It’s not immediately obvious why I appreciate #Comicsgate and #TheFandomMenace and it’s not at all why you’d think. So I’ll break down why it’s necessary these purported ‘Darksider’ communities exist in the whole of fandom and the entertainment industry if we’re to find balance.

First, they’re actually the Rebels here, so their choice of imagery is counterculture cheek rather than malicious manifesto. Make no mistake, they are fighting an Empire composed of mainstream media and corporatocracy. The increased hijacking of art by narrative propaganda.

Second, the communities themselves are diverse. Their commentary doesn’t de facto originate from ist or phobic ideologies. Third, many join the movements as fans in order to produce their own content for the first time. It empowers new creators to enter the industry they love.

This is why I find myself allying with them. Despite a decade in the Hollywood industry, cutting my teeth in the tight-knit community of network TV, opportunities for me suddenly waned. My words no longer matched a rapidly changing narrative starting to dominate entertainment.

Never an ist or a phobe, I was just a politically centrist straight white chick writing transgressive fiction; provocative human stories about soul struggles with deep power dynamics in slipstream SF or urban fantasy. My work appealed to many. But it didn’t fit the new narrative.

I had a choice to make:

Stay in Hollywood, drink the Kool-Aid now served in all mainstream writers rooms, toe the (literal) party line, and be assimilated into the new hive-mind.

Or I could red pill, stay true to myself, falling down the rabbit-hole as an indie renegade.

What if I told you that choice no longer exists for emerging creators? Initiatives employed by the mainstream now systematically silence ‘non-representative voices’ while amplifying those exemplifying the new narrative? This is not disgruntled conspiracy but a standard practice.

#Comicsgate and #TheFandomMenace are genuinely diverse communities of creators and commentary, voices like mine are finally given a chance to tell stories like these. Direct support from crowdfunding proves a fanbase exists for ALL of us. It also exposes the Hollywood narrative.

Bottom line? If Hollywood doesn’t want an opposition to form, it needs to practice authentic inclusion rather than propagate claims of false diversity. It’s in destroying the liberty of thought and freedom of expression that we create empires — and the rebels that fight them.

Wanna change the story, Hollywood? End the narrative. #Comicsgate and #TheFandomMenace are not the symptom of a toxic society but the reaction to a once-shining industry now overcome by its own fear-laden avarice it’s forgot its true purpose. So who’s REALLY fallen to the Dark side?

Alas, I have hope. I can tell stories and band with likeminded creators on both sides, renegades, armed with the spirit of truth. But to win we must coexist. Fight as one against the true enemy: the exclusionary propaganda that would make us hate. Don’t fall for it. Rise above.

You are the leaders of this new tomorrow. Remember. Be the exemplar. Be the balance. Trust. The path will unfold. I believe in you. You’ve got this. Keep shining.