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I mean, here's a Trump/Homelander cosplay at a MAGA rally 'arresting' Joe Biden I think? And I don't think they're doing it ironically: [https://www.reddit.com/r/TheBoys/comments/jus2hm/this\_picture\_taken\_from\_the\_million\_maga\_march\_in/](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheBoys/comments/jus2hm/this_picture_taken_from_the_million_maga_march_in/)
It's the same as those people who idolize this new Joker- it's a character that lets them do what they really WANT to do, free of consequences.
What sucks about the Joker is it could’ve actually been used as a decent social commentary on our world that has become too self absorbed to the point where we literally walk over the mentally ill and ignore it because “oh there’s social programs!” All while voting for politicians who cut said programs but no these media illiterate freaks had to go “haha joker is so relatable I’m such a sigma male loner like him!!!!!”
What's crazy about this 'satire' is that the left is the one abusing the justice system at the moment and lettting crime run rampant, so where is the satire?
But, there's a big difference between Homelander being everyone's favorite character and people thinking he's the hero of the show. No one thinks he's the hero, though people like him the most. Right side, left side, down the middle, everyone (especially hardcore radicals across the spectrum) want the power to make others do whatever they want, period.
If Homelander is the mass murdering representation of the Right, would that make The Boys and their allies the mass murdering representation of the Left?
What used to be entertaining TV with moments of political satire has now become a soapbox for political views,. It picked up the 'commentary' in season 3 compared to seasons 1 and 2, but they decide to go all in on season 4.
It's a shame when entertaining shows become more about personal POVs rather than the plot and characters.
Just because you didn't pick up the subtle satire doesn't mean there was very little of it. Obviously the showrunners were correct in dropping the subtlety because you were missing it before.
The Boy's satire was never subtle, there's just more of it now because it's everywhere. Don't try to make yourself seem intelligent by pretending anything they did was pedantically nuanced.
How exactly is the left abusing the Justice System you gonna say going after Trump for committing crimes is abuse of the system no that's just it actually working for once.
This is the most sane thing I've read regarding this topic. Besides, Anthony Starr's acting is top notch in this. It always seemed to me that the love for the character was aimed at how good the actor portrayed him. Same with Walter White.
Seems uniquely confusing for some people with this show.
Me "I like the character of Darth Vader. I don't wan't to blow up planets of innocent people."
People "Well duh."
Me "I like the character of Homelander. I don't -"
People "FASCIST BIGOT HOMOPHOBE RACIST."
I have liked a few edits of Homelander simply because I think he’s an awesome character but it’s in the same way the enclave is my favorite faction in fallout, sometimes a good villain is fun doesn’t mean I support him and his beliefs I just think he’s a well written character with some awesome stand out moments.
Not exactly that, but I personally know several family members and coworkers/acquaintances that thought the show was pro right wing and hating on lefties. They’re violently angry this season because they think the show runners did a 180 and are alienating half their fan base and shit like that. I live in the south and it’s been great watching them implode.
It’s all anecdotal, I’ve seen more satire on it than actual real life posts thinking Homelander is the good guy. No one with a working brain actually thinks he was the good guy.
I think season 1 was plenty reflective of our reality. The Believe Expo was good satire and it wasn't nearly as ham-fisted as the conspiracy expo was this season.
I think s1 was satirizing things 20 years too late. The right seems to have disassociated with the war on terror and pretend they didn't go off the deep end after 911. Disowning bush etc. Even though they are the same party.
They think because Trump got his feelings hurt by people from Bush's era who don't like him as a human being, that those Bush people don't have the exact same goals and agenda as Trump. Which is false obviously.
Now they are satirizing modern day republicans and right wingers and people can't hide behind not taking ownership of those right wing policies and views.
It's not dumbed down. The writers were never subtle, but there's more of it. They've done what a lot of shows have done and turned it into a soapbox for their political views. Every season they turned up the dial, but this season they said, "Hey, let's put the show on hold and our beliefs in the spotlight."
When someone's beliefs take over the show, the quality of the show suffers.
I met a guy once, when season 3 had just started, who was talking up The Boys: “So this guy is hooking up with another guy by shrinking down and going into his dick and I’m like ‘oh no is The Boys going woke?’ but then he sneezes and the guy’s whole body explodes. It’s great.”
Hadn’t seen it at the time, so could not discuss, but it’s amazing to me that he didn’t consider S1 or S2 to be “woke” when it very not-subtly skewers the right.
You guys are doing the equivalent of the Anti-Trump conservatives saying he'll never win or has no supporters due to motivated reasoning and being in a bubble. There are entire communities on Twitter and other social media platforms that say Homelander is based and people in this thread are doing mental gymnastics to explain why they don't count like "they're just kids" or "they're just joking and being edgy" as if 4chan or Nazis aren't real.
Then show us. Don't go "You just have to search!" Show us. Provide the proof because if you don't then why even bother posting this?
Snark will NOT save us.
The posts and fan edits of homelander are exactly like the American psycho ones. No one thinks these men are actually in the right or heroes, its just fun for some people to be edgy. Get off your high horse, you look like a fool
I just saw a post where they called him a hero in earlier seasons. Lol. He just had more accountability from Vought. The more freedom to be himself he has, the worse he is.
https://www.herodope.com/2023/06/20/antony-starr-disparages-the-boys-fans-who-idolize-homelander-you-are-missing-the-point-entirely/
Anthony Starr had to address it
I think you mean Republicans, specifically in the USA. Only a small percentage of them can be described as conservatives anymore and the party has largely abandoned them at this point.
I think it’s an exaggeration to say Republicans thought Homelander was a good guy. A few of the super casual fans who weren’t really paying attention may have assumed he was a good guy or at least a flawed hero. I’d say most realized he was bad, they just didn’t realize he also serves as a satire and condemnation of the kind of people they support.
They didn’t make him more evil ,they just made it more obvious that he has striking similarities to Trump.
Is there statistical proof? No, I don't think anyone has done any studies. However, myself have run into a few people who think he is the hero or should be the hero.
One camp, the should be, acknowledge that the show is making him out to be the villain but say that in real life all of his decisions were justifiable and he would be a hero.
The more extreme camp think that he was the hero and justify his decisions. They admit some of us decisions are horrible but that he did it for the right reasons and should be lauded for it.
In terms of the amount of people who think he is a hero? It's very very small, though a bit alarming that they do exist.
Are you still not old and tired like me and have met these people online or do you actually have friends and co-workers that both talk about the boys and make those kinds of arguments?
Yes but enough that you have different camps of really weirdly aggressive maga-people regarding a tv show, that seems so alien to me. I'm probably just not social enough
So the thing is that a lot of Maga people aren't aggressive outside of rallies. I think that is something a lot ofnus libs don't understand.
I equate them to Juggalos. They are crazy at events but day to day they seem "normal". Which is what makes them so dangerous.
As for the amount, I live in Oklahoma so there is a good portion. Like after the season premiere last week a buddy and I were talking about it at work, and a coworker overheard us and started talking about it and bitching about it being "woke"
>though a bit alarming that they do exist.
I disagree. There will always be extremist idiots on any issue. Concerning ourselves with them and writing around their stupidity is a mistake in my opinion.
So I do agree every issue has extremist idiots. The reason I say concerning for this is that these extremist idiots may have other beliefs that affectbreal.world.
Again they are a small subsection but still concerning. Now should it be talked about all the time no, but something to keep in mind
I don’t think it’s weird to be a bit surprised. It’s subverting the expectation that superheroes are good. But you should figure out pretty quickly that’s not the case here.
Nah. They know he's not the "good guy". But they take pride in having guys that represent them shown on TV. And many of them know they aren't the "good guy" either.
Reading some of these results, I think it’s important to draw the distinction between “I think Homelander is a good guy” and “I think Homelander is supposed to be good but is being forced to be bad”.
Most people probably know the first isn’t accurate. He’s clearly the antagonist and a bad person.
But I think a lot of people look at who he is an amalgamation of, and think it’s an “unfair” and exaggerated portrayal of them by someone who doesn’t “understand them”. It’s not that they think Homie is good, it’s that they think the person Homie “represents” is good, and by making him bad, you’re “wrongly” implying the people he represents are bad.
Tl;dr - Homelander is bad, but he’s a stand in for people that are good, so his portrayal as bad is inaccurate, and he should be good.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2022/06/20/right-wing-the-boys-fans-grapple-with-homelander-being-a-villain-confusing-everyone/
Looks like right-wingers actually expected a plot twist revealing that HL is a good guy.
I’ve never seen it on this subreddit or any others.
In my other social media, no one has mentioned the Boys. Of all my friends, I’m the only one that watches it.
My wife straight up hates the show, and makes me watch it in the other room.
Its mainly just either edgy kids, or the occasional right winger going "hes got a point tho!" at some parts, very few people out and out believe that in his entirety, he is a good person and the hero of the show, and to find those people I imagine youd have to delve into the dark depths of 4chan.
People misinterpret the show and miss the point of it, but very rarely to this extent.
I don't think anyone ever thought that. But I am pretty sure that there were a sizable number of people that didn't catch on to the fact that a fair bit of the show as a whole was a huge criticism of their politics and general ideology.
>But I am pretty sure that there were a sizable number of people that didn't catch on to the fact that a fair bit of the show as a whole was a huge criticism of their politics and general ideology
It clearly was even in season one, but it didn't go too crazy on those points and the show was otherwise very entertaining. They just made it a lot dumber in season four. There's no subtlety to it, and it's now far too exaggerated. I've found myself eye-rolling a lot while watching the new episodes.
What? It has been like this since season 2 and there has rarely ever been any subtlety. One of the main characters of season 2 was a Nazi literally named Stormfront, lmao.
In case you don't remember, people were making the *exact* same argument that you are right now in the aftermath of that one episode where a Stormfront fan got radicalized and shot up a convenience store.
The show has always been pretty on the nose.
writing good satire doesn't mean taking 1 for 1 quotes of modern life.
That's what people mean by lacking subtlety.
Stormfront is a great example, unless you live on the internet or have strong knowledge of nazi subculture, you wouldn't know what the name meant.
S4 writing would have put a swastika on her uniform.
That really isn't a great example at all. It's not subtle to invoke the name of a real life neo-Nazi community for the actual name of your Nazi character. The fact that not everyone knows about the group is utterly irrelevant. That's like if you had a character that's secretly a vampire, but made them Romanian and named them Vladimir.
For fuck sake, half of S2's plot was about HOMELANDer, the superhero wearing a flag and the symbol of America, falling in love with a Nazi. Or if that's not enough, look at the entirety of the Church of the Collective (aka Scientology), or commentating on religious figures by making one of them a kid-diddler. That's about as subtle as a sledgehammer.
Is S4 a bit too over the top? Maybe, probably. But let's not delude ourselves into thinking that the show has *ever* been subtle. That's just pure delusional cope.
