Fandoms play a significant role in a franchise's ability to be widely known. Fans are as important as the project itself because they are the main consumers of the media that is being presented time and again. But fan bases also tend to get out of hand and be toxic in some ways. Shazam! Fury of the Gods is now out in cinemas, and lead star Zachary Levi recently called out fans who seem to have no empathy for the DC film or the whole franchise itself.
During a conversation with Josh Horowitz on The Happy Sad Confused podcast, Levi weighed in on the pressure that comes with playing a DC superhero and constantly being judged. He explained how "tough" it has been, noting that even he is "constantly critiquing [himself]" when he watches his performances.
“It’s very difficult, but, you know, listen, I did my best, I have to accept that, I know that I did my best, and all the other stuff is out of your hands. But yeah I mean even on Twitter today, scrolling through, some people have released some advanced reviews, or just you know fans who have seen it, and there’s this incredibly positive stuff out there. And then, of course, there are these other people, like the internet is full of, which is a very just negative to be negative people…” said Levi.
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He continued, “But instead of there being a conversation, they take up so many of my words, or things completely out of context, and then they go stir up all their other people that they know online, and they all just want to attack, and attack, and attack, and attack. And it’s really sad because this is just one example of so many examples of the amount of venom, toxicity, and bullying that goes on in these cyber dimensions.”
The actor remarked that these detractors feel helpless, so they hide under anonymity; that’s why criticizing others is the only way they gain control. “And people, they really get off on it, because it’s like they feel very powerless… Again, so what I try to do is I just try to empathize and go, ’Oh, these people that are being so vicious online, I can only assume that they are very powerless people, who need to feel the flex by being anonymously online, tearing other people down, and hoping for the reactions, and then they feel bolstered in that, and it’s just… it’s sad.” Levi reasoned.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is playing in theaters worldwide.
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