Media Reaction to Zack Snyder’s Cut of "JUSTICE LEAGUE"
MEDIA REACTION TO ZACK SNYDER’S CUT OF "JUSTICE LEAGUE"
What exactly is going on? Recently, director-producer Zack Snyder had announced via Zoom that Warner Brothers Studios had finally agreed to release his version or "cut" of the 2017 DCEU film, "JUSTICE LEAGUE" on HBO Max next year. As expected, this news was followed with mixed reactions from comic book movie fans. Many were thrilled and excited by the news. Others were either angry at the news or dismissive. What I find . . . interesting was the media’s reaction. At least the media on the Internet.
Most of the Internet media outlets had reacted to the news in a straightforward manner. I cannot recall any media outlet reacting to the news with any satisfaction or glee. But I did come across a good number of articles on the Internet that conveyed a negative response to the news. For example:
*Jessica Mason wrote a dismissive article for THE MARY SUE BLOG, conveying the idea that moviegoers should not care about this news. Ms. Mason seemed to believe that the Snyder Cut will not elevate the movie’s quality . . . period and that comic book movie fans should spend their time anticipating productions like "DOOM PATROL" (because it also features the character Victor Stone aka Cyborg).
*USA TODAY had posted an article written by the Associated Press announcing the release of the Snyder Cut in a straightforward manner. However . . . the media outlet included a video clip of the "Imagine" montage that had been kick-started by Gal Gadot, who portrayed Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman in the film. As many know, the “Imagine” video was dismissed by many people. So, why did "USA Today" include that video with a story about the Snyder Cut release . . . instead of an image of the cast from the movie? Why did it do that?
*To my utmost surprise, I had come across three articles that expressed this belief that Warner Brothers’ decision to release the Synder Cut was a sign that Hollywood was setting a dangerous precedent by giving in to "toxic fandom". In other words, Hollywood is finally allowing certain fans to dictate the content of pop culture films. Now, I have complained about this subject in the past. I have also noticed how some television networks have given in to the desire of some fans to save television series like CBS’s "JERICHO" and NBC's "CHUCK". But I also know the difference between fans dictating the content of films and television shows and fans wanting to see the original version of a certain film - namely "JUSTICE LEAGUE" - whose content has been dictated by others - whether it is Snyder, director Joss Whedon or Warner Brothers. Apparently, the following authors of these article failed to see the difference:
- Paul Squire of "DIGITAL TRENDS"
- Drew Taylor of "COLLIER"
- Joanna Robinson of "VANITY FAIR"
I get the feeling that many of these journalists/critics are threatened by the idea of Zack Snyder’s vision of "JUSTICE LEAGUE" seeing the light of day. And I find this attitude mystifying for a movie that is suppose to be terrible. Why did they go out of their way to express such hostility toward this news?