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dereksmcgrath · 2 years

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Masaoki Shindo’s story, and Caleb Cook’s localization, create an odd but welcome tone to a story that treats something as bizarre as dragon-puberty as normal as going to school.

Content warnings about online bullying and the alleged toxic behavior of Joss Whedon.

"Can't Blame Her,” RuriDragon, Chapter 6. By Masaoki Shindo, translation by Caleb Cook, lettering by Kyla Aiko. Available from Viz.

Caleb Cook has gotten so much shit that he doesn’t deserve.

He was chased off of Twitter because so many dickheads despised any choices he made when localizing My Hero Academia.

Sometimes it was translation choices that, yeah, aren’t necessarily my favorite (although that is a matter of whether the choices I saw by scanlators were actually accurate, rather than just what appealed to me personally and “sounded better”).

And other times it was his supposed (and unproven) hate for Endeavor (which, even if he somehow hated a fictional character who was a wife-beater and an abusive father…the dude is fictional, and even then is a wife-beater and an abusive father–why are you taking the side of a fictional abusive asshole over a real-life non-abusive person?)

I say all of this not to stan for Cook’s work as a translator: it stands on its own terms, and I don’t think I’m in a position to judge the accuracy of the strict translation from Japanese to English, or localization choices made. I can definitely examine how I think the dialogue works or doesn’t work within a scene, and while a lot of that is based on the original text, a lot of it also owes to whether the translator can create dialogue that matches characters, tone, and situation.

It’s one reason Cook’s translation of Masaoki Shindo’s RuriDragon catches me off-guard. It’s not bad. It’s just that what starts from Shindo’s text is so everyday that it clashes, as is the point, with the story’s supernatural elements.

The manga, now up to its sixth chapter, is about the eponymous Ruri learning that her unseen dad is a dragon and that she is starting to inherit some of his qualities, starting with horns and flame breath. It’s the typical story you have seen more than once, using supernatural changes to the body as analogous to puberty and expected social changes as children become teens and then adults. It’s not breaking new ground in that way, but then again, you could say similar stories like Blue Exorcist (“becoming a demon is like becoming a teenager”) and Turning Red (“becoming a rampaging kaiju red panda is like becoming a teenager”), overlooking what newness those stories brought (“here’s a whole mess of religious narratives mashed together,” “here is how what your parents thought was destructive is actually self-expression and can help heal a cycle of generational violence”).

With all of that in mind, yeah, RuriDragon has some similarities with Blue Exorcist and Turning Red. But in just six chapters so far, where being a dragon-child is not a source of angst and drama but just treated as normal, this story is satisfying what I would hope from come from it, and given how chill her mom and classmates are about Ruri’s significant changes, it establishes a compelling story, to see just how far Ruri can change her appearance, abilities, and even species before it overwhelms and those around her–or, how those strong familial and platonic relationships persist despite the significant changes she is experiencing.

And that contrast between the really bizarre changes a dragon-child is experiencing, and the calm and complacent tone of the dialogue, helps the series stake out its own brand of comedy and create something largely believable.

The world of RuriDragon looks pretty much like our own. So, when characters are relaxed in their dialogue with Ruri, it feels believable.

It probably benefits that manga because it’s not trying to tell some larger supernatural battle story we may expect in your typical shonen action series–at least for now. We’re just seeing Ruri return to school, lowering her guard, removing some of the icy demeanor she had even before learning about her new dragon abilities, and letting that metamorphosis be an ice breaker in conversation to form friendships that, hardly stopping once her unique condition becomes normalized, is letting people get to know her and like her for her personality.

By avoiding a supernatural battle story right at the beginning, RuriDragon stands in contrast to other stories that, I think, have tried and failed to seem “realistic”: the Marvel Cinematic Universe is in this mess, having started with a flawed “grounded in reality” approach with Iron Man that, hardly making that story more palatable, just clashes poorly with how much more bizarre the stories want to get. (It’s disappointing how, in contrast, Arrow somehow shifting into “now Constantine is here” and “now the Flash is here” worked without compromising tone and actually benefiting by leaning into what has been called an American version of tokusatsu.)

So, what does all of this have to do with the dialogue? Because my brain is cursed with reducing “funny dialogue,” “the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” and “school-based supernatural hijinks” to toxic creator Joss Whedon and his “Whedonverse.”

Yuck.

That’s not what Cook is going for in the dialogue, although it’s difficult to escape the shadow of what Whedon has done for how we imagine “the young people” talk. There’s nothing in RuriDragon that is too awkward to work, and I imagine the dialogue will retain longevity even as it is steeped in our current brand of slang and phrasing. Stuff like saying “def” instead of “definitely,” “can you not with that” instead of “could you not do that,” and “I dunno” instead of “I don’t know” are common enough without trying too hard to imitate young-people speech until it becomes artificial, already dated, or ahead of its time.

But what also got me noticing the dialogue in this chapter is just how, well, not boring exactly, but calm and largely conflict-free it was in the sixth chapter. Yeah, Ruri’s friend admonishes her about being too friendly with boys in class when it comes to letting them touch her horns, but even that dispute is low-key rather than exaggerated drama.

That sense of calm is on top of chapters that already showed how chaotic things could get for our main character: discovering flame abilities, controlling her ability, fear of returning to school, anxiety over trying to join a study group.

Now we are in this relative peace in the story where I can’t say much happens in Chapter 6–which is ignorant on my part, because a lot happens. Yeah, it’s just characters talking about the weather–because by the end of the chapter we see it’s not the weather alone causing all that static cling and sinus headache for Ruri. Yeah, it’s characters asking to touch her horns and fixating on her appearance–because that anxiety persists about how she is different, even as Ruri and her classmates are mostly used to it all. Yeah, we spend a panel discussing Ruri’s new school outfit she swapped out–because she is still undergoing changes that are probably going to have bigger ramifications. Yeah, we pause the story in its tracks for an extended lunch between the students–because this calm is probably the last we get before whatever electricity coming off of Ruri is probably going to start big problems in the next chapter.

