Decoding Fandom is a weekly column that dives deep into the world of fan culture and runs on Wednesdays in the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter. If you want to get this column a day before we publish it, subscribe to web_crawlr, where you’ll get the daily scoop of internet culture delivered straight to your inbox.
A movie trailer seemingly designed for stans and/or gay people on the internet dropped last week. The movie? M3GAN 2.0, the long-awaited sequel to the surprise hit M3GAN. If you don’t recall October of 2022, that month saw the release of the trailer for the first film, which immediately spawned memes and legions of eager fans.
Hoping to capitalize on the viral success of M3GAN, the trailer for M3GAN 2.0 employs an even campier tone and re-uses the famous dance scene from the first film. It was a clever move from Blumhouse, the production company behind the film. Indeed, the trailer once again ignited excitement amongst X users, though it hasn’t yet achieved the virality of its predecessor.
The M3GAN 2.0 trailer ‘ate’
Those won over by the film’s over-the-top style employed many of the internet’s favorite slang terms for expressing adoration. Most of these words and phrases are also slang from gay culture, specifically the black and Latino folks who pioneered the ballroom scene in New York City. Prevalent slang included “serving c*nt” (or just the word “c*nt” on its own), “she ate,” “gagged,” “diva,” “slay,” and “mother.”
Another common response was “I’m seated” or variations of that phrase. (That slang comes from actor Ayo Edibiri.) Regardless of the origin of these words (though that’s important in its own right), these terms are not just the language of the internet, they’re the language of stan culture. This is exactly the audience Blumhouse is hoping to galvanize with this film.
Stan culture is at the center of the trailer
If you need more evidence of this fact, look to the trailer itself. The release date is written as “Slaying June 27.” The trailer describes the fight between the two main robots as “Bitch vs Bitch.” Several lines in the trailer appear designed to go viral, including M3GAN’s use of the phrase “meat suit.”
Language aside, fans are loving the heightened tone of the film and its commitment to absurdity. Many noted that the movie appears even campier than its predecessor. Others suggested that, unlike the first film, this one looks intentionally funny, though the notion that M3GAN was only accidentally funny seems questionable. As for the plot, a common refrain was that M3GAN 2.0 is going the Terminator route, wherein the villain becomes the hero.
Several X users suggested that M3GAN 2.0 has “found its target audience,” which does appear to be the case. Presumably, this audience includes gay folks and chronically online people, two categories that overlap considerably. Repeating the James Cameron comparison, one X user wrote the movie looks like “if Terminator if it was written by gays.” Another user wrote, “hollywood really said give the gays their robotic icon back.”
To be clear, it’s not as if everyone using these slang terms is gay—they have become so common online that one needn’t be aware of their context to use them. Nonetheless, M3GAN 2.0 seems to be courting an audience that at least enjoys a gay (read: camp) sensibility.
The film is leaning into internet culture
The film’s social media presence further cements this playful tone. M3GAN has her own X account, and she uses it to respond to people’s comments and clap back at the haters.
When one user wrote that Amelia, the film’s villain, “is taking it,” M3GAN responded “mwah! blocked.” When another fan wrote “MOTHER IS HERE,” she responded, “it’s actually spelled moth3r.”
M3GAN’s presence online is not just viral marketing—she’s also speaking the language of the internet and ingratiating herself among its denizens. The first movie was successful at both becoming memed and generating box office sales. Nonetheless, the above responses to M3GAN 2.0 don’t guarantee a financial win––we’ll have to see if these budding fans are actually seated.
Like its prototype, M3GAN 2.0 is working to stir up fans before the film premieres. Using stan culture vocabulary to try and pre-emptively engender stans is a clever strategy. But at the end of the day, the relative quality of the film isn’t that important—it’s how c*nty M3GAN is that matters.
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
