Fandom Online
More often than not fans across a wide spectrum of entertainment are talking about the things they love online. Whether it be appreciation, a bizarre meme, or just talking about how attractive a character is, social media serves as the perfect hub to tell the whole world why you think a game about hunting a bunch of monsters on wolfback is the greatest thing in the world. For companies social media is great for continuous instant feedback, they can constantly judge what people think of their product, and a well run social media account can significantly boost their brand image. But sometimes, whether a company intends it or not, fans get really hyped about something that a company may not be willing to provide, and it seems to fall on the backs of fans to make those projects happen.
Most recently Zack Snyder’s cut of Justice League hit small screens across the country, a culmination of a fan movement spanning four years, and an incredibly unusual set of circumstances that made something as ridiculous as spending 70 million on a four hour cut of a comic book movie actually feasible.
Where did it start?
The Snyder Cut of Justice League began as #ReleaseTheSnyderCut and many other #’s on Twitter. A cry out to the void from a certain group of fans who wanted to see Zack Snyder’s true vision for the recently released flop that was Joss Whedon’s Justice League. At first the push came from a purely creative standpoint. People were aware that Snyder had removed himself from the Justice League production, due to the significant emotional toll that the suicide of his daughter had. It was pretty obvious from the Justice League people initially saw that this movie was a strong departure from Snyder’s own directorial style.
The movement to release the Snyder Cut became more than just people wanting to see a potentially better version of a comic book movie, obviously that was a factor, but eventually it became part of a very emotional story for an “auteur” director to fulfill his artistic vision on a project so connected with his personal life. In interviews Snyder has described the work done on the Justice League copy on his laptop as being therapeutic for him, a very personal artistic exploration that helped him through a very difficult period of his life. Tidbits of information like this have a noticeable effect on fandom, people felt more empowered to passionately push for Snyder’s vision to become a reality.
Not to mention once Snyder himself hopped onboard and started tweeting about the movement himself, that was like opening the floodgates. Now the hashtag had legitimacy, the director himself was on board with the idea and it had his full support.
Photo via Business Insider
In time and hindsight the mobilization of these fans has carried a varied perception, either it is celebrated as a unique moment where fans voices were heard, or it is seen as the fulfillment of the whiny needs of entitled fans. As Peter Suderman aptly points out, neither of these interpretations are especially accurate–in truth the actual creation and release of the Snyder Cut was more due to the bid made by studios for the Snyder Cut to become a very advertisable bid to bring subscribers to HBO Max.
In what ways were fans motivated to participate, and how did they try and make their voices heard?
The fan campaign was not only something carried by tweets, the effort also had fairly significant monetary contributions, as well as a solid base of signatures. An article from Rob Harvilla of The Ringer breaks down each part of the Snyder Cut campaign, starting with a Change.org campaign in 2018 that closed out with 180,000 signatures. The campaign itself apparently had a toxic creator which tainted its original purpose, and it was followed by skeptical articles which actually only served to empower fans. Beyond this initial Change.org petition there have been notable Instagram blogs, a website, and a GoFundMe that sought to fly a #ReleaseTheSnyderCut banner behind a plane over San Diego Comic Con, and fund bus wraps and other advertisements. A fun note is that half of the money from that campaign was donated to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in honor of Snyder’s daughter. While there was never a true central leadership around the movement, these efforts point to tangible bases of social movement, places where fans could contribute to an effort they were passionate about.
Ultimately it seems that through these tangible community efforts fans poured effort and passion into a war of attrition, not giving up on these beloved comic book characters who they saw mishandled in DC’s breakout Marvel-esque teamup film. The fabled existence of the Snyder Cut as well as the emotion and attachment to the auteur director worked in an incredible concoction of fan energy and financial motives to create this bizarre miracle of film. Never before and likely never again will something like this happen, and if it does, it will always be compared to what happened in 2021 when this strange film called Zack Snyder’s Justice League released on HBO Max.
Journalism 2.0 
.jpg){kind=link}