Palestinian Solidarity and Fandom

From Fanlore
Jump to navigation Jump to search

This article documents a currently unfolding situation within the fannish realm. Content may change quickly, and the page structure itself may undergo major revision. New details are very welcome.

Related terms:
See also: Boycott, Social Justice and Fandom, Real World Events in Fanworks, Race and Fandom, Religion, Judaism and Fandom, Islam and Fandom, Cultural Imperialism in Fandom, Leftism in Fandom
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Ongoing prior to late 2023, but increasing 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 and general movement for Palestinian Liberation 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.

Brief Context

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict dates back to the early 20th century, even before the state of Israel was officially created.

Over the years, some pro-Palestinian advocates, including Palestinians themselves, have variously criticized and called for boycotting media and fandoms that support or legitimize the Israeli government or the Israeli state, in protest of the displacement and violence directed at Palestinians.

In late 2023, the conflict intensified in a phase that has been called the 2023 "Israel-Hamas War". The intensity and casualties of the violence have attracted much international attention. At this point, the discussion and politics regarding the conflict have become prominent and popular in fandom communities across the world.

Fandom

Palestinians have been frequently felt alienated by and within fandom.[1]

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.

Additional fundraising activities include charity gaming streams.

Fundraisers/Charity Auctions

Title Fandom Link
ARMY 4 Palestine ARMY (BTS) army4palestine
Beefleaf Gotcha For Gaza Beefleaf, TGCF beefleafaction
Books for Palestine Auction Ali Hazelwood BFP2023
BTS ARMY for PCRF Fundraiser BTS BTS ARMY for PCRF Fundraiser
Creators for Palestine YouTubers, multifandom https://tiltify.com/@creators-for-palestine/profile, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/quRSSYusEZI, https://old.reddit.com/r/youtubedrama/comments/1cp0x5o/several_creators_have_joined_together_with_the/
Crows4Palestine QSMP crows4palestine, crows-4-palestine
D20 Artists For Palestine Dimension 20 d20afp
DMC4Gaza Devil May Cry dmc4gaza at Tumblr, Twitter
Fandoms For Palestine Multifandom fandomsforpalestine
FE Rally for Gaza Fire Emblem
Fics for Gaza Multifandom
GIFs for Gaza Multifandom
Gotcha for Gaza Various
Grishaverse Artists for Palestine Grishaverse Grishaverse Artists for Palestine promo post
JJKtwt4Gaza Jujutsu Kaisen Why is #JJKtwt4Gaza trending on Twitter? Here's everything you need to know about 'Jujutsu Kaisen' fandom
Jojotwt4Gaza Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Twitter
Our Flag For Palestine Our Flag Means Death
OFMD Gotcha for Gaza Our Flag Means Death ofmdaction
Oinkers for Palestine Technoblade oinkers-for-palestine tiltify, #OinkersForPalestine
One in An ARMY ARMY (BTS) oneinanarmy
#OPtwt4Gaza One Piece Twitter
Project for Awesome Vlogbrothers, Nerdfighteria projectforawesome
QSMP for Palestine QSMP
Tumblr Artists for Palestine Multifandom artistsforpalestine
Star Wars Artists for Palestine Star Wars swartists4palestine
Stay for PCRF Stray Kids fundraising page
TMNT4P Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles tmnt4p
Twisted-Wonderland Charity Drive Twisted Wonderland twst-charity

