So it has come down to it at last. The final nail in the coffin. The ending waltz on the dance floor. The last Pringle in the can. Or something. Either way, we have sworn in another president, we have upheld our particularly American brand of Democracy, and we are all certainly awaiting every politician to be taken into custody, executed, and then for Trump to rule forever. Q just has to be correct right? The track record is.... stunning? Pictured: Q at his computer, or something. Creator: Rembrandt | Credit: Hermitage Either way, our country has reached the dawning of a new administration. An event that has happened 45 previous times, and will undoubtedly happen many many more. But along the way, there was a bit of... discourse, if you could call it that. Most of it was spurned on by the greatest of all threats in this day and age, the Keyboard Warriors. Yes, this multi-class, 12th level, 5h Edition DnD champion has, for the last 5-6 years at least, had an alarmingly large a
Oh boy. This is a doozy. For those that have been out of the loop and/or don't care, James Gunn, the writer, Producer, Director, Custodian for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy series has been unceremoniously fired by Disney, and had all ties severed. Well what the hell? Why would they do that? It's not like he wrote tweets about pedophilia and rape... oh he did that? Well. That's all folks. We're done here.....
No, not really. We're just getting started! So, James Gunn, who as previously mentioned has garnered massive success with his GOTG series has been under fire due to several (ed note: SEVERAL.) Tweets he made over a number of months around 2007-2008 or so. The content of these tweets, which, for lack of a better term, are disgusting, detail various jokes and comedic scenario's where minors and unwilling participants are involved. Now, obviously these are just jokes, but the issue stands.
Due to the fact that many people in wealth and power tweet things out that they don't think about beforehand, (ed note: I'll let that joke slide) there always seem to be a plethora of tweets and posts to refute and destroy any statement or position people tend to side with. Many Internet sleuths have taken to combing through literally THOUSANDS of tweets over the years, just to find something incriminating. This is exactly what happened to Mr. Gunn here. However, before we get to condemning, some explaining is in order.
Gunn didn't always have Disney cash in his pocket and legions of rabid fans. He started off as an aspiring filmmaker in the 90's, and managed to land a job writing and directing for Troma Films. Those of you who have never heard of Troma, go on YouTube and look them up if your brave. Back? Okay. For the uninitiated, Troma is the Howard Stern of movie studios. They specialize in schlock, shock, and socks. Sorry, had to finish the rhyme. Pretty much, they do nothing but the weirdest, nastiest and most low budget exploitation films you can think of. Sex, nudity, violence and copious gore are the hallmarks of all Troma films. And truthfully, they are downright awesome for what they represent. They are the apex of idiocy, the best of the worst. You watch Troma films to be disgusted and laugh you face off the whole time. This is the environment that James Gunn got his start in. This is the environment that molded him.
Now obviously, as crude as many jokes can be, there is always a silver lining. You can make fun of anything, but you have to endure the blow-back. The jokes that Gunn made, were just that, jokes. Ones that he is now paying for. I don't think it's entirely unwarranted either. The tweets really are quite bad, even for a dark humor lover like myself. James has even come out in the past and apologized for things he said in his younger years; that they weren't representative of what type of person he is. This coming from a guy who made the movie Slither and web-series PG Porn.
The guy is, for lack of a better term, a shock director. He always has been. There was even some wariness when Disney hired him to do Guardians back in 2014. Some are saying they should have seen this coming. Others, that he is being treated unfairly. The fact remains, these tweets were, and still are, in HORRENDOUSLY bad taste, and anyone who would display something like this in any type of seriousness has some explaining to do. So, I'm waiting Hollywood. What? You are wondering why I am calling out ALL of Hollywood? Why thank you sweet summer child for asking!
You see, Hollywood, for years, upon years, upon years, has had a bit of a sexual harassment problem. Now, thankfully, with the #METOO movement in full swing, and the Weinstein Effect causing former untouchable (ed note: teehee) people suddenly become vulnerable, things have been changing vastly in Hollywood. Some of it for the better, some of it for worse. We won't get into the dirty details yet, I will save that for it's own post, but long story short, many are finally answering for their past indiscretions and actions. Such past actions involve the support for people who have done MUCH worse things than what James Gunn has done.
Not too long ago, Mel Gibson went on a tremendously racist and sexist rant while drunk, in which he used racial/sexual slurs against African Americans, Jewish folk and women. Now, while I still love many Mel Gibson movies, I believe that his actions where something that he rightly payed for. He was blacklisted from Hollywood for a very long time. Like, a whole 8 years! (ed note: The horror.) Hollywood now, is opening its arms back to Gibson, in a move that many are supporting. Now I believe in forgiveness as much as the next guy, so I feel that Mel deserves a bit of a comeback so long as he stays away from the sauce. But what happens when Hollywood supports a LITERAL child rapist? Enter Roman Polanski. Eww... sorry for that sentence, don't enter Roman Polanski. It's dark in there.
Roman Polanski has had an unfortunate life. When he was young, his family struggled to survive the horror's of 1940's Poland. Later in life, his wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered by the Manson family (ed note: That's true by the way), and he later was accused of raping a 13 year old girl. Yikes. Now, when I say accused, I mean he did it. He totally, literally, in all actuality, drugged and raped a 13 year old girl who was modeling for him. And yet, Hollywood is still in love with the man. Granted, he makes great movies. China Town is one of the best noir movies ever made, and The Pianist is a gut-wrenching view of the Holocaust that only a survivor could make. But that's all besides the point. The man raped a little girl. And Hollywood cheered for him when his film won an Academy Award. I'd take a million James Gunn tweets over that.