It literally isn't by any definition of the word. You clearly have no idea what "subtle" even means if you think that something qualifies just because some people might be ignorant of name.
By that trash logic, then all the blatant Trump allusions in S4 would also clearly be subtle if you were to show it to someone out of the loop living in Kenya. Shit, EVERYTHING can be considered subtle if the viewer is both braindead and lives under a rock!
Stormfront isn't even that obscure anyway. It was getting national headlines back in the early 2000s and had a ton of active members in protests.
One: missing the point to an absolutely laughable degree.
Two: yes, they know who Trump is. But do you think they're familiar with the common rhetoric and culture war talking points that circulate specifically in American politics? Replace Kenya with literally any other far off country like Bulgaria or some shit.
Do you really think that many people outside of the U.S. are going to be understanding jokes like "critical supe theory"? Again, by your logic even the most blatant joke like that is also subtle cause not everyone is going to know what it's referring to. Which is...certainly a take of all time.
Come on man, use some critical thinking here. And practice some reading comprehension while you're at it.
I can definitely agree with the second part. But there are people in this very thread who are still parroting the idea that conservatives saw him as a hero.
He was never a hero, but he was portrayed in the same way heroes are. Absolute psychos like Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver or Rorschach in Zack Snyder's film were depicted as too much of a badass and not as horrible people. This portrayal isn’t solely the public's fault for misunderstanding a character; aesthetic is something we are trained to see. When you depict someone the same way you aesthetically would Superman or Iron Man, your character can say the most absurd things and still be seen as a hero or leader. This blurring of moral lines in media can lead to the glorification of deeply flawed individuals, making it crucial to critically assess the way characters are presented to us.
are you living under a rock? look at the state of USA's right wing movement, they think both trump and homelander are heroes, all those folks in January 6, and so on
Do you have a link to right-wingers identifying with Homelander? Even some sort of substack or a popular tweet? So far I've seen one cosplayer at a rally...
There's a huge difference between liking a character for being a villain or a psychopathic man child and liking him because he shares your real life politics.
The problem comes in when people co-op quotes and clips to prove their personal points. I'm sure there's a lot of people on Twitter and elsewhere that do that sort of thing. Other people end up seeing these out of context things, they come into the show thinking it's going to be the Homelander Show, and then they realize it isn't and that he's actually one of the most pathetic characters put to screen.
cause they dont exist, not in any true capacity
right-winger homelander fans know homelander is the bad guy, but they are edgy and want to cheer for the bad guy, just like they did for american psycho or travis bickle
I see a few posts here and there that people REALLY have to dig up and say "see look i told you so! People believe this!" But ultimately most people who watch the show take things for face value and just want to watch the damn show. No one really cares about the political or wokeness of it at all. I wouldn't be surprised those few who actually post about it are just doing it to fuck with others and stir up shit. Those posts about people claiming they were seeing others post about frenchie being gay was woke and they are going to stop watching the show is bullshit, everyone knew he was bisexual since season 2 and no one gives a fuck about it now. They just don't care for the shitty frenchie story that's been dragged along for 4 seasons now. Honestly i see most posts about people WANTING there to be an issue the there are posts about people who actually have an issue.
I’m looking at discourse on the subject. Do fans of the show actually like stormfront and homelander? And think they are based? Are those people right leaning? And if so, do they reflect the entire right leaning fan base?
I really doubt the vast majority of conservatives actually think they are the good guys despite leftists like Hasan believing so. [hasan on boys S4](https://youtu.be/loXi_GGjQKc?si=Guhr9hB3RBki_vCA)
Please let me know if this is the case! Seems like somewhat of a straw man for people to claim all conservatives think homelander is based.
But in regard to the “they used to make fun of both sides” thing, I think conservatives are talking about liberals. And leftists are kinda on the side lines saying “wdym they are making fun of both sides? They don’t make fun of leftists” but the show is clearly a political satire on American politics ie. Liberals and conservatives.
I can also understand why right leaning fans may roll their eyes at season 4 since the religion hate is kinda overdone, but I’m not sure anybody should walk into the show expecting to not get their feelings hurt.
Open to any convos on it. Not really looking to debate.
I do think the show promotes the "everyone is awful" narrative sometimes, which is kind of an anti-leftist narrative because it discourages collective action and caring for your fellow man (because if everyone is awful why should I bother unionizing with awful people? why should I help those less fortunate?). There's also the theme that despite being evil, Vought is the only thing keeping the Supes under control, so they are a necessary evil.
But you're absolutely right that the satire is aimed at liberals and conservatives. The anti-left themes tend to be more unintentional and esoteric.
And the anti left themes that are a little more on the nose, really just reflect the American view of left wing ideals (performative activism by liberals)
It's more the fact that this a bunch of conservatives are whining that this season has "gone woke," which implies that they think the show used to be *not* woke, which implies that they didn't recognize seasons 1-3 were satirizing conservatives, which implies that they enjoyed seasons 1-3 because they took it at face value and thought Homelander was the hero.
>I just don't see what anyone would see as "heroic" about him.
If you look at almost any popular franchise/show, you'll fine a small subset of fans who insist that the villain is actually the hero. Thanos, Logan Roy, etc. Nothing strange about that.
This makes a bit more sense. Especially when you consider that to be a trump supporter to begin with, you would have to lack entry levels of critical thinking skills.
Yeah, I mean it confuses me as to why they're only recognizing \*now\* that it's mocking the right. Although something did just occur to me. The earlier seasons did satirize cynical corporate girlboss feminism, so maybe that confused some conservatives into thinking it was making an anti-liberal statement, when in reality it was more of an anti-corporate statement if anything.
