Beloved director Joss Whedon (“Firefly,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “The Avengers”) quit Twitter on Monday, but no one is sure exactly why.
The going theory is that Whedon quit after heavy backlash from feminists about the portrayal of women in “The Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Among the complaints were Black Widow’s heart-wrenching monologue about not being able to have children and Laura Barton (Hawkeye’s wife) being pregnant in the kitchen.
For those who are upset, sorry that Black Widow isn’t the heroine you want. Maybe she’s a hero to the women who want children but can’t have them.
I barely noticed her monologue, personally — it came after a similar speech from Bruce Banner, talking about his own inability to have a family. (Losing control and becoming an “enormous green rage monster,” to quote Tony Stark, isn’t the best quality in a husband/father.) But I guess because he’s a man, we can just forget about that.
But back to Whedon. The guy’s a true-blue feminist. His female characters are some of the best out there. But because this time, his characters weren’t up to the demands of a vocal minority (just enjoy the movie, people), he’s been cast out of the club.
Comedian Patton Oswalt probably had the best take on the outrage brigade surrounding Whedon:
Still, it’s not clear that this was the reason Whedon quit Twitter. Whedon also “quit” Twitter two years ago, and as Entertainment Weekly points out, it was due to his annoyance with the platform and constant questions from fans about remaking “Buffy” or “Firefly.”
Regardless of why Whedon ultimately quit, the harassment from feminists for not sufficiently adhering to their preferred feminine narratives illustrates a broader trend on the Internet: the old “anonymity breeds sociopathy” trope.
It’s an Internet thing that doesn’t translate to the real world. Online, when no one knows your name (or at least aren’t in the same room as you), it’s easy to harass or threaten people. The point is that Internet trolls are just that — trolls. They exist everywhere and are specific to no group and don’t reflect the views of any broader group. I’ve had my share of them, as have my male colleagues. Conservatives have trolls. Liberals have trolls. Gamers have trolls. Feminists have trolls. It’s an Internet thing.
One of the best examples of this is GamerGate. Online feminists complained about anonymous harassment from gamers, and gamers themselves can point to harassment from online feminists. (On Friday night, a GamerGate meet up in Washington, D.C., received a bomb threat after becoming the subject of an online harassment campaign.) Again, harassment occurs on both sides of any argument.
I hope Whedon returns to Twitter. Obviously, it is in no way necessary for his career that he engage on social media. But if Internet trolls continue to believe their harassment and threats are successful, they’ll only get worse.
