About

If It Was Written By Joss Whedon refers to a series of parodies imagining popular films if their screenplay was written by writer and director Joss Whedon. The parodies send up Whedon's penchant for self-referential humor and are generally an expression of distaste for the director.

Origin

On May 10th, 2021, Twitter user @MeganBitchell^[1] posted a parody of Saw if it were written by Joss Whedon, showing Cary Elwes' character holding a saw and saying, "Uhh, isn't this a little on the nose?" The tweet gained over 1,600 retweets and 23,000 likes.

Spread

The tweet inspired a series of similar parodies using other films. User @beakerboy12^[2] posted a parody of Uncut Gems which gained over 60 retweets and 580 likes (shown below, left). User @AddisonWylie^[3] posted a parody of Open Water, gaining over 110 likes (shown below, right).

The jokes were celebrated by people who were not fans of Whedon for sending up the writer. User @bameballs^[4] tweeted, "'If it was written by Joss Whedon' is the Whedon bashing I've been waiting for. Sorry, not sorry. Fuck Whedon. And not in the good way" (shown below, left). @MeganBitchell^[5] reflected on the meme she started, writing, "I literally can’t stop retweeting the 'if it was written by Joss Whedon' posts I love them so much," gaining over 430 likes (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable

External References