Why is the Joss Whedon vs. DCEU Issue Still Going?

When fans go rabid and then toxic it’s never a pretty sight, and it’s especially troubling since fans can change their mind quickly and without taking the benefit of thinking things over before they do so. Joss Whedon was, not that long ago, someone that a lot of people would have said was worth at least some praise since he stepped up and stepped in to create a movie that had been left as Zack Snyder had a major family issue that he needed to attend and no one else was left to take over. There’s no attempt here to soften the blows that Whedon has been receiving over and over in the media for a while now, but it is fair to say that people have effectively dog-piled on this issue and are coming close to the ‘beating a dead horse’ analogy since the Justice League movies have been released, and whether people want to hear it or not, the Snyder Cut wasn’t much better than Whedon’s version since it included a lot more exposition and only a little more action. 

But again, folks won’t want to hear this since after Ray Fisher so ‘heroically’ stood up to Whedon, and was then joined by Gal Gadot and eventually Ben Affleck, they were content to label Whedon one of the worst human beings in the world for his behavior on set and the issues they had to deal with while shooting. The funny thing about this is that fans are, like always, content to accept one version of the truth even though they weren’t there to ascertain the truth of the matter. Stating that Gadot and Affleck’s accounts make Fisher’s valid is kind of a bad joke since while it’s fair to say that Whedon might be a troublesome director, absolving the actors of any fault is rather typical and speaks to the influence they hold over their fans. 

The fact that this issue has been ongoing for a while and is still being pushed even though Whedon, who may or may not deserve everything that’s being levied against him, has already been subjected to enough scrutiny and criticism to tarnish his reputation for a while to come. While it might not be prudent to stand up for Whedon it’s an indication that Fisher and the others are aiming for the throat at this point instead of taking the high road as has been suggested in the past when it comes to such matters. But if there’s one thing that people should have learned by now, and a lot of us likely have, if there’s an issue in Hollywood, it’s going to be stretched and discussed and touted out where fans can drag it on and on as much as possible. Many folks will gladly come up with one reason after another to keep the ball rolling to generate traffic on their site or others so that people will know and will spread the word that the person they’re seeking to vilify is the absolute worst and should be exposed at every possible turn. It’s petty and it’s a little disturbing, to be honest, but it’s bound to happen all the same since the moment that someone is outed for anything in Hollywood it’s flung at the rumor mill to see how quickly it can be spun and turned into a massive issue that people will latch onto.

That goes for even the merest mention of such an issue, but at this point, it feels as though folks should let this one go and realize that they’ve done more damage to Whedon’s career and reputation than anything else could have done in the recent past. That’s not bound to be enough most likely since anytime an actor, or actors, have a grievance against anyone it’s bound to happen that things will advance or decline based on their level of interest in keeping things going. In other words, Ray Fisher and his fellow actors found an ax to grind and it would appear that they’re looking to wear this down as much as possible rather than focusing on moving forward while doing their best to forget that they were ever required to work with Whedon. 

What’s amusing is that, even if Whedon deserves every ounce of vitriol that’s flung at him, the effort put into this matter tends to indicate that not only are those actors that are involved in this mess seeking a scapegoat for any issues that might have occurred, but it’s evident that the fans are continuing to enable them by siding with them rather than trying to figure out all the details that are pertinent to the issue. At the end of the day though it’s best to move on, which is something that some folks tend to do at their leisure, and usually when there’s nothing else to be gained from the matter.