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Sin and Virtue: The Internet’s Secret Code
Okay, so not long ago, I put out a post (written in November, actually…) about the internet getting meaner. Since then, I’ve been wracking my brain about why it’s happening.
Then I developed a theory that made it all snap into place.
What makes someone end up as the main character on Twitter for a particular day?
It might be a subculture issue — for example, tabletop roleplay game (TTRPG) Twitter is pretty mad at Critical Role right now because their opening credits feature arguably colonialist imagery/fantasies, and some have argued that its Marquet setting is supporting/pushing orientalism. (Orientalism is the term for the Western artistic fascination with “The East,” conflating a whole mess of cultures that include everything from Anatolians and Turks to Egyptians and Iranians, all the way to to Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese cultural elements, and more.)
I can’t really debate this argument because I’m not a SWANA (South-West Asian and/or North African) or SEA (South-East Asian) person, but I would say that there’s only so much any particular work of media can do to unpack the entire legacy of colonialism. Change is always going to be incremental; even revolutions leave a lot of paperwork in their wake.