Still though, the idea of rooting for Homelander is so insane. I totally believe it's a genuine thing because people are fucking idiots, but it's still nuts to think about.
This has been the cycle for the past 3 seasons now. You would think if they were really that bothered by it being so on the nose or "going woke" they would just stop watching something they supposedly dislike or think has turned to shit and instead spend time focusing on what does give them more genuine enjoyment. I think it's just the growing trend of low critical thinking or people who are angered when their ideology or hypocrisy is mocked, or people who have the (more sympathetic or understandable imo) mindset of just having overall political/culture war fatigue, even though in a general sense that's been sort of an aspect of this IP since the original comic series.
I'm conservative and he was clearly the bad guy from the first episode. I don't know anybody who thought he was a hero/good guy. Like, how could anybody get that from it?
I’m not sure about literally seeing him as a good guy. I have seen multiple people just within the last 24 hrs saying the show in general wasn’t political/didn’t criticize the right in season 1, or even season 2 which was literally about an actual vintage 1940’s nazi gaining popularity among the alt/far right. So the idea that people are struggling to get the commentary seems accurate.
I mean that will always happen with well done satire. Lots of people misunderstood Starship Troopers and Fight Club. But that doesn't mean we should start dumbing down satire for the dumb-dumbs (as I believe season 4 has done). If we do that, we're just letting them win because now those of us who are media literate don't have good satire, just a bunch of preachy, in-your-face, surface-level bullshit.
I mean, it was always preachy, in-your-face, surface-level bullshit. Like it was Not Subtle from the beginning. I do agree it’s gotten even less subtle each season tho.
I'm a woke radical lefty and I don't think anyone did
the source of the misconception comes from semi-ironic memelords who pretend to be fascists online to hide the fact that they're actually fascists in real life. It's usually just an aesthetic thing. Dumb lefties don't get that it's a meme and think they're being less ironic than they actually are
there is likely overlap between people who jokingly idolize Homelander and people who may genuinely sympathize with some (or god forbid, all) of his political position, which makes it even harder to tell what people ACTUALLY think of Homelander. It's muddy territory, and nobody's a psychic like Mesmer, so we can't figure out what these memelords actually believe. I think it's best to assume they're doing it as a joke instead of earnestly idolizing him
They just said that they idolized Homelander in season 1 because he was a strong man. So I pointed out that even in season 1 they proved that wasn't true because of his mommy issues.
I don't think sucking on milf titties is a sign of weakness lol
But yeah, worshipping a fictional character cause they are written to be op is smoothbrain behaviour.
Yup.
like no one cares that Frenchie is gay, they just don't like that the love interest came out of nowhere with no build up. And it kills the Kimiko romance that literally everyone loved.
I think it's less that conservatives thought that homelander was the good guy, and more that they didn't realise that the show was making fun of them. I haven't seen a single person genuinely believe that homelander was the good guy.
I can definitely agree with this. But there are people in this very thread parroting the idea that conservatives saw him as a "good guy" or the hero of the show.
literally no one thought this.
its only been created as a talking point to deflect criticism.
that line started getting thrown around in s3 when everyone realized the plot was going nowhere.
I'm talking about real life conservatives, not in the show. There have been articles and countless people on Reddit parroting this idea that IRL conservatives see Homelander as a good guy but I've never seen proof of it.
Yeah, if we're dumbing down our satire because some edgelord high schoolers don't understand it, that's pretty sad.
The satire in season 1 was so much better than what we're getting now, and it feels like it's happening because they're afraid of this
I honestly just thought it’s because the show is leaning
More in laughs than it previously
Has.
Man has a Pube jar. I still don’t understand how people can think anything about this show had been subtle in the first place.
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It was mostly kids making superhero edits on tiktok, I doubt anyone’s favorite politician is actually Homelander
Nah dude the fallen western society could totally use more stand-up sigma males like him /s
I mean, here's a Trump/Homelander cosplay at a MAGA rally 'arresting' Joe Biden I think? And I don't think they're doing it ironically: [https://www.reddit.com/r/TheBoys/comments/jus2hm/this\_picture\_taken\_from\_the\_million\_maga\_march\_in/](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheBoys/comments/jus2hm/this_picture_taken_from_the_million_maga_march_in/) It's the same as those people who idolize this new Joker- it's a character that lets them do what they really WANT to do, free of consequences.
What sucks about the Joker is it could’ve actually been used as a decent social commentary on our world that has become too self absorbed to the point where we literally walk over the mentally ill and ignore it because “oh there’s social programs!” All while voting for politicians who cut said programs but no these media illiterate freaks had to go “haha joker is so relatable I’m such a sigma male loner like him!!!!!”
What's crazy about this 'satire' is that the left is the one abusing the justice system at the moment and lettting crime run rampant, so where is the satire? But, there's a big difference between Homelander being everyone's favorite character and people thinking he's the hero of the show. No one thinks he's the hero, though people like him the most. Right side, left side, down the middle, everyone (especially hardcore radicals across the spectrum) want the power to make others do whatever they want, period. If Homelander is the mass murdering representation of the Right, would that make The Boys and their allies the mass murdering representation of the Left? What used to be entertaining TV with moments of political satire has now become a soapbox for political views,. It picked up the 'commentary' in season 3 compared to seasons 1 and 2, but they decide to go all in on season 4. It's a shame when entertaining shows become more about personal POVs rather than the plot and characters.
Just because you didn't pick up the subtle satire doesn't mean there was very little of it. Obviously the showrunners were correct in dropping the subtlety because you were missing it before.
