For the love of God, hear me out…
The last video on the Malfoid thing went over some heads, so this one slows down and lays the position out plainly.
I am not saying people are bad for engaging with the mainstream. That is probably what brought most of us together in the first place. I am also not pro or anti fan fiction, and that is not what any of this turns on. Both sides have been doing fan fiction for years. It is not new and it is not the variable.
Here is the actual argument. The right does not have a seat at the table in entertainment, and by seat I do not mean arguing as a fan. You already do that and you always have. I mean the dynamic. The mainstream is largely run by people who lean left, and some of them are openly hostile toward the people they disagree with. That is not a secret. It is why folks who are right of center inside that industry tend to keep it quiet, because being open about it is a good way to get pushed out.
Meanwhile the audience on the right is the more tolerant one in practice. They will consume entertainment made by people who do not like them, and they do it either way. So those positions were never really the deciding factor on whether somebody watches.
On the optimism, I understand the hope that this meme turns into some wave of new creation. I think that is unlikely, because people have been making their own stuff off of fandom forever. If it inspires you personally, go do it. That is your business. But moving the needle at scale takes a lot more than that. Nostalgia and legacy studios are most of the on ramp, and working with them comes with rules. JK Rowling sits in a rare position where she gets real say over her property. That is not the standard deal, and anybody who works in the industry will tell you the same.
This is not about the Rippaverse. It is industry wide, and most people in it know it and talk around it. You support them. They do not support you. Until that dynamic changes, nothing changes.
I would love for it to be different. I am telling you what it is.