Just recently, Joss Whedon deleted his Twitter, and there was this huge deal about it being because militant feminist got on his case.
They’ve been getting onto him about Black Widow not having a big enough part in Avengers: Age of Ultron, among other ridiculous things, but that’s not true. He actually is just tired of Twitter and said, according to The Mary Sue, “I just thought, ‘Wait a minute, if I’m going to start writing again, I have to go to the quiet place, and this is the least quiet place I’ve ever been in my life.'”
Borrowed from Variety’s Twitter
Even so, the way those “feminists” tried to cannibalize their own–calling Whedon, of all people, a misogynist and racist–made me want to write an entire blog about how freaking awesome the guy is. I mean, his answer to why he has such strong female characters was because he still gets asked that question. Here goes.
He created the Firefly crew
One of the biggest disappointments that geeks all across the country go through is reaching the final episode of cult classic Firefly, the show everyone and their mom wants to see on TV again–possibly not on Fox.
Of the nine members of the crew, four are women, and they’re all equal players. That’s right, the crew is one big…taco fest? Arguably the toughest fighters are Zoe and and Jayne, and I’d put my money on the lady, Zoe. Zoe’s also the second-in-command of the crew.
Probably most telling, however, is the fact one of the women is not a romantic interest at all. River Tam is everyone’s weird kid sister, and her personality and past drive the plot along–not her romance.
He created Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ’nuff said.
Buffy is just an average gal before she’s called upon to be “the one girl in all the world to fight the forces of darkness” and so on. This show deals with real issues, has several strong, female characters and really did them justice.
I mean, Buffy herself has the strength of ten men and spends her spare time slaying vampires. A guy breaks up with her because she didn’t rely on him enough. She has a single mom, and her best friend is a lesbian–one of the only ones seen on TV at the time. You really don’t get more feminist than that.
Miscellaneous Other
His run writing the Astonishing X-men focuses primarily on Kitty, the mutant with the ability to walk through walls. It also features a pretty serious story arc focusing on Emma Frost, former villain with the ability to turn to diamond and read/control minds.
Dollhouse is a show he created about a woman who gives away years of her life for a crime she committed. During that time, her memories are wiped and replaced with various specialized personalities who perform specific tasks. The corporation she works for is owned by a woman with several female employees. Also, hello, main female character…though the show did not go well.
“Much Ado About Nothing” is one of the many Shakespeare plays with strong and sassy female characters, and Whedon directed the play as a movie.
As for Age of Ultron
Black Widow is an incredible character who was trained from childhood to become an assassin. She has no superpowers, but she fights alongside Thor and The Hulk. People are seriously upset she didn’t get “enough screen time” or because she SPOILER flirts with one of the other Avengers?
They’re honestly angry that she SPOILER can’t have children, when that’s serious character development made just for her in a movie with several other main characters?
I don’t get it, I seriously don’t. This is why I only follow space programs on Twitter. There’s so much less drama and just as many stars, heh. Ahem.
He tried to make a Wonder Woman movie. Come on.
What I’m trying to say is that Whedon put a focused effort into creating characters that are simultaneously strong and feminine. Maybe the whole deal with there being just one heroine in Avengers–which, SPOILER, changes by the end of the show–is becauseWhedon doesn’t think women need help anymore now there are so many in film these days.
Picking everything apart like that really kills the movement anyway. Politics should stay out of media, if you ask me. Shows with strong women have high viewership, hey, that sounds cool. When you get uppity about every little thing, that’s when people really get fed up and no longer want to hear anything you have to say.
Which, I guess, is kind of what I’m doing here! Moving right along…
Other Geekery
Okay, fan service is over. So I’ve been entirely too wrapped up in a renewed obsession with Pokemon to actually pay attention to geek news–other than what’s going on withWhedon–but something I did notice is there’s going to be a new season of Agent Carter! That is some seriously fantastic news, I tell ya.
There’s also going to be a show called Supergirl! I’ve been fairly lax in my DC TV viewing, though I hear they’re really kicking some tail, but you better believe I’ll snap that one up.
Anyway, thanks for your patience with my fangirling over Joss Whedon, and catch you next time.