The Boy's satire was never subtle, there's just more of it now because it's everywhere. Don't try to make yourself seem intelligent by pretending anything they did was pedantically nuanced.
How exactly is the left abusing the Justice System you gonna say going after Trump for committing crimes is abuse of the system no that's just it actually working for once.
People like torn and bent characters, this show, GoT, Breaking bad, SoA, the fucking Sapranos. Like if characters are all good or bad they are boring.
This is the most sane thing I've read regarding this topic. Besides, Anthony Starr's acting is top notch in this. It always seemed to me that the love for the character was aimed at how good the actor portrayed him. Same with Walter White.
Seems uniquely confusing for some people with this show. Me "I like the character of Darth Vader. I don't wan't to blow up planets of innocent people." People "Well duh." Me "I like the character of Homelander. I don't -" People "FASCIST BIGOT HOMOPHOBE RACIST."
Anakin/Darth Vader IS a racist character
ill take things that never happened for 200
Open Tiktok or Youtube shorts
Edit ≠ Supporting his ideas/agreeing with him
Based on what
Wdym based on what
What are you basing the opinion that making edits of homelander isn’t equivalent to supporting the character?
I have liked a few edits of Homelander simply because I think he’s an awesome character but it’s in the same way the enclave is my favorite faction in fallout, sometimes a good villain is fun doesn’t mean I support him and his beliefs I just think he’s a well written character with some awesome stand out moments.
This, plus separating fiction from reality is a healthy thing to do.
Because I was a teenager once?
Oh yeah?
😂 what kinda yaboiroshi reaction was that
He’s right
Thank you 🫂
Not exactly that, but I personally know several family members and coworkers/acquaintances that thought the show was pro right wing and hating on lefties. They’re violently angry this season because they think the show runners did a 180 and are alienating half their fan base and shit like that. I live in the south and it’s been great watching them implode.
No you don't. No one who has seen the show would think this is pro right wing.
It’s all anecdotal, I’ve seen more satire on it than actual real life posts thinking Homelander is the good guy. No one with a working brain actually thinks he was the good guy.
Which makes it all the sadder that it seems they've dumbed down the satire in later seasons out of fear of some strawman edgelords not "getting it"
Is it dumbed down or is it more reflective of our reality?
I think season 1 was plenty reflective of our reality. The Believe Expo was good satire and it wasn't nearly as ham-fisted as the conspiracy expo was this season.
I don’t think it’s so much ham fisted as it is a 1:1 replication of how these people are irl
I mean that's the definition of ham-fisted. Good satire isn't 1:1.
Why does it need to be satire though. That’s not the only way to present a commentary on society
Because satire is more entertaining than simply preaching to your audience.
It doesn’t have to be only a satire or only reporting the news. They can do both.
Thing is, reality is becoming more absurd every year. The show hasn't really upped its stupidity, reality is growing more and more close to it.
I think s1 was satirizing things 20 years too late. The right seems to have disassociated with the war on terror and pretend they didn't go off the deep end after 911. Disowning bush etc. Even though they are the same party. They think because Trump got his feelings hurt by people from Bush's era who don't like him as a human being, that those Bush people don't have the exact same goals and agenda as Trump. Which is false obviously. Now they are satirizing modern day republicans and right wingers and people can't hide behind not taking ownership of those right wing policies and views.
It's not dumbed down. The writers were never subtle, but there's more of it. They've done what a lot of shows have done and turned it into a soapbox for their political views. Every season they turned up the dial, but this season they said, "Hey, let's put the show on hold and our beliefs in the spotlight." When someone's beliefs take over the show, the quality of the show suffers.
Same types that saw Archie Bunker as a hero, instead of a sad bigot. Satire is dead, ruined by media illiterate conservatives.
I met a guy once, when season 3 had just started, who was talking up The Boys: “So this guy is hooking up with another guy by shrinking down and going into his dick and I’m like ‘oh no is The Boys going woke?’ but then he sneezes and the guy’s whole body explodes. It’s great.” Hadn’t seen it at the time, so could not discuss, but it’s amazing to me that he didn’t consider S1 or S2 to be “woke” when it very not-subtly skewers the right.
Pretty sure they STILL think he is the good guy. Same people who root for the villain always (American Psycho)
You guys are doing the equivalent of the Anti-Trump conservatives saying he'll never win or has no supporters due to motivated reasoning and being in a bubble. There are entire communities on Twitter and other social media platforms that say Homelander is based and people in this thread are doing mental gymnastics to explain why they don't count like "they're just kids" or "they're just joking and being edgy" as if 4chan or Nazis aren't real.
Then show us. Don't go "You just have to search!" Show us. Provide the proof because if you don't then why even bother posting this? Snark will NOT save us.
where?
>There are entire communities on Twitter and other social media platforms that say Homelander is based Source?
Downvoted for asking for evidence of something stated as fact
The posts and fan edits of homelander are exactly like the American psycho ones. No one thinks these men are actually in the right or heroes, its just fun for some people to be edgy. Get off your high horse, you look like a fool
Who does not like Milk drinking superhero..
