The internet has exploded with the news of the Warner Brothers, Discovery merger and all the subsequent announcements. I have many thoughts on the matter, most of which involve the fact that WBD is going to go down in a wave of fire. I genuinely hope it results in every single member of the board losing their jobs and never having a career again.
What this new merger is doing isn’t just shifting production focus, it isn’t simply axing a few projects; anything removed from HBOMax is going to be lost forever. Creators’ life work, their blood, sweat and tears are going to be for nothing. I hate to advocate for piracy but that really will be the only way to conserve this art. Art, specifically television and film are a mark of their time. There is history, societal reflection, political commentary etched into the very existence of most media. We look at past movies and shows and see a window into a past society, WBD is actively taking that opportunity away from future generations. Without the preservation of media, society dies. This is how cultures, thriving empires start to fade away only to be remembered by anthropologists and archaeologists. You might think at this point that I am being a bit dramatic, but as an aspiring screenwriter and someone who studies film and television WBD is causing great destruction to the medium and the industry.
On top of what this means for creatives the merger is also causing harm to society as a whole. WBD announced that HBOMax was going to be skewed towards men, and it will continue to house “fandoms”, Discovery+ will be skewed towards women and house “comfort viewing”. This is not only widely sexist and misogynistic but deeply damaging to viewers. I’ve talked many times about how media doesn’t happen in a vacuum, there is quantifiable evidence that media influences society and visa versa. Media nearly always reflects the ideals of its creators and the society that bore it. And these old white guys are forcing society back to the 1950s, and with them coming up with a plan for DC, the future is not bright.
And then we have the deeply problematic nature of scrapping the fully completed Batgirl that stars a woman of color and features women behind the camera as well, while continuing as planned with The Flash whose star has violent allegations against him. WBD is digging itself into a hole that it will not be able to climb out of, what these executives fail to realize is that straight, white men aren’t the majority anymore, not in the world, not in the country, and sure as hell not in the fanbase of literally any franchise. These decisions will not end well for them and I hope it comes to a swift end so we can rebuild.