

I’ve found that people who don’t understand or enjoy media literacy or criticism also don’t tend to understand the concept of an analogy/allegory, and don’t want to either. Superman represents the “American Way” and can’t be an immigrant and the idea that America is a nation of immigrants is not relevant in any way. Only the old statements from Bridget from Guilty Gear count and not any of the new ones that confirm she’s trans. Naoto from Persona 4 and some similar stories like hers in other games can’t be a commentary on social pressures around restrictive gender roles, dysphoria, and performativity simply because she ultimately still identifies as a cis woman. You can explain the nuances until you’re out of breath, they will never accept the nuances.
What if you’re kind of a shitty friend on top of an introvert though. Like they invite you, and you’re happy to be there, but then your over-emotional response either starts to seem sarcastic or ruins the vibes. So the next time two years later when someone dares to try again not only are you ashamed about it but your reaction is twice as bad because of it. Then everyone starts to feel so awkward that they just ghost you. Seems like at some point you should probably just decline to spare everyone the experience.