Cancel culture has shifted into it’s next gear. Canceling celebrities is so 2020. Now Hollywood is canceling film reviews.

The target was CinemaBlend’s Sean O’Connell, who apparently wrote a review of Pixar’s Turning Red (Domee Shi, director).  O’Connell took issue with the film’s narrow focus: a film set in Toronto, Ontario’s Asian community.  

I would love to tell you what the gist of the whole review was, but I cannot. After the cast of the film finished with the airing of grievances, it was removed from the internet.  All I can do is give you a quote from an article in Variety with the hope that it is somewhat accurate.

““I recognized the humor in the film, but connected with none of it. By rooting ‘Turning Red’ very specifically in the Asian community of Toronto, the film legitimately feels like it was made for [director] Domee Shi’s friends and immediate family members,” O’Connell wrote in the since-pulled review. “Which is fine — but also, a tad limiting in its scope.”

Hardly a scathing review, and not a racial slur to be found. At least this paragraph reads like, I don’t know, an honest critique of a film.  

He even used the word “tad.”  That is “raised pinky” territory, kind of a “wink, wink” to the reader that says, “Obviously it’s limiting, how can it not be?”.  

Good question. And good writing.

His point was spelled out for the government educated in an accompanying Tweet that read, “Some Pixar films are made for universal audiences. ‘Turning Red’ is not. The target audience for this one feels very specific and very narrow. If you are in it, this might work very well for you. I am not in it. This was exhausting.”

In short, he critiqued the film.  He did not like it.  Welcome to Hollywood where your films get critiqued.  

Or used to. It’s been swallowed up in CinemaBlend’s “trash” folder.  Too bad because unlike Turning Red, the review sounds like it was actually good.  

CinemaBlend pulled the review after the cast disagreed with it, because, that’s the new rule in Hollywood as long as you are an offended minority.  Not content with their films sucking, now movie reviews also have to suck.  

CinemaBlend issued an official statement, and O’Connell issued the obligatory apology, because that’s what you do when you have a Twitter mob’s gun to your head.

Faux outrage is the new KGB.  Offend it, and you might end up in the back of a Black Maria at 3 AM, never to be heard from again.

**Attention Twitter mob: the “black” in the Black Maria is referring to the color of the van.”  

At Loor, we think this is idiotic. We expect you to have an opinion about our content. If you think it sucks, say so.

We promise you this: if you do, we will not go crying to the triggered asking them to cancel your opinion.

Invest in a platform that isn’t thin skinned.  We are about to begin our Series A round of investment very soon.  If you can invest $250k or more, we should talk.

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