Charity Zines

Title Fandom Link
Ace Omens (second volume proceeds donated to PCRF) Good Omens
B Team Zine TMNT bteamzine
Blood Moon Rising: A Horror Zelda Zine The Legend of Zelda bloodmoonzine
Bubbles on the Water Blue Eye Samurai bubbles_zine; bubbles-zine; carrd
Catch Me If You Can multi-fandom Detectives & Thieves CMIYCzine, cmiyczine at Tumblr
Celebrate! A W.I.T.C.H fanzine W.I.T.C.H.
Cut and Weave World of Warcraft Tumblr announcement post
Desire: An Asoryuu Marriage Zine The Great Ace Attorney
Domain Expansion: A Jujutsu Kaisen Zine Jujutsu Kaisen
Don't Let Them Change Us Bad Buddy badbuddyfanzine
Donut Panic! A Trigun Cookbook Trigun triguncookbook
Earth Guardian's Domain Genshin Impact
Enemy Within (second volume proceeds donated to United Nations Crisis Relief for Gaza) League of Legends enemywithinzine
Every Day With You Project Sekai Colorful Stage anhanezine
Fallen: A Hegemon Zine Fire Emblem: Three Houses
From the Edge of Hope Pacific Rim edgeofhopezine
From the Shadows: The Women of Dai Gyakuten Saiban Dai Gyakuten Saiban dgswomenzine
Good Omens for Palestine Good Omens goodomensforpalestine
Heartland: a multi-fandom charity zine for Palestine Multi-Fandom heartlandzine
At Home in the Mirror Disco Elysium de-fanzine-at-home-in-the-mirror
In My Cottage Multifandom https://zez.am/zinencarton
Incandescent: A Magical-Girls Zine Magical girls
Inheritance: An Attack on Titan Zine Attack on Titan aotwarriorszine
Inventing love Our Flag Means Death
Isla y Ovos: A QSMP Artbook QSMP qsmpartbook
Kyoko Zine Kyoko Kirigiri kyokozine
The Matchablossom Anthology SK8 the Infinity mbanthology
Metachrosis Blue Lock mikagereozine; carrd
Mob Psycho 100: Alternate Universe Zine Mob Psycho 100 mp100auzine
No More: A Doctor Who Zine for Palestine Doctor Who thirteenfanzine
Only Justice Will Bring Peace ATLA atlafanzine
Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Book So We Wouldn't Get Sued: A Fall Out Boy Charity Fanbook Fall Out Boy
Palimpsest Pentiment palimpsestzine
PJO Planner Percy Jackson and the Olympians pjoplanner
"pocket recipes" by tinymankai A3! Zine Announcement
Rattle the Stars Treasure Planet Donation announcement
Red Tape (second volume proceeds donated to PCRF) Good Omens
Refracted Lives Doctor Who
Riverside Wonders Touhou Project thriversidezine
RWBY Couture RWBY rwbycouture
Spill the Tea: a Kirumi Tojo zine kirumizine
The Song of Bids and Flowers Boku no Hero Academia thesongofbirdsandflowers
Sunshine Zine Call of Duty carrd, SoapZine2024
Swifieism Taylor Swift swiftieismzine, swiftieismzine.com
Thirteen: An Unofficial Doctor Who Fanzine Doctor Who Announcement post
Ties Through Teyvat Genshin Impact
Trektastic Zine Star Trek: TOS Donation Announcement
Transcend: A Ranwan Zine transcendzine
Vampire's Vestige Vampire Hunter D vampirehunterdzine
Yasuhiro and Hiroko Hagakure Zine Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc pastpresentfuturezine
Yip Yip! An Avatar Animals Fanzine Avatar yipyipzine, Announcement post

Notable Fandoms

K-pop

Media Coverage

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.[2][3] 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.[4][5]

In response, the fanzine Bubbles on the Water was created to raise money for 'Care for Gaza'.[6][7]

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.[8]

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 edition of 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
  • Jewish Insider: "Israeli and Jewish artists face threats, boycotts at U.S. shows"

During the event, fans who were in attendance booed the Israeli entry during her performances.[9]

The crowdfunded event FalastinVision was created as an alternative to Eurovision 2024, calling itself 'The Genocide Free Song Contest'.

Our Flag Means Death

Stranger Things

There have been calls to boycott the show in response to some actors voicing support for Israeli government. how are stranger things fans reconciling their fandom identity with the israel gaza conflict? With the news of TLOU 2 remaster, this is a reminder not to buy it or ANY tlou content. Neil Druckmann is a zionist

Undertale

Taylor Swift

[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]

Other

Fandom-related occurrences

Some online spaces and fandoms have been used for virtual protests such as the pro-Palestinian protests on Roblox in 2023.[15]

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.[16][17]

#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, 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[18]

Discussion

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.