And with the two-week break Shindo is thankfully taking, it’s that dialogue, and Cook’s translation choices, that help heighten that tension between what is scary about the unknown (especially for a teenager) and what is still so typical and "normal" in day-to-day experiences (such as having lunch and conversation with classmates). Those choices in story and dialogue help ease readers of RuriDragon towards accepting new information as it comes, which helps make Ruri's rather understated reactions to what has happened to her come across as not just funny but also understandable.

#ruridragon #shonen jump #viz #manga review #masaoki shindo #caleb cook #cw: cyber bullying #cw: joss whedon

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truthshield · 2 years

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Warner says bots helped make Zach Snyders Justice League happen

To a casual observer, the fan campaign to pressure Warner Bros. to release the “Snyder Cut” – director Zach Snyder’s version of the DC Films movie Justice League — could be seen as a success story of fans triumphing over studio might. But new reports from Warner Media are throwing that into question. Per two documents reviewed by Rolling Stone, the number of fake accounts that took part in conversations around the Snyder Cut — including the famous #ReleaseTheSnyderCut hashtag — made up a total of 13 percent. Twitter estimates that around 5 percent of its users are bots, which would mean the Snyder Cut movement was made up of around two to three times more fake accounts than typically expected (a heavy caveat: people have also called Twitter’s numbers into question, with some researchers estimating bots make up between nine and 15 percent of the platform’s users). “There are certain patterns that bots give off that we saw here.” As well as reviewing the Warner Media reports — which were reportedly commissioned following toxic fandom behaviour – Rolling Stone also commissioned three cybersecurity firms to analyse the fan campaign for bot activity. SEE ALSO: What is Zack Snyder’s ‘Justice League’ on HBO Max? Everything to know about the Snyder Cut. “There are certain patterns that bots give off that we saw here,” Q5id chief information officer and chief technology officer Becky Wanta told the publisher. “They arrive at almost the same time in huge numbers. And many times the origin of thousands or even millions of messages can be traced to a single source or two. Sometimes, they can be traced to unusual servers in remote countries. And their content will be precisely similar.” Zach Snyder’s Justice League was finally released in 2021 after years of pressure from fans. Snyder pulled out of the movie in 2017 part way through filming following the death of his daughter, Autumn, and he was replaced by director Joss Whedon. Whedon’s version of the movie received a negative response from critics, and it wasn’t long before the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut hashtag was born, growing in size and momentum until eventually even the movie’s stars themselves were posting about it. Tweet may have been deleted (opens in a new tab) Snyder’s cut was eventually released last year, and received a much more positive response. But for Warner Media, it seems like the film’s legacy is more complex than a simple fan-driven success story. https://ift.tt/FDIhlZU https://ift.tt/6v9MRE7

#Saas #softwaresystems #productdevelopment #software #practice #optimization #accuracy #efficiency #productivity #softwareprojects #cracksthecode

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kizzys · 5 years

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Live each day as if it were your last, 'cause I'm gonna kill you but I'm not super good with schedules.

- Bucky Barnes

#marvel #mcu #bucky barnes #winter soldier #avengers #incorrect avengers quotes #incorrect marvel quotes #incorrect mcu quotes #incorrect quotes #source: joss whedon's twitter #joss whedon

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wickedlittlesoldiers · 6 years

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“Live each day as if it were your last, ‘cause I’m gonna kill you but I’m not super-good with schedules” - Min Yoongi probably

#~Lucy 💣#suga #min yoongi #bts #bangtan sonyeondan #bts fake chat #bts fake quotes #source: joss whedon's twitter

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dingoes8myrp · 3 years

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An Examination of Joss Whedon

On February 11th, Charisma Carpenter made a post on her Instagram account detailing mistreatment she experienced on the sets of Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Carpenter worked on both shows from 1996 to 2004 and attributes this mistreatment to show creator Joss Whedon.

On the same day, I made a post on my Tumblr and my WordPress accounts regarding my stance on this topic. I felt it was important for me to post something quickly due to the large number of Buffyverse followers and mutuals on my Tumblr.

I was overwhelmed by the likes, reblogs, and comments this post received in less than twenty-four hours. I’m so glad so many people support Charisma Carpenter and others who are speaking out about their experiences.

Workplace mistreatment is insidious, and too often the systems in place to mediate these situations are designed to protect the employer rather than the person experiencing mistreatment. This happens everywhere in every industry. When people in the public eye draw attention to these issues it helps bring awareness to everyone and encourages societal change.

In today’s climate, social media moves faster than legal or internal HR systems. This means, more often than not, accusations spread, opinions form, and action is taken long before any investigation can occur. Because of this, it’s important for people to seek out the facts themselves in order to stay informed or make decisions about who in fandom they choose to support or not.

I’m going to go through various tid-bits I’ve seen over the past twenty-five years regarding Joss Whedon’s behavior, which prompted my quick response to Charisma Carpenter’s post. I feel it’s important to share this with those who may be new to the fandom, or those who doubt Charisma Carpenter’s claims and those of others.

The Bronze

Before there was Twitter, there was The Bronze.

The Bronze was the official online gathering place of Buffyverse fans. Joss Whedon and others involved with the shows occasionally popped in and posted, interacting with the fans. There was speculation about the trajectory of the show, discussion about lore, fan theories, and behind the scenes rumors.

I didn’t learn about these forums until I was in high school (from 2002 to 2006) and I never posted. I just read up on the fun factoids I could find. I wasn’t a heavy Internet user back then. We had one computer in my house and it was shared with my parents. I was only allowed on for so much time per day, yada yada.

