Fans, Facebook groups and why the audience isn’t always right.
I have been a screenwriter far longer than I have had a social media presence. So far the entity as a whole has done nothing for my career. Not saying it won’t but I haven’t tailored my entire screenwriting career toward any particular service.
And now Elon Musk has officially bought Twitter — a social media platform I’ve been apart of seemingly since day one of it’s launch. It’s probably done as much for my life as MySpace did. I doubt what Musk adds will draw me to use the platform any more than I do now
However, in the last two weeks on Instagram who took down my disagreement with Morgan Freeman.
The post spoke on black peoples attempt at building wealth-taken place around the time Mr. Freeman was born or a child, those attempts were met with angry white folk who burned these “black Wall Streets” down to the ground.
Then there was this bizarre situation on a private black screenwriters group on Facebook. I had been having my issues that the admin seemed to allow whom I will call “fake filmmakers” sure they may have finished a script or even shot a piece and posted it somewhere. But these people -black as they may be don’t take the craft or the industry of film and TV seriously.
I’ve been up there long enough and I am tired of reading another post trying to explain why adding an NDA to your script is a bad move. Tired of having to endure so many bad films posted hoping they could get “put on” simply by posting a badly shot movie on to the page.
But what really started to get my ticked off of is there was a slew of fake filmmakers jumping on board screaming how their one and only finished script and are ready for the market and therefor demanded to be given agents and managers contacts.
This went on for a while, the admin did nothing. Misguided perhaps it’s his mission to “root for everyone black”, cool but if its me you have to draw the line somewhere.
When you get some unknown, the ‘IG Model” of screenwriting blabbing she writes as fast as Sonic the Hedgehog, that rewrites are dumb and she doesn’t get why some writers take all day to craft one sentence.
If I am the admin she’s kicked out ASAP-how are you on a black screenwriting page bashing them for their craftwork?
The admin did nothing, yet he decided to take my post down, what was it about? That the customer isn’t always right. And it came from a friend of mine whom for some reason is waging a one man campaign to convince someone that “Snowfall” is a better show than “The Wire”, here’s the post:
I thought this was an interesting thing that occurred the other day. I was tagged by a old(but younger) friend from the block about his love for Snowfall. I like the show too. But he sort of went left after the tag. I don’t throw around my film/tv “expertise” with my family and friends.
I’m not here to curate their viewing.
However, son went there.
He’s been on a thing about how “much better” Snowfall is than the Wire.
I told him the first time it’s his opinion. Not widely shared in my circles but that’s irrelevant.
Our first talk about this was seasons two finale of Snowfall. I let him off lightly. Didn’t want to throw around my weight. But for some odd reason he tags me again as season four just ended last week.
I tore him a new one. Broke down how the shows are written way differently. I hammered home he doesn’t pay attention to the writing on a general level. And I had to tel him I am writer, been one since high school. So I’ve always have seen these kinds of things differently than him.
Nowadays I got friends working regularly for streamers, cable shows including shows like Snowfall. I pretty much said he has a low writing IQ. Maybe it was harsh but he kept poking the bear!
Fans for the most part don’t pay attention to details. For example no one is watching the NBA playoffs and texting their friends for the “ill pick and roll on the top of the key with that sick ball screen”.
You watch for slam dunks and logo 3 pointers. Fans of film and tv do the same thing. It’s rare to find a fan who knows what an inciting incident is or what is set up and payoff.
And I left him with that’s why you really like Snowfall. Slam dunks and logo 3 pointers. Even if the writing was better than The Wire (imo it is not) as a fan would he even know how to explain why?
You don’t like one show because it’s “realer” then the other show is.
What’s funny is our banter was back and forth until I dropped this bomb. Which included a quick detailed synopsis of all of the things The Wire covered in its portrayal of the drug war that Snowfall has yet to or started to cover then abandoned.
Anyway, such is life of a screenwriter.
Pretty tame and lame to me, not a negative word about screenwriters. But the admin or someone felt so offended that it was removed. I was then told on May 2nd there would be details explaining why it was removed.
Kick rocks, I left the group, who knows given how much I get engagement from TikTok this may the start of the ending of my relationship with the old guard of social media. It reminds me too much of the projects. A bunch of people grand standing on ground they don’t own.
