The Iron Age, and the Importance of Critique
The Iron Age is already upon us. And it's not a question of when it will spread, but what we should do when it inevitably grows.
Truly it’s an interesting time to be alive.
The Iron Age of media is upon us, and it’s only a matter of time before our creative passions spread and the more established creators in our world are forced to respond. And what’s exciting most of all is that we’re a creative movement that’s founded on the abject absence of political messaging (whether that be Left-leaning, or Right-).
It has now come to us, the fans, to add our own thoughts and voices to the mix - sound out our passions for storytelling, and remind ourselves that there is still a demand for stories with universal values of love, perseverance, friendship, and heroism.
Already we are seeing these changes taking place, along with the natural push-back that’s associated with such a movement. Fellow creators such as Eric July, The Critical Drinker, Shad M. Brooks, and the almighty Razörfist have each shown us that not only do we still crave classic stories of good vs. evil, but that it can also sell at a mass-market scale.
However, as we continue to create and wile away the hours amongst our passions, a question looms on the horizon: How do we respond as the Iron Age grows?
At first this question might seem superfluous, as for the time being many of our creations are still in their infancy. I am certainly no exception to this rule, as I’m still just in the first stages of editing my works before I concern myself with the matter of publishing, not to mention the tricks involved with actually marketing my creations and seeing that it finds an audience.
But as we can see now from platforms such as Iron Age Media, this may not last much longer, as more and more of us are now jumping on this new-and-exciting bandwagon. And as time passes and communities from Hollywood and major publishers take notice, we may in fact start to see a similar affliction that has driven these same businesses into their death throes. Political movements such as “Woke-ism,” not to mention its extreme counterpart, could very well seep its way into the Iron Age, and try to “corrupt” what we’ve each explicitly stated we would not do.
If it can happen to movies, books, video games, etc., then it can happen to us.
But there is a silver-lining to this possibility. For if or when we see this sort of ideological dogma creeping into our creative sphere; if we realize that our very creations are turned, seemingly, against us; I propose the following response:
We do not gatekeep the creators. Instead we only gatekeep the gatekeepers, and for the rest we critique their works, levelly and constructively.
Consider this approach for a moment, and think of how the Iron Age first began. At first there came our distaste as we saw our favorite properties being destroyed before our very eyes. Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, and Doctor Who are all properties that come to mind, along with many others. But how was it that our aspirations as authors, artists, film-makers, and game designers all came together?
Simply put, it was because we voiced our disdain, and when our criticisms were not met, we fixed it ourselves.
In a sense, that’s probably why I’m more tolerant to the extended critique of series like Rings of Power and She-Hulk. Both of these are beloved series that have long established fan-bases; and more importantly it gives us the power to say, “No, there are better stories out there than just these.”
That’s it. And I believe in the long run this will only help to foster creativity for those of us who just wish to hone our talents, and become better at what we do. Because really I think that those of us who align ourselves with the Iron Age are just fans, ones who have seen our favorite properties changed irrevocably for the worse. I, too, am one of those fans; and if I’m proven wrong over time, then I’m happy to accept it.
In the end, I just want to see that all of us succeed.
This right here had to be said. And I don't mean that in the "mUh HoT tAkE" way either lol.
I came to the Iron Age as an expressly apolitical entity. I'd been struggling to find projects that spoke to me and allowed me to really turn myself loose as a creative. And no sooner had I released the debut summer edition of "365" than did this movement sprout up. And while it took some time to congeal, I'm elated to see that we're pushing in a direction where we are angling for a more positive vision, and I think this line of critique is a step in that direction. At the end of the day, we should all be working to create the media we wish to see. The grand adventures, the engaging characters, the sharp stylizations. The days of obsessing over the big league's failures are numbered, and the only way to ensure top-shelf work is by wielding our sharpened pens of critique as necessary to preserve the overall goal of fun, substantive, and stylish fiction in all forms.