It should come as no surprise that people tend to go online to vent their frustrations regarding their favorite films, actors/actresses, and filmmakers. Whether they’re upset over some new reboot, a trailer that doesn’t work, or the latest controversial casting, people rush to the nearest keyboard or phone to voice their displeasure on social media. Well, with two of the bigger entertainment stories in the last week, fans are making their voices heard using petitions.
Change.org, as the name would imply, is a website all about changing the world through uniting people with petitions. I’m sure the founders wanted the petitions to focus on more world-saving endeavors, but lately, it’s just the launchpad for fandoms to unite and gather numbers to show how important they are. Sometimes, these petitions work, but mostly, they’re just a way to create buzz over the latest controversial entertainment topic.
Case in point, well, cases in point – James Gunn’s recent firing and the controversial Netflix series “Insatiable.”
Since it was announced that James Gunn was dismissed from directing “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” fans from all over the world have flocked to Change.org to let their voice be heard. As of this writing, the total number of digital “signatures” clocks in at 271,000 and climbing. Chandler Edwards, the gentleman who started the petition, understands that ultimately the petition isn’t going to force Disney to re-hire Gunn. However, he hopes “this could get Disney to realize the mistake they made and not do it again in the future.”
Will a quarter-million people catch the eye of Disney? Perhaps, but it’s unlikely that the monolithic corporation will reverse their decision, considering that would make them look completely silly. Disney will move on without Gunn, and the newest ‘Guardians’ film will be released. But as Edwards says, maybe this is a lesson learned for the Mouse House.
The other major petition making the rounds lately is in regards to the new series “Insatiable,” which is hitting Netflix soon. We didn’t cover the trailer (watch below, if you’re so inclined) release for the series because of a couple reasons. First, there are just way too many Netflix Originals right now, and we try our best to only cover the ones that our readers would be interested in. Otherwise, we’d have to hire a full-time Netflix trailer writer, and we’re pretty sure that person would end up quitting pretty quickly after the 400th rom-com.
Secondly, the trailer just looked problematic from the get-go. The premise of the series follows a plus-sized teenager who gets punched in the face and has her jaw wired shut. Since she can’t eat real food for an entire summer, she comes back to school as a “hot girl” and plots her revenge on those who made fun of her. It’s fairly obvious why people would be pissed at this premise.
And boy, these upset people are taking to Change.org to let their voice be heard. As of this writing, the “Insatiable” petition, asking Netflix to cancel the series, has reached 120,000 and counting.
The difference between the situation between James Gunn and “Insatiable” is that the Netflix petition could potentially get the job done. Netflix Originals live and die by word-of-mouth. Series like “Stranger Things” and “Orange is the New Black” were built by fans raving about the quality. And when fans have voiced their displeasure, as with “13 Reasons Why,” Netflix made changes to the series in light of concerns. Now, with “Insatiable,” you better believe that the streaming service is watching fan reaction and deciding how to proceed.
Ultimately, we are just now entering the era of petitions in the entertainment industry. Change.org has made it incredibly easy for disgruntled viewers to band together and be heard. It’s all a matter of the studios taking notice to see if it works. We’ll see if its all for naught soon enough.