I'm a firm believer in "Everyone is entitled to their informed opinion.", but the informed part is key.

For media, that means they had to actually read the book, watch the movie or show, listen to the song/album, play the game, etc.

And the same rule applies to myself, too, obviously.

this also goes for defending a piece of media, you have to engage with the media your defending and cannot rely on second hand sources, wish my sibling knew this over a decade ago

There’s a lot I want to say about this, but I’ll just mention a few 😅

A protag not handling a situation the same way you would isn’t “bad writing.”
A portag being a straight up awful person is not a poor reflection on you.
Let female protags be messed up the same way you let male protags be.

This is also good advice for authors. Don't let the worse interpretation of your work stop you from making it. Think of the people who will see the best in your work.

Also I think learning the skill of saying "I don't have an opinion on it, but didn't want to watch it" is important too.

I feel like people prioritizing tropes over story is a thing, and that people also don't let characters be bad people for narratives sake. I don't know if those connect? I feel like prioritizing tropes over character can manifest in more ways then just this.

Pro-tip: if you're trying to sell me on your Gargoyles idea or headcanon, please don't invoke The Goliath Chronicles. The moment you do, the shields go up. I can't help it.

Now, invoke the SLG or Dynamite comics, and I might be more receptive.

I'm literally handing you a cheat code.

" Like, you have the Quarrymen in season 3 right?"

Season three isn't canon. The comics are the only season three I recognize.

But I just don't have much interest in a Gargoyles/TMNT crossover regardless. Sorry.

one zillion opinions online boil down to "oh I heard that X popular person hated this, or the internet called it problematic, so therefore I don't need to judge it myself and will be extremely judgemental of anyone who disagrees with that view"

It fucking infuriates me that there are people out there that would trust the OPINIONS of some ASSHOLE on REDDIT over their OWN EYES, EARS AND CRITICAL THINKING ABILITIES.

oh this is the shit that fucking boils my blood. People actively avoiding the act of engaging with a piece of media and basing every opinion they have of something off of a social media take.

the death of media literacy regularly has me feeling extremely demoralized. Like, what do you mean you didn't understand the metaphor so cleanly and clearly laid out a literal child should be able to pick up on it. What the fuck?

I'm getting war-flashbacks to earlier Tumblr days where if you said you liked an evil character you "automatically co-sign" and approved of all their crimes

Meanwhile I just loved Joffrey because why he was evil made sense to me and his downfall was so satisfying knowing that

I think more people need to engage with problematic media.