When I tell David that I have never seen fan engagement like I have for this show, he seems surprised. The way in which Our Flag Means Death's writers, cast, and crew talk with their fans is very unusual.
None of that was as good as the work of the Our Flag Means Death creators. He asked io9 if he could explain that to him. It doesn't feel like being engaged is as important as acknowledging that people have interesting ideas. Is that not a normal occurrence?
He paused and thought about this. He is interested in learning about weird fandom politics that most people who aren't online never have to think about. Is it not a function of wanting to do something but not being able to produce the results because of network standards that the queerness of this show isn't gaslighting the audience? I believe that people are responding to the fact that the show is queer.
He said that he is aware of the power of fans. He thought that Finn and Poe would make a good couple, and that John Boyega had to deal with a lot of racism. He thought a lot about how Kelly Marie Tran was received. He remembered that when she was in Ghostbusters, she got a lot of the same stuff that Tran got, so he wanted her to have a really good experience on our flag means death.
Even though you are not a part of it, you can still feel it in the media that you consume. You will understand the power of fandom if you watch Hollywood news. There is no one who will ever admit that Boyega's Force-sensitivity was a result of fan backlash, but there is an idea that it may have been. I could empathise with the idea of getting out of the business if it happened to me.
That is not the case with any of his cast. There isn't a lot of animosity towards one of the most hostile characters in the show, Izzy Hands, but more on that later. The Archive of Our Own is one of the places where the fandom is out there. It is gratifying to see people celebrating the story as they are. You make a lot of decisions when you run the show, from writing to directing to production. You have to make a million choices for the entire season, and the whole time you're doing this, you're drinking from the fire hose of a million choices.
Three months after the thing is out, the fandom is so engaged that they are celebrating a small decision. It makes the production design team feel like they're being watched. This is great news forJenkins. The red silk, the silver ring, the lighthouses, and the oranges are all things that people make for him. Sometimes we think these choices are for us. Nobody will notice the language of a scene. People appreciate it when they do. It's incredible.
He is aware that there are some things that can be given meaning by the fans. There are some happy coincidences that don't feel like coincidences at all.
I talked about Taika Waititi's wardrobe and how I engage in some meta myself. Christine Wada designed that costume, so it's obvious that she did it. There was a picture of Prince from 1979. You remember that half shirt? He put his shirt in as he stood up and talked. This is a lot of fun and silly. The parts of Blackbeard's outfit that are most similar to Prince are being shown by David. He should slowly become Prince's colors. He should start all black and then the purple comes out as he falls in love. I don't think he knows, but this will confirm a lot of meta that's out there.
This is the biggest explosion of fan fiction I have ever seen in a short period of time. I don't know what to think about that. Fanfiction, what does it mean? When is it considered fan fiction? He said it's just writing. The first season of the show was written in the writers' room after Con's tryout. Sometimes you need another piece of art to remind you of what you're doing, why you're making it, and that's when you write. One of the things I would go back to is Con O'Neil's auditioning. I would like to see that show. At this point, you are writing fanfiction for a certain actor and character because you want them to do something, and you laugh at it. He is thrilled to show off Con O'Neill's ability to seem both exhausted and menacing as a result of his work. As the writer, you are like... And then Isely does this now.
He was working in New York City on the second season. He wasn't sure about the chances of a second season of the show. "You don't know what's going to happen when you watch a show." He said that the response from the cast and crew meant a lot to him. The reason we have a second season is because the fans were as enthusiastic and fun as they were. People from the show engage in fandom because of that. We got a job this year.
He said thank you to the fans. He wants to credit the people who are doing the work. The actors were amazing, but the directors were even better. The next season of the show is due to the fan response, he said. As part of a social media renewal campaign, the fans of Our Flag Means Death wrote meta or fan fiction, drew art, and made their own merchandise.
One of the most earnest artists I have had the pleasure of talking to is Jenkins. He is talking about his kids as if he is the captain of the massive crew that is building the ship as he sails it. It is so positive and fans notice all the little things, how can you not engage with that?
The first season of Our Flag Means Death is available on the pay per view channel.
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