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Fandom has always had its good and bad sides and now Game of Thrones author George RR Martin has spoken out on the toxic elements.
The 75-year-old, who is still working on the long-delayed The Winds of Winter, took to his blog this week to have a really good vent.
In a post titled “Dark Days” the fantasy writer despaired at the current geo-political state of the world with fears looming that World War III could be just around the corner.
He lamented: “It is hard to escape the feeling that we are living in the Weimar Republic [which was succeeded by Nazi Germany and the outbreak of the Second War War].”
On how he deals with the bleak outlook, the author shared: “Well, I take solace where I can… in books. In films and television shows… though even there, toxicity is growing.”
Martin continued: “It used to be fun talking about our favourite books and films, and having spirited debates with fans who saw things different… but somehow in this age of social media, it is no longer enough to say ‘I did not like book X or film Y, and here’s why.’
“Now social media is ruled by anti-fans who would rather talk about the stuff they hate than the stuff they love, and delight in dancing on the graves of anyone whose film has flopped.”
Elsewhere in the post, he added: “I am famous and I am wealthy and, supposedly, I have a ‘big platform.’ Whatever that is. But I have grown more and more cynical about this supposed ‘power’ that people keep telling me I have. Has anything I have ever written here ever changed a single mind, a single vote? I see no evidence of that. The era of rational discourse seems to have ended.”
