Guardians of the Galaxy: The Rolling Stones of the MCU

     When Marvel Studios announced Guardians of the Galaxy (GOTG) as one of their future "Phase 2" projects, I was both unaware and underwhelmed.  I had no idea who they were, and what they were about.  I, like a lot of people was a bit skeptical about a team with a walking tree (i.e. Lord of the Rings) and a anthropomorphic raccoon. Alas, as I kept hearing more buzz, I decided to check out a few back issue trades (bundled monthly issues in graphic novel form, for "the uninitiated").  Seeing as I knew the film continuity would be using characters from the re-launched team in 2008 written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (consisting of Peter Quill, Drax, Gamora, Mar-Vel (Phylia Vel) Adam Warlock, Cosmo, Mantis, Rocket and Groot) I decided to start there.  What I found, was a diamond in the rough.



      Director of GOTG James Gunn said it best: "If The Avengers are The Beatles of the Marvel Universe, the Guardians are The Rolling Stones" It is true, where as The Avengers (like the image of the Beatles) are clean cut, pop, noble and likable, The Guardians are a dirty, deviant "bunch-a A-holes" with moral flexibility.  Yet, as you read their misadventures in space, you realize that this motley crew of misfits is actually a loving family. Each character cares about the others, and in their own way, would die for each other.
      All of the Guardians that will be featured in the film have a unique and complementary backstory that is filled with tragedy: Peter Quill AKA Star-Lord the half Terran (Earth) half Spartoi Prince of Spartax is constantly rebelling against his father "the jerk king of the Universe" Gamora, dubbed " the most dangerous woman in the Universe" is also rebelling against her adoptive father THANOS, Drax "the Destroyer" was genetically engineered to kill THANOS, Rocket is an alien (who just happens to look like a terran raccoon) with genetic and cybernetic enhancements from tortuous experiments, and his best friend Groot is a Alien Tree of Royal lineage. Each of these characters is the only one of their kind and that similarity binds them. Together they stop being selfish individuals and decide to make the Universe a better place...on their own terms. Even with all the drama and tragedy, these books are hilarious; chalk full of quipy humor and sight gags I haven't laughed out loud reading a book since Daniel Way's run on Deadpool. 
     With this outrageous humor, also comes even more outrageous villains.  While the Guardians regularly come up against the likes of THANOS ( and always manage to beat him), Ronan the Accuser, Nebula, The Collector, Magus, and Cronos; my favorite GOTG villains are "The Universal Church of Truth" who enslave their people to harvest their parishioners belief and transform it into their own godly power.  The Warrior Cardinals always begin a sentence with "I believe..." This a blatant analogy to the power the Roman Catholic Church once held.    
      Being the Badasses of the Marvel Cosmic, you would expect this group to be super powerful...they are far from it.  Like the crew of The Serenity in the cult show Firefly GOTG are a just a rag-tag group of "heroes" who get by with cunning, charm, strategy an oodles of luck.  Always willing to make the difficult decisions and hard choices, they are both too smart and too stupid to stay away from a fight. They are always outnumbered and usually out gunned, and still they come out on top.  
     It has been widely documented that the GOTG film is the biggest risk Marvel Studios has taken since Iron Man (for many of the reasons I've stated above, mainly its outrageous premise).  However if this pays off (to the tune of 400,000,000+) not only will Marvel continue to be undefeated at the box office, but we will get a GOTG sequel of which I want more Guardians (Cosmo, Adam Warlock, and Major Victory would be nice to see).  and Crazier villains.   However only time and money will tell.  I highly recommend picking up some of the GOTG books (especially the ones I've linked to)  to get well acquainted before the movie to maximize your enjoyment of the film. This is my Favorite Superhero team next to Justice League Dark ( which is also being adapted into a film by Guillermo Del Toro).

Please Give Guardians a chance they will grow on you (much like Groot) :)

In case you missed it, here is the first Official Trailer: Prepare to get "Hooked"

Public Sociology and the Problem of Discipline Dissection

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In 2004, then president of the American Sociological Association (ASA) Michael Burawoy addressed a group at the ASA annual conference.  In that address he dissected Sociology into a strict division of labor (see image above).  His assertion through this talk was that while the four types of Sociology ( professional, critical, policy and public) are and should be interconnected, the notion of  "Public Sociology" has been lost.  Public Sociology   Burawoy defines as " Bringing insights gained from Sociological analysis into the public conversation about social issues and Social problems."  This topic has been hotly debated in Sociological circles, and I have decided to through my hat into the ring. 
    When I first started reading about Burawoy's Public Sociology and his dissection of the discipline, I was overcome with a feeling of futility and annoyance.  I could not (and still can't) get past how unnecessary this division seems.  First of all, if there is supposed to be a interconnection between all of these types of Sociology, why break them up to begin with?  Secondly, this idea of Public Sociology as Burawoy outlines it, is a repackaging of what most Sociologists have known as "Applied Sociology." Additionally, Burawoy also uses Millsian language from his[C. Wright Mills] seminal work The Sociological Imagination.   This is a work that any Sociologist worth her/his salt has read multiple times and considers it an important foundation for the general Sociological Perspective.  The most annoying aspect of this whole spectacle is how much attention this (repackaged uninspiringly basic idea) is actually getting.  Burawoy has made a career out of this writing papers and even creating a course at UC Berkeley titled "Public Sociology: Live" (complete with youtube channel) where he empowers young individuals to spread the sociological word to their communities without (in my opinion) proper training. 
        Burawoy becoming famous for these ideas leads me to two conclusions: One, that I am working way to hard.  If all it takes to get recognition in the field of Sociology  is to repackage and retread classical works of Sociology with little or no effort, I might as well quit writing my lectures and stop my professional development.  Two, Burawoy fails to engage in a fundamental practice of Social Research: to be Reflexive (the process a researcher goes through during a research project in which they seek out and eliminate any form of bias they may have). 
     I agree with Burawoy in one particular instance, "Professional" Sociology (Sociology in academia) as he calls it, has lost touch( many researchers write and publish only for other Sociologist in their field). However, Burawoy fails to see that he is a part of that. Only someone who is so out of touch, locked in the "ivory tower" of a four year research university, would think that all professional Sociologists are equally out of touch.  It has been my experience that Sociologists holding positions at teaching institutions, (rather than research institutions) or who are also community leaders engage in "Public Sociology" everyday.  Yet, Burawoy can't see that, because he is too busy creating complexity where there is simplicity, all for the purpose of professional validation.   

Watch the First lecture and see for yourself: