I’m probably not smart enough to fully express my theory on this or even to really fully form it, but I think something fundamental has broken in the human brain lately and it has to do with the barrier between reality and unreality, fact and fiction, etc. I can’t help but notice how the woke especially don’t really see a difference between getting minorities into real opportunities, vs. seeing them “represented” in fiction. If I wanted to change the world I’d focus on the real world and real people but they don’t see a difference really. Add to it the phenomenon you mention, about freaking out over nonexistent characters’ “agency.” Sane basic brain-break is behind the need for trigger warnings and is ultimately behind a lot of left-wing censorship generally.