Alan Moore, comics legend, calls out the'reflexive violence' of pop culture fans: 'Fan attitude has toxified world'

Alan Moore, one of the most influential and best-known comic book writers, has written a treatise for The Guardian about the rise of fandom in popular media. He warns that while it may be "a force for good," the phenomenon can deteriorate into a "grotesque blight" that "poisons the society around it with its meanhearted obsessions and ridiculous unearned senses of entitlement."

Moore's essay starts by referring to comments he made in 2017 about the rise of super hero movies. These were originally published on Folha de So Paulo, and then translated and posted on his own website a few years later. Moore's comment about "a deliberate, self-imposed emotional arrest combined with an numbing state of cultural stasis among superhero movie fans" is probably the most famous part of his interview, but the real heat comes later.

Moore continued: "The superheroes, largely created and drawn by creators that have never fought for their rights against the companies who employ them, let alone the rights of Jack Kirby, Jerry Siegel, or Joe Schuster, would seem to be used primarily as cowardice compensaters, perhaps a little like the handgun in the nightstand." "I would also like to point out that these books, and these iconic characters, are still white supremacist fantasies of the master race. There are only a few non-white characters in these books (and these creators). In fact, DW Griffith's Birth of a Nation is a great American superhero film, and I believe that it was the origin of all the capes and masques.

As you can imagine, the damning criticism didn't go down well with many people, especially fans of superhero films. Moore uses it as a basis for his new essay in which he examines the nature of fandom, and how it has changed since his youth, becoming older, more affluent and firmly ensnared in nostalgia. This increase in age and wealth may explain the commensurate rise in a feeling of privilege.

Moore wrote: "I only speak of comics fandom, but I have the impression that this reflexive aggression--most often from middle-aged conservative white men--is now part of many fan groups." "My 14-year old grandson told me that older Pokemon fans can display the same febrile disgruntlement."

This sort of thing can also be seen in the worlds of videogames. There are many campaigns, mostly on social media, to punish anyone who dares to challenge stereotypical "gamer supremacy", built on memories and beliefs that were formed in early puberty. The "tidal waves of hate and abuse," inflicted upon the Dustborn developers, or the anger directed at games like Suicide Squad or Concord, went beyond any reasonable or acceptable level of criticism.

It's not true that all fandoms are bad. Some fandoms consist of people who share common interests and enjoy supporting their hobbies. Moore's "febrile resentment" of toxic fans pollutes the cultural waters around us.

Moore, who is well-versed in the history of the game industry, wrote: "We may suffer largely misogynist campaigns such as Gamergate and Comicsgate, from those who believe that 'gate' means conspiracy, and that Nixon's disgrace rested on a plot involving a water molecule. But this is not the full extent of how fan attitudes have tainted the world around us, most evidently in our politics."

"Elections that determine the fate of millions take place in an atmosphere more suitable to evictions from I'm a Celebrity ...,, where contestants who are not sufficiently amusing are removed. The issue is not substance but saleability. "Those who vote for Donald Trump and Boris Johnson are less motivated by their policy or previous accomplishments than by how much the performances on The Apprentice and Have I Got News for You have moved them."

Moore concluded: "You don't have to use the machete or megaphone." He's absolutely right, as he is about everything else. But (because he haslargely been right about everything else) we will close the comments.