Hello Party People,
So I've been upset over the past few days over the whole Gina Carano situation. I've been fighting the urge to take to social media and voice my opinion but then I thought, why don't I just go outside and start swinging punches into the void as I throw kicks into the night. All those options are futile and comical to say the least.
I've seen many people on my timeline cheer for Disney not moving forward with the Cara Dune character. I've also seen it worded differently. An example would be that "Disney will not move forward with any project with Gina Carano" which has one effect. The other would be a kin too ,"Disney fires Gina Carano for abhorrent social media tweets." which gets a much different reaction. So who do I believe?
I went on her twitter page and scrolled for a few minutes and couldn't find anything offensive. Then I read that the tweets in question were removed. I did see one post where (to me) she was talking about a society that was turned on each other and as a result many people were killed. She used the treatment of the Jewish people in Germany to which some people took even more offense to that. I'm sure that there are other examples that people have but I have to admit, there's something underneath all of this that is really troubling me.
Before I go forward, I must tell you that as of this writing, I'm still not sure what's pissing me off so much. Here's what I do know.
- There seemed to be a concerted effort to attack Gina Carrano from a month or so back. Another faceless internet mob going after a celebrity. I can go either way on this one, let's be honest, there a shit ton of famous people who get talked into "Using their voice" by people who no one would ever want to listen to. Sometimes it a great thing to behold, most of the time it isn't.
- Disney seems to be able to dictate an actors behavior and expression even when they're not working. This is a huge grey area, inside of an enigma, that's perched on a slippery slope. I remember a company in Arizona who refused to hire anyone who smoked cigarettes. From what I remember, this wasn't just for people who were working on the clock, but it applied to their employees when they weren't at work. There was a big debate on the company policy but the general question was ,"Does the company you work for have control over what you do in your free time?" I think the big difference between Disney and any other company is that Disney has the element of publicity to deal with. Even so, I would be conflicted if someone offered me fame and money but I have to stop being who I am. For the record, anyone who would walk away from a dream job to keep their integrity has heart to say the least.
- There are a bunch of fake ass artists on my page that will cheer for someones demise over their beliefs. It's their right to express themselves for sure, I just wish they'd stop pretending to be an artist. When other people think of artist stereotype, it's one of a weak willed, emotionally fragile person that needs someone to take care of them because they're too sensitive to handle the real world....maybe that's just my view of most artists, maybe that's my fear of what I might become? The point is, a true artist has the conviction to stand for what they believe in, no matter how batshit crazy it might be. There were too many of my fellow artists on my feed who were cheering on this whole event, to which I just unfriended. I wish them the best but the main reason I stay in contact with so many artists on my Facebook page was to hopefully work with them further on down the road. Well I don't want to to work with them anymore. Integrity means a lot to me.
- There is a level of hypocrisy that I'm not sure people are seeing (or maybe I'm reading too much into it). You know if you want want strong women with conviction in this world, there's a chance they're not going to think the way you want them to think, right? On one hand there are a bunch of people who were really all,"Yaas Queen" over the Cara Dune character, while at the same time there were people wanting Gina Carano to shut up and keep her thoughts to herself. I know they're not the same thing but you have to admit, the whole situation is odd.
In the end, I'm caught up in a whirlwind of emotion to which nothing good could come of. I know a woman like Gina Carano doesn't need a guy to stand up and defend her. I know the character of Cara Dune reminded me a lot of the strong women I grew up around and learned from. I know that I'm bummed that there wont be any more stories with her in it.
At the end of the day, there were two great seasons of The Mandalorian, which were two more than I really expected there to be. The good times I had watching that show with my wife can never be taken away and for that, I'm grateful.
Till next time Party People,
Keep on a Chooglin!
