Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and Fandom
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The ongoing oppression of Palestine by Israel and the subsequent fight for Palestinian liberation have impacted fandom in a number of ways.
Beginning in late 2023, the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip as part of the Gaza–Israel conflict, and the resultant Gaza Strip famine and Gaza humanitarian crisis, as well as the subsequent uptick in Israeli settler violence, has had a particularly influential impact on fandom.
Fans have held fannish fundraisers for humanitarian relief, engaged in political activism in a fannish context, had significant arguments about the crisis, and implemented rules about discussing the crisis in fannish spaces such as forums, subreddits, discord servers, and message boards. The fannish response to the unfolding crisis has varied from hopeful to combative.
Fundraising
During the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza beginning in 2023, fans held many charity fundraising events occurred to raise money to provide humanitarian aid in Gaza.
These fundraising events have primarily taken the form of charity auctions and charity zines. Commonly selected charities include the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund and Medical Aid for Palestinians.
Notable Fandoms
Blue Eye Samurai
After the creator of the show, Michael Green, liked and retweeted various posts on Twitter, fans began to call for a boycott of the show Blue Eye Samurai.[1][2] Some fans have pointed out the irony of his support for Israel, arguing that since anti-colonialism is a theme of the show, supporting the coloniser goes against his own show's message.[3][4]
In response, the fanzine Bubbles on the Water was created to raise money for 'Care for Gaza'.[5][6]
Dune
A primary criticism of Dune, both the original Frank Herbert book and its adaptations, has been its orientalist incorporation of various SWANA cultures, made arguably worse when the latter have few actors of SWANA descent. In November 2023, the lead actor, Timothée Chalamet, also appeared on an SNL sketch featuring a joke about Hamas that some viewed to be insensitive. With this, and given the release of Dune: Part Two and its timing during the ongoing situation in Palestine, many Palestinians encouraged a boycott of the film. This was further exemplified when Anya Taylor Joy, an actress in the film, wore what resembled to many to be a hijab during the film's premiere.[7]
Eurovision Song Contest
2019
2024
Activists intiially demanded the disqualification of the Israeli broadcaster from the competition, with comparisons made to the previous disqualification of the Russian broadcaster. Following confirmation that Israel would be participating, there were calls to boycott the competition, including from the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), part of BDS. The boycott was also fueled by the inclusion of Azerbaijan, responsible for the 2023 flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians from the Republic of Artsakh.
Fannish discussion in spaces like /r/eurovision was focused on the various controversies of the 2024 Eurovision, including
- the banning of Palestinian flags, symbols and the EU flags at the event
- censorship of artists who wanted to reference the conflict
- the disqualification of the Dutch entry due to an alleged altercation with a member of Eurovision staff
- The high percentage on votes to Israel by the public compared to the jury
During the event, fans who were in attendance booed the Israeli entry during her performances.[8]
The crowdfunded event FalastinVision was created as an alternative to Eurovision 2024, calling itself 'The Genocide Free Song Contest'.
The Last of Us
Our Flag Means Death
- Criticism of Renew the Crew
- Our Flag For Palestine
Stranger Things
There have been calls to boycott the show in response to some actors voicing support for Israeli government. [20] [21]
Undertale
- https://old.reddit.com/r/Undertale/comments/1adxgi8/an_updated_policy_on_the_palestine_israel/
- https://old.reddit.com/r/Undertale/comments/1adpqfi/what_do_people_expect_to_get_from_propalestine/
Other
- Gal Gadot and Wonder Woman (2017 live-action film)
- Lana Del Rey[9]
- https://pjmedia.com/jon-del-arroz/2023/11/06/swiftiesforpalestine-trends-as-fans-try-to-bully-taylor-swift-into-opposing-israel-n4923660
[quinnfebrey]
remember when taylor speaking about voting led to a 1226% increase in vote.org activity within just an hour?
it’s been just 2 hours and her instagram post announcing the new album already has over 7 million likes.
i wonder how many phone calls to reps, money to feed starving people in gaza, emails to government officials, and awareness could be brought about if she were to do literally anything to acknowledge the ongoing genocide that has murdered over 10,000 children!
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ [10]
- LegitTayUpdates - In 2019, the Twitter account LegitTayUpdates posted after a period of inactivity, explaining she had been in prison. Upon questioning, she explained she was in prison due to refusing to join the IDF. The exchange went viral, and subsequent interviews revealed the Twitter user to be an Israeli teenager who refused to join the IDF out of moral objections to the oppression of the Palestinian people. Many found it humorous and inspiring that a teenage Swiftie--who would be expected to be a frivolous young person--made such a principled stand.[11]
- "The Israel/Hamas War" is one of few discussion topics banned on /r/hobbydrama.[12]
- Just got a second official warning (post by le-bjorn) - OTW volunteer le-bjorn wrote this callout post of the OTW, describing their resignation from the OTW following being reprimanded for their use of the political slogan "from the river to the sea, palestine will be free" as their status on the OTW volunteer chatting app.
