Rotten Tomatoes has changed its entire user opinion system because of the low ratings “Captain Marvel” has been getting from movie fans.
This was inevitable. “Captain Marvel” is having the sort of backlash from from fans across the internet that is very reminiscent of the 2016 all-female “Ghostbusters” reboot. It all seems to stem from not just the upcoming film, starring Brie Larson, as being the first Marvel movie with a female lead, but also due to the no-holds-barred, anything goes, interviews Larson has been giving to the media whilst promoting the film. The highly politicized interviews seem to have been a chance for Larson to chime in with some perpetual feminist messaging. Alas, this has rubbed many the wrong way, mostly men I would presume, and here we are today with Rotten Tomatoes deciding to completely remove the ‘not interested’ option along with all of Captain Marvel’s voter comments (30,000 of them). The only option left now is “want to see,” similar to what Facebook did with likes only—no option to have a differing opinion.
So now anything offensive being said about “Captain Marvel” or any countering to the Disney machine will not be available on RT. Earlier last week there was a Blitzkrieg of media articles about supposed trolls invading Rotten Tomatoes and spamming Captain Marvel’s page. Me thinks that here must have been massive pressure from Disney towards RT to take it down immediately. The Mouse House always has the final word.
So basically, correct me if I’m wrong here, Rotten Tomatoes has changed a website format they have had for years just to protect the image of a movie that has not even come out yet?
PRESS RELEASE: Rotten Tomatoes
It’s fine for someone to list their reasons as to why or why not they want to see “Captain Marvel,” but now, after the media’s all-too-clear persistence that if you write anything negative about the film then it must be your chauvinism, this turns into a sheer demonizing of the movie fan.
This “demonizing” is a blatant attempt to make sure nobody messes around with “Captain Marvel” when it is released two weeks from now. The Disney machine is on, much like it was with last year’s “Black Panther,” another film heavily promoted for its inclusiveness.
In all fairness, I must give it to all these journalists attempting to promote the inclusivity factor of an MCU movie, no matter the quality. As mentioned before, the film will most likely open to positive reviews based on the heavy identity-politics marketing campaign that is happening around it. Good for women. Good for feminism, but don’t strip away freedom of speech at its expense. Please.
As for myself, I want to like it. I am a fan of its lead actress Brie Larson, and the film’s directing duo Anna Bolden/Ryan Fleck (“Mississippi Grind,” “Sugar,” “Half Nelson”), but much like the last year’s “Black Panther,” I sense the narrative is already set for “Captain Marvel,” so, if you’re a critic, you better like it or else …
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