How Gerard Way Continually Changes Pop Culture by Literally Just Vibing

A young artist was in New York City the day the Twin Towers fell on September 11, 2001. The attacks transformed our country in a lot of ways, but today I'd like to share one of the more light-hearted stories to come out of it. Maybe you've heard this one on TikTok, but if not, come along for a strange ride down this pop culture domino effect!

The young artist's name was Gerard Way. I can't imagine not knowing who he is, but if the name doesn't mean much to you, please Google, "the savior of the broken, the beaten and the damned" and come back to this article.

Gerard claimed the event is what drove him to leave his internship at Cartoon Network as a visual artist. He said to Spin Magazine, "I literally said to myself, f**k art. I've gotta get out of the basement. I've gotta see the world. I've gotta make a difference."

And make a difference he did. His band, My Chemical Romance, became hugely successful after Gerard turned to music to transform his feelings about the attack. He wrote the iconic "Skylines and Turnstiles," which became their first song. They went on to make several albums inspiring the misfits of the world to live on despite all the pain, to stop caring what other people think, and most of all, to heal yourself and grow.

That's an amazing story all on its own, but Gerard Way is a phenomenon that causes profound ripple effects across several media platforms. Don't believe me? Please read on.

In 2005, Stephanie Meyer wrote the hugely famous book series, Twilight. Whether you love it or hate it, you know the story. A young girl falls for the broody, mysterious, and emotionally abusive vampire in her new little town. A love triangle with a werewolf and other danger ensues for four books and five movies after.

But on whom did Stephanie Meyer openly state to have based the character of Edward Cullen?

You guessed it. MCR's lead singer Gerard Way. To give you a snapshot of why, in 2004, the year before the first Twilight book, the band released their Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge album. We in the fandom are still obsessed with these blood-soaked, peak-vampire aesthetics, and I can see how Stephanie Meyer would be inspired by it, too.

Just a general side note, though: My Chemical Romance did not vibe with the messages of Twilight and turned down the opportunity to write an original song for the soundtrack. Instead, they wrote the song "Vampire Money" out of spite, which, once you know the story, is hilarious. You can find the song on their Danger Days album, released in 2010.

Phew! What a journey. You may be wondering, is that the end? Did a single man in pop culture really take us in a direct line from 9/11 to Twilight?

Yes, but it's not over!

Enter E.L. James, author of Fifty Shades of Grey, a bestseller erotic romance series. Maybe you are among the population of people who read it and enjoyed it. Maybe you were the type to poke a little fun at it. Maybe you avoided it altogether. Regardless, it was a multi-million dollar phenomenon from 2015 and beyond.

Did you know the epic romance of Anastasia and Christian began as Twilight fanfiction? Yes, the characters are based on Edward and Bella. And Edward is based on Gerard Way. And Gerard Way is literally just doing his thing and making fantastic art despite it all.

In this long line of strange happenings, Universal Pictures secured the rights to the Fifty Shades books to create a film series. They cast the young and lovely but unknown Dakota Johnson to play the main character, Anastasia Steele.

The movies were a huge success and Dakota Johnson became a star, interviewing on TV shows for years during the movie releases. You may remember one in particular.

In late 2019 a controversial interview aired on the Ellen Degeneres Show. They were discussing how Ellen missed Dakota's birthday, to which Ellen claimed she wasn't invited. Dakota replied, and I quote, "Actually, no, that's not the truth, Ellen. You were invited."

It was deemed by social media an immediate "MOOD." Fans everywhere praised Dakota for defending herself in an awkward situation. It brought about discussions of microaggressions between women in the workplace and the affects of internalized misogyny. An iconic, sassy moment brought a great place to begin a conversation all over the country.

Shortly after, several employees on the Ellen show came forward with accusations of a toxic work environment behind-the-scenes. Many people called for the show to be taken off the air. Thus began the collapse of the long-standing Ellen Degeneres empire.

That's right. And we have finished the tale. You can trace the line from 9/11 right to the cancellation of Ellen Degeneres.

Is this a fun fact? Or is it the sad tale of the ups and downs of pop culture in a post 9/11 America? You decide.

Meanwhile, Gerard Way, still creating in his own lane, reunited My Chemical Romance after a six-year hiatus. In the same year, 2019, he released another hugely successful cultural phenomenon: the Netflix adaptation of his comic book series, The Umbrella Academy.

No word on how he feels about this tangled web he accidentally wove, but I'm sure he doesn't think about it very much. He's an icon of his own right, and maybe we should take a leaf out of his book and do our own thing.

You do you, Gee. We love ya, and can't wait to see what domino effect you and the boys come for us during this next phase of My Chemical Romance.

Keep running!