James Gunn — slated to be the writer/director of Marvel Studios' Guardians Of The Galaxy film — has had to issue a formal apology for a jokey blog post he made almost two years ago, because apparently that's the world we're living in now.
In February 2011, Gunn wrote an article about 'The 50 Superheroes You Most Want To Have Sex With'. The winners were voted for by visitors to Gunn's site and his social media followers, with Gunn providing dubiously 'humorous' commentary on each selection.
Here's a few choice examples:
#3, Catwoman: "This supervillain turned anti-hero has been making my penis feel funny since I was four years old and saw Julie Newmar playing her on TV."
#7, Emma Frost: "For those men who love rude bitches, the White Queen is number one."
#8, The Black Widow: "Considering she's fucked half the men in the Marvel Universe, it's much deserved."
#10, 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."
#18, Invisible Woman: "Just once wouldn't you want to look back and forth from a pretty blonde's face, to your penis actually having an orgasm inside of her vagina?!"
#28, Aquaman: "I'd still be afraid he'd treat me like a Led Zeppelin groupie, if you get my drift."
#30, X-23: "Isn't she supposed to be fifteen years old? After you fictionally fuck her fictional police are going to arrest you and put you in fictional jail for being a very real pedophile."
#32, Batwoman: "This lesbian character was voted for almost exclusively by men. I don't know exactly what that means. But I'm hoping for a Marvel-DC crossover so that Tony Stark can "turn" her. She could also have sex with Nightwing and probably still be technically considered a lesbian."
#34, Batgirl: "Being a teen mom and all, you know she's easy. Go for it."
#38, The Flash: "Many of the people who voted for the Flash were gay men. I have no idea why this is. But I do know if I was going to get fucked in the butt I too would want it to be by someone who would get it over with quick."
If you scroll through the whole list, it's filled with ugly college frat boy humour, but that's the point: it's intended as a parody of the creepiest fringes of fanboy culture, and it's pretty dead-on.
What this tongue-in-cheek article about fictional characters isn't is grounds to get Gunn fired from his Marvel Studios gig. And yet, that's exactly what a kneejerk petition on change.org called for, spurred on by a post on The Mary Sue ("So Here's The Slut-Shaming, Homophobic Post On Superheroes By... The Director Of Guardians Of The Galaxy") that quickly went viral.
The petition began by noting that Avengers director Joss Whedon has been honoured by the National Organization for Women as one of their Men on the Frontlines, apparently setting forth this qualification as a requirement for anyone looking to direct a Marvel Studios film (and ignoring that Whedon doesn't want the GotG gig, and that Gunn has been publicly endorsed by Whedon himself).
Dark Horse Comics editor Rachel Edidin soon weighed in on the matter. Despite being told by someone who vouched for Gunn personally and professionally that the article was intended as satire, she writes that it's bad satire, because "it skews incredibly close to material that's not only already out there, but that comes from official media and in some cases industry professionals".
"An over-the-top parody of misogyny falls pretty flat," she added, "when you're doing it in a context where a lot of the people in positions of relative power and visibility, as well as significant vocal blocs, are actually that misogynist."
Well, no. Hewing close to things that actually exist, parroting back things that are actually said and believed by people in positions of power in an over-the-top way that highlights the ridiculousness of those things — that's kind of the point of satire, isn't it? Nobody says that Stephen Colbert isn't funny because there are actually crazy, self-deluding conservatives out there. Rather, that's the entire crux of the joke.
Of course, Gunn isn't as funny as Colbert, and nobody's holding up 'The 50 Superheroes You Most Want To Have Sex With' as an example of champagne comedy. But it's hardly grounds to brand him a sexist, homophobic misognynist, either.
Possibly afraid of losing his job (and possibly just feeling remorseful that his joke had been taken the wrong way), Gunn has issued the following apology to GLAAD:
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.
Gunn's apology is classy, but was it really necessary? Would his job have been in jeopardy if he hadn't made it?
Yesterday morning, I saw Wreck-It Ralph, a fantastic animated film from Disney (who, of course, own Marvel Studios). In the film, the part of Vanellope von Schweetz, an adorable 9-year-old, is played by Sarah Silverman. Yes, this Sarah Silverman.
{youtube}BKPCOAlL5KE{/youtube}
{youtube}2B5o6-qNk6Q{/youtube}
By all means, take an overly literal view of a bit of risque humour if you want. Just understand that, by baying for someone to lose their gig on a family friendly film because they once wrote something that was not family friendly, you're demonstrating that you have a looser grip on reality and a stronger inclination towards censorship than Disney.
Gunn has always been able to cater his work to different audiences (he wrote both Scooby Doo and Slither). If Guardians Of The Galaxy features a scene in which Gamora, Rocket Racoon and Starlord have a ball slapping threeway, during which they treat each other like Led Zeppelin groupies, I'll be the first to admit that Marvel fucked up and that James Gunn was the wrong guy for the job.
Until then, internet, do you think you might have overreacted just a little bit?