I think Buffy the Vampire Slayer was one of the first shows – if not the first – to utilize this kind of creator/fan interaction. It wasn’t a regular thing back then.

The vibe of these forums was very laidback. When someone directly involved with Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel posted (known as a V.I.P.) it was with a very casual, unmoderated tone. There was no screenshotting every word to be saved for later. Someone from the media couldn’t grab a comment made and spread it across the Internet in real time. There were mailing lists – collections of email addresses for people who wanted updates on show spoilers or particular non-show activities of various actors. Fan letters were still a thing – actual snail mail letters you could send to actors and writers of the shows. Things moved slowly, and there wasn’t as much transparency as there is on the Internet today with sites like Instagram and Twitter.

In a series of posts made on November 6th, 2001, Joss Whedon reacted to the airing of the musical episode, “Once More with Feeling.” He called it “the biggest undertaking of my life,” but expressed his appreciation toward the UPN network, the cast, and crew – particularly Anthony Head, Amber Benson, and James Marsters. He calls Anthony Head “the golden throat” and writes of James Marsters, “And James, who always tells me to do everything I dream of, then brings that intense voice and those cheekbones along for the ride.”

All he writes about Amber Benson is, “Amber… just, you know… Amber….”

Alarmingly absent from his praise is star Sarah Michelle Gellar, who “went back and forth” over whether or not to sing in the episode. “I’m not a singer,” she told EW. She didn’t feel prepared enough and “didn’t feel confident.” As someone who broke out of her comfort zone and pulled off a wonderful leading performance, Gellar was certainly deserving of some acknowledgment.

Seemingly realizing he neglected to mention Marti Noxon, Whedon tacked on, “Do you know anyone that hot who can run a show? Do you? I don’t think so. What a voice.” At the time, alongside comments about James Marsters’ cheekbones and being “a little gay” for Anthony Head, this seemed to be an attempt at an edgy complement (though a little cringey). Marti Noxon was a new showrunner for Buffy, taking over for Joss. Referring to her as hot rather than praising her work is a little demeaning, in my opinion, particularly when it was up to him to make sure she was respected and taken seriously in filling his shoes.

On May 22nd, 2002, Whedon posted about “the gay thing” – probably not for the first time. Regarding some fan reactions to the death of Tara Maclay, Joss wrote, “I knew some people would be angry with me for destroying the only gay couple on the show, but the idea that I COULDN’T kill Tara because she was gay is as offensive to me as the idea that I DID kill her because she was gay. Willow’s story was not about being gay. It was about weakness, addiction, loss… the way life hits you in the gut right when you think you’re back on your feet.”

Keep in mind, at the time, Willow was one of the first gay main characters – if not THE first – on a major primetime show in the sci-fi/fantasy genre. Having a gay couple on a major show like this was not a regular thing, which made the shocking death of Tara and the dark turn of Willow particularly hard-hitting. While Whedon isn’t saying anything particularly inflammatory here, it does show a sort of crass attitude toward the removal of this representation from the show, which had become so important to so many fans – and still is now.

There’s not a lot of meaty information to be found that I could dig up, but I wanted to give people an idea of this landscape back in the day. I picked out those particular Joss Whedon posts because they show a very casual disregard for the women involved in the shows – an insidious and subtle thing, but it’s there.

Fighting with Buffy

Jeff Pruitt was a stunt coordinator on Buffy the Vampire Slayer from 1997 to 2000. He also happened to be romantically involved with Sarah Michelle Gellar’s stunt double, Sophia Crawford. Both would exit the show by its fifth season. According to Pruitt, it was not an amicable exit.

Pruitt claims he and Crawford were treated badly on the set, that Crawford was “one never ending injury” and she had “reached the end of her rope.” He said that they were threatened and blackballed when they made attempts to leave before the 100th episode. They got an opportunity to work on Dark Angel, but the people at Dark Angel supposedly received a phone call from “someone high up at their studio” and were told not to hire Pruitt and Crawford. He suspects this was to keep Sophia Crawford from leaving Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Their firing was unceremonious, according to Pruitt. “Sophia was told point blank that she was being fired because she knew too much about things,” he claimed. He said Joss Whedon and Jane Espenson threatened Crawford, saying if she spoke about what happened on set she’d “never work in this town again.”

Jeff Pruitt spoke about “sneaky politics” behind the scenes, saying “there was something weird going on” in the months leading up to his and Crawford’s exit. Pruitt claims Sarah Michelle Gellar was a “spoiled starlett” and that she was “out to get” him and Crawford. He attributes statements he made in private emails that were later read by Joss Whedon to his firing.

It’s worth noting that many people have stated that Sarah Michelle Gellar is undeserving of a “diva” label. When asked in 2004 what it was like working with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Julie Benz said, “She’s extremely talented and generous. Her reputation is just completely untrue. Unfortunately in Hollywood if you’re young and female and you have an opinion you get labeled a diva or something…else. Sarah’s an amazing talent, but she got labeled.”

In a 2013 interview on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, Alyson Hannigan answered a series of rapid-fire questions about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When asked who was the most “annoyed” by the end of the show, she said, “Sarah,” referring to Sarah Michelle Gellar. When the audience booed, Hannigan clarified, “Well, she had a big career going, and it was a lot of work.” When asked when Gellar started to “hate” the show, Hannigan quickly said season three. In a later interview for Huffpost Live, Hannigan clarified her comments further. “[Sarah Michelle Gellar] worked her butt off,” she stated. “She worked eighteen-hour days for years.” Hannigan said she wouldn’t have classified Gellar as “annoyed,” saying, “she was super professional.”

