It is oddly hilarious and a bit deflating how much the drama and discourse around media does not change; it just gets new pieces and elements to have the same conversations around.

A few weeks ago, the discourse was around the new video game Forspoken. At the moment, it has moved on to the newest Marvel movie Antman and the Wasp: Quantamania. Now, ignoring the obvious racists, misogynists, prejudiced, and other bigots, the odd thing about the conversation and criticism is how all the sides are saying the same thing just with different tones and perspectives.

For example, virtually every review of Forspoken mentioned the same things: dialogue was not great and a bit annoying at times, it took some time for the gameplay to get interesting and engaging, and the world was well rendered but a little underdeveloped until the later stages, etc. The only real difference between those in the pro, con, and neutral categories is simply the manner in which these aspects are presented.

Similarly, criticisms of Quantamania seem to be centered on false memories tinged with nostalgia and seemingly unwillingness to engage with the actual media presented instead of the one they want to have been made or see on screen. Truly the facets of criticism seem to be more centered on personal bias than a true examination or exploration of the piece of media they are engaging with.

Again, not surprising nor a new development. Just funny that not much changes. There are just more and more voices involved for both good and ill.