Hey folks.
We’re coming up on a year’s anniversary of TFL+, which makes now a good time to take stock. The project has produced work I’m proud of but there’ve been persistent issues that I need to resolve moving forward.
First, 2020 was … 2020. Mine was substantially better than a lot of people’s, but operating in a persistent state of existential terror and stress, oddly enough, is neither productive nor sustainable.
Second, Disney+ as a service was originally pitched as a back catalogue with a light seasoning of landmark new content, like Hamilton and The Mandalorian. Perfect fodder for what I wanted to do with TFL+. But delays due to COVID would, I argue, make 2021 a much better candidate for coverage of that ‘debut’. Especially as things have now been SO delayed I’m expecting a wave of intended-for-cinemas-but-come-on-now Marvel movies.
Which brings us to the biggest problem: Disney’s year long parade of awful ethical choices. Opening their parks; laying off 20,000 staff at the same time as paying 1.5 billion dollars in bonuses and dividends; the string of controversies surrounding Mulan. And most egregiously, their abject refusal to engage with the vastly dangerous and intensely bigoted views espoused by Mandalorian co-star Gina Carano. I couldn’t in good conscience continue to review Disney+’s cornerstone original flagship show.
Oh and just to top it all off, Substack head Chris Best has condemned the recent decision to de-platform many of the frothiest, most feral members of the Far Right. The only other CEO to join him from his field? John Matze. Of Parler.
Not the best time to be here.
So the question becomes, now what?
Well for a start, TFL+ will move. I’m still exploring options, but there are plenty that do everything Substack does without the Nazi apologia. That’s an easy solve.
As for content, well, over to you — What would you like to see in TFL+ moving forward? What have you enjoyed, and would make you continue supporting this income-generating side project? Right now I’m thinking I’ll continue with Disney+ on a case by case basis — Wandavision for sure. But I could just as easily cover Shudder, Amazon Prime, Netflix, or Apple TV. What would you like to see given the + style deep dive? Let me know (Twitter or comment). There’s lots of room under the Lid, so let’s work out what fits under there together.