Before I actually jump right into the subject matter of this post, I thought I would update you on how I hope to share content on this blog. In my Q&A post brought to you by Guten Morden, I mentioned how I intended on cycling between Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for sharing on the blog, but I believe that more frequent posting may be necessary. So, to slightly string out the rules a bit, I intend to share at least one post each weekend, on either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, but I hope to possibly post two times per weekend.
My personal life has recently gotten a little less busy (as I had a theatre commitment that took up a vast majority of my spare time), so I hope that this increase in posting will be easier to attempt, but due to the other obligations that college and my personal life demand of me, I ask that you bear with me.
With that in mind, This is a feature story I wrote in regards to a geeky cause I can fully get behind, one I briefly mentioned in my Q&A from Guten Morden - even though you probably figured that out by reading the title. In any case, enjoy!
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THE FANDOM WITHOUT FEAR
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Among the many themes woven into the complex narratives of Marvel’s smash hit Netflix series,
Daredevil, is this one, stated in one of its iconic lines:
“the lone man who thinks he can make a difference.”
The same ideology can be clearly seen in the members of the show’s unashamedly passionate fan base.
After learning of the unexpected cancellation of the flagship streaming program by Netflix,
despite it having the highest ratings from critics and audiences alike across its three season run,
these ordinary people from all across the globe have soared to extraordinary new heights to have
their voices heard, fighting back against the greed of a corporation unlike any other fan movement
before. In a matter of months, they have amassed an army of over 250,000 supporters worldwide
in an online petition, and even garnered the attention and endorsements from the actors
involved in the show, taking social media by storm in unprecedented fashion.
This is the #savedaredevil campaign, consisting of the finest members of the self-proclaimed,
“fandom without fear.”
Daredevil, is this one, stated in one of its iconic lines:
“the lone man who thinks he can make a difference.”
The same ideology can be clearly seen in the members of the show’s unashamedly passionate fan base.
After learning of the unexpected cancellation of the flagship streaming program by Netflix,
despite it having the highest ratings from critics and audiences alike across its three season run,
these ordinary people from all across the globe have soared to extraordinary new heights to have
their voices heard, fighting back against the greed of a corporation unlike any other fan movement
before. In a matter of months, they have amassed an army of over 250,000 supporters worldwide
in an online petition, and even garnered the attention and endorsements from the actors
involved in the show, taking social media by storm in unprecedented fashion.
This is the #savedaredevil campaign, consisting of the finest members of the self-proclaimed,
“fandom without fear.”
It was speculated that Netflix began exterminating their Marvel superhero properties in light of Disney
officially announcing their own subscription streaming service to rival theirs -
starting with the cancellations of Iron Fist and Luke Cage, leading up to the highly anticipated release
of Daredevil’s third season. When Netflix publicly cited low viewership and social media engagement
as their justification for prematurely ending these programs, a fan campaign known as #renewdaredevil
was created on November 26th to try and combat this on behalf of the flagship series to the
Marvel-Netflix partnership. However, their initiative was barely initiated when the news of Daredevil
joining his fellow defenders in cancellation hell broke the internet on the evening of November 29th -
despite season 3 receiving rave reviews from critics and audiences alike, winning multiple
“Golden Tomato” awards from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes in 2018 for being the fan favorite
television show of the year, and being the highest in ratings for a superhero television show.
officially announcing their own subscription streaming service to rival theirs -
starting with the cancellations of Iron Fist and Luke Cage, leading up to the highly anticipated release
of Daredevil’s third season. When Netflix publicly cited low viewership and social media engagement
as their justification for prematurely ending these programs, a fan campaign known as #renewdaredevil
was created on November 26th to try and combat this on behalf of the flagship series to the
Marvel-Netflix partnership. However, their initiative was barely initiated when the news of Daredevil
joining his fellow defenders in cancellation hell broke the internet on the evening of November 29th -
despite season 3 receiving rave reviews from critics and audiences alike, winning multiple
“Golden Tomato” awards from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes in 2018 for being the fan favorite
television show of the year, and being the highest in ratings for a superhero television show.
At this time, a fan by the name of Joseph Garcia created a change.org petition under the hashtag
“savedaredevil,” which garnered the most signatures out of all of the other petitions across the
web. The #renewdaredevil team reached out to Garcia and partnered their campaign
with his petition, rebranding themselves as #savedaredevil and transforming the way people
could peacefully protest all over the world.
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Here is the link to said petition:
Feel free to sign it!
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In the four months since then, both the petition and the site have exploded in internet traffic.