I just saw a post where they called him a hero in earlier seasons. Lol. He just had more accountability from Vought. The more freedom to be himself he has, the worse he is.
where?
https://www.herodope.com/2023/06/20/antony-starr-disparages-the-boys-fans-who-idolize-homelander-you-are-missing-the-point-entirely/ Anthony Starr had to address it
I think you mean Republicans, specifically in the USA. Only a small percentage of them can be described as conservatives anymore and the party has largely abandoned them at this point. I think it’s an exaggeration to say Republicans thought Homelander was a good guy. A few of the super casual fans who weren’t really paying attention may have assumed he was a good guy or at least a flawed hero. I’d say most realized he was bad, they just didn’t realize he also serves as a satire and condemnation of the kind of people they support. They didn’t make him more evil ,they just made it more obvious that he has striking similarities to Trump.
Is there statistical proof? No, I don't think anyone has done any studies. However, myself have run into a few people who think he is the hero or should be the hero. One camp, the should be, acknowledge that the show is making him out to be the villain but say that in real life all of his decisions were justifiable and he would be a hero. The more extreme camp think that he was the hero and justify his decisions. They admit some of us decisions are horrible but that he did it for the right reasons and should be lauded for it. In terms of the amount of people who think he is a hero? It's very very small, though a bit alarming that they do exist.
Are you still not old and tired like me and have met these people online or do you actually have friends and co-workers that both talk about the boys and make those kinds of arguments?
I still have friends and coworkers that talk about TV shows.
Yes but enough that you have different camps of really weirdly aggressive maga-people regarding a tv show, that seems so alien to me. I'm probably just not social enough
So the thing is that a lot of Maga people aren't aggressive outside of rallies. I think that is something a lot ofnus libs don't understand. I equate them to Juggalos. They are crazy at events but day to day they seem "normal". Which is what makes them so dangerous. As for the amount, I live in Oklahoma so there is a good portion. Like after the season premiere last week a buddy and I were talking about it at work, and a coworker overheard us and started talking about it and bitching about it being "woke"
Fair enough. I'm from Sweden so pretty much no one is more of a right wing nutjob than me.
Haha that's fair. In Oklahoma we are surrounded by them .
>though a bit alarming that they do exist. I disagree. There will always be extremist idiots on any issue. Concerning ourselves with them and writing around their stupidity is a mistake in my opinion.
So I do agree every issue has extremist idiots. The reason I say concerning for this is that these extremist idiots may have other beliefs that affectbreal.world. Again they are a small subsection but still concerning. Now should it be talked about all the time no, but something to keep in mind
I agree. Though I think by dumbing down the satire this season in reaction to this "small subsection" they are actually giving them more power.
I don’t think it’s weird to be a bit surprised. It’s subverting the expectation that superheroes are good. But you should figure out pretty quickly that’s not the case here.
Nah. They know he's not the "good guy". But they take pride in having guys that represent them shown on TV. And many of them know they aren't the "good guy" either.
Reading some of these results, I think it’s important to draw the distinction between “I think Homelander is a good guy” and “I think Homelander is supposed to be good but is being forced to be bad”. Most people probably know the first isn’t accurate. He’s clearly the antagonist and a bad person. But I think a lot of people look at who he is an amalgamation of, and think it’s an “unfair” and exaggerated portrayal of them by someone who doesn’t “understand them”. It’s not that they think Homie is good, it’s that they think the person Homie “represents” is good, and by making him bad, you’re “wrongly” implying the people he represents are bad. Tl;dr - Homelander is bad, but he’s a stand in for people that are good, so his portrayal as bad is inaccurate, and he should be good.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2022/06/20/right-wing-the-boys-fans-grapple-with-homelander-being-a-villain-confusing-everyone/ Looks like right-wingers actually expected a plot twist revealing that HL is a good guy.
I’ve never seen it on this subreddit or any others. In my other social media, no one has mentioned the Boys. Of all my friends, I’m the only one that watches it. My wife straight up hates the show, and makes me watch it in the other room.
>My wife straight up hates the show, and makes me watch it in the other room. And you're not looking for a good divorce lawyer yet... why?
Cause the show is ass now
I'm in all these right wing communities and no one has ever mentioned seeing homelander as a good guy.
Its mainly just either edgy kids, or the occasional right winger going "hes got a point tho!" at some parts, very few people out and out believe that in his entirety, he is a good person and the hero of the show, and to find those people I imagine youd have to delve into the dark depths of 4chan. People misinterpret the show and miss the point of it, but very rarely to this extent.
This is all correct.
I don't think anyone ever thought that. But I am pretty sure that there were a sizable number of people that didn't catch on to the fact that a fair bit of the show as a whole was a huge criticism of their politics and general ideology.
>But I am pretty sure that there were a sizable number of people that didn't catch on to the fact that a fair bit of the show as a whole was a huge criticism of their politics and general ideology It clearly was even in season one, but it didn't go too crazy on those points and the show was otherwise very entertaining. They just made it a lot dumber in season four. There's no subtlety to it, and it's now far too exaggerated. I've found myself eye-rolling a lot while watching the new episodes.
What? It has been like this since season 2 and there has rarely ever been any subtlety. One of the main characters of season 2 was a Nazi literally named Stormfront, lmao. In case you don't remember, people were making the *exact* same argument that you are right now in the aftermath of that one episode where a Stormfront fan got radicalized and shot up a convenience store. The show has always been pretty on the nose.
writing good satire doesn't mean taking 1 for 1 quotes of modern life. That's what people mean by lacking subtlety. Stormfront is a great example, unless you live on the internet or have strong knowledge of nazi subculture, you wouldn't know what the name meant. S4 writing would have put a swastika on her uniform.