#keep politics out of the fandom[20]

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[21]

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".[22]

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.

yourfavispropalestine Tumblr blog

In the line of other yourfavis blogs, a Tumblr user created 'yourfavispropalestine' in March 2024, a decision that was criticised by many. Once it became clear the blog was run by a Palestinian, opinion stayed mixed, with some criticising the judgement of Palestinians' means of mourning and engaging with fandom, and others maintaining the inappropriateness of fandomising the situation in that manner.[23]

who-is-the-worst-palestinian Tumblr blog

In April 2024, a poll blog titled who-is-the-worst-palestinian was created on Tumblr that drew massive backlash. The blog owner's reasons for doing so allegedly included that in their view, Palestinians on Tumblr had been bullying fandoms.[24] The blog was taken down very quickly after it appeared.

The blog mostannoyingfandom-poll received and answered the following ask:

Anonymous asked:

Did u see that some freak copied ur poll idea but did it to attack palestinian bloggers because one of them said something bad about ofmd.[note 1] They even put a guy whos going thru the genocide in gaza on the poll and tagged him in it.

mostannoyingfandom-poll answered:

oh jesus fucking christ. nows the time to note there was an influx of about 20 submissions of "hamas fandom" and "free palestine" fandom which were all deleted (obviously) so I'd guess it's the same people

should go without saying but I'll say it anyway. fuck zionists. fuck israel. all love and support to palestinians and their inevitable freedom, israel cannot keep a hold over your people forever and I believe palestine will see freedom. and the people running that blog are cunts.[25]

Fanworks

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.[16][17]

Some fans began drawing characters with the Palestinian flag or wearing a keffiyeh. Additionally, watermelons (or slices of the fruit) are also used as symbolism for support.

Gallery

Further reading

Notes

  1. ^ OfMonstersAndWerewolves says: Haven't yet managed to find evidence as to whether it was OFMD specifically or if this is an extrapolation on anon's part, if anyone has any links

References

  1. ^ I think my issue with the “draw blorbo holding a watermelon or Palestinian flag” trend thing
  2. ^ Nov 19, 2023 nitter post - Twitter via Nitter to show thread
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ Nov 19, 2023 Tweet by smallpog4
  5. ^ One of the creators for Blue Eye Samurai, Michael Green, posted Israeli propaganda on his Twitter
  6. ^ Nov 25, 2023 Tweet by Tokiimon
  7. ^ bubblesonthewater caard
  8. ^ The Hijab Obsession in Hollywood and High Fashion
  9. ^ Vid of Israel's performance at Eurovision being disrupted
  10. ^ remember when taylor speaking about voting led to a 1226% increase in vote.org activity within just an hour?
  11. ^ Nov 3, 2023 Reddit thread
  12. ^ I just know the Zionist propaganda that Marvel will do with Sabra
  13. ^ Taylor Swift megafan goes viral after prison stint for dodging IDF draft, April 2, 2021 Tweet by jvplive, Meet the Taylor Swift Stan Who Went to Jail, 60 – Fuck You, Goku is Real, Before you mock stan culture, look to the Taylor Swift fan account which proved its wokeness in one viral tweet
  14. ^ "List of banned topics on r/HobbyDrama". {{cite web}}: |archive-url= requires |archive-date= (help)
  15. ^ Kids are attending pro-Palestinian protests on Roblox
  16. ^ a b Nov 8, 2023 tweet by butnotamermaid
  17. ^ a b Fanart of Gojo
  18. ^ I apologize for calling Macklemore cringe
  19. ^ WBM
  20. ^ Maybe it's a controversial take, but I don’t think popular fandoms (or any fandom period) should be hijacked to spread/encourage antisemitism
  21. ^ cannot reblog a single post by random fandom accounts on this webbed site
  22. ^ Whither the pro-Pals a year from now? WBM archive.ph
  23. ^ muppethole via visualnovelboyfriend (2024-03-12). ""yourfavispropalestine" can we be normal? can we take anything seriously for ten minutes?". Archived from the original on 2024-08-24.
  24. ^ Apirl 18, 2024 Tumblr post by trans4trans
  25. ^ Did u see that some freak copied ur poll idea but did it to attack palestinian bloggers