he’s dead, jim
Yeah, it’s a Star Trek quote. No, I don’t watch Star Trek. I just like the quote. Stop talking about the damn quote already, will ya? Today’s post is about the complete lack of death and anything resembling decent characters in one specific type of movie - superhero flicks. With my target audience’s ranting and raving in mind, I’ll provide the best argument I can fueled by only Cheerios.
The first and most obvious reason to dislike superhero movies is the completely melodramatic plot and characters. You have someone who is obviously “evil” that always tries to stop the hero or just be a dick in general, even to people around them, and you have someone who may be troubled, but is always “good” - they don’t let civilians die, they have the slightest amount of human weakness to gain sympathy with the audience, etc. (for the reason behind the quotes, check out my nihilism post.) The problem I’ve got with this is that there’s no single person out there who is remotely like this. For all of us who think we’re essentially “good,” we’ve all done things we wish we hadn’t, we’ve been an asshole to people who didn’t deserve it and didn’t apologize, we’ve punted puppies… the list goes on. People just aren’t even remotely like the black and white, simple characters you see in superhero flicks. They have problems (usually dozens,) and tend to make choices that benefit them in some way, rather than true altruism 100% of the time.
Alright, that should get enough of you pissed at me, but just in case it didn’t, here’s my second reason for disliking superhero movies - character development somehow equates to invulnerability. This one actually applies to most American movies, so it might be an American thing where we don’t like seeing the possibility of the inevitable. At any rate, let me make this clear: we’re all a bunch of squishy meatbags, and just because you might know more and more about someone doesn’t make them more likely to dodge bullets (*cough* every superhero movie ever *cough*) or survive ridiculous falls and other hazards. I’ve got to give credit to some movies though - recently, The Departed and Cloverfield (the first two that come to mind) have both had well-developed characters, or at least ones the audience likes, die quickly when they were supposed to. This isn’t a desire to see some horror aspect put into every movie I watch, but seeing some jackass become invincible just because he does good things and the audience likes him is a slap in the face to the audience, in my opinion.
Anyways, that’s what I’ve got for now. Feel free to throw your personal argument against this in the comments. Also, I’ll try to remember a few foreign movies that actually had their endings completely changed to suit American audiences.
Sounds to me like you are mostly describing Spiderman, but that may just be me projecting my distaste for him.
The thing to keep in mind though is that they are super hero movies for a reason: They were based on comic books. The comic books are over dramatic and they are a bit silly at times, but thats the way they are supposed to be.
It almost sounds like you got more beef with American movies, and I don’t think you can get much more American than a comic book movie.
Yeah, I have to agree with Travis. Your anger appears to be slightly misplaced on a specific, rather than a general.
Also, as a counterpoint to your problem with superheros: Batman. That is all I need to say.
Like I said, I expected this post to receive a lot of dismissal. I do know there are exceptions, but I really feel that they prove the rule in this case. Batman still did essentially good (even in Batman Begins, he doesn’t commit murder, though I may be mistaken.)
As for the anger towards American movies in general, I’ve definitely got that, but there’s something special about superhero movies when I can predict the plot without seeing the movie. At all.
I never read comics as a kid either, which may be contributing to my lack of interest in superheroes. I don’t know though, I just can’t take the sheer volume of melodrama seriously.
Larry, this is why they are SUPERhero movies, not hero movies. They are larger than life. Equate them to myths and legends of old, except now we get them for $4.99 in a monthly format. They are meant to be clear cut, unrealistic, and out there.
These are stories about people with powers greater than you or I who the writers have to, somehow, make relatable. Spider-man is whiny, Batman is unrelenting, Superman is a boy scout. The heroes are clear cut and the villains are obvious. Granted, the comics aren’t always like this. I’ve read a few Hulk stories where he eats about 100 people because he’s bored and drunk. However, the movies often need to span decades worth of story telling in a 2 hour period, so the betrayals, character development, etc need to be trimmed down.
Complaining that superhero movies are unrealistic is like complaining that animated movies don’t feature enough ‘real’ people. Well no shit.
Ok yes, I agree superhero movies are intended to be just the way they are. But is it so wrong to crave something more? Batman… yeah he’s pouty and dark but does he have any flaws? He’s never willing to kill anyone and with the exception of his attitude, just as much of a boyscout as Superman. I would say Wolverine provides a decent alternative to the impossibly righteous trademark super heroes out there.
Batman’s flaws would be that he’s obsessive. He puts his work first and is willing to use and lose as much as possible in order to get his mission done. It doesn’t come across as much in the movies, but in the comics he’s condemned friends to prison for years just to cover up his identity. He’s also psychotic.
Wolverine is your typical antihero. The X-Men movies made him into a giant pussy, however.