I've been a member and erratic contributor to ComicBookMovie.com for several years now. I love the news, scoops and editorials. I love the comradery and even the ribbing between users. However, in the last few years I have witnessed a change that both puzzles and bothers me.
One of the most talked about frustrations with a recent Comic Book film was started during the climax of:
Man Of Steel. When Kal-El finds himself faced with no other option, he snaps the neck of Zod, dropping his dead body to the ground. There have been numerous articles about the subject, whether they be editorials, interviews, etc... While I believe that there have been numerous valid arguments on both sides of the debate, the real problem is when we find that our hero... our shining example of what is right with the world, develops
slippery morality.
Truth is, it's too early to tell if there's any validity to this complaint. We won't truly be able to judge that statement until we see how (or if) the issue is dealt with in the sequel.
However,
there is another hero that has fallen prey to this ideology. A hero that I've watched fall into marred morality over time and found that
their grasp on who they are has been lost. That hero's name is: ComicBookMovie.com
Unlike the Man of Steel issue, this has been going on for some time. Sequels have not saved it from becoming an anti-hero... or possibly even a villain.
I remember the first time I typed [frick] into a comment here on CBM only to find that it had magically become [Frick]. I thought the censorship was stupid and it frustrated me at first, until I realized something very important;
I am a 33 year old man who is passionate about Super heroes, video games and cartoons. Though I don't have a problem embracing my inner man-child, it does occur to me that
there is another demographic that is wildly attracted to these things; Children. So as a father of two I found myself willing to relinquish my own rights for the protection of those who also enjoy our site.
Needless to say I got over the decision to censor users fairly quickly. Recently however,
I have found myself appalled by the inconsistency in the censorship of the site that I'd grown to love. Lately, there has been an over abundance of sexualized material shared on this site that has far greater consequences on our children than a four letter word. Whether it's barely covered cosplay, erotic body paint (disguised as cosplay), Esquire spreads, Porn Parodies, or endless articles centered on the boobs starring in Machete Kills.
We have lost our way. Either we are a site that acknowledges that children will
(and do) come to this site and we need to censor the content we allow it to carry, or we need to embrace the anti-hero (or villain)we've become and make it known that this site is
NSFW and is for
Adults only.
In the words of a CBM character that knows what it means to walk the line of villain and hero:
"Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof." -V (From V For Vendetta)
It's time for CBM to decide what the "idea" that resides behind our mask is really all about.
Pick a side CBM... Pick a side. Woodinator out.