It’s being widely reported that Rotten Tomatoes is now trying to police the user ratings for the upcoming film Black Panther. Reports are spreading around that the Facebook group called “Down With Disney’s Treatment of Franchises and Its Fanboys” have been planning to downvote Black Panther to further send a message that they don’t accept Disney and Marvel’s Social Justice-agendas in movies.
At the time of writing this article, the Facebook group is inaccessible.
IndieWire is reporting that the group had posted up an event for February 16th when the film launches, with the intended mission statement…
“Due to the sudden rise in those disgruntled with Disney business practices, especially due to the corporate manipulations which created falsified bad press for the DCEU, I feel that it’s time to strike back at all those under Disney and bring down the house of mouse’s actions for paying off the critics that hurt DC Comics on film and for other parties affected by them.”
In a statement sent to The Wrap, Rotten Tomatoes is getting out in front of the campaign by the Facebook group by looking to squelch and censor what they believe to be manufactured attempts to lower the score of Black Panther, stating…
“We at Rotten Tomatoes are proud to have become a platform for passionate fans to debate and discuss entertainment and we take that responsibility seriously. While we respect our fans’ diverse opinions, we do not condone hate speech. Our team of security, network and social experts continue to closely monitor our platforms and any users who engage in such activities will be blocked from our site and their comments removed as quickly as possible.”
Right now Marvel’s Black Panther has a Rotten Rating of 99% from the movie critics from 76 reviews, 75 of which have rated it “Fresh”.
Some fans are already under the impression that reviewers are being pressured into giving the movie a good score, lest they be excoriated by their peers.
I think Black Panther looks pretty dope but I feel bad for the first critic who doesn’t like it and has genuine complaints about it. Because god damn, they’re gunna get torn to shreds and labeled all kinds of slanderous things. Rip to whomever you are. pic.twitter.com/bB5I4n55Od
— Sophia (@Snorwich0747) February 7, 2018
Some fans have already been turned off at the idea of seeing the movie due to the Social Justice activists and minions of the Intersectional Inquisition making it known that the movie may be little more than a politically motivated piece of propaganda.
I’ll likely go see Black Panther because I really enjoy the MCU. But the SJW overtones of some of the reviews are annoying and make me want to see it less. It’s a damn comic book movie. @Marvel
— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) January 30, 2018
why do I feel like that #BlackPanther is gonna be one of those films where if you dislike/hate it, you’re instantly branded as a racist and have 7000 SJW’s on your ass.
— dan 🔥🐉 (@RealAxelphim) February 8, 2018
Rant Incoming!! You have been warned.
SJW and the extremist anti racist’s are more and more turning me away from the movie theatres to see Black panther. It’s almost as if they don’t want any people to come and enjoy the movie at all.
— 💫Cris🦁 (@DolphinRebel) February 7, 2018
Black Panther could end up being a big bomb at the theaters if this level of authoritarianism keeps up, especially while being coupled with sociopolitically-motivated reviews about racism, ethnostates and immigration.
Those who self-proclaim themselves as Social Justice Activists have already taken to Twitter to score Black Panther as a victory for their side, which is likely going to further diminish any likelihood of people who aren’t Leftists from wanting to see the film in theaters.
Young women as a targeted demo of comics and Superman going after the Klan and Black Panther getting great reviews and $$$- what a glorious time for me to be comic loving SJW pic.twitter.com/PjFmLRcd9Q
— DC Women Kicking Ass (@dcwomenkicknass) February 7, 2018
According to No Bullshit, some blacks are already planning on boycotting the film due to actor Michael B. Jordan’s racial politics.
If this kind of political-hamstringing pandering is as evident in the movie as it is in the reviews, Black Panther won’t last long as a success story at most theater chains, and will likely end up becoming a huge warning sign for future Marvel films.