Dropping back in here one last time to comment and share something.
I contacted Zack earlier to let him know that I'm still personally proud of him and have his back. We knew the movie would have its detractors (particularly among online critics who'd been sharpening the knives for months), but nobody expected this level of vitriol toward the film, and him personally. He's actually taking it pretty well, much better than some of us. It's amazing the savage beating that he and the movie are taking. To the point where it becomes unbelievable when you step back and realize that we're really just talking about a harmless movie here. To have that much anger, negativity and invective toward something like this with everything else going on in the world is really quite depressing. We're all fine with people not liking these movies, but lines are starting to be crossed now... and that's not cool.
Afterward, I talked to my girlfriend about it. She's a kind, sweet soul (much moreso than me
) but also a tad naive. She gives everyone the benefit of the doubt in ways which my battle-fatigued self cannot. In response to those attacking Zack so savagely, she said "I know he won't, but what if all of this got to him and he hurt himself or something. Then they'd feel bad for being so hateful over movies." It was then that it dawned on me... You know, I think some of them would actually LIKE for that to happen. And then I realized how far this has all gone now. It started with Lucas and the prequels, people taking things way too seriously and crossing the line with ad hominem attacks toward people who did nothing more than create something they don't like. What started this disturbing trend (which is seemingly just getting worse) Is it Social Media? The Internet itself? Mob Mentality? Or is an illumination on society itself? Who knows. But I know this: People need to start waking up to the fact that when negative energy is put out there to this degree, it's going to affect someone personally somewhere. Unfortunately, I know that there are some who LOVE that idea... that the're own vitriol can go out into the ethos and hurt someone. But is this really what we want? I really wish people would start thinking about this more.
