On Monday July 8th 2019, The Independent ran an article titled The cult of ‘Alita Battle Angel’-alt-right parable or neglected classic? The article talks about people on Twitter calling themselves #AlitaArmy responding to a tweet from May asking people to ‘name the one movie they felt needed to be seen in a cinema’. The tweet was from the official Twitter account of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, so it mattered a bit more than the normal Twitter bullshit. Now, why would people suggesting that Alita: Battle Angel being a movie that needs to be seen in cinemas newsworthy? Nazis. It’s current year, so it’s always fucking Nazis!
I digress, because we need to stop and backup for one moment.
We need to talk about The Independent and the writer of this article, Adam White, for a brief minute. The independent is a multiple award winning newspaper that went online-only in March of 2016. Adam White is a freelance writer who has written for Playboy, Huck Magazine, The Telegraph, and many other media ventures. So, between Mr. White and The Independent we have tons of credibility and professionalism. Yet, the tweet linked in the article is from June and not May. Two fucking words into the article and the writer is fucking wrong about a basic fact he is writing about. No editor from that multiple award-winning online smear factory could catch an error that took me 3 seconds to notice. An error that was made by a God damn “professional journalist” and not some asshole behind a keyboard like me. Can’t write a good smear piece without incorrect facts strewn about.
Furthermore, the tweet is misrepresented in the article as being a call for people to ‘name the one movie they felt needed to be seen in a cinema’. The actual tweet says “What’s one movie you think should definitely be seen in a theater”? Sure, you can say I’m being pedantic and/or nitpicky but the wording changes the meaning of the tweet ever so subtly.
The original tweet is simply looking for any movie people felt should be seen in theaters in a casual, laid back manner. Meanwhile, the Independent’s version is harsher and more authoritative. I could easily see people answering something like The Great Outdoors to the first but it would come off trollish to reply to the Independent’s version with that movie. Subtly changing the tone of other people’s words and actions is totally unbiased reporting guys.
The hit-piece even managed to catch the attention of YouTubers like Geeks + Gamers.
Now then, let’s get to the meat of the article. The Nazis! Adam White wrote this in his article, “But like most things on the internet, there is a darker underbelly. The alt-right make up a not insignificant proportion of Alita’s fanbase, and they are encouraged not to speak to “fake news” outlets about their love for the film.” Okay, Adam White makes a huge claim there. His evidence…are you ready for it? I don’t think you’re ready. A female journalist, who had mocked #AliataArmy, was mocked on Twitter and Youtube and denied an answer to her question of why fans loved Alita: Battle Angel so much. Holy shit! Adam, I don’t know this female journalist but she’s not giving you the pee-pee touch for writing this article defending her honor.
Ultimately, that is all this article really is. A smear on the #AlitaArmy to score some good boy points with the unnamed female journalist from an unrevealed US entertainment news site. Either that or Adam White was hard up for cash and shit out an article featuring the left’s favorite bogeyman, the Alt-Right. I will end this by saying I reached out to the #AlitaArmy Twitter account myself for comment but as of the time I submitted this article I had not gotten a reply. Should I get one I will be sure to update this article accordingly.
