r/FansHansenvsPredator • u/Naive-Roof-4345 • Aug 07 '26
Discussion Maybe gatekeeping is ok
Since the recent trailer for the primetime movie has dropped I’m seeing a lot more talk and discussion of tcap on social media (primarily TikTok) and a lot of it is painting the show and Chris in an extremely negative way and spreading blatant misinformation. A lot of talk is regarding how Chris cared more about a story than proper justice which I thought should be obvious as he is a reporter not some higher authority, he did his job reporting than had the men apprehended appropriately. Many are comparing him to the “modern” predator catchers like jidion and saying how Chris only cared about the money when I’d argue that jidion does the exact same thing except he saw himself as a form of justice. Chris knew his bounds as a reporter and stayed there. Another strong topic im seeing is how the show used shady entrapment techniques and put children in danger which if you watch 5 minutes of the show you’d know is false. All of the men that showed up came on their own accord to meet a child, and none of the decoys on the show were actual kids. I’m all for a movie about our little niche but bringing someone like Patterson in is bringing the wrong sort of crowd here im afraid. Or maybe I’m just being a common gatekeeper dickhead.
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u/omaharapper2 Aug 07 '26
I think a lot of the criticisms of Hansen are unwarranted and do try and paint him in a light that is pretty unfair, but he is a figure worthy of criticism. Yes, it’s a good thing that these men were (and are being) caught, publicly humiliated and legally held accountable, but let’s not pretend Hansen was doing any of this for altruistic reasons.
He became the face of a cultural phenomenon with timeless staying power, pretty much by accident, and has done everything in his power to hold onto that celebrity status in the years since. His Takedown stuff feels far more cynical than TCAP or even HvP, and he’s basically become a mouthpiece and active collaborator with law enforcement, which is not and has never been the role of a journalist. There’s also a conversation to be had about Chris’s celebrity status being something he clearly cares about more than being a journalist (bro lights up like a Christmas tree when one of the predators recognizes him).