Right now, I am sitting in the sun, cracking open a cold can of Green Monster Nitro, and watching the entire internet have a collective, pants wetting meltdown…
The digital mob is shrieking. They are rending their garments and gnashing their teeth over Christopher Nolan’s new 2026 adaptation of The Odyssey.
The casting choices that were dropped before release etc, and suddenly everyone with a internet connection and a pulse is an armchair historian, howling online about Matt Damon, Lupita Nyong’o, and Elliot Page etc.
The outrage is deafening.
The comment sections truly look like a dumpster fire…
And here is exactly what you should do when you see a mob chewing on glass like this.
You walk right up to the roaring fire, and you praise the goddamn movie.
(I can hear you gasping. “But what if my subscribers get mad?” Good. Let them)
I enjoyed it. Was it lore/history accurate? Probably not, but it was still damn good.
Back on topic…
There is a twisted, beautiful methodology to this madness. When you see a horde of people hating on something in droves, and you do the exact opposite.
When you loudly and aggressively declare your love for it (If you genuinely did like it) You create a massive, tectonic shift in polarity.
You don’t want a lukewarm email list/following etc. Lukewarm is death. Lukewarm is the puddle of tepid water at the bottom of the sink. You want an audience that vibrates at your exact, weird and wired frequency.
And so if you lean hard against the grain, you act as a polarising wedge between those two things.
The cool thing that happens when you do this right is that fence sitters effectively get in the bin on their own accord. The people who only open your emails to harvest free dopamine will furiously click unsubscribe. Good riddance don’t let the door smack you on the ass on the way out.
The loyalists lock in. The ones who actually share your weird, jagged worldview will suddenly see you as their fearless leader and the email platform algorithm/s learn. Dead weight drags you into obscurity. Slicing the fat keeps you sharp, focused and humbled.
And while we’re at it. Let’s address the elephant in the room which is screeching about “historical accuracy”…
Yes, sure, in a perfect world, everything should try to be historically accurate. We all love a deeply researched, authentic piece of media. But if it’s not. It is not a dealbreaker.
Why? Because literally none of us were around 3,000 years ago in the Bronze Age to document what was “truly true”. We are arguing over the historical fidelity of a story that features a one eyed cannibal giant, a witch who turns horny sailors into literal pigs, and angry sea monsters.
If a casting choice in a movie about magical cyclopes breaks your immersion, your brain is already a frictionless bowling ball.
Stop trying to appease the mob. Find the thing everyone is currently shitting on, step up to the plate, and tell them why they are wrong.
Watch the weak flee. Welcome the strong and that’s how you build a rabid loyal following of cool humans.
Obviously don’t make this type of thing your whole personality but sprinkle it in with your art.
Stephen Walker.