After catching the attention of the show’s stars, and getting special shout outs from the show’s
leading actors - Charlie Cox, who played Daredevil/Matt Murdock, and Vincent D’Onofrio,
who played the Kingpin - the petition has crossed 251,000 signatures and counting as of
February 8th (the original writing date for this piece.) As for the campaign itself, #savedaredevil
has given and will continue to give a plethora of ways they can pitch in to spread awareness
about the show. On top of collecting and sending letters to the corporate overlords working at
Marvel, Disney, and Netflix, scheduling social media events across Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram, and producing T-shirts for sale to the fans, they have been incorporating the fans
of this fan campaign into their efforts through a meetup in New York City during the taping of
The Today Show, and have created not one, but two fan submission video events: a promotional
trailer featuring anyone involved in the campaign, and a week of promoting fan made works of
fiction, music, videos, arts & crafts, and more.
After catching the attention of the show’s stars, and getting special shout outs from the show’s
leading actors - Charlie Cox, who played Daredevil/Matt Murdock, and Vincent D’Onofrio,
who played the Kingpin - the petition has crossed 251,000 signatures and counting as of
February 8th (the original writing date for this piece.) As for the campaign itself, #savedaredevil
has given and will continue to give a plethora of ways they can pitch in to spread awareness
about the show. On top of collecting and sending letters to the corporate overlords working at
Marvel, Disney, and Netflix, scheduling social media events across Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram, and producing T-shirts for sale to the fans, they have been incorporating the fans
of this fan campaign into their efforts through a meetup in New York City during the taping of
The Today Show, and have created not one, but two fan submission video events: a promotional
trailer featuring anyone involved in the campaign, and a week of promoting fan made works of
fiction, music, videos, arts & crafts, and more.
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Here is the link to the #savedaredevil website:
Feel free to check it out!
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As a stop motion animator and voice actor on YouTube whose favorite superhero character and
television show just so happens to be Daredevil, I am an active supporter and member of the
#savedaredevil campaign, and will do my best to participate in as many of the events they’re
holding as I possibly can; although I’m arguably an ordinary dork, this campaign, much like the
character it fights for, proves that a lone person can make a difference. And when every lone
person assembles together for a cause they believe in, the difference that it could make could
also make history with it.
television show just so happens to be Daredevil, I am an active supporter and member of the
#savedaredevil campaign, and will do my best to participate in as many of the events they’re
holding as I possibly can; although I’m arguably an ordinary dork, this campaign, much like the
character it fights for, proves that a lone person can make a difference. And when every lone
person assembles together for a cause they believe in, the difference that it could make could
also make history with it.
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Check out my latest DD voice acting collab:
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Even if the #savedaredevil movement were to fail in bringing the show back for a fourth season,
nothing but good came from its efforts; at the very least, it united a fanbase spanning across the
globe into a loving and supportive community, and at the very greatest, it redefined the impact
that ordinary fans can have on social media and the television industry itself. With the support of
the actors who starred in the show itself also advocating on behalf of #savedaredevil, we as
members of an ever-changing society may need to redefine what a superpower can be and
question who superheroes can be; in order to do so, we do not need to look any further than at
the people behind the #savedaredevil campaign and those who consider themselves members of
the “fandom without fear.”
nothing but good came from its efforts; at the very least, it united a fanbase spanning across the
globe into a loving and supportive community, and at the very greatest, it redefined the impact
that ordinary fans can have on social media and the television industry itself. With the support of
the actors who starred in the show itself also advocating on behalf of #savedaredevil, we as
members of an ever-changing society may need to redefine what a superpower can be and
question who superheroes can be; in order to do so, we do not need to look any further than at
the people behind the #savedaredevil campaign and those who consider themselves members of
the “fandom without fear.”
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In an update to this post, I should probably mention that my Daredevil related stuff for the fanworks initiative has actually been featured on the #savedaredevil submissions Tumblr page. The link is below if you want to check out the works of everyone else, but my specific submissions are featured below the link.
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Any questions or suggestions for me?
Feel free to get in touch with me by emailing
screensceneofageek@gmail.com
Feel free to get in touch with me by emailing
screensceneofageek@gmail.com
I might expand into more social media
if I continue running this blog
after the college course is done,
but for now, you can direct message me
on Instagram - @stealthabotte
if I continue running this blog
after the college course is done,
but for now, you can direct message me
on Instagram - @stealthabotte
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Check my channel out by clicking or copy-pasting
this link into your web browser:
this link into your web browser:
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