Honestly, I’m Team Sarah on this one. I couldn’t find corroborating sources for Jeff Pruitt’s claims of her “diva” behavior, but I found several sources stating otherwise. Gellar did confirm during a cast reunion that she may have oversold her stunt experience, which ultimately would have meant more work for her stunt double and the stunt coordinator. It seems to me like this set everything on a bad foot with that team. But, the reasons Jeff Pruitt and Sophia Crawford gave for their exit had little-to-nothing to do with Gellar.

Vincent Kartheiser

Vincent Kartheiser played Connor on Angel, and he did a number of interviews talking about his experience on the show. I picked his interviews because I’ve always found him to be very candid and he doesn’t seem to shy away from uncomfortable answers to questions. A few of his answers provide a little insight into the mood on the set at times, and Charisma Carpenter’s attitude.

When Charisma Carpenter was pregnant on the show, she had a storyline that heavily involved Connor, so the two spent a lot of time working together on set. He was asked about her pregnancy and how it affected filming. In a 2003 interview for BBC Cult, Kartheiser said of Carpenter, “she was a great sport and would suck up the pain even though you could see that she was in it.”

In another interview for Angel Magazine from the same year, he said Carpenter had “an abundance of energy for a working, pregnant lady who, right in the heart of her pregnancy, they put her in so much.”

It’s worth noting Vincent Kartheiser had his own issues with the show. “What really made me interested in Angel was the idea that as a show, it changed so much and all the characters could change so much,” he told Angel Magazine. “It wasn’t that clichéd kind of ‘show up, do your thing, go home’ all the time.” Unfortunately, the potential that interested him never came to fruition for his character. “As the season went on, we never really got to deal with the relationship problems between me and David,” Kartheiser said, referring to David Boreanaz as Angel. “I never really got the opportunity to bond with any other characters.” He expressed a feeling that there was nowhere for his character to go and that Connor’s motivations seemed to change from week to week. “There were parts of the season I didn’t have the opportunity to stretch,” he explained, “that it felt like I was doing the same scene over and over.”

Vincent Kartheiser did a later interview with Giantmag.com where he reiterated some of these frustrations. For him, the character of Connor started to get stale early on. “Every week I’d show up and have a scene with Cordelia,” he said, “then Angel would show up and I’d have some sort of conflict with him. There’d be a couple of fight scenes where I’d fight with them even though I didn’t want to and then I would sulk and leave. That to me was every episode.” He felt the writers had written Connor “into a corner” and that fans responded poorly to him.

When comparing his experience on Angel to his experience playing Pete Campbell on Mad Men, Kartheiser expressed a lackluster feeling on the set of Angel. “There was a real sense on Angel that people were just doing a job,” Kartheiser said of the set. “The grips, the DP, even the directors would kind of just show up, do their job and go home.” This atmosphere is a direct contrast to what had attracted Vincent Kartheiser to the show in the first place. “On Mad Men we also have Matthew Weiner on set all the time whereas Joss [Whedon] was hardly ever on Angel,” Kartheiser explained. “I think Joss was doing Firefly at that point and was in love with his next project. I had a friend who filmed a few episodes in the first season of Angel and said everyone was invested and there was crazy energy, so maybe I just came into it late.”

Kartheiser also delved deeper into his frustrations over the direction (or lack thereof) of his character. “I let them know right off the bat that some of the choices they were making [about Conner] were wrong,” he said. “I showed up to play that character and I had a lot of ideas. And they didn’t like any of those ideas.” As a result, Kartheiser said he got “jaded” and “angry” at the show. “I felt like it wasn’t a collaboration, that the people I was working with didn’t care to take risks.”

In hindsight, he went on to say, “I was never a fan of Buffy, I’ll say it straight out. I was never a fan of Angel. I always found it hard to say Joss’ words.”

From all these comments, both from the beginning of Vincent Kartheiser’s journey as Connor, and from a few years after the show ended, it seems like he was excited for the opportunity, but ultimately disappointed with the overall experience. He also revealed how uncomfortable Charisma Carpenter had to be during filming while she was pregnant, but noted her energy and attitude were never a problem.

Farewell Cordelia

Prior to Charisma Carpenter’s official exit from Angel, her character arc had taken a very strange turn and Cordelia had been ominously left in a coma. Concern grew when Charisma Carpenter was not included in the cast of season 5. In a 2003 interview with TV Guide Online, Joss Whedon stated, “The Angel/Cordelia [love story] had gone pretty much as far as we wanted to take it” and that it wasn’t popular with the fans. “It just seemed like a good time for certain people to move on,” he continued. “Not completely, obviously. I’m hoping that we’ll get Charisma to do some episodes as Cordelia sometime during the year.”

TV Guide asked, “Isn’t that a disservice to fans who invested all those years in the character and her redemption? It seems an odd thing to do to the show’s leading lady.” Whedon responded, “That’s a fluctuating concept, the leading lady thing. And it is a little odd. Some choices are ultimately kind of controversial about who stays and who goes and who we focus on. But obviously, we had to have her out of a bunch of episodes toward the end of the year because she was having a baby… so what we had [leading] up to it wasn’t a dynamic I wanted to play out that much.” When asked if things were left on good terms with Charisma Carpenter, Joss Whedon stated he wouldn’t discuss that in an interview.

From Charisma Carpenter’s perspective, she was uncomfortable with Cordelia’s storyline prior to her coma and her death. “It was creepy,” she said of Cordelia’s relationship with Connor. “Connor was Angel’s son and half my age.” Carpenter stated it was important for her to return to wrap up the character’s storyline. “We didn’t want to just leave Cordelia in a coma,” she stated. “Whatever happens after this, I’m open. But it’s just best this story be [resolved] now. Otherwise, it’s a disservice to the fans of our show.” When pressed regarding whether or not she’d return to the show, Carpenter replied, “I don’t think it’ll be necessary. You never say never. However, at this point in time, I don’t see a future for her.” She continued with, “I feel like Joss feels – the Cordelia stories have been told. There were no other directions to go with her.”