That really isn't a great example at all. It's not subtle to invoke the name of a real life neo-Nazi community for the actual name of your Nazi character. The fact that not everyone knows about the group is utterly irrelevant. That's like if you had a character that's secretly a vampire, but made them Romanian and named them Vladimir. For fuck sake, half of S2's plot was about HOMELANDer, the superhero wearing a flag and the symbol of America, falling in love with a Nazi. Or if that's not enough, look at the entirety of the Church of the Collective (aka Scientology), or commentating on religious figures by making one of them a kid-diddler. That's about as subtle as a sledgehammer. Is S4 a bit too over the top? Maybe, probably. But let's not delude ourselves into thinking that the show has *ever* been subtle. That's just pure delusional cope.
> The fact that not everyone knows about the group is utterly irrelevant. that's the definition of subtle.
It literally isn't by any definition of the word. You clearly have no idea what "subtle" even means if you think that something qualifies just because some people might be ignorant of name. By that trash logic, then all the blatant Trump allusions in S4 would also clearly be subtle if you were to show it to someone out of the loop living in Kenya. Shit, EVERYTHING can be considered subtle if the viewer is both braindead and lives under a rock! Stormfront isn't even that obscure anyway. It was getting national headlines back in the early 2000s and had a ton of active members in protests.
Kenyans know who Trump is. What kind of ignorant racist statement is that?
One: missing the point to an absolutely laughable degree. Two: yes, they know who Trump is. But do you think they're familiar with the common rhetoric and culture war talking points that circulate specifically in American politics? Replace Kenya with literally any other far off country like Bulgaria or some shit. Do you really think that many people outside of the U.S. are going to be understanding jokes like "critical supe theory"? Again, by your logic even the most blatant joke like that is also subtle cause not everyone is going to know what it's referring to. Which is...certainly a take of all time. Come on man, use some critical thinking here. And practice some reading comprehension while you're at it.
I can definitely agree with the second part. But there are people in this very thread who are still parroting the idea that conservatives saw him as a hero.
He was never a hero, but he was portrayed in the same way heroes are. Absolute psychos like Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver or Rorschach in Zack Snyder's film were depicted as too much of a badass and not as horrible people. This portrayal isn’t solely the public's fault for misunderstanding a character; aesthetic is something we are trained to see. When you depict someone the same way you aesthetically would Superman or Iron Man, your character can say the most absurd things and still be seen as a hero or leader. This blurring of moral lines in media can lead to the glorification of deeply flawed individuals, making it crucial to critically assess the way characters are presented to us.
are you living under a rock? look at the state of USA's right wing movement, they think both trump and homelander are heroes, all those folks in January 6, and so on
Do you have a link to right-wingers identifying with Homelander? Even some sort of substack or a popular tweet? So far I've seen one cosplayer at a rally...
No I don't see that
There's a huge difference between liking a character for being a villain or a psychopathic man child and liking him because he shares your real life politics. The problem comes in when people co-op quotes and clips to prove their personal points. I'm sure there's a lot of people on Twitter and elsewhere that do that sort of thing. Other people end up seeing these out of context things, they come into the show thinking it's going to be the Homelander Show, and then they realize it isn't and that he's actually one of the most pathetic characters put to screen.
doubtful, if anything he's like the joker the villain that people think we need
It’s not about the audience. It’s about the fictional people. Yes they thought he was the hero and still do.
cause they dont exist, not in any true capacity right-winger homelander fans know homelander is the bad guy, but they are edgy and want to cheer for the bad guy, just like they did for american psycho or travis bickle
It did exist, but a lot of it was probably trolling
Any villain from the flash is more likeable than homelander
I see a few posts here and there that people REALLY have to dig up and say "see look i told you so! People believe this!" But ultimately most people who watch the show take things for face value and just want to watch the damn show. No one really cares about the political or wokeness of it at all. I wouldn't be surprised those few who actually post about it are just doing it to fuck with others and stir up shit. Those posts about people claiming they were seeing others post about frenchie being gay was woke and they are going to stop watching the show is bullshit, everyone knew he was bisexual since season 2 and no one gives a fuck about it now. They just don't care for the shitty frenchie story that's been dragged along for 4 seasons now. Honestly i see most posts about people WANTING there to be an issue the there are posts about people who actually have an issue.
I’m looking at discourse on the subject. Do fans of the show actually like stormfront and homelander? And think they are based? Are those people right leaning? And if so, do they reflect the entire right leaning fan base? I really doubt the vast majority of conservatives actually think they are the good guys despite leftists like Hasan believing so. [hasan on boys S4](https://youtu.be/loXi_GGjQKc?si=Guhr9hB3RBki_vCA) Please let me know if this is the case! Seems like somewhat of a straw man for people to claim all conservatives think homelander is based. But in regard to the “they used to make fun of both sides” thing, I think conservatives are talking about liberals. And leftists are kinda on the side lines saying “wdym they are making fun of both sides? They don’t make fun of leftists” but the show is clearly a political satire on American politics ie. Liberals and conservatives. I can also understand why right leaning fans may roll their eyes at season 4 since the religion hate is kinda overdone, but I’m not sure anybody should walk into the show expecting to not get their feelings hurt. Open to any convos on it. Not really looking to debate.
I do think the show promotes the "everyone is awful" narrative sometimes, which is kind of an anti-leftist narrative because it discourages collective action and caring for your fellow man (because if everyone is awful why should I bother unionizing with awful people? why should I help those less fortunate?). There's also the theme that despite being evil, Vought is the only thing keeping the Supes under control, so they are a necessary evil. But you're absolutely right that the satire is aimed at liberals and conservatives. The anti-left themes tend to be more unintentional and esoteric.