- https://old.reddit.com/r/JustUnsubbed/comments/1ak38er/ju_from_hatsune_yet_another_sub_infected_once_more/
- https://www.tumblr.com/msmarvelzine/735533083599716352
- Posting in Splatoon 3 - https://www.tumblr.com/biocrafthero/740544031400050688?source=share
- Use of fandom in activism including stickers - https://www.tumblr.com/radicalgraff/738510063738798080?source=share
- Creation of separate/private spaces for pro-Israel fans
- Related Do Not Interact
Some online spaces and fandoms have been used for virtual protests such as the pro-Palestinian protests on Roblox in 2023.[13]
The Palestinian artist and JJK fan, Noury (@Noony_Boony), on Twitter was injured in an attack on Gaza during the 2023-2024 Israeli operation against the region. In response, fans on the site began to draw Gojo with sunflowers in honour of her and as a gesture of solidarity.[14][15]
#Blockout2024
TPTB
Fans of celebrities - actors and singers etc - have responded in several ways whenever their favourite celebrity has voiced their thoughts on the situation. Some celebrities and real people have shown support for Palestine:
- Macklemore has been to Pro-Palestine protests and in May 2024 released a protest song, Hind's Hall, sampling Fairuz. His reputation in wider fandom was that he was generally considered to be cringe, in a similiar sense to the likes of Imagine Dragons or Nickelback but for rap. Some folks apologised for their previous opinion on him,[16] some insisted he was still cringe but it didn't matter.
He’s still a cringe artist but that doesn’t have anything to do with him being a great activist[17]
- Artists4Ceasefire
- Hunter Schafer was arrested at a Pro-Palestine protest.
Discussion
- https://www.tumblr.com/is-the-fire-real/742867523608969216/whither-the-pro-pals-a-year-from-now-i-feel-that
- https://old.reddit.com/r/Jewish/comments/1ad3crj/antisemitism_in_fandom_spaces/[18]
- https://am-i-the-asshole-official.tumblr.com/post/732826048132202496/the-actual-problem-is-a-lot-more-nuanced-than-that
- https://old.reddit.com/r/Israel/comments/1982ikt/a_favorite_youtuber_of_mine_is_propalestinian/
- https://www.tumblr.com/jewish-vents/745229285795725312
- https://www.tumblr.com/is-the-fire-real/744141009029595136/another-bit-on-the-pro-pal-fandom-this-one
- https://palipunk.tumblr.com/post/743165415041204224/i-think-my-issue-with-the-draw-blorbo-holding-a
- https://gentil-minou.tumblr.com/post/732989432774508544/do-not-forget-that-palestinians-are-humans-just
- https://www.tumblr.com/jewreallythinkthat/743788904610693120/would-love-it-if-people-stopped-fandomising-the
- https://www.tumblr.com/the-catboy-minyan/747163503834677248/some-of-you-dont-understand-what-it-means-to
Maybe it's a controversial take, but I don’t think popular fandoms (or any fandom period) should be hijacked to spread/encourage antisemitism, call for Jewish genocide, spread disinformation, or promote revisionism/erasure/whitewashing of Jewish history. Especially since the I/P conflict has already been heavily trivialized by western leftists. Human lives are not toys or pawns to be used at people's leisure.
literally cannot reblog a single post by random fandom accounts on this webbed site because every single time i search israel on their blog it’s always blood libel misinformation o’clock. meanwhile they don’t have a word to say about any other geopolitical issue to have ever happened.
i know i’ve complained about this before but jesus christ[20]
Fandomisation
Some folks have compared each side of the movement with fandom or sports teams.
Whither the pro-Pals a year from now?I feel that "fandom as politics" most adequately covers the behavior of pro-Palestinians on Tumblr, and being an Old Hand At Fandom, this gives me some impressions on what the future holds. I know this is a matter of great concern for those of us on Tumblr who are their favorite targets.
My estimates are not scientific, and are based on experience in seeing the rise and fall of many fandoms. I am not psychic and make no guarantees.
1. The Old Guard: The smallest contingent of pro-Palestinian activists will be permanently, irrevocably radicalized by propaganda, and they will not go back. Truthfully, there is nowhere for them to go. They have burned all of their online goodwill invested in this fandom, and as the rest fall away, they will rage at their own allies, burning those bridges as well. These people are just as hateful and insufferable IRL as they are online, so they will know nobody who isn't also pro-Pal. They will remain behind in the fandom.
When it later repopularizes as Tumblr rediscovers the fandom due to future content being released in the form of another war, the Old Guard will snark and brag about how they carried the torch while everybody else abandoned the fandom of The Great Cause. The Old Guard will constitute the BNFs of the pro-Pal fandom and their closest friends, at most 10% of the current fandom.
