with
Peter O'Toole and Mark-Linn Baker, and Holding Out for a Hero by Bonnie
Tyler (written by the almighty Jim Steinman and Dean Pitchford).We Need a Hero
July 31st 2008
Why are so many hit movies these days based on comic books?
I've been giving this some thought after seeing BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT last weekend with Ryan. It's a lengthy movie, but definitely a good one. At one point, I was struck by the similarities between Batman and George W. Bush, I kid you not. Both do what they consider to be "the right thing," and both are attacked for it. In the movie, Batman violates every citizen of Gotham City's privacy in order to catch the Joker, and it's been argued that 'W' has done the exact same thing on many different levels. Batman at the end dismantles his deus ex machina, and...well, I doubt that 'W' will. But why does the viewing audience tolerate and even endorse Batman's civil rights violations?
The answer to me is fairly simple: it's because the audience KNOWS that Batman will destroy his secret snooping device, because Batman is a good guy. So is Superman. So are Iron Man and Spiderman. This ties in to why these films are so popular: the heroes are exactly that: HEROES. There's no moral ambivalency or ambiguity in these characters, BECAUSE these guys ARE the good guys. People flock to the theaters to see these movies to escape from reality, of course, but they're looking for heroes... And the comic book movies give us heroes.
So does the original Star Trek series,
and perhaps that, too, is why it endures. Kirk, Spock and McCoy are HEROES. They exemplify
the best of what it is to be Human (or Vulcan), and we cannot help but admire Kirk, Spock,
Batman and Superman and rest. I'm reminded of two things right now: My
Favorite Year
We cannot help but want heroes. We need our heroes.
Pity there aren't that many real ones these days...
Randy
Free counters provided by Andale.