James Gunn dropped from GOTG 3

[numberthirty]

So pedo culture/humour gets a free pass and is enabled is what.

One guy's take...

If the person has disavowed that sort of humor instead of saying "Totally acceptable. I don't get why anyone is worked up, or why I got into trouble over this.", I'm not seeing "Enabled". I'm also not seeing a "Free Pass" if it has the potential to play into any hiring call going forward.

That's if you assume that the "So what?" in question was largely about what you are discussing.

[jump]

I mean...that just describes harassment anyway...right?

Is there any other reason to tell a well-intentioned (ie. not attacking someone) tasteless joke, other than for "shock value"? I figured "shock value" was just the default.

Comedy is such a subjective thing which has had people spending centuries trying to figure it out and yet there's still not a clear description of funny. Some people just find things funnier if they are against the norm/naughty rather than laughing at catchphrases on laugh track sitcoms or a clown falling over at a circus.

If you think about how a lot of stand ups work by setting up a scenario and then subverting the end of the story to surprise the audience, with a bigger twist on the ending getting a bigger reaction, it's why you don't lead with the punchline. There's some similarities to dark/shock humour where the surprise is what's funny.

If you look at things like roasts or slapstick they are coming from a place of mockery or violence yet are perfectly acceptable despite arguably the source is from something traditionally thought of as a wrong.

[Colossus1980]

It's amazing to see how one man could affect hundreds of millions of dollars(if not billions) with a spineless company https://www.cbr.com/guardians-3-delay-avengers-4/.

Who killed Drax? Mike Cernovich. I wonder how much money he got sabotaging a part of the MCU.

[RikWriter]

It's amazing to see how one man could affect hundreds of millions of dollars(if not billions) with a spineless company https://www.cbr.com/guardians-3-delay-avengers-4/.

Who killed Drax? Mike Cernovich. I wonder how much money he got sabotaging a part of the MCU.

Amazing how it's Cernovich's fault that Gunn made the tweets (notable that he made them in his 40s, not when he was young and stupid...I am no different now at 50 than I was at 40 except I hurt more) and that Disney fired him for it even though they should have already known about it before they hired him. But Cernovich re-posted them to illustrate Gunn's hypocrisy and now it's his fault. Fascinating.

[Colossus1980]

Amazing how it's Cernovich's fault that Gunn made the tweets (notable that he made them in his 40s, not when he was young and stupid...I am no different now at 50 than I was at 40 except I hurt more) and that Disney fired him for it even though they should have already known about it before they hired him. But Cernovich re-posted them to illustrate Gunn's hypocrisy and now it's his fault. Fascinating.

The James Gunn who made those tweets reminds me of the kid in high school who would say anything to get a laugh, shock, or rise out of you. No subject was taboo just to get a reaction. Haven't read all those tweets and I doubt any of them would make me change how I fell about him.

Disney however I have lost so much respect for, along with several others. Cernovich for the win.

[RikWriter]

The James Gunn who made those tweets reminds me of the kid in high school who would say anything to get a laugh, shock, or rise out of you.

It reminds me of the same thing, or perhaps of some of the kids I knew in college. And if Gunn had made the tweets in college, in his 20s, I would say "screw it, he was a stupid kid and people are making too much of it." It's the fact he was in his 40s that bothers me. You are who you're going to be by then, in my experience.

[Immortal Weapon]

It reminds me of the same thing, or perhaps of some of the kids I knew in college. And if Gunn had made the tweets in college, in his 20s, I would say "screw it, he was a stupid kid and people are making too much of it." It's the fact he was in his 40s that bothers me. You are who you're going to be by then, in my experience.

He was also directing Troma movies at the time which specialized in that kind of black humor. I doubt he thought he would be responsible for a billion dollar Disney franchise in time he made those tweets.

Besides, it's never too late for someone to change.

[Amadeus Arkham]

Gee, maybe he thought that in a world where plenty of comedians make child rape jokes without ever getting into any kind of trouble, he had little reason to worry.

It’s hardly an excuse. When the offensive nature of James Gunn’s tweets were first brought to light six years ago after he had been hired for the first Guardians film he could’ve easily have restarted his twitter feed. One could argue that back then it was a different time where the climate for jokes of that sort were much more relaxed than today where there is much higher scrutiny on any sexual abuse related jokes but Gunn kind of left himself vulnerable for a smear campaign like this to happen. The thought may have simply never have crossed his mind since perhaps he wanted to just own up to his mistakes as he felt that deleting the tweets now were fultile now that they were public knowledge but remember when the controversy first broke out about the tweets six years ago it wasn’t based on the child pedophilla jokes; but based primarily on his anti-LBGT, anti-Semetic jokes posted on his blog. The rape/pedophilla jokes weren’t the center of the controversy until they were brought to light until now and that’s what got Gunn fired.

He first apologized for his jokes in 2012 around the time he was first hired by Disney but surely he should have had the common sense to delete more the jokes instead doing it at the last-minute when they were unearthed years later?

[Raiders]

A teen or even someone in the 20’s we can give a pass for being young and stupid, but a 43 year old man is just creepy.

[RikWriter]

Besides, it's never too late for someone to change.

I don't believe that. At some point in your life, you are who you are and who you're going to be. For most people, that happens between their 30s and their 40s and only the ravages of age change you after that.

[Kevinroc]

I don't believe that. At some point in your life, you are who you are and who you're going to be. For most people, that happens between their 30s and their 40s and only the ravages of age change you after that.

People have to want to change. They have to be open to the idea of change. Just making a blanket statement about "you are who you are and who you're going to be" does not reflect reality for a number of people. You yourself even admitted that your own blanket statement doesn't apply to "everybody."

[Amadeus Arkham]

I do think sexual abuse/rape jokes can be funny you just to have know how to tell them.

Dave Chapelle recently made a joke about the Kevin Spacey scandal just last year and despite the proverbial outcry about the jokes being “disgusting” or “offensive” the jokes worked because Dave Chapelle was making a satirical stab of the absurdity of the situation and even bookended the joke on a serious note by condemning Spacey’s actions. Gunn on the other hand is a different since he was making an inordinate volume of those jokes and while I can sort of understand the intention of them being for “shock” value the jokes that simply don’t register since they’re not only offensive but quite frankly very poorly done.

Sure, I can acknowledge that Gunn has changed and become a better person but I can also understand Disney’s unwillingness to keep such a person who’s made such jokes under their employ(even if it was over a decade since he made such jokes) simply because of the horrid PR it would create.

[Kevinroc]

I think now's as good a time as any to talk about the fact that WB fired Alan Horn years ago for being old and out of touch.

[Scott Taylor]

I don't believe that. At some point in your life, you are who you are and who you're going to be. For most people, that happens between their 30s and their 40s and only the ravages of age change you after that.

I tend to agree with this. People don't really change past a certain early point in their lives. You can learn to cover up things, keep them down, find coping mechanisms, find a higher power to help you - but you are who you are still underneath.

And I think Gunn's dark sense of humor is part of what made GotG movies so unique. If you look carefully at the movies, there is plenty of his character in there. Same could be said for the Troma films, which shared alot of the same sense of humor.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

I don't believe that. At some point in your life, you are who you are and who you're going to be. For most people, that happens between their 30s and their 40s and only the ravages of age change you after that.

Disagree. I’ve seen people in their 70’s and 80’s make massive lifestyle changes. There’s too types of change. Developmental and progress. People naturally change as they grow into adults and external influences impact and shake them. Then there’s the change that actually takes work, emotional understanding, and expanding your capacity for empathy of others and yourself. It’s far more difficult and most people won’t attempt it.