Deniable Plausibility

  Attention studio bosses! Would you like to   make a shit TV show or movie sink an existing franchise lose a metric fuckton of money, your audience, your credibility, and have everyone giggle at your expense?    You would? Great! All you need to do is follow contemporary Hollywood's tried-and-tested formula: STEP 1 Create and air a show that leans HARD into identity politics, gender-swapped and/or race-swapped characters, and girlboss feminist bullshit. Bonus points if it's in a genre with a predominantly male audience i.e. sci-fi, fantasy, action. Regardless, make sure your white male characters are villains, comic relief, and/or weak and ineffectual STEP 2 When your audience baulks at your show's dumb content, immediately denounce  them as toxic woman-hating bigots. Ignore the fact that they're paying customers STEP 3 Claim that your show is a massive hit. Recruit media shills to help sell this obvious lie - spin, spin, spin! STEP 4 Renew your attacks on anyone who

This story takes place at my grandparents’ house at Christmas in the early 1980s. I was about 5 or 6 years old. My aunt was spending time with my cousin, letting her choose something from her collection of costume jewellery. I wandered over to look. I wasn’t particularly interested in what they were doing, but my aunt must have assumed that I was envious of the attention my cousin was getting. “Don’t worry,” said my aunt, “it’s boys’ turn next time.” It was at that point that I became excited. Boys' turn! Oh man, surely that was something to look forward to! And so I waited patiently for weeks, months - and then years - but boys' turn never came. I didn't say anything because I thought my aunt was as good as her word. But she wasn't, and I lost respect for her. I get that people have a lot going on in their lives and maybe forget things, but she made me feel that I wasn't important to her. What's the moral of this story? YOU might forget the promises you