Current Events: The Firing of James Gunn

[domino harvey]

The new guy apparently gave a talk on the virtues of evangelism, so I doubt ambiguity is on the menu

[Never Cursed]

He also produced the Iron Man movies and the Dungeons and Dragons movie, so I imagine that just means he likes money and won't sign off on R-rated fare (unless it makes money). It's not as though these films haven't had comical levels of Christian subtext before (see: the hilariously overblown Jesus imagery in Man of Steel). The sun will rise in the morning, the Pope will be Catholic, DC movies will continue to not be worth your time, etc.

[knives]

Their tv shows though…
Lanterns was legit great and I’d love to see more of it.

[hearthesilence]

IIRC the extras on the DVD for Tim Burton's Batman includes an interview with Michael E. Uslan, and when he was a junior trying to get permission to teach a class on comic books at Indiana University, he sold the idea that comic books were more substantive than people realized when he asked a dean to recount the original of Superman and then recount the story of Moses. (The way Uslan tells it, the guy barely started talking about Moses when he got the point.) I'm not exactly a believer, but Christian symbolism in superhero comics is an ancient discussion - doesn't really feel like a big deal if they wanted to cultivate that, presuming they don't inflate and warp it into something nuttier.

EDIT: Found an article on this. Relevant section here:

Now that Michael Uslan had completed all of the preliminary steps, his last obstacle was convincing a panel consisting of an academic dean and various professors on the educational value of his proposal. It became obvious to Uslan as soon as he stepped into the room, however, that it would be an uphill battle – the dean looked and him and snarled, “So you’re the fellow who wants to teach a course on funny books at my university?”

Uslan began to outline his proposal but cut off by the dean after only a few minutes. “Oh come on!” he exclaimed. “Comic books as mythology? Superheroes as folklore? Really, Mr. Uslan, give me a break. What comic books are… are cheap, maybe lurid entertainment for kids. Nothing more, nothing less. I read comic books when I was a kid. I read every issue of Superman I could get my hands on. But it’s nothing but kid’s stuff, and I reject your premise.”

Michael Uslan wasn’t willing to concede defeat. He asked the dean two questions, the first being to summarize the story of Moses. The dean explained how an Egyptian Pharaoh had ordered that the first born of any Hebrew be put to death. To protect their child, Moses’ parents placed him in a wicker basket and sent it adrift on the Nile River. An Egyptian couple then found the basket and raised the child as their own. Moses eventually learned about his actual heritage and went on to become a hero to the Hebrews.

Uslan then asked if the dean could recite the origins of Superman. “The planet Krypton was about to explode,” the dean began. “A scientist and his wife placed their infant son into a little rocket ship and sent him to Earth where he was found by the Kents, who raised him as their own son. When he grew up and learned of his true…” At that point the dean simply stopped and stared at Michael Uslan for a few moments before declaring, “Mr. Uslan, your course is accredited.”