5 Reasons (In His Own Words) Why We Love Joss Whedon
2. "The greatest expression of rebellion is joy." - (Emmy acceptance speech) 
Essentially Whedon's twist on the classic "Don't let the Bastards grind you down", this is another inspirational motif which sums up his work-a-holic attitude. Whedon has been celebrated with many awards and honours throughout his career, and this particular quote comes from his Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog acceptance speech for the Creative Arts Emmy, Outstanding Special Class Short-format Live-Action Entertainment Programs, or "most incomprehensible category" as Whedon described it. At a time when showbusiness is in flux, with downloading and streaming entertainment becoming increasingly popular, writers and businessmen alike are continually trying to figure out what this means for the future. In 2007 this resulted in the Writers Guild of America striking with several demands, in particular a fairer percentage of revenue generated by "new media", online sales, advertising revenue from On Demand services and the like. Unable to write for film, television or radio, Whedon somewhat ironically decided to write for the internet itself, and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog was created by a cast and crew who worked on the project for love rather than money. Whedon decided that he wasn't going to be fulfilled by following the decisions made by other people, and so he not only rebelled against the system, but did so by being productive, and doing something that did fulfill him as a writer and film-maker. Not only did his actions bring him joy, but Dr Horrible showed that creating internet content wasn't just for amateur and independent film-makers, and an Emmy wasn't the only award he got for his troubles. In the same way as with Much Ado About Nothing, he just couldn't sit there on picket lines and not do anything. Writing isn't his job or what he does, it's who he is, and "You either have to write or you shouldn't be writing" is just how simply he sees that.
Essentially Whedon's twist on the classic "Don't let the Bastards grind you down", this is another inspirational motif which sums up his work-a-holic attitude. Whedon has been celebrated with many awards and honours throughout his career, and this particular quote comes from his Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog acceptance speech for the Creative Arts Emmy, Outstanding Special Class Short-format Live-Action Entertainment Programs, or "most incomprehensible category" as Whedon described it. At a time when showbusiness is in flux, with downloading and streaming entertainment becoming increasingly popular, writers and businessmen alike are continually trying to figure out what this means for the future. In 2007 this resulted in the Writers Guild of America striking with several demands, in particular a fairer percentage of revenue generated by "new media", online sales, advertising revenue from On Demand services and the like. Unable to write for film, television or radio, Whedon somewhat ironically decided to write for the internet itself, and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog was created by a cast and crew who worked on the project for love rather than money. Whedon decided that he wasn't going to be fulfilled by following the decisions made by other people, and so he not only rebelled against the system, but did so by being productive, and doing something that did fulfill him as a writer and film-maker. Not only did his actions bring him joy, but Dr Horrible showed that creating internet content wasn't just for amateur and independent film-makers, and an Emmy wasn't the only award he got for his troubles. In the same way as with Much Ado About Nothing, he just couldn't sit there on picket lines and not do anything. Writing isn't his job or what he does, it's who he is, and "You either have to write or you shouldn't be writing" is just how simply he sees that.