As the Iron Age movement grows, attracts new creators and fans, and naturally evolves, many people have their own ideas on what it is or should be. So, with that, I figured that I’d expand on my thoughts, based off of some interactions I’ve had over the last few months.
Since it is sometimes hard to elaborate in a tweet or other social media comment, I feel as if I need more space to hit my points more precisely.
Based off of what many have learned from other similar movements, a lot of people want to take the reins and with that, try and control it through gatekeeping and making rules, purity tests, and some sort of criteria that includes or excludes certain creators or fans. The irony on this, is that movements like comicsgate and gamergate have tried this on some level and devolved into cliques and clubs, often times at odds with each other.
I’ve stated before that there should be no rules and no governing body. Once that happens, what the movement is will dwindle away like anything else grassroots that got co-opted by outside forces and people wanting to wield their growing influence for control. Hell, go beyond nerd shit and just look at things like the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street.
The thing is, no matter how hard people within a movement want to avoid this from happening, it always does. Humans are humans and we are tribalistic. Even if we’ve found our tribe, we often times seek out conflict from within. It’s just the nature of these things and us, as a species. This is also why I don’t typically take on labels and carry banners.
I’m an individual, as is everyone else, and with that, I feel like it is the job of the individual to gatekeep those they personally don’t want in their own circle. This is the whole voting with your money thing. If you don’t like something, don’t support it. The market, as a whole, will determine who succeeds and who doesn’t.
Some seem to think that we need to actively work towards keeping out problematic creators, mainly those from the mainstream that could infiltrate and destroy what many perceive the Iron Age as. I think that’s a little paranoid and alarmist. If you’ve followed recent history and similar movements, once the mainstream is aware of the Iron Age, they’ll attack it and anyone close to it.
Hollywood and mainstream types aren't going to try and come in unless they're willing to leave their mainstream career behind and draw the ire of their shrieking, infantile contemporaries. The Iron Age, once it becomes known to those types, will most assuredly have the same stigma as comicsgate and gamergate. Especially, if the content being produced within the sphere of the Iron Age is superior to the mainstream. Frankly, from what I’ve seen, it already is.
I’m not here to gatekeep. I’m here to offer open arms to those that just want to step away from propagandist mainstream content and enjoy fun stories and exciting worlds again. I’m especially here for creators that want to make actual escapism. As many have seen, I’ve already used my platform and growing fanbase to help signal boost other creators that want what I want: really good, fun stories devoid of modern preachy nonsense. We all need to step away from the turbulence of the real world and escape into another world. It’s healthy to take a break, take a breath, and enjoy something once in awhile.
On this journey, I’ve met a lot of creatives and fans that want what I want. I’ve made new friends that I hope are long lasting, despite the real world distance between us. I’ve met other creatives that are just as helpful to others, as I am trying to be. On top of that, I now have a ton of new books to read from these people and frankly, that’s my favorite thing about this. I am finding that the thing I was looking for was there, we all just needed what this movement has become to find one another.
Ultimately, individuals should make decisions for themselves. Once the Iron Age becomes a clique and with that, brings drama and purity tests, I'm out. Eventually, this will probably happen, it always does with these things. Movements tend to become clubs.
Right now, I see “Iron Age" as just a term to describe the movement that was already happening with indie creators and fans that desperately wanted something other than the mainstream. PulpRev, NewPulp and other terms already existed for awhile, this is just an extension of that and encompasses a broader range of creatives in other mediums beyond just pulp. The market will dictate where the Iron Age goes, who rises to the top, and who ultimately doesn't. It will also determine where the movement goes, as a whole.
As I’ve said, I'm a guy that generally doesn't like labels and tends to do his own thing. I also think that's a lot of people currently in this movement. The Iron Age is a term to describe the creative age we are in, an age where indie artists are making their own shit because no one else is giving them what they want anymore. It's the spirit of something better rising out of the wreckage that the mainstream created. It's fresh, it's exciting, but if people aren't careful, it could quickly become another movement turned into a circus shit show.
In the end, though, I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing and giving those I like whatever extra boost I can. Movements come and go like the tide, but if we all stay focused on why we are here in the first place, we might just weather the storms that fate and human nature throw our way.
I can only really approach this all from the perspective of my work on 365 as it stands, so here goes:
Before I launched this series, I was an absolute nervous wreck about it. When you're writing anthropomorphic anything, you already have decades-long preconceptions creeping up on you, but I was also doing this out of the clear blue. No one saw me as a writer. A filmmaker and composer, yes, but not a writer. The jitters got so bad that (and it's still the funniest/dumbest thing that's ever happened to me) I saw the trailer for a Dreamworks family flick, "The Bad Guys," and upon seeing image of a Don Johnsonesque white-suited Wolf rocking a souped-up Camaro, basically had the "I'm ruined!" moment before either the series (or that film) had released lol.
Cut to post-launch me and I'm riding high as a kite. I just published five stories of exceptional quality, I'm slowly gaining readership. And then the Iron Age is given its moniker in July.
It could not have happened to me at a better time. The title itself sat so staggeringly snug with my vision of the series. It was metallic, it was mighty; it was perfect. Why? Because it gave the epoch a powerful name.
My biggest gripe with the inner circle approach (your Comicsgate/PulpRev/etc.) was the fact that you have nine tetrillion pint-sized divisions that are all so preoccupied with the act of writing/creating/drama (that last one's CG more than anyone else), that you couldn't really find the audience. It was like being at a convention with no fans and tables full of authors, merch, and celebrities. It wasn't clout, permission, or legitimacy I was searching for. I wanted to find the fans. And the problem is that there was nothing for the audience to collectively wrap their hands around, especially in an age as decentralized as the one we live in.
The Iron Age is that "thing" for the folks out there in Videoland to grab hold of and say "this is what we want." Nothing before or hence has given them that banner. And I fear gatekeeping on the macro level is exactly what will rip it away. I'm not saying let shit behavior slip out of fear of "breaking the line," I'm saying take things on a case-by-case basis. And perhaps it's my youth that has made me more forgiving as well, more welcoming, but that's a risk I'm willing to take. Because 365 is for everyone. Everyone who loves old school speculative fiction, vintage pulp, and heavy rock are bound to find something enjoyable in 365. And I want to be here for them and for fellow creatives. Because the generosity and kindness I've been shown over the past half-year has touched me in a way I've never known. And I want to pass that on to all who come after.