Carpenter’s final appearance as Cordelia was an emotional experience. “We’ve been crying for the last two days,” she said in a behind-the-scenes interview. “I’m so physically drained.” She wasn’t the only one affected, either. “The director was crying, the crew was crying, we were crying,” she said. She called it a sad goodbye personally, professionally, and story-wise.

Working with Joss Whedon

Over the years, Joss Whedon gained a reputation for being unconventional to work with. Many actors from the Buffyverse have said they were unhappy with their characters’ creative paths. Sarah Michelle Gellar felt season six “betrayed” who Buffy was, saying she had to be “talked off a ledge” a number of times during filming.

Nicholas Brendon felt the character of Xander was “underrated,” particularly during season seven. “Joss did have a talk with Sarah and I because he was kind of contemplating the idea of Xander and Buffy ending up together at the end of season seven,” Brendon told AV Club. “We were both for it, but then that never came to fruition and I lost my eye.”

On an episode of Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast, James Marsters said he was “terrified” of Joss Whedon. “I wasn’t designed to be a romantic character,” he explained. “The audience reacted that way to it. And I remember [Joss Whedon] backed me up against a wall one day, and he was just like, ‘I don’t care how popular you are, kid. You’re dead! You hear me? You’re dead! Dead!” Rosenbaum asked, “Was he kidding around?” and Marsters replied, “No. Hell, no.” Marsters also said he had “open wounds” on his scalp from over-using bleach on his roots every eight days to keep the roots from growing out.

Multiple actors from Angel have talked about Whedon’s habit of making actors squirm. David Boreanaz spoke about how he learned about the Angel spinoff during a twentieth anniversary cast reunion. “I got a phone call that Joss wanted to talk to me,” Boreanaz recalled. “The only thing he said was, ‘I want you to come into my office tomorrow,’ and I’m like, ‘I’m fired.’” He described having a night of “angst” and spent the following day working on some flashback scenes. When he finally met with Whedon at lunch it took some time for Whedon to tell him his character was getting a spin-off. Alexis Denisof expressed a similar knee-jerk feeling of “uh-oh,” but had an idea the spin-off was filming. However, Amy Acker had a similar story to what Boreanaz experienced when she was told about her character Fred’s transformation into Illyria. “It seems to be an echo of, like, ‘Hey, can you meet me for coffee tomorrow?’ and I’m like, ‘Ohh, they’re firing me!’ And we sat down to coffee and he said, ‘I just wanted you to know I’m killing Fred.’ And he waited, like, really a long time.” Charisma Carpenter chimed in, “He likes to do that!” Acker was then informed she would still be on the show as Illyria.

Charisma Carpenter and Marti Noxon have shared their own stories about Joss’s “You’re fired, just kidding” stories. Seth Green quipped “He did that to me too, but it took.”

Whedon’s View of Women

While Joss Whedon considers his writing to be feminist, his portrayal of women as well as other statements he’s made contradict this. In 2013, he gave a speech for Equality Now about his dislike of the word “feminist.” While this speech earned him some acclaim, it also earned him some backlash from the feminist community. This was mainly because he claimed it’s natural for people to be equal, and to add “-ist” to the end of the word “feminist” implies that people’s natural state is to be unequal. This stance was seen as disrespectful to Feminism as a movement, for some.

Joss Whedon received wide criticism for his portrayal of women in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. One critic, Scott Mendelson, talked about Whedon’s portrayal of Scarlet Witch and Black Widow in Avengers: Age of Ultron. “Scarlet Witch eventually has to be coaxed into bravery by one of the male heroes,” Mendelson writes of Elizabeth’s Olson’s character. Mendelson was even less thrilled with Scarlet Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff. “Maybe I shouldn’t be annoyed that the only major female character’s primary arc is a theoretically unrequited pining for a nice guy with major anger issues,” he writes, “or that said character briefly gets captured by the villain in the second act and tossed in a cage for no reason other than to be rescued by her male compatriots.” Backlash over this film caused Whedon to quit Twitter. In an article for Gizmodo, writers Meredith Woerner and Katharine Trendacosta point out that Joss Whedon teased a “killer” backstory for Natasha Romanoff. “Instead of an assassin constantly struggling with finding moral lines she didn’t know existed, we got a woman who feels incomplete because she cannot have babies,” Woerner and Trendacosta concluded.

In 2017, Whedon’s ex-wife Kai Cole wrote a blog for The Wrap stating, “he used his relationship with me as a shield, both during and after our marriage, so no one would question his relationships with other women or scrutinize his writing as anything other than feminist.”

Cole alleges Whedon wrote her a letter in which he said, “When I was running ‘Buffy,’ I was surrounded by beautiful, needy, aggressive young women… As a guilty man I knew the only way to hide was to act as though I were righteous… In many ways I was the HEIGHT of normal, in this culture. We’re taught to be providers and companions and at the same time, to conquer and acquire — specifically sexually — and I was pulling off both!” At the end of her essay, Cole wrote, “I want the people who worship him to know he is human, and the organizations giving him awards for his feminist work, to think twice in the future about honoring a man who does not practice what he preaches.”

In response to Kai Cole’s letter, Laura M. Browning wrote in an AV Club article, “I was sad, but not shocked—maybe a little embarrassed I hadn’t looked more closely at some very clear problems in his work… His work has plenty of male gaze and women in refrigerators and some narratively pointless rape scenes—it’s all right there, in hundreds of hours of television and film—but boy, it sure is a lot more comfortable to listen to a guy tell you he’s a feminist than listen to a lot of women telling you he’s not.”

Whedon’s veneer of feminism has been cracking for several years.

