Monday, May 05, 2008
Iron Man
Maybe it's due to my life-long affection for comic book culture, but I believe that you can tell a great deal about a civilization from its pop culture.
Way back when, in Film Studies class, they used to tell us that you could track the evolution of the Japanese mind through the Godzilla series. Unlike the American edit of the film (which just came across as campy), the original Japanese version of the first Godzilla film is said to be much more like Cloverfield in that it focused less on the action and violence, more on the shock and despair of the average people. All in all, Godzilla was a pretty transparent symbol of the Japanese nation's horror and humiliation at it's nuclear defeat in WWII. But as the series evolved, Godzilla became more like a superhero, protecting Japan from invaders, thereby symbolizing Japan's growing confidence and economic might.
So much for Godzilla.
On the weekend, my boys and I saw Iron Man. It struck me that there is a distinct trend going on in superhero movies these days. Instead of fighting criminals or terrorists as in the past, America's heroes are fighting evil versions of themselves: Spiderman vs. Venom; Hulk vs. The Abomination; Iron Man vs. Iron Monger.
Yes, there is a terrorism sub-plot in Iron Man, but (without giving anything away) it all turns out to be a smoke-and-mirrors distraction from the main plot.
The implication of these films is that America is a country that feels at war with itself. Certainly, there's lots on CNN to validate this. My sense, as a foreigner, is that the partisan divide has never been greater in the US. On top of that, you have the Democrats squabbling amongst themselves. So is it any wonder that Americans today connect with films about people battling their own demons?
As a foreigner, I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it's not so bad to see Americans involved in self-reflection because when Yanks are over-confident they are, well, hard to take, shall we say. On the other hand, there comes a point where self-reflection becomes unproductive navel-gazing.
The Tony Stark character in this movie goes through a similar transformation. Suffering from post-traumatic shock, decadent and self-indulgent, he starts his first few days back from captivity simply rejecting everything in his past life, hiding away, not caring.
But by and by he concludes that his purpose in life is to be a more people-focused superhero.
One last symbolic aspect of this movie stuck in my mind. Stark is a fundamentally lonely guy who has no real friends, only employees. I stand to be corrected, but I'm guessing Americans as a country feel a bit like that too.
Back when the British ran the world, they were arrogant bastards just like the Yanks, but they had (and still have) the benefit of family. They had children, obedient and rebellious, scattered all over the globe who, to this day, pay obeisance to some degree or another to the motherland.
America, on the other hand, has usually been content to live its national life in relative isolation, cultivating allies of convenience but not friends. That's too bad, really, and it's not what the times call for. As our Western world and way of life comes more and more under threat, our countries are going to have to treat one another more like blood-brothers. The Tony Stark character realizes this and makes a few feeble efforts at connecting to the people around him, with some success.
Well, enough pretentious over-analysis, eh? Anyone else have thoughts on the subject?
posted by Mentok @ 9:28 a.m.,
11 Comments:
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At 6:10 a.m.,
Natsthename said...
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I avoid the comic book movies like the plague, since they just don't do it for me (but I loved Chris Reeve's "Superman.") Still, what a brilliant essay about my country. I think you've nailed it, Mentok, but be careful not to lump the citizenry and our world views with that of our often idiotic politicians who get quite cocky in our name (that's what really irks me!)
I'm glad I read the post! -
At 10:13 a.m.,
said...
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that is a whole barrel full of over-analysis! my question is, did you like the movie? it's one of those comic book films i'd actually consider seeing, although mainly because i love robert downey jr. and i want to see him do good.
p.s. your analysis is actually pretty good. sometimes i think it takes a foreigner to see what's going on, as we natives are too close to the mess to see the bigger picture. -
At 10:14 a.m.,
said...
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ditto what nat said, too. all of it. :)
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At 10:30 a.m.,
Mentok said...
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Marcy - yes, I liked it, but I'm inclined to such films. It's one of the better superhero films ever made. Downey brings a great deal of humour and panache to the performance.
Nat - thanks for vote o' confidence. As for lumping Americans together, yes and no. It's a question of degree. We Canadians know better than anyone that, for all their many positive characteristics, all Americans to varying degrees are myopic about the world outside their borders.
Actually, American presidents, even the current one, aren't the problem. On the contrary, the presidents tend to develop friendships and real human relationships with their peers in other countries.
The worst are the politicians the next few rungs down, the congressmen and state politicians whose views of the world tend to be positively cartoonish (e.g. the North Dakota politician who suggested the US point some nuclear weapons at Canada unless we "smartened up" about trade negotiations.)
But its a characteristic that pervades all aspects of American life. I mean, for chrissakes, the "World" Series?! -
At 2:29 p.m.,
Grumps said...
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Iron man, iron man.
Does whatever an iron can. -
At 4:56 p.m.,
adam said...
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I'm still intrigued (and very worried) about what the Watchmen film is going to turn out like - I can't believe it will do justice to the book but it's absolutely another 'America at war with itself' story to consider
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At 6:19 a.m.,
Natsthename said...
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I agree that most Americans are myopic when it comes to a world view, but is this any different from any citizen of any other country? Come ON, man. Are you saying that your average, say, Italian, has a complete and total understanding of the world view? How about a Frenchman or a Chinese?
I know, Americans are just more visible, what with Hollywood and CNN and all. ;) -
At 7:44 a.m.,
adam said...
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Nah, Nat, it's definitely just you ;p
I think it's easy, very easy, particularly from a liberal/left/onandawayintothedistance stance, to be lazily anti-american, and I like to think that, well, that I try to only be anti-american in a focussed and reasonable way :) We do know that it's not all of you, darlings, don't worry. It's power we're unhappy with, not people seeking to exercise their own. -
At 9:31 a.m.,
Grumps said...
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Comet Man, Comet Man,
Does whatever a comet can.
Bogeyan, bogeyman,
Does whatever a bogey can.
Asbestos Man, Asbestos Man,
Does whatever asbestos can. -
At 10:11 a.m.,
Mentok said...
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Grumps - endless possibilities, indeed
adam - the Watchmen will be tricky to do and the track record of Moore adaptations is not great, as you know. On the other hand, the superhero genre in movies has improved quite a bit over the last decade, so there's hope
nat - it's a difference of degree, for sure. I'm not suggesting any average citizen anywhere has or needs a "total understanding of the world", but Europeans encounter borders and other countries often enough that they have to be more aware of their neighbours and the world as a whole.
I guess for me it all comes down to typical Canadian whininess. We figure because of our economic and military importance to the US that we should be more prominent in the American mind than we are. Boo hoo, poor us, eh? ;-)
Frankly, I've met Germans who've never been to North America who know more about Canada than most Americans. That's a result, I'm told, of their school system investing more time educating kids about other countries.
If you're going to run the world (and I, for one, think America must play an international leadership role), you should understand it. Otherwise, the system ends up producing a bunch of know-nothing congressmen who play local pork-barrel politics at the expense of people in other countries, including close friends and allies.
adam pt 2 - I love that comment about liberal/left being "lazily anti-American". So true. I'm interested, though, in hearing examples of "focused and reasonable way". I think I know what you mean but would be interested in further perspective.
grumps pt 2 - Yeah, we were originally talking about superheroes, weren't we? -
At 1:21 p.m.,
Pj Perez said...
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Huh. Your take on the story of Tony Stark as a parable for the American experience is ... unique, refreshing and possibly right on. I would ask my friends what they think, but I only have allies of convenience, unfortunately.