2. The Fond Recollectors: A lack of new, shiny, emotionally-evocative content for the pro-Pal fandom will drop it, the same as how many fandom members abandon a fandom once it is cancelled or after endless delays for new material. These folks will not think of their time in the pro-Pal fandom as wasted. They will look back on this time of trauma, war, and upheaval as one of the most exhilarating and joyful times of their lives. They will generally act as though they weren't part of the fandom, but when they find people who used to be in the fandom, it will be like finding somebody who shares a fandom you used to adore. They will whisper, with smirking conspiratorialism, of how one time they got a Jewish--uh, Zionist--person to deactivate their Tumblr account. They will confess among one another how many times they sent "kys" messages to Zionists, and giggle. It will be like ex-Johnlockers lol'ing among themselves about having stalked the actors IRL.
If the fandom gets new content in the form of a war, then the Fond Recollectors will rejoin with glee. They will accept the Old Guard's hostility ("Where were you all this time?") as their just punishment. Otherwise, Fond Recollectors will be mid-grade antisemitic in whatever new political or media fandoms they join. They will constitute roughly 30% of the current pro-Pal fandom, and will mostly be composed of folks who post extremely prolifically but are not currently BNFs.
3. The Shamefaced Ex-Fans: Whether we like it or not, most folks get caught up in a fandom cycle due to hype from friends and socmed pressure. This creates a peak of interest which is followed by burnout. A person in this category engaged constantly and thoughtlessly with pro-Palestinian fandom content for hours every day, yet never engaged with purpose or by creating transformative works. Once the fandom fails to produce enough new content, they will look around, dazed, and wonder what the hell they even liked about it in the first place.
Now out of the hype cycle, Ex-Fans will be able to look more critically at their behavior. They will not recognize their Jew-hate, but they will recognize the silliness of a lot of their behavior. "Gosh, I can't believe I thought reblogging on Tumblr would end a war" will take the place of phrases like "... would make that ship become canon" in their lexicon. They will look back at this time with embarrassment; again, not because they understand the harm they have done, but because they understand it's "cringe" to care about stuff that's not pluperfect and doesn't achieve the stated goal. They will be the least apparently-antisemitic and the most likely to make friends with Jewish people online, because they will change their names and will not admit what they were doing during the Hamas/Israel war.
If the pro-Pal fandom gets new content in the future--again, in the form of a new war--the Ex-Fans will primarily fall silent. They will be overwhelmed by shame (not guilt, and not responsibility). They will not rejoin unless dragged into it, but they will not speak out to support Jewish people. They will constitute roughly 60% of the current fandom.
These are bleak estimates, because a newly revitalized pro-Pal fandom will not need the Shamefaced Ex-Fans. The core of the fandom, the Old Guard and the Fond Recollectors, will do what all passionate cores of fandoms do in these situations: recruit. And while most of these recruits are destined to become Ex-Fans in the far future, many will join the other two categories, being partially or permanently radicalized into a movement of antisemitism.
In a sense, what we are seeing is what Tumblr would have been like if Moffat had said "Johnlock will never be canon, and it's all because of the Jews".[21]
However, this way of looking at a geopolitical issue, especially one that has resulted in mass displacement and killings of Palestinians has been extensively criticised.
The term 'Pro-Pal' has been heavily criticised not just by the pro-Palestine movement, but by Palestinians themselves.
Fan works
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fan art
The Palestinian artist and JJK fan, Noury (@Noony_Boony), on Twitter was injured in an attack on Gaza during the 2023-2024 Israeli operation against the region. In response, fans on the site began to draw Gojo with sunflowers in honour of her and as a gesture of solidarity.[22][23]
Some fans began drawing characters with the Palestinian flag or wearing a keffiyeh.
Further reading
Notes
References
- ^ [1] - Twitter via Nitter to show thread
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6]
- ^ [7]
- ^ [8]
- ^ https://old.reddit.com/r/lanitas/comments/17mnd1i/has_anyone_seen_this_letter_that_fan_accounts/
- ^ [9]
- ^ [10], [11], [12], [13], [14]
- ^ https://old.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/wiki/banned_topics ; https://old.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/wiki/revisions/banned_topics ; https://web.archive.org/web/20231122232944/https://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/wiki/banned_topics/
- ^ Kids are attending pro-Palestinian protests on Roblox
- ^ [15]
- ^ [16]
- ^ [I apologize for calling Macklemore cringe]
- ^ [17]
- ^ WBM
- ^ https://www.tumblr.com/cottagecorebihexual/742216049299226624/maybe-its-a-controversial-take-but-i-dont-think
- ^ https://avi-on-jumblr.tumblr.com/post/747781452958154752
- ^ https://www.tumblr.com/is-the-fire-real/742867523608969216/whither-the-pro-pals-a-year-from-now-i-feel-that WBM archive.ph
- ^ [18]
- ^ [19]