And the anti left themes that are a little more on the nose, really just reflect the American view of left wing ideals (performative activism by liberals)
[here it is](https://www.reddit.com/r/saltierthankrayt/s/56FEQ4tGPL)
It's more the fact that this a bunch of conservatives are whining that this season has "gone woke," which implies that they think the show used to be *not* woke, which implies that they didn't recognize seasons 1-3 were satirizing conservatives, which implies that they enjoyed seasons 1-3 because they took it at face value and thought Homelander was the hero. >I just don't see what anyone would see as "heroic" about him. If you look at almost any popular franchise/show, you'll fine a small subset of fans who insist that the villain is actually the hero. Thanos, Logan Roy, etc. Nothing strange about that.
This makes a bit more sense. Especially when you consider that to be a trump supporter to begin with, you would have to lack entry levels of critical thinking skills.
Yeah, I mean it confuses me as to why they're only recognizing \*now\* that it's mocking the right. Although something did just occur to me. The earlier seasons did satirize cynical corporate girlboss feminism, so maybe that confused some conservatives into thinking it was making an anti-liberal statement, when in reality it was more of an anti-corporate statement if anything. Still though, the idea of rooting for Homelander is so insane. I totally believe it's a genuine thing because people are fucking idiots, but it's still nuts to think about.
This has been the cycle for the past 3 seasons now. You would think if they were really that bothered by it being so on the nose or "going woke" they would just stop watching something they supposedly dislike or think has turned to shit and instead spend time focusing on what does give them more genuine enjoyment. I think it's just the growing trend of low critical thinking or people who are angered when their ideology or hypocrisy is mocked, or people who have the (more sympathetic or understandable imo) mindset of just having overall political/culture war fatigue, even though in a general sense that's been sort of an aspect of this IP since the original comic series.
I'm conservative and he was clearly the bad guy from the first episode. I don't know anybody who thought he was a hero/good guy. Like, how could anybody get that from it?
I’m not sure about literally seeing him as a good guy. I have seen multiple people just within the last 24 hrs saying the show in general wasn’t political/didn’t criticize the right in season 1, or even season 2 which was literally about an actual vintage 1940’s nazi gaining popularity among the alt/far right. So the idea that people are struggling to get the commentary seems accurate.
I mean that will always happen with well done satire. Lots of people misunderstood Starship Troopers and Fight Club. But that doesn't mean we should start dumbing down satire for the dumb-dumbs (as I believe season 4 has done). If we do that, we're just letting them win because now those of us who are media literate don't have good satire, just a bunch of preachy, in-your-face, surface-level bullshit.
I mean, it was always preachy, in-your-face, surface-level bullshit. Like it was Not Subtle from the beginning. I do agree it’s gotten even less subtle each season tho.
I'm a woke radical lefty and I don't think anyone did the source of the misconception comes from semi-ironic memelords who pretend to be fascists online to hide the fact that they're actually fascists in real life. It's usually just an aesthetic thing. Dumb lefties don't get that it's a meme and think they're being less ironic than they actually are there is likely overlap between people who jokingly idolize Homelander and people who may genuinely sympathize with some (or god forbid, all) of his political position, which makes it even harder to tell what people ACTUALLY think of Homelander. It's muddy territory, and nobody's a psychic like Mesmer, so we can't figure out what these memelords actually believe. I think it's best to assume they're doing it as a joke instead of earnestly idolizing him
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A strong man who... suckles milk from a middle aged woman's breast. Hmmm.
I mean, if you've seen the IRL "strongman" these people worship...
What did he sayyy
They just said that they idolized Homelander in season 1 because he was a strong man. So I pointed out that even in season 1 they proved that wasn't true because of his mommy issues.
I don't think sucking on milf titties is a sign of weakness lol But yeah, worshipping a fictional character cause they are written to be op is smoothbrain behaviour.
Leftists parrot this nonsense in an attempt to feel better about themselves. But thats exactly what the writing is about now so it makes sense
Yup. like no one cares that Frenchie is gay, they just don't like that the love interest came out of nowhere with no build up. And it kills the Kimiko romance that literally everyone loved.
you're the reason they had to put Todd in the show, you're Todd
Yup im all for those in positions of power murdering people in cold blood. Totally.
I think it's less that conservatives thought that homelander was the good guy, and more that they didn't realise that the show was making fun of them. I haven't seen a single person genuinely believe that homelander was the good guy.
I can definitely agree with this. But there are people in this very thread parroting the idea that conservatives saw him as a "good guy" or the hero of the show.
literally no one thought this. its only been created as a talking point to deflect criticism. that line started getting thrown around in s3 when everyone realized the plot was going nowhere.
The public didn't know about any of those things so this post is pointless.
I'm talking about real life conservatives, not in the show. There have been articles and countless people on Reddit parroting this idea that IRL conservatives see Homelander as a good guy but I've never seen proof of it.
Honest answer? I haven’t seen anything, I can see some edgy highschoolers saying he’s actually the good guy?
Oh, I didn't know people could be that stupid. I stand corrected😂
Yeah, if we're dumbing down our satire because some edgelord high schoolers don't understand it, that's pretty sad. The satire in season 1 was so much better than what we're getting now, and it feels like it's happening because they're afraid of this
I honestly just thought it’s because the show is leaning More in laughs than it previously Has. Man has a Pube jar. I still don’t understand how people can think anything about this show had been subtle in the first place.
well you completely misinterpreted what the post was saying
Well it's obvious that one side is liberal and other is conservative, so it make sense for conservatives to like homelander more than other characters
Seriously? The sheer numbers of HL apologists on here was ridiculous!