I play a lot of Paradox games. I still really like them, but I reached the point where I can't stand to be around the community any more because it feels like a bunch of people who are in an abusive relationship with a corporation. Like, people who have staked their whole identity on being the "real fans" of a developer whose products they actively seem to hate but that they can't seem to just walk away from. I do not understand what causes this but I find I just don't want to be around it.
See also, people who make or watch 4 hour videos about how Star Wars is bad now (because woke or some shit). Like, dude, just watch another film.. maybe just accept that Disney isn't going to make good films and elevate yourself above that which is beneath you. Find something you actually like instead of letting Rian Johnson live rent-free in your brain meat. But then I remember that I'll happily watch Red Letter Media tear apart Star Trek Discovery for a solid hour, and I feel like my only defence is that if you like Star Trek Discovery I don't actually care. I'm happy for you. I wish I could like more stuff. That's not where a lot of people seem to be coming from.
I feel like marketing has become very good at manipulating our emotions, and very good at getting us to bond with entertainment products, if nothing else because those products are increasingly all we have to look forward to. I think people look to products (whether positively or negatively) as a source of belonging in a world that can otherwise be very alienating, which can lead to warped and toxic feelings about things that don't deserve those feelings. I don't feel like it's a trend that's going anywhere good.