Recent Allegations

Actor Ray Fisher claimed Joss Whedon behaved inappropriately on the set of Justice League, tweeting, “Joss Wheadon’s on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable.” Fisher also accused Geoff Johns and Jon Berg of enabling Whedon’s behavior. An investigation was done by Warner Brothers and co-stars Jason Mamoa and Kiersey Clemons publicly supported Fisher. Ultimately, the investigation concluded and “remedial action” was taken. The action taken has not been specified.

Shortly after, Joss Whedon exited the HBO series The Nevers, which Fisher attributes to his own claims.

Team Charisma

Those who have shown support to Charisma Carpenter include: Sarah Michelle Gellar Ray Fisher J. August Richards Michelle Trachtenberg Amber Benson Eliza Dushku Jose Molina Marti Noxon Emma Caulfield James Marsters Anthony Head Clare Kramer James C. Leary Sophia Crawford David Boreanaz Amy Acker Julie Benz Danny Strong Adam Busch Tom Lenk Nicholas Brendon Jeff Mariotte

Others who have written about Joss Whedon or come out to support those coming forward:

Courtney Enlow Nell Scovell Glen Mazzara

My Conclusion

As I stated in my previous post on this topic, I stand with Team Charisma. It is not okay for a person in a position of power over others in the workplace to misuse that power in an inappropriate or abusive manner. No matter how talented that person may be and how beloved the work may be.

#buffy the vampire slayer #btvs #angel the series #joss whedon #charisma carpenter

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laporcupina · 4 years

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So I don’t get a wellness check....

Current status: drinking budget Greek rosé and making dinner after an 8 mile stroll around Queens. It was actual spring weather, possibly for the first time all year, and the gloriousness of it was only slightly undercut by having to keep my mask up all the time because of all the people.

(Dinner = improvised sweet potato patties with scallions, almond flour, egg, and ras el-hanout; schav; and salad)

Also: investigating baby-proofing because my cats have realized that going into the kitchen cabinets and rummaging is a great way to get my attention.

Also also: trying to figure out how to coax people into reading an unfinished space opera in a dead fandom. You don’t need the source material!

Also(x3): Age of Ultron is trending on Twitter and it’s all well and good to “reappraise” it and think more fondly of it, but keep in mind that you are doing it because every Avengers movie after it (counting CA:CW) was pretty bad and you weren’t being unfair just because it came after Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy, which were great. It was an aggressively mediocre film with some fine moments (James Spader, Steve’s empathy for the Maximoff twins, Clint’s talk with Wanda) and many moments that do not get better on the replay -- Natasha/Bruce, anyone? We still don’t know why Wanda was a psi in just that movie. And the Tony-built-a-murderbot-and-everyone-forgave-him-instantly was kind of a harbinger of what was to come. And Joss “I’m totally a feminist even when I ask the female PAs to give me hummers” Whedon with his Natasha-as-monster and Helen-exists-to-lust-after-Thor doesn’t get much credit for killing Pietro instead of Wanda when it was so unnecessary.

#la vida porcupina

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iamanartichoke · 5 years

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I hate when I follow a post to an OP’s blog and think they seem cool and I might follow them and then there’s something so exceedingly pro Taika Waititi and Anti Anti Taika Waititi that I’m just like, oh. And then I go through the notes and it’s nothing but bashing Loki stans for not worshipping at the altar of Taika Waititi and I just -

People can obviously have their opinions. I don’t care if you like Taika Waititi, that’s great. I’m glad the movie was enjoyable for you. But if you can’t express that without tearing down the people who are critical of them, then I won’t follow you and I’ll probably think you’re a bit of a jerk.

I have long been vocal about being in the middle when it comes to the Pro vs. Anti Ragnarok discourse. Ragnarok got me into the Loki fandom, and I enjoyed the film a lot. But. As people have probably noticed (judging by the followers I’ve lost, at any rate), my view toward the movie has become increasingly more negative recently, as more and more discourse comes out and shines a bright spotlight on all the things wrong with it.

Before, I was able to enjoy it as an objective fan, without paying particular attention to Loki’s treatment or how OOC everyone was. It’s a fun time. I’ve gotten to the point, though, where I can no longer separate my critical thinking brain with what’s going on in the story, or with Loki’s treatment. Furthermore, I can’t even enjoy the parts I really loved anymore (Loki’s “I’m here,” the coronation scene, etc) because all I can think about when I watch it is the absolute fucking travesty of what happens to the Asgardians in IW. So I’m like ... yeah, I can’t be in that middle place between enjoyment and critique anymore. There were already parts I skipped entirely upon rewatches bc they’re so bad (the play), but overall, I can’t enjoy this movie anymore.

And, honestly, I don’t understand how someone can read all of the negative, shitty things Taika said about Loki, about Asgard, and about the Thor franchise in general and still say that he’s the only director who understood Loki and Thor’s characters. Then, furthermore, they say that Joss Whedon is the one who can’t write, can’t direct, ruined Avengers, and should stay far away from Marvel, and I just ...???? I have been a fan of Joss Whedon since the 90s, he is responsible for So. Many. Characters. And. Storylines. that I both loved unequivocally and also had a profound influence on my development as a young woman and as a person that I can neither bring myself to dislike him nor understand those who have such vitriol toward him, to the point of, in my opinion, willful ignorance about what’s really going on when it comes to who cares about these characters. I don’t know much about Joss personally, and maybe some of his views are ~problematic~ but as a filmmaker, I have nothing but the highest regard for him. And it really gets me when I see people toss him away in order to stan Taika “I didn’t even watch the other Thor movies here have an anus joke” Waititi.

I mean, maybe I’m being a hypocrite. It seems like I’m saying that I feel like praising Taika is wrong and tearing down Joss is wrong, and if you have these opinions you are wrong, and my opinions are right. That’s not what I’m saying at all. I respect everyone’s opinion, whether or not they’re different than mine.

