James Gunn, the director of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, made the mistake of using the word “diverse” when describing the soundtrack to the Guardians second installment. He merely suggested that he’d be incorporating little-known rock songs along with hits from the 1970s and ’80s.
“The second soundtrack is great. I think it’s a more diverse soundtrack. I think the first soundtrack [had] a bunch of songs that maybe you heard but didn’t know the name of the song—you didn’t know the name of the singer,” Gunn told Super Interssante. “In this one, we have some really incredibly famous songs and then some songs that people have never heard. So, it’s a much more diverse soundtrack.”
Thanks to the lack of reading comprehension that pervades social media, both social justice warriors and the alt-right jumped on Gunn’s comments, taking him to task for daring to suggest that his “Awesome Mix Vol. 2” might be more musically varied.
@XL1F3 @JamesGunn SJWs see the word diverse and go nuts, lol. I understand what you mean, more genres etc, that's all. #GotGVol2 will be ace
— Bob Taylor (@theTigerbob) December 13, 2016
Lmao ppl accused james gunn of being politically correct cuz he said the new music in gotg is more diverse.
— Phestive Paul Erso (@spiderham2099) December 14, 2016
The director, himself, took to Twitter to try to clarify.
So many reactionary folks I’m getting hate messages about a quote where I said Vol 2 has a more diverse soundtrack. bc of the word diverse.😐
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 13, 2016
@Madrigal2095 @edb87 It’s not politics. “diverse” means “varied”.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 13, 2016
Diverse soundtrack in that – as explained in the article – some very classic songs & some almost unknown songs. And “diverse” was offensive. https://t.co/Jd2UJIoUAR
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 13, 2016
https://twitter.com/Rokakku/status/810534083537334273
“Diverse” is not synonymous with “ethnically diverse”! YOU’RE REACTING TO A TWEET WHERE I’M EXPLAINING THIS;maybe the Internet isn’t for you https://t.co/VO0k1qx7J2
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 18, 2016
@JamesGunn dude do they not understand diverse in this sense means genre of music and artistry?! Welcome to 2016…
— M.J Nutt (@MattMatty006) December 18, 2016
It took the alt-right a bit longer than their liberal counterparts to catch on to Gunn’s meaning.
So you want a unified SOUNDTRACK? Like, what, Kung Fu Fighting 14 times? https://t.co/4EjSuW2dYX
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 14, 2016
Fortunately, after hours spent arguing, Gunn was able to reassure his fans across the political spectrum that his intention was to expose moviegoers to excellent music, not to force them to confront uncomfortable political truths.
The alt-right may miss out on a sneak preview of Gunn’s new Guardians chapter, as the first theatrical trailer is in front of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which they are also boycotting for its troublesome diversity—the ethnic kind.
