which no doubt contributed to ticket sales . The lesson was not forgotten , and the producers of Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice ( essentially Man of Steel ’ s sequel ) have ambitiously leaked photos and rumors of new incarnations of highly recognizable characters from Wonder Woman to Aquaman . Even Jesse Eisenberg as the villainous Lex Luthor has fanned the flames of adverse internet discourse ; despite a tweeted photo of his shaven scalp ( a concern exasperated by Gene Hackman ’ s refusal to do so for the character in 1978 ’ s Superman : The Movie or its sequels ), fans worry that subsequent online trailers have depicted an unfamiliar and seemingly trivial representation of the character ( the revelation that Eisenberg actually portrays Alexander Luthor Jr . has not dissuaded criticism ).
Henry Jenkins , in Textual Poachers : Television Fans and Participatory Culture , describes the “ social agency of readers ” in the context of Michel De Certeau ’ s concept of “ textual poaching ” ( 63 ). Textual poaching “ characterizes the relationship between readers and writers as an ongoing struggle for possession for the text and for control over its meanings ” ( Jenkins 24 ). Jenkins identifies “ fan critics ” as textual poachers who “ display a close attention to the particularity of television narratives that puts academic critics to shame ” ( 86 ). However , while Jenkins further describes fan critics as “ true experts ” within the “ realm of popular culture ” who “ constitute competing educational elite , albeit one without official recognition or social power ” ( 86 ), these fan critics are now armed with unprecedented media tools to muscle their influence and in fact do exert substantial social power . What aggravates the “ superhero ” public can be unpredictable ; for example , Gal Gadot , the actress playing Wonder Woman , has been criticized online for being too thin and her breasts not large enough to accurately portray the Amazonian princess .
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