But I will say that it’s telling of something, I’m not sure what, that the anti Ragnarok people keep the discourse focused entirely on what Taika himself has said and what the movie itself does and doesn’t tear down and/or personally attack anyone who holds the opposite opinion. Furthermore, no one is going and attacking Taika or Chris or anyone personally on Twitter, Insta, or wherever they may hang out. Meanwhile, the Pro Ragnarok people have no problem shitting all over “hard core Loki stans” for these opinions and hoisting themselves up on the altar of smug superiority that they aren’t the pathetic losers who need to get a life. And it’s just. Why? Why can’t we all just keep the opinions limited to the actual source material? Why do feel like your opinions make you better than anyone who disagrees? Could it possibly be because you can’t defend the source material you love so much, so you have to resort to insulting the people who provide the evidence to support their argument that it sucks? I mean, I’m just tossing that out there.

I apologize for this rant. It’s just something that’s been building over the past couple of weeks and I saw a post that just kind of made me snap. This is very stream-of-consciousness and I don’t mean to belittle or insult anyone who likes the movie. I’m sorry if it comes off that way. It’s just, this is where I am at the moment, and I just needed to get it out.

#god does this even make any sense?#fuck it #sorry #you can reblog if you want but #i'm not saying all of this in a discourse way #i'm venting my personal feelings #so yeah #fandom wank #ragnarok critical #taika waititi critical #chris hemsworth critical #pro joss whedon

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flyingcatstiel · 5 years

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are we finding it ironic that Sara gamble has now been on TWO shows where the writing became royally screwed up in the end and queer baiting abounded? I don’t watch the magicians but from the sense I’m getting, oof, she did it again.

Yep, she did it again. I’m scrolling through The Magicians’s fans tumblrs now, trying to piece together what happened and it is not pretty. I haven’t watched the show at all, so this is just what I got from tumblr

Jason Ralph, lead character Quentin (mentally ill, depressed, suicidal bisexual character), was talking about leaving the show with the writers and they designed this season. They knew from the start that Quentin is gonna die, yet they also wrote the episode teasing the ship,4x05, Quentin/Eliot and engaging with shippers on SM for a whole year. J.Ralph was forbidden to tell the cast that he’s leaving, the script had dummy scene and all cast thought that Quentin will survive. The funeral /goodbye fire was shot with all actors thinking he will be back. They learned about his departure only this week meaning they never had a chance to tell goodbye to their cast member of 4 years.

Quentin dies in sacrificial suicide to free Eliot from magic whammy; they are not even given reunion scene after whole season being apart or barely interacting. Because, according to the writers, they wanted realism and IRL you sometimes don’t get reunions you deserve. They wanted REALISM, on the show about magic, and dragons, and mirror worlds.

gay Eliot was magically straight in s4 (ETA - I’m told he wasn’t magically straight but I did see posts that his queerness was ??? not there? tell me!) , bisexual Quentin, while fighting for the love of his life, Eliot, was paired up with a woman. Sera Gamble and Co patted themselves on the back for LGBTQ representation on the show

I have no words to say how f*ucked up this is. I mean, even Joss Whedon recently admitted that he was wrong to kill his rare lesbian character. I thought TV writers are aware of disparity between hetero and same sex relationships? Also, a lot of fans are devastated because with Quentin they lost relatable character. This is not even about the ship so much, as telling that people with suicidal indentations just should do sacrificial suicide and be happy about it.

Off topic, but this reminds me so much of all post 12x23 discourse - Cas will come back from being dead and his depression will be cured! And when Cas fans balked at such idea, we were painted as uneducated peasants who don’t understand how the story works. I mean, Sera’s legacy lives on in this fandom. Just kill off characters who are sad! I just saw similar comment about grieving Dean in s14 - he should die, and then he will come back with better mental space, just like Cas did. As if Cas came back healed of his depression. *clenches fist*.

have some sources, obviously spoilers for s4 finale of The Magicians

Interview with Sera Gamble, posted just before The Magicians finale, talks also about her other show YOU, and her years with Supernatural

Interview with Jason Ralph, good overview of how messed up the whole situation was. He’s very diplomatic tho.

fan reaction on twitter - One, Two, Three

Just couple of weeks ago I talked to my friend and we both agreed that we are still so salty about what Sera did with Castiel in 7x01, that we are not gonna watch her shows again. Funny how right we were.

ETA - some The Magicians fans blog said that the show runners were never actually interested in the ship, queliot. They were interested in bromance and deep friendship between two men, and that’s why the ship got so much screwed over. This fits with Sera saying that she learned the importance of male closeness while working on Supernatural. Which is all nice and dandy, except Sera was fully aware of main m/m ships on SPN and their passionate fanbase, She must have known that shipping will happen and it will mean a lot to many fans. So, her comments about going where the story takes them is beyond pale.

#wanderingcas #chatty things #flyingcatstiel has thoughts #sera gamble #the magicians spoilers #the magicians #jason ralph #spn fans should really pay attention to this #like really REALLY

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freenewstoday · 3 years

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New Post has been published on https://freenews.today/2021/04/20/ray-fisher-rips-warnermedia-for-tweet-about-derek-chauvin-verdict-social-justice/

Ray Fisher Rips WarnerMedia For Tweet About Derek Chauvin Verdict, Social Justice

On a day when many in Hollywood voiced their support for the guilty verdicts against former police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, one response drew a pointed rebuke.

