CT: James Gunn

[espanolbot]

Trigger warning for sexism, slut shaming and homophobic comments. Not by me, by the guy I'm criticising.




Link,
http://www.themarysue.com/james-gunnsuperhero-sex-post/

Comments

[mrstatham]

*stares*

*stares some more*

What the fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. This just.. I feel a rant coming on. Isn't today the day Avengers Arena comes out, too? Shit. I just might have an aneurysm.

[majingojira]

No, that's next week. But the blurb at the back of Uncanny Avengers is cringe-worthy in terms of its trolling. It's effectively saying: "Hey! Do you hate that thehre's so many teen heroes in Marvel? Wanna see these characters die? DO WE HAVE THE BOOK FOR YOU!" Are they trying to be ironic? Do they even know the nature of the complaints being lobbed at them?

That may be enough to spark that aneurism.

[shadowpsykie]

o_O....
o_o...
O_o....
O_O...
(O)_(O)...
@_@.......

this dude is like the ANTI-WHEDON... how the hell would whedon even think about using him...

*note while i am aware of the problems within whedon's works, and acknowledge that they are actual problems, i also think that he is one of the few creators who is actually trying to combat issues like sexism, racism, homophobia and violence. just because he gets some things wrong does not make him not an ally.*

[mrstatham]

The thing is, he and Whedon come from similar places, in some respects. Just as much as Buffy and even something like say, The Cabin in the Woods pay respect to their mutual genres whilst building on them, so too does Gunn, given Slither is a messy homage in parts to older horror films and the like. They also use similar cast members, and have similar attitudes to a degree. As such, the similar sensibilities are probably why he was picked (although I don't think Whedon had a direct hand in the choice).

[thezmage]

Whedon also wrote the forward to Identity Crisis, so I don't really take his recommendations seriously anymore.

If there is a more aggressively anti-women book than Identity Crisis, I don't know what it is. Maybe whatever Cerebrus volume has the "feminine void" rant in it.

[salinea]

I think you think slightly too highly of Whedon than he deserves; I love a lot of his work; and many of it was very meaningful at the time and in its context; but the guy has serious flaws as a storyteller and feminist.

[kingofmadcows]

The fact that Whedon has such a devoted fan base with a lot of fans who refuse to acknowledge his flaws is a problem.

And there really isn't enough done to address Whedon's weaknesses and how he keeps making a lot of the same mistakes.

[kevinroc]

I don't think Gunn is being serious with this. And I hate to use the "he's just joking" thing because a lot of people use that to defend against stupid comments they make.

And yes, these comments are really stupid.

http://postcardsfromspace.tumblr.com/post/36751576265/parsing-the-james-gunn-mess

Heidi McDonald does a pretty good job of explaining why even if this is satire (which I think it is), it is bad satire (which I also think it is).

[shadowpsykie]

that makes me feel SLIGHTLY better... i only want to gouge out the left hemisphere of my brain instread of both....

[mrstatham]

Again, you still need to tread carefully even when it's meant as humour. Tone on the internet is also incredibly difficult to figure out at times - the number of slip-ups I've had here and at other places, and I've seen it happen to other people too, means that it's a minefield. I'm not sticking up for Gunn, but frankly, when you're coming out with something like this, I think some manner of... Just a disclaimer, even, might be necessary, to let people know it's all in humour. As it is, this is just coming across like a bad page on Encyclopedia Dramatica that misses the point.

[wake_the_dragon]

*stares at screen*

God. Damn. It.

[greenmask]

Joss Whedon: still not the king of feminism, still not the king of humour, still not the king of screenwriting. Apparently not the king of friends either!

[auggie18]

...has he claimed to be any of these things?

[filthysize]

Uhhhh, this supposed "scandal" is really weird to me to hear about today. It appears that a lot of people who are shocked by this are simply unfamiliar with who James Gunn is.

Gunn came from Troma. He does things like Tromeo and Juliet, PG Porn, Scream Queen, Lollipop Chainsaw and Super. His friends are horror peeps, porn actresses and geek celebs (which accounts for his friendship with Whedon, Tudyk, Fillion, etc).

Weird, fucked up, offensive, black humor is exactly what he does. It's ALL he does. I mean, you can like it or not, obviously, but it's really weird to see this (year old blog post mind you) blow up all of a sudden. It's not exactly some kinda little-reported tidbit about him. It's his calling card.

[espanolbot]

I can find that kind of humour funny when I think it's done properly... except humour is subjective and Gunn's comments there AREN'T to me.

It's a taste thing. I like Repo: the Genetic Opera, but I know a LOT of people who don't.

[majingojira]

Gunn came from Troma.

And I stopped right there. That alone explains everything!

[stolisomancer]

I'm having a hard time reconciling this as being the same guy who wrote Lollipop Chainsaw, the chuckles in which are about 200% smarter than the subject material would seem to indicate.

[darkblade]

You could blame the good in that game on Suda51 instead?

[donnblake]

So, here's the link to the original post, for those who are interested. Trigger warnings as above apply, and I should add that there's a fair number of potentially NSFW images.

Gunn's all over the place with that one. We go from the commentary on Gambit

"My girlfriend voted for this Cajun fruit. I think she’s looking to have a devil’s three way with the two of us. The idea of my balls slapping against Gambit’s makes me sick to my stomach, but I can’t deny the fellow’s pure HEAT, as he yet again placed so high on this list, despite being male and in the presence of so many A-listers. Wolverine and Superman may beat him in sales, but it’s who the ladies love that really matters, and Gambit is the Galactus of Cock!"

To Iron Man

"Personally, if I were into dudes, I think Batman would be too stiff in bed, Superman would be too good-natured, and Wolvie would be too accidentally-shredding-me-with-his-claws-upon-orgasm. I’d want a dude who had, you know, experience – someone who has fucked most the superheroines on the planet, and knew what he was doing. I’d go Tony Stark. Although I’d ask him, kindly, to lose the current prison pussy and go back to the ‘stache."

To Nightwing, where the sole comment under his asserific picture is,

"Okay, uh, yeah, I can see where you would want some of that shit."

I dunno why he veers back and forth like that. *shrug*

Edited to actually provide link, also available at the themarysue link.

[shadowpsykie]

Yeah the veering is... Its like, "oh yeah, heh that's funny.. Yeah that's... ummm no what are you even s saying"

[lucky_gamble]

....ugh...not today. I don't have the energy for a rant.

[sadoeuphemist]

I actually agree with the Black Canary one, tbh.

[darkknightjrk]

...Yeah, I can kinda see that. Beautiful woman, awesome fighter, TERRIBLE taste in men.

[onceaskrull]

Those comments are definitely groan-worthy, but at the same time they're not eliciting any kind of reaction from me. I think because they're so over-the-top, like when a troll is trying too hard by saying the most obvious, offensive thing. It's trying too hard to be offensive-funny, and it's not funny or clever.

I'll admit to liking some of James Gunn's work, though, so that colors my interpretation (in as much as I'm not getting worked up over it). I think he can be incredibly problematic, and I won't even try to defend that. I will say, though, that my eyes roll so hard every time Joss Whedon is brought up as some feminist saint. So. Hard. People are free to like him, I like him selectively (Dr. Horrible, Firefly), but he has never struck me as that progressive. And even in things of his that I like, like Firefly, there are some serious issues with how he handles race and gender.

And for me, intent doesn't count for much where being an ally is concerned. In fact, it can be even more problematic; these pulled quotes from Gunn are so over-the-top that the fact it's neon sign NOT RIGHT should be obvious to most. But in many places, Joss Whedon is touted as an aspirational figure and Super Feminist, and his work often falls far, far, short. But, because of his status as an icon, it's not challenged as much as it should be.

Green Arrow is awesome, though. Haters gonna hate.

[damar148]

So many people here who can't take a joke, even a bad one.

Mod Note: Warning

[salinea]

Even if "you can't take a joke" was a reasonable reaction here, a bad one is hardly more likely to be well-taken than a good one, don't you think?

Sexism and homophobia are not jokes, and 'doing it ironically' is just being sexist or homophobic without integrity. We do not expect members to react to institutionally oppressive language with joviality and scans_daily does not accept laugh it off as relevant advice. This is well known policy.

Following your warning from last September along similar lines, this is your SECOND OFFICIAL WARNING. This is what they call a "second strike" and you are now suspended from the community for the next fourteen days, after which you will be allowed to return. Please note that if you receive one further warning you will lose the ability to post on this community.

[cyberghostface]

I've been following Gunn's career since Slither and this is just him pushing the limits of good taste as usual. He once made a fake porno starring Michael Rosenbaum as Charlie Brown killing his friends to get an idea of how he works.

Poor taste, sure, but they're not his actual beliefs.

[cyberghostface]

Gunn wrote this on his Facebook in October, if you want to see what his actual beliefs are:

"Today is National Coming Out Day. If you're gay, and you've been keeping this from others, today is a good day to let your loved ones know. If you're not gay, support those who are. If you hate gays, recent studies show that homophobic people are far likelier to harbor same-sex attraction. So you are probably gay too, and we love you also.

Many years ago, one of my best friends from high school came out to me as a gay man. Back then, I wasn't the most forward-thinking dude in this area (I'm a dickhead punk rock kid from Missouri), but I STILL took this as a huge honor - and a huge relief. Some sort of truth, a level of intimacy I had with my other friends, had been missing from our relationship. That all opened up in one fell swoop. I saw, very clearly, that a person's sexuality is part of the truth of who they are.

If you're gay and struggling with it, most of us are here for you. We love you. And you're okay just the way you are."

[darkknightjrk]

In case anyone's interested, Gunn's made a public apology.

A couple of years ago I wrote a blog that was meant to be satirical and funny. In rereading it over the past day I don’t think it’s funny. The attempted humor in the blog does not represent my actual feelings. However, I can see where statements were poorly worded and offensive to many. I’m sorry and regret making them at all.

People who are familiar with me as evidenced by my Facebook page and other mediums know that I’m an outspoken proponent for the rights of the gay and lesbian community, women and anyone who feels disenfranchised, and it kills me that some other outsider like myself, despite his or her gender or sexuality, might feel hurt or attacked by something I said. We’re all in the same camp, and I want to do my best to make this world a better place for all of us. I’m learning all the time. I promise to be more careful with my words in the future. And I will do my best to be funnier as well. Much love to all.

[cleome45]

Good for him. :)