Maybe it’s a good thing that Elon Musk wants to bring freedom of speech back to Twitter, or maybe not, but the point is that the initiative to try and get Chris Pratt replaced as Star-Lord in the MCU appears to have started with a viral tweet that, big surprise, gained an insane amount of likes by those that wanted to believe what Elliott Page and several others were selling about Pratt. Apparently, his church, an offshoot of the Hillsong Church that was said to be a less than ideal environment for those of the LGBTQIA+ community, was said to be homophobic and as negative as could possibly be. Despite Pratt’s denial of this one has to remember that Twitter is one of the social media platforms that are best known for the mob mentality that can so easily shut down or cancel a person no matter who they are. Why this is happening now is hard to say, but the fact is that Pratt has been adamant about his stance and that of his church, and in return, those that enjoy stirring up trouble have responded in their own predictable manner.
Thankfully, his fellow actors in the MCU have been backing Chris up, as has James Gunn. The director of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies has made it clear that Chris will not be replaced like so many people appear to want, and the positive support that Pratt has been given thus far is uplifting since it means that there is at least a little solidarity left in the world. In the meantime, those that are so ready to condemn are usually those that appear to preach the idea of inclusivity, but it would appear that they want to be inclusive on their own terms. Pointing out the faults of others appears to be a favorite pastime of some folks in Hollywood, and as it’s been seen more than once, a lot of people are willing to play follow the leader when one celebrity points the finger at another.
In the long run, the hope is that people can simply get along and allow others to hold to the beliefs they feel are important, while at the same time allowing others to live their lives with their own beliefs. It’s not that hard, is it? But the moment someone finds a fault in someone’s life that they don’t agree with, especially within the last decade or two, the idea has been to run to social media and make it known that someone should be canceled, someone should be shunned, and someone should be called out for their beliefs while being held up as what’s really wrong with the world. The problem with this is that it doesn’t take much prompting to get people to turn on others since whether people want to admit it or not, there are a lot of individuals that are highly susceptible to the suggestion of others, and even if they don’t want to admit that they’ll go along without question, many individuals make it clear that they don’t like thinking for themselves and will allow others to do their thinking for them.
This is another instance in which people have refused to think for themselves, as the 200k that agreed that Pratt should be replaced in the MCU are good examples of why social media does need a swift kick in the backside from time to time if only to reset the way people conduct themselves. The upside is that Pratt will not be replaced, but the downside is that while there is solidarity among several actors, it’s distressing to think that some will end up seeking to condemn others for their beliefs and their affiliations no matter if the allegations that are tossed around like dirty rags are true or false. One would hope there was a greater level of professional courtesy in show business, but then again, one has to remember that show business isn’t just about providing entertainment, even if this is preferable, but it’s also about building egos, which happens often and can lead to difficult situations like this that feel ridiculous since all it would take is a simple discussion to figure out what’s really going on.
But that would be simple, and people don’t often want to do simple since it doesn’t create headlines and gain the kind of attention that’s desired. It’s possible that Chris Pratt has said a few things that struck a few ears the wrong way, but whether it was intentional or accidental has more to do with the intentions of those calling for the cancellation. Whether people want to hear it or not, the issue of people being over-sensitive and guilty of actually looking for drama where none exists has been one of the leading reasons why stories like this become big news.
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