Part 11/13:
What has all this cost? The answer is profound: authenticity, community, and the cultural fabric that once made these franchises meaningful. Instead of inviting everyone into stories that reflect human complexity, Hollywood’s current trajectory often alienates large segments of its audience.
Franchises are now embroiled in division, with fandoms fractured along political, social, and ideological lines. This fragmentation, coupled with deliberate provocation and the abandonment of timeless storytelling principles, leads to widespread apathy and declining engagement—a death knell for long-term franchise viability.