All in all, this just outlines the hypocrisy of Hollywood at its core. People knew about Harvey Weinstein before the news broke, and said nothing. People condemned Mel Gibson for years, and then acted like nothing happened when he was let back in. Everyone clapped when Polanski won awards, but no one cried that a little girl got her innocence taken from her. These things are a horrible reminder that nothing is forever in Hollywood, and worse yet, you will only ever pay for your crimes when the masses turn against you.
James Gunn does not deserve to be fired. Simple as that. He deserves to get in trouble, to apologize, to be put through the ringer, but he does not deserve to lose everything, due to an indiscretion in his past. At least, not until the rest of Hollywood does the same. How many skeleton's are worth digging up? How many producers, directors, and actors would be left if all were fired for similar infractions. What Gunn did was bad, horrible even. But Hollywood has done much worse, and has no right to pass judgment until it answers for it's own sins.
No, not really. We're just getting started! So, James Gunn, who as previously mentioned has garnered massive success with his GOTG series has been under fire due to several (ed note: SEVERAL.) Tweets he made over a number of months around 2007-2008 or so. The content of these tweets, which, for lack of a better term, are disgusting, detail various jokes and comedic scenario's where minors and unwilling participants are involved. Now, obviously these are just jokes, but the issue stands.
 |
| Not pictured: smut and tastefulness. |
Due to the fact that many people in wealth and power tweet things out that they don't think about beforehand, (ed note: I'll let that joke slide) there always seem to be a plethora of tweets and posts to refute and destroy any statement or position people tend to side with. Many Internet sleuths have taken to combing through literally THOUSANDS of tweets over the years, just to find something incriminating. This is exactly what happened to Mr. Gunn here. However, before we get to condemning, some explaining is in order.
Gunn didn't always have Disney cash in his pocket and legions of rabid fans. He started off as an aspiring filmmaker in the 90's, and managed to land a job writing and directing for Troma Films. Those of you who have never heard of Troma, go on YouTube and look them up if your brave. Back? Okay. For the uninitiated, Troma is the Howard Stern of movie studios. They specialize in schlock, shock, and socks. Sorry, had to finish the rhyme. Pretty much, they do nothing but the weirdest, nastiest and most low budget exploitation films you can think of. Sex, nudity, violence and copious gore are the hallmarks of all Troma films. And truthfully, they are downright awesome for what they represent. They are the apex of idiocy, the best of the worst. You watch Troma films to be disgusted and laugh you face off the whole time. This is the environment that James Gunn got his start in. This is the environment that molded him.
Now obviously, as crude as many jokes can be, there is always a silver lining. You can make fun of anything, but you have to endure the blow-back. The jokes that Gunn made, were just that, jokes. Ones that he is now paying for. I don't think it's entirely unwarranted either. The tweets really are quite bad, even for a dark humor lover like myself. James has even come out in the past and apologized for things he said in his younger years; that they weren't representative of what type of person he is. This coming from a guy who made the movie Slither and web-series PG Porn.
The guy is, for lack of a better term, a shock director. He always has been. There was even some wariness when Disney hired him to do Guardians back in 2014. Some are saying they should have seen this coming. Others, that he is being treated unfairly. The fact remains, these tweets were, and still are, in HORRENDOUSLY bad taste, and anyone who would display something like this in any type of seriousness has some explaining to do. So, I'm waiting Hollywood. What? You are wondering why I am calling out ALL of Hollywood? Why thank you sweet summer child for asking!
You see, Hollywood, for years, upon years, upon years, has had a bit of a sexual harassment problem. Now, thankfully, with the #METOO movement in full swing, and the Weinstein Effect causing former untouchable (ed note: teehee) people suddenly become vulnerable, things have been changing vastly in Hollywood. Some of it for the better, some of it for worse. We won't get into the dirty details yet, I will save that for it's own post, but long story short, many are finally answering for their past indiscretions and actions. Such past actions involve the support for people who have done MUCH worse things than what James Gunn has done.
Roman Polanski has had an unfortunate life. When he was young, his family struggled to survive the horror's of 1940's Poland. Later in life, his wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered by the Manson family (ed note: That's true by the way), and he later was accused of raping a 13 year old girl. Yikes. Now, when I say accused, I mean he did it. He totally, literally, in all actuality, drugged and raped a 13 year old girl who was modeling for him. And yet, Hollywood is still in love with the man. Granted, he makes great movies. China Town is one of the best noir movies ever made, and The Pianist is a gut-wrenching view of the Holocaust that only a survivor could make. But that's all besides the point. The man raped a little girl. And Hollywood cheered for him when his film won an Academy Award. I'd take a million James Gunn tweets over that.
All in all, this just outlines the hypocrisy of Hollywood at its core. People knew about Harvey Weinstein before the news broke, and said nothing. People condemned Mel Gibson for years, and then acted like nothing happened when he was let back in. Everyone clapped when Polanski won awards, but no one cried that a little girl got her innocence taken from her. These things are a horrible reminder that nothing is forever in Hollywood, and worse yet, you will only ever pay for your crimes when the masses turn against you.
James Gunn does not deserve to be fired. Simple as that. He deserves to get in trouble, to apologize, to be put through the ringer, but he does not deserve to lose everything, due to an indiscretion in his past. At least, not until the rest of Hollywood does the same. How many skeleton's are worth digging up? How many producers, directors, and actors would be left if all were fired for similar infractions. What Gunn did was bad, horrible even. But Hollywood has done much worse, and has no right to pass judgment until it answers for it's own sins.
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