Posted in: HBO, Movies, Netflix, Opinion, TV, TV | Tagged: movies, netflix, norse mythology, opinion, Release the Snyder Cut!, snyder bros, streaming, tv, zack snyder

Zack Snyder: If A Business Degree & Axe Body Spray Had A Baby- Opinion

Hi there, Zack Snyder fans- well, this is to the "bros" side of the fanbase. I know you're there, so you can release the angry tension in your jaws that you hold for anyone who criticizes your cult lead, your "lord & savior". I mean the dude treats Superman like a Jesus figure who can't even be beaten by Wonder Woman, something evident in many moments in many comics. The man can't seem to roll with an ounce of criticism without imploding in quotes about his fandom that comes across like an egotistical maniac with the maturity of a five-year-old throwing a fit in a grocery store. When I learned about Snyder's Norse mythos-inspired series Twilight of the Gods and the recent casting during Netflix's Geeked Week, it was upsetting for a number of reasons. I quickly scanned the cast lineup, excitement in my mind as someone with a connection to Norse paganism and a love of the stories that could be explored, only to be heart-sunken. I looked for Freyja, a Norse goddess whose strength and energy would be exciting to witness on the small screen even if through animation…but the name wasn't there. Odin, Loki, Hel (luckily she's included), Thor, Ulfr, and the list of names went on.

But I shouldn't be surprised that female voices, ones of great importance to me or a whole cultural sect of global society are glossed over like nothing. Freyja, Frigg, Skald, and more absent from Snyder's project much like his female characters are from any power or potential in them that doesn't start with trauma or sexual assault. And then there's Snyder's "hype squad." The amount of death threats that people working in studios, not even attached to a Snyder project, have received is deplorable and disgusting. But what disgusts me the most is that Snyder does have the power to put the hammer down on a lot of this but doesn't- or does so in such a tepid manner that it feels like he's more concerned about the number of souls he needs to keep him alive via Horcrux. Someone told Snyder a small compliment early on and it set off his narcissistic brain like the Griswold's house from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

To Snyder and his "bros"? The world and studios don't owe you s**t. Stop treating your fans like an army you can cowardly send off to do your bidding behind their screens. You have the audacity and then get defensive when someone questions how you handle anything and everything. I'm partly glad I didn't see the name of the Norse goddess of fertility because you'd ruin her. You'd take an embodiment of feminine power, inner strength & a cornerstone of Asgardian mythos, and you'd reduce her to nothing but a side quest in the larger story. I'm still angry with how you might treat Hel- will she be another notch in the story of the gods around her? Can the reverence and care that many Norse gods have for Freyja and other goddesses register in the mind of someone too many consider to be the "all great and genius of man"? Research into a topic, a story, general background of something important to people is something that's been MIA in the past- or it was tossed into the trash along with your respect for many in the entertainment industry.

I've always wondered if the "bro" side of Snyder's fandom just keeps looking for "Zaddy" (makes me barf in my mouth) to pat them on the head and tell them what a good job they did with the threats and spamming. Oh, I bet they do. I hate to be the one to tell you this…actually, I take that back, I love doing this. Your idol doesn't really give an actual s**t about you- at least not to the level you think he does or so desperately need him to. Don't forget there are some creators and industry peeps who love their fans and attempt an atmosphere of discussion and willingness to grow and have their following do the same- but not Snyder. Snyder does a good job of telling you what to do, like a decent cult leader would, and having his followers obey him- but always keeping just enough "plausible deniability" distance from the shallow end of the fan pool to be able to still clutch his pearls and fan away when the bad stuff comes to light. You fight for this man as if he doesn't hold an ounce of power in the industry, as if he's an indie creator just trying to make it to Hollywood. You've made digital images of the man as a divine figure- someone please make that make any sense. And don't tell me it's being done "ironically"- one or two is ironic. Thousands? That's a serious problem. Anyone not seeing the products he puts forth as a glorious masterpiece is beaten either into submission or driven off the internet. It's not hard to see why the label "toxic" is constantly placed on the lot of you.

Media, from film to TV, requires more than Snyder to make it work yet some folks treat it all like that's the case. There are credits in a show or movie because one dude multi-tasked to do so. I feel bad for all of the individuals, from editing to production, who had to work with Snyder on previous projects because the "bros" would have you believing Snyder does everything from writing and directing to catering and costuming. It's pathetic, upsetting, and yet funny to see how annoying his fandom has become. I've sat through multiple-hour old films (some in Swedish…don't ask me why) in old theaters, and I'd rather do that than watch "The Snyder Cut" of Justice League. And you know what? That's more than okay. And if that's not okay with you? Well, that's what we call a "you problem" and that's for you to deal with. Having Snyder do whatever he wants and having his fan-bros back him up is nothing new, but dear god is it gotten tiring. Leave the Norse mythology and culture to someone who cares to do the research or someone who cares about women beyond trauma to be profited off of.

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