WarnerMedia tweeted the following:

While this verdict doesn’t bring back those we’ve so wrongly lost, we know that it brings us closer to significant change. We reaffirm our commitment to be a part of the solution by using our platforms… to advance racial equity and social justice.

pic.twitter.com/m4rR72NqFW

— WarnerMedia (@WarnerMedia) April 20, 2021

The rebuke came from Ray Fisher, who starred in WarnerMedia’s Justice League and has repeatedly called out the studio and director Joss Whedon, who replaced Zack Snyder on the film. Fisher has maintained that Whedon mistreated him. On Tuesday, Fisher also ripped WarnerMedia for its statement in support of social justice.

“How f*cking DARE YOU @WarnerMedia?!?!?!” wrote Fisher on Twitter Tuesday. “Oh, now I’m pissed….”

Hollywood Responds To Chauvin Guilty Verdicts

How fucking DARE YOU @WarnerMedia?!?!?!

Oh, now I’m pissed…. https://t.co/tTscAQS6fJ

— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) April 20, 2021

It’s worth noting that Fisher’s note had 2,000 retweets in the first hour on Tuesday and, in roughly the same time, Warners’ statement had 2,000 comments. Most of the comments on Warners’ post were critical of the studio and most had the hashtag “#IStandWithRayFisher” appended.

Fisher has been tearing into the studio on social media since the summer of 2020 for what he called Whedon’s “gross and abusive” behavior on Justice League. WarnerMedia conducted an internal probe late last year at Fisher’s urging and in December announced that the “investigation into the Justice League movie has concluded and remedial action has been taken.”

During some of his battle against WarnerMedia, Fisher was employed by the studio for reshoots on the Snyder cut of Justice League. The current version of the movie runs four hours and two minutes long and greatly expands the character arc of Fisher’s Cyborg.

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comic-watch · 6 years

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Marvel Studios has a lot to celebrate already in 2018. Hot off the heels of the “Wakanda Forever,” movement and the critical acclaim of “Black Panther,” it was more than just comic book fans that heard the unequivocal roar of a cultural phenomenon. But just three months later the MCU smashed it’s way into the box office again, shattering numerous records held by other movies with the cosmic blockbuster “Avengers: Infinity War.” The Marvel machine shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon as the movie is projected to gross over two billion in sales.

According to insider reports, actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson who played the role of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of the ill-fated Quicksilver has been spotted on the set of the yet to be titled “Avengers 4.”

Quicksilver, (not to be confused with his Fox Studios counterpart Evan Peters,) made his theatrical debut alongside the infamous Scarlet Witch portrayed by Elizabeth Olsen in the previous 2015 installment “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” His role was short-lived as the speedster of HYDRA met his untimely demise after saving Hawkeye and a child from gunfire.

Fans may be wondering how this could be remotely possible. That may have well included Taylor-Johnson himself, having repeatedly stated in multiple interviews that he had no future plans to return to the Avengers or related Marvel studio films. But perhaps disclosure was apart of his initial contract barring him from revealing any details as it may well have unveiled Marvel’s long-term plans.

First, let’s take a look at what we do know. Writer / Director Joss Whedon initially stated that Taylor-Johnson and Olsen both have 3 film contracts. If that’s true then the actor has only fulfilled 2 of those contractual obligations. Aside from Ultron, Taylor-Johnson made only one additional appearance in character during a mid-credits scene of the 2014 film “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” Though Whedon later retracted the statement, Marvel could well have changed the terms of the contract. However, if the terms are still intact it also may well signify that he could be included in yet another film.

But the question on most fans minds is how would creators bring him back from the dead. There are a couple of possibilities. For those readers familiar with the 1991 classic “The Infinity Gauntlet,” which serves as the movie’s source material, though Thanos does achieve godhood, inevitably he falters and loses the Gauntlet to his niece, who ironically has been tormented by the titan for years simply for being related. During a moment of distraction, Nebula wrests the gauntlet from his hand and claims the power of the gauntlet for herself. It isn’t long before Nebula enacts her own revenge. If the movie follows the comic book interpretation, even slightly, this could well open the window for not only Quicksilver’s return but the resurrection of all those who perished at the end of Infinity War.

An additional theory would be that instead of what audience’s perceived as death was the use of the reality of soul gems to remove half of the universe’s population, including the heroes, and place them within another dimension.

The strongest reports so far are that the most likely scenario is that Avengers 4 will include time travel through the use of the gauntlet’s time gem. This theory is highly probable as the logistics of Marvel’s cinematic schedule have been carefully laid and plotted for years in culmination to the Infinity films. “Ant-Man and the Wasp” are next up with a release date of July 6th, 2018 with both Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly reprising their roles. Following that, “Captain Marvel” starring Brie Larson and introducing Marvel’s first female lead solo film is currently slated for a release date of March 6th of 2019. The significance of both films having been released after Infinity War yet prior to Avengers 4 are possible launch points of reference and inclusion for time travel. The next installment of the Infinity saga may well be more significant than the singular return of Quicksilver. Reports have also surfaced that Tom Hiddleston has also been on set in in full Loki garb. Avengers 4, which has many fans speculating that the aftermath will mark a total reset of the entire cinematic line of films may well be correct.

This option looks particularly attractive should the Fox / Disney deal remain in place and unfettered by reports of a Comcast buyout. Even if the latter is the case, Disney certainly has the ability to opt-in and purchase the rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four, as well as other Marvel properties within Fox’s portfolio, merging them into the larger MCU and providing ample reason and necessity for a universal reboot.

Avengers 4 remains untitled, is projected to be in theaters on May 3, 2019.

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Quicksilver Actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson is reportedly spotted on the set of the yet to be titled "Avengers 4” film set while social media erupts with wild fan speculation. Marvel Studios has a lot to celebrate already in 2018. Hot off the heels of the…

#Aaron Taylor-Johnson #Avengers 4 #Elizabeth Olsen #Infinity stones #Infinity War #Loki Avengers 4 #Marvel Movies #Marvel Studios #Quicksilver #Thanos

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