands. All major brands, including anime, will not be mentioned here. No big brand requires my help in getting the word out, so I won’t do it for them.
If it is mentioned on any mainstream geek site (Bleeding Cool, IGN, Comic Book Resources, Anime News Network, etc.), it is a major brand. Those sites get a lot of traffic from interested parties, so they don’t need you to talk up whatever they’re talking up. Meanwhile, great content languishes in obscurity because everyone would rather complain to a company that deliberately antagonizes them, thinking they’ll change with the 17,863,485,736th email.
Spare me your talk of circlejerks. Non-mainstream content has to be talked up, no matter the source. The only way to create actual competition is to treat non-mainstream work with the same obsessiveness as a franchise that spits on its fans. No million-dollar executive is going to have a change of heart because you whined like a baby on Youtube, so stop it and be part of the solution instead.
Now enough whining. Let’s get to work.
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Brian Niemeier’s Combat Frame Xseed is a great non-mainstream mecha series. Two books are already out, with a third on the way. Buy these, and you’ll help shift things in the right direction.
But what about the super chats? The outrage culture NEEDS their super chats.
That’s true; it shows that those Youtubers who do nothing but complain have an incentive to keep complaining.
Brand Zero – a great concept, even if it will be hard to live up to.
Thanks for coming up with it.
You’re welcome. The things worth doing are often difficult, but we’ve got to put in the effort.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought producers were doing things on purpose to incite viral like marketing frenzy.
Indeed, the bait is so obvious. If even 10% of people stopped falling for it, the producers would notice.
Great idea, Rawle!
Thanks for the signal boost 🙂
You’re welcome. You write very well, Brian.
Rawle,
Brand zero is a great easy to remember slogan.
It’s up there with White box culture (for Europe)/No name culture (for North America).
Question, if I come across a French BD that might be of interest , can I mention the publisher or not in the comments?
Does the rule also apply to the international branches of the Big 5 publishers?
Thanks!
xavier
I get that you don’t want to see any mention of Those companies/brands(tms)
If I come across a French BD that might be of interest, can I mention the publisher or not in the comments?
If it’s mentioned on mainstream geek culture sites (beyond a listing or index), no. Nothing against you or Franco-Belgian comics; just gotta stay consistent.
Does the rule also apply to international branches of the Big 5 publishers?
It absolutely does. Oldpub doesn’t need our help.
Thank you for asking.
Rawle
Thanks for the clarification. For Catalan and Spanish lit means I can’t mention any of the books as they’d be published by Planeta (not a big 5) the biggest Spanish publishing company in the world.
Ok I’ll have to really think about how to mention books and comics of interest here in the comments.
Thanks again for the guidelines
xavier
You’re welcome. I can’t really allow Planeta because of its size and reach. If not sure of something, however, just go ahead and post it; I’m not trying to be stultifying, so I’ll evaluate stuff case-by-case.
Rawle
Thanks. Here’s an trial run for you to evaluate if I followed the guidelines or not.
Very recently a prolific Spanish authour has published his take on El Cid. I read an extract. It’s ultra pulpy and really well written.
This is the same authour who wrote about a captain of the tercios during Spain’s golden age.
That series is also highly recommended as well and they’re available in English
The new el Cid book is available at Amazon Canada which means it’s available in the U.S. in both formats as well.
Thanks again
xavier
I can talk about that, and so can you. It’s certainly not mainstream, corporate content, so I’m fine with this one. Feel free to link it.
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I’m on board.
Thanks, Brad. Glad to hear it.
Rawle
Thanks. Here the SIDI link
https://www.amazon.com/Sidi-Spanish-Arturo-P%C3%A9rez-Reverte-ebook/dp/B07TLC9CXC/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3QKDW8K0RQTPM&keywords=perez+reverte&qid=1571883926&sprefix=perez+%2Caps%2C456&sr=8-2
He’s also created an independent publishing company in Spanish (zendalibros.com)
He had the Prisoner of Zelda translated into Spanish for the first time and prologues it.
A second book is by an authour I’ve never heard of John Meade Falkner but was a contemporary of Robert Louis Stevenson. The book is called the Moonfleet diamond.
xavier
Thank you, man.
Rawle,
You’re welcome. I need to correct errors.
Falkner wasn’t a contemporary of Steveson as the former was born in 1835 and died in 1932.
Also the correct English title of the book is Moonfleet.
The book is available at gutenberg.org
Sorry for the errors but the book sounds like a lot of fun.
xavier
No problem at all.
You inspired me to do something similar with my fanart, since I’m mainly an artist, not a writer. I specified exceptions for a few concluded series, because they concluded unconverged and I love them so much. ^^; But I had formerly done a lot of fanart for one of the big comics brands; never again.
Now this is what we’re talking about! Art of smaller brands needs to